There was no unworked land here; all the wheat had been harvested, and the olive farmers tended carefully to their crop. The road was busy too; the trio passed priests and merchants, pedlars and beggars. They lost count of the goat-herders and shepherds, and became used to the chime of the bells tied around their animals’ necks. Just after midday they met a century of the Sixteenth Legion marching to Chalcis. The centurion, a grey-haired veteran brandishing a long cane, was reluctant to stop but when Cassius told of him of Surex’s predicament he ordered the men to rest and listened intently, pressing Cassius for a full appraisal of the situation at Androna. It turned out that he knew Surex well and his century had been ordered to Chalcis as reinforcements. He let the men get some water down, then led them off to the east at a prodigious pace. Cassius turned round several times to watch the departing column. As a youngster he had loved to watch marching troops. He found the sense of power and purpose intoxicating, and had longed to be part of it.
