Conquest and Glory
Chapter Six
Justinius rolled a stone out of the way and wiped his brow. He had lost count of all the rocks he had moved so far. It had been several days since they had left the village, but were now stopped in their tracks because of a large landslide which blocked the stretch of road through a narrow valley. It would have been passable for a few perhaps, but not for a legion.
Their progress was decent, but not many could work at once in the limited space, and so deep was the rubble that they had gone very deep. Justinius was working as hard as any, but still he saw no signs that it would be done soon. He sat down on one of the rocks he had just moved and watched the legion work. They were digging in shifts, so that fresh mice were continually at it to make sure it was worked on at all times, while passing rocks back in an efficient line. They had been digging for close to an hour by this point, but Justinius was not convinced that they would be done until the morning.
Not all in the legion were present. Many had been too injured to continue, so they had been left at the village to get rest until either they succumbed to their wounds, or they were well enough to meet them. Some would have to return to Rome, too crippled to return to service. With just over a hundred legionaries had been left behind in the village—and the five-hundred mice who had thus been slain—his legion was beginning to shrink. He hoped he had enough legionaries left to fulfill the emperor’s wishes.
Leaving the legion to its devices, putting his second in command in charge, he began to explore the surrounding valley. The valley walls could be climbed in places, and so could the landslide, but he wanted to stay out of the legions way. He found a place about a mile back that could be climbed with ease, and began to ascend the valley wall, using jutting rocks, crevasses, and protruding roots to climb.
He wanted to search for signs of interference by rats by himself so no one would disturb him or get in his way. He meandered around shrubs, trees, and boulders for over an hour along the side of the valley but found no signs of rats. He was beginning to think it was the work of nature and not vermin.
He moved to the other side, and on this side the trees were more dense, but it was still navigable. He was enjoying the stroll immensely, having quite forgotten why he was here. As he was walking, Justinius bumped into something. Looking at what he had bumped into, he saw a mole standing in front of him.
“I beg your pardon,” Justinius said, picking himself up and dusting off his cloak.
The mole bowed. “Not at all,” he apologized. “I should be the one to ask your pardon, Legate.”
“It was I who wasn’t paying attention,” Justinius assured the small creature. “Anyway, no harm done.”
“Which is more than can be said for that road,” the mole commented with a deep chuckle. Justinius agreed.
“We’re trying to dig our way though—you’ve likely noticed—since we have to go to the edge of our territory on Caesar’s orders and expand it,” he said, “but we aren’t making fast progress.” He looked down at the legion which was working diligently. “Say, would you be willing to lend us a paw? You will be serving the greater glory of Rome.”
“Of course I will lend Caesar what aid I can,” the mole said slowly, “But I have already tried, and I am no good with large rocks, such as that landslide is mostly made of.”
“Whatever way you can,” Justinius said. “By the way, do you know how this happened?” He sat down and enjoyed the cool breeze that came by as they both watched the legion.
“Not quite sure,” the mole said, closing his tiny eyes as he thought. “I wasn’t here when it happened. I was inside my house, and then I heard a great rumbling.”
“Have you seen any rats?” Justinius pressed. “Then or anytime?”
“I haven’t,” the mole said. “I’ve never seen a rat here in Rome. Only when me and my pa went out many years ago. He was a merchant and once I grew up he showed me distant lands. I saw a rat or two then, one was decent and the other a brute. Since then I’ve lived here, tending to my tunnels and books.”
“So you haven’t seen any rats in these recent weeks?”
“Not a single one, though,” the mole admitted, “I’m in my labyrinth of tunnels most of the time, so it would be easy to miss some.” Justinius thanked the mole, who at once departed to help the mice. Justinius decided not to go back, and instead walk along the valley wall, and see just how far the road was blocked.
He soon came to the end of the trees and he was shocked by what met his eyes. In the distance, where a city should have been beyond the horizon, was a pillar of smoke. From the smoke it appeared that not just the city was burning, but also the surrounding farmsteads and lands. He raced back to the legion to speed the digging as fast as he could.
The End for now . . . God bless
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