“How’d you make it out?” Syphax leaned back, tapping a finger on his desk.
“The local pater found and hid us. I brought him with us.”
“How did he know to look for you?” Syphax looked relaxed, but Lucius could tell he was on full alert from the steady, sharp gaze the older man gave him.
Lucius lifted his right hand and tapped the crescent moon of Selene that she’d engraved on his armor over his heart. “She sent him.”
Syphax shook his head and chuckled. “You’ve made a powerful and dangerous ally, my young friend. I’ll be sure to give her my thanks for bringing you back alive. Let’s meet this pater who risked his life to help you escape.”
Lucius nodded and stood up. Poking his head out of the tent, he waved the pater and the two Armenian youths over, making room for them to enter. Turning to the pater. “Tribunus Militum Syphax Quietus, this is the pater of the Tigranocerta’s Mithraeum…” Lucius paused for a moment. “I didn’t get his name, but he helped us escape.”
The pater stepped forward and shook Syphax’s hand. “Tiridat Aruseak, Tribunus.”
“Please sit.” Syphax gestured toward one of the camp chairs. “Thank you for helping my wayward centurio escape Tigranocerta.”
“You’re most welcome, but the duty was placed on me by one who I could not deny,” Tiridat replied. “She also bid me lead you through the mountains to the temple at Garni, or Gorneae as you Romans call it.”
Syphax’s eyes drifted toward Lucius. Nodding, Lucius confirmed the pater’s words. Pursing his lips, Syphax took a moment to mull over the information, then turned and rummaged through his maps. When he found the one he was looking for, he stood and rolled it out on the camp desk, orienting it so Tiridat stood at the south side of the map.
“We’d planned on taking the main road through to Vagharshapat…” Syphax trailed off as he ran his finger on the line that indicated the road.
Tiridat set his finger on the map at the spot where their fort was situated. “While the road is easier, it’ll be lined with Parthian agents. Armenia is awash in them. There are lesser-known paths through the mountains along the skirts of Ararat that will bring you north of Arxata. From there, it’s a short march north to Garni.”
“Pater Tiridat,” Lucius interjected diffidently, “what is Garni?”
Tiridat smiled and turned to Lucius. “It’s a temple dedicated to Mihr, the sun god of our people. Sometimes he bears the face of your Mithras.”
SEVEN
Never one to ride in the center of his own column, Syphax and the primus pilus took the I Centuria, along with the pater and his men, and scouted ahead. They kept a watchful eye out for any potential resistance, and if they made it through the day without finding any, they’d look for their next night’s campsite. While they were up and out of the fort before first light, Lucius followed with the rest of the cohort at a more reasonable pace, ensuring a strong rearguard to alert them of enemies.
The first day out, they met no resistance. Neither did they on the second or the third, though the scouts reported occasional sightings of potential Parthians. Despite Lucius’s desire to swivel his head around or to lead one of the small scouting parties, his place was in the center of the column, leading the rest of the elite cohort while Syphax ranged out with the scouts.
Each day as they advanced into the wilder parts of Armenia, they made it to their camp with nothing more than glimpses of people through the thickening forests as they approached the turn in the road that would take them into the highlands. The few Armenians they saw quickly hid from the marching Romans. At night, their watch reported distant flickers of light in areas where there were no villages. It could have easily been a farmstead, but the constant reports of potential watchers set Lucius on edge, though he did his best to keep a resolute exterior around the men. Only in the presence of Syphax did he let his guard down, complaining about his irritation.
“There’s little we can do.” Syphax, as always, was as calm as a windless lake. “Until they decide to make their presence fully known, we have to keep moving. Tiridat says we’re nearing the spot when we can leave the road and get lost in the mountains.”
Lucius snorted. “I hope it’s the Parthians who get lost. I don’t fancy losing my way in these mountains come winter. I don’t imagine you got much snow in the deserts of Mauretania Tingitana.”
Syphax laughed. “You’d be wrong. Though you’d have to ride south of the border Roma controls, the Atlas Mons get quite a bit of snow in the winter.” His face sank slightly. “It’s been too long since I’ve been home, and here I am about as far away as one can be on the opposite side of the entire empire.”
Lucius thought back to the forests and lowlands of Belgica. He wasn’t as far from the land of his birth as they were from Syphax’s home at the western edge of Roma’s African provinces, but they were still a long way from the northwestern frontier of the empire. The men sat in silence, thinking about their homelands. Lucius marveled at the series of events that had taken him from his home in Belgica to Dacia and to the western reaches of the Parthian Empire. Now he sat with his friend about to go even higher into Armenia’s mountains. Off in the distance, the sound of the Armenian youths and their tsiranapogh filtered into Lucius’s consciousness.
Syphax smiled and poured himself some more wine. “Go listen to your young friends play.”
“I’m fine,” Lucius replied.
“Go. Enjoy. I’ve never seen you as calm and relaxed as you are when you listen to their music. You need it; you’re wound up tighter than a ballista.” Syphax made a shooing motion before picking up his wine cup.
Lucius refilled his cup with Syphax’s excellent wine and heeded his commander’s advice. As he worked his way through camp toward the haunting melody, he nodded as his men greeted him, calling out a name if he recognized the voice or face. He walked with purpose, plastering an occupied look on his face so people wouldn’t stop him to talk. When he found Ariazate and Tigran, they were seated next to a fire playing for Tiridat and the other Armenians. Lucius stood just out of the light, not wanting to invite himself into their circle.
“Centurio Ferrata. Please, join us.” Tiridat gestured toward the fire.
“Thank you, Pater.” Lucius sat in an empty camp chair next to Tiridat.
“Your young friends are quite talented.”
Lucius slouched in the chair, trying to find a comfortable position. “They make beautiful music.”
“I might go as far as to say they’re more than talented. I’ve not heard such good playing in a while.”
Lucius nodded, losing the sound of Tiridat’s voice as he immersed himself in the music. Tonight, playing for her countrymen, Ariazate’s playing soared. Or perhaps it was enhanced in Lucius’s mind as they sat around a fire in the shadow of the mountains they were about to navigate. All of Armenia was highlands, but the Montes Caucasii reached up into the sky. With the fire in his eyes and the dark of the night, the distant peaks were only visible as a darker smudge across the horizon. He’d get to know them soon, probably more intimately than he wanted. Instead of focusing on their upcoming struggles, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift along with Ariazate’s melodies while allowing Tigran’s droning notes to keep him grounded. Unlike in Tigranocerta where she let her younger brother take his turn with a melody, tonight she took the lead, serenading the mountains of her home.
Once they slipped into the mountains, the scouts reported no more sightings of Parthian scouts. Syphax and the other centurions relaxed visibly, their shoulders sinking. Lucius, however, had an itch on the back of his neck he couldn’t scratch away.
Syphax’s brows narrowed as he eyed Lucius. “It’s your feeling, Centurio Ferrata. Take some men and drift behind the rearguard, but keep in contact.”
Lucius saluted. “Thank you. Please keep an eye on Ariazate and Tigran.”
“You’ve grown close to them,” Syphax commented, raising an eyebrow.
Lucius nodded. “They’re good kids, and I intend to see they live long enough to enjoy their freedom when we’re done with this mission.”
“I see.” Pursing his lips, he nodded slightly. “I’ll keep an eye on them. Be careful, Lucius.”
