Warriors in Winter Read online

  “Why? What’s a centurion?” asked Annie.

  “Super-strict commanders,” said Jack. “They carry big sticks to whack their own men.”

  “That’s mean,” said Annie. “They should learn to use their words instead.”

  Jack laughed. “Try telling that to a centurion.”

  As they drew close to the camp, a guard stepped out of the gatehouse. He wore full battle armor. He carried a spear and a red shield.

  “Hail!” said Annie.

  “Word of the day?” the guard said in a deep voice.

  “Mars the Victor!” Annie answered.

  Jack cleared his throat and called out, “We are visiting scholars under the command of the Imperial Guard!”

  “We have come to write about the camp,” said Annie. She held up her tablet and stylus. “We plan to spread the word about the legion’s hard work!”

  The watchman lowered his spear. “Welcome to Legion Gemina Fourteen,” he said, “in the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius!”

  “Thank you!” said Annie.

  She and Jack walked proudly past the guard. They passed through the gateway and entered the Roman camp.

  Annie and Jack stood on the main road. The road passed through the center of the camp. It was lined with rows of wooden buildings.

  “Where is everybody?” Annie asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Jack. “These buildings look like barracks. That’s where warriors sleep.”

  “Oh. So maybe they’re still asleep,” said Annie.

  “No chance,” said Jack. “Roman warriors get up before dawn. Maybe they went on a march.”

  “Where did our guy on the black horse go?” said Annie.

  “He disappeared,” said Jack, looking around. “I wish we had a research book.”

  “Don’t worry, you know a lot,” said Annie.

  “Not enough,” said Jack.

  “Let’s explore and see what we can find out,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie started down the stone road. They stopped at a flagpole.

  A red flag was waving in the wind.

  On the flag was the figure of a ram. Below the ram were two words: Legion Gemina. The words were followed by three capital letters: XIV.

  “Those letters stand for the number fourteen,” said Jack. “They’re called Roman numerals.”

  “I actually knew that,” said Annie. “Our teacher taught us Roman numerals.”

  “Cool,” said Jack. Then they both made notes about the flag.

  “Hey,” said Annie. “Hear that noise?”

  Jack listened. Sounds were coming from the far end of the camp. “Let’s check it out,” he said.

  Jack and Annie hurried down the road. The sounds grew louder.

  “Something’s going on outside the walls,” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie hurried past the rows of barracks, until they came to the camp’s rear gate. “Mars the Victor!” Annie called to a guard.

  The guard waved them on, and they stepped through the gate onto a huge frosty field.

  “Oh, man!” said Jack.

  “Warriors! Finally!” said Annie.

  Hundreds of men were training on the field. They all wore armor and helmets. They were running, boxing, wrestling, throwing spears, and shooting arrows at targets.

  Not far away, a huge man was barking orders at a team of runners. He had a red plume on his helmet and medals on his armor, and he waved a big stick.

  “Hey—a centurion!” said Annie.

  “Yep,” Jack said.

  “You gave a perfect description,” said Annie.

  “Double time!” the centurion yelled.

  The runners ran twice as fast. They were wearing heavy armor with huge packs strapped to their backs.

  “Remember how our rhyme says we should do what warriors do?” said Annie.

  “Ha!” said Jack. “There’s no way I can do what those guys are doing.”

  “Me neither,” said Annie. “But let’s get closer to them and take some notes.” Their feet crunched over the frozen grass as they headed toward the runners.

  “Halt!” a loud voice thundered. The tall, burly centurion had spotted them. He dropped his stick and pulled out his sword.

  “Yikes,” said Annie.

  “Word of the day!” the huge man shouted, striding toward them. “Loud and clear!”

  “Mars the Victor!” Jack shouted. His heart was pounding. “We’re visiting scholars under the command of the Imperial Guard!”

  “We’re taking notes on the legion!” said Annie, holding up her tablet. “We want to report on your good work!”

  The centurion studied them. Then he put away his sword. He pointed at the runners.

  “Fighters in training!” he roared. “Best training in the world! Write it down!”

  Jack’s hand trembled as he took notes.

  “What’s in their packs?” Annie asked.

  “Food, water, bedroll, pans, hand mill, spade, ax,” the centurion shouted, “plus sixty pounds of weapons! Best weapons in the world! Write it down!”

  Jack and Annie took notes.

  “Do they train every day?” asked Jack.

  “Of course!” said the centurion. “And three times a month, they march twenty miles with full armor and packs! If one gets out of step, he is punished. If he deserts his comrades, he is slain! Those are the rules.”

  Whoa, thought Jack.

  “Are there any women soldiers?” asked Annie.

  “Certainly not!” said the centurion. “Females have no fighting skills!”

  “You don’t know our aunt Sally,” murmured Annie.

  “Shush,” said Jack.

  “Well, she’s a major in the army,” said Annie. “And she has a black belt in karate.”

  The centurion didn’t seem to hear her. “The cavalry trains there!” he yelled, pointing across the field.

  Men on horseback were jumping over log fences. Jack looked for the rider on the black horse.

  “Best horses in the world!” said the centurion. “Write it down!”

  Jack and Annie wrote it down.

  “What do warriors do when they’re not training?” said Annie.

  “Clean stables, dig ditches, cook meals,” the man answered. “Repair armor, make weapons, build roads.”

  “I read that Romans make great roads,” said Jack.

  “Best in the world!” the man snapped. “Write it down!”

  Jack and Annie wrote it down. Jack could see that Annie was trying not to laugh.

  “We must prepare now for the royal parade,” said the centurion. “The emperor arrived from Rome yesterday to review the legion. Good day!”

  The centurion turned and strode back to his runners.

  “Scary guy,” said Annie.

  “Typical centurion,” said Jack, trying to sound calm. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Wait,” said Annie. “What did you write?”

  Jack read from his tablet:

  WINTER, rows of barracks, red flag with ram,

  best weapons, best horses, best roads

  “Good,” Annie said. “But the rhyme said: Write what you feel. You didn’t do that.”

  “Well, what did you write?” said Jack.

  “I wrote stuff like ‘Rider on black horse friendly. Like him!’ ‘Love the red shields!’ ”

  “Oh. Okay,” said Jack. He pressed his stylus into his wax tablet. He wrote:

  Nervous! Heart attack! Help!!!

  Annie laughed when she read Jack’s note.

  “It’s true! My heart’s pounding!” he said.

  “Let’s go back inside,” said Annie.

  She and Jack left the field and hurried back into the legion camp.

 
; Jack and Annie stopped on the main road.

  “Okay! We still have to try to do what warriors do,” said Annie.

  “And don’t forget the part about the silver coin,” said Jack.

  “Give the silver coin to a hero in disguise,” Annie quoted. “He will share with you his wisdom. Be home by moonrise.”

  “I wonder who the hero is,” said Jack.

  “What kind of Roman soldier wears a disguise?” asked Annie.

  “I don’t know,” said Jack. “I told you I don’t know enough.”

  “What’s that?” Annie pointed to smoke rising from behind some of the barracks.

  “Let’s check it out,” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie walked down a path between two rows of barracks. The chilly air smelled of wood smoke and fish.

  Soon they came to warriors working in a cooking area. Wearing simple tunics and capes, some of the men were grilling fish over campfires. Another was removing a loaf of bread from a stone oven. The oven looked like a giant beehive.

  “Hey, we can do what he’s doing,” Annie said to Jack. “We know how to bake bread.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack, “but we have an electric oven, and we use flour from the supermarket.”

  “Let’s ask him how they do it,” said Annie. “Hail!” she called to the bread baker.

  The man looked up, startled.

  “Mars the Victor!” Jack said. “We’re visiting scholars—”

  “Writing about the legion’s good work,” said Annie. “Are you the cook for the whole camp?”

  The man laughed. “No, it is my week to do the baking for my squad,” he said.

  Jack leaned toward Annie. “Eight to ten guys in a squad,” he said.

  “What does your squad eat?” Annie asked the warrior.

  He recited a list: “Cheese, beans, salted fish, olives, barley, bread.”

  “How do you make your bread?” Jack said.

  “Each squad grinds its own portion of grain,” said the baker. He pointed to a small hand mill next to the oven.

  “Cool,” said Annie. “Can we try?”

  The man nodded. “There’s a bit of grain in it now. Turn the handle to grind it. Flour will come out the spout.”

  Annie tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “You try,” she said to Jack.

  Jack pushed the handle as hard as he could. He pushed and pushed. Finally a spoonful of flour came out of the spout.

  “Your bread loaf will be the size of an olive,” said the baker.

  Jack and Annie laughed.

  “You should ask Ceres for help, so you don’t starve,” the man said with a smile. He returned to his work.

  “Who’s Ceres?” Annie asked as they walked away.

  “Goddess of grain,” said Jack. “Ancient Romans had gods and goddesses for everything.”

  “Oh, like in Greek mythology?” said Annie.

  “Right,” said Jack. “Gods and goddesses for the sun, the sea, storms, sleep, rainbows…”

  “Got it, got it,” said Annie. “So Ceres is the Roman goddess of grain.” She made a note.

  “There’s smoke coming from over there, too,” said Jack. “Let’s go.”

  They walked down the path to an open workshop.

  At a forge, a blacksmith hammered a sword. Other men were making sandals, shields, and wagon wheels. The craftsmen were working so hard, they didn’t seem to notice Jack and Annie.

  “An eagle,” whispered Annie. She pointed to a craftsman adding gold paint to a carved wooden eagle.

  “That’s the standard of a Roman legion,” whispered Jack.

  “What’s a standard?” asked Annie.

  “It’s a symbol that stands for the legion,” said Jack. “It’s a great honor to carry the gold eagle. The person who does is called the standard-bearer.”

  “Cool,” said Annie. “Hail!” she called to someone behind Jack.

  Jack turned to look. The blacksmith was staring at them.

  “Hail,” the man said gruffly.

  “Maybe he’ll let us do what he’s doing,” Annie said softly. “We know how to hammer.”

  “Yeah, anyone can hammer,” said Jack. He and Annie walked over to the blacksmith.

  “We’re visiting scholars,” Annie said. “We’re learning about the legion. May we try what you’re doing?”

  Without a word, the blacksmith handed her his hammer. It was so heavy, Annie fell to the ground with it.

  The blacksmith laughed.

  “Oops!” Annie said, getting to her feet. “Your turn,” she said to Jack.

  The hammer was lying on the ground. Jack tried to pick it up. He couldn’t lift it higher than his knees. “No can do,” he said. “We’re wimps.”

  “We have no skills,” said Annie.

  The blacksmith nodded. He took back his hammer. “Pray to Vulcan,” he said, and he went back to work on the sword.

  “Who’s Vulcan?” Annie asked Jack.

  “The Roman god of fire and craftsmen,” said Jack.

  Annie made a note. “Maybe it’s time to look for a hero in disguise,” she said.

  “Sure,” said Jack. “But first, let’s check out that building.” He pointed to a long building near the back gate. “Maybe warriors are doing something in there that we could try.”

  “Okay,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie put their writing tools into their pouches. Then they walked down the pathway to the open entrance of the building. They peeked inside.

  “Oh, man!” whispered Jack. “The armory!”

  Winter sunlight shone on metal helmets and jackets. It shone on broad belts, swords, daggers, spears, and red-and-gold-painted shields.

  “No one’s in here,” said Annie.

  “That’s weird,” said Jack.

  “Or lucky,” said Annie. She grinned at him. “Finally we can do what warriors do.”

  “What? You mean we should try on their armor?” said Jack.

  Annie nodded.

  “Everything will be too big,” said Jack.

  “Who cares?” said Annie. “No one will see us.”

  “Right,” Jack said nervously. He really wanted to try on the armor. “Actually, it might not be too big. A Roman soldier had to be at least five feet six inches. That’s only five inches taller than me. And about eight inches taller than you. So if we—”

  “Got it! Let’s do it!” said Annie.

  “Okay!” said Jack. “Quick, before anyone shows up.”

  Jack and Annie hurried through the wide entrance of the armory. They pulled off their capes and dropped them on the ground.

  “Where do we start?” said Annie.

  They looked around at shelves lined with body armor and helmets. In the center of the room were weapons and shields on wooden stands.

  “Upper body armor,” said Jack. He crossed to a shelf with metal jackets. The jackets were made of overlapping strips of iron. “This one looks pretty small.”

  He lifted the gray metal jacket off the shelf. “Whoa! It’s heavy!”

  Annie held out her arms. Jack helped her slide the armor over her tunic. The jacket reached her knees!

  “Help!” she said, nearly sinking to the floor.

  Jack laughed. “You look like a cartoon character,” he said.

  “It’s crazy heavy!” said Annie.

  “Want to take it off?” said Jack.

  “Not yet,” she said. “Put yours on.”

  Jack chose one of the metal jackets for himself and slipped his arms into it. The metal was freezing cold!

  “Oh, man, how can warriors run or fight in this?” said Jack. “It weighs a ton!”

  “And they march with really heavy packs on their backs, too!” said Annie.

  “And
carry shields!” said Jack. “Huge shields!”

  “Unbelievable!” said Annie.

  “Now helmets!” said Jack. He studied the row of helmets.

  He picked one for himself and lowered it onto his head. “Oh, man, at least another fifteen pounds!” he said.

  “Let me try one,” said Annie.

  Jack picked a helmet for Annie and lowered it onto her head.

  “Help!” she squeaked. “I can hardly see or hear.” Annie’s helmet partially covered her eyes, ears, cheeks, and mouth.

  Jack laughed. “I can hardly see, either,” he said. “But I feel braver wearing this stuff. Don’t you?”

  “No,” said Annie. “I’m dying in here.” Her voice was muffled.

  “Okay, let’s take everything off,” said Jack.

  Suddenly voices and the sound of running feet came from outside.

  “Full armor! No packs!” a man shouted. “Emperor’s parade begins at high noon!”

  “Yikes,” said Annie.

  “Get out of their way!” Jack said in a panic. He pulled Annie into the shadows.

  Warriors poured into the armory. Jack recognized the cooks and craftsmen among the others.

  “Mars the Victor,” Annie said. Her voice was muffled inside her helmet.

  “Quiet!” Jack whispered.

  “Belts! Helmets! Shields!” someone bellowed. A stocky centurion stood at the entrance of the armory.

  Oh, no, thought Jack. Another centurion!

  “Double time!” the man roared.

  The warriors moved quickly down the shelves, gathering metal jackets, helmets, and military belts.

  “Everyone in line! Now!” the centurion shouted.

  The warriors grabbed weapons and shields. The armory was filled with loud voices and clanking metal.

  “We have to get out of here!” Jack said to Annie. “We can take everything off outside! Let’s go!”

  “I can’t see!” Annie said.

  “I’ll lead you!” Jack said.

  Jack took Annie’s hand. Stumbling awkwardly in their heavy armor, they moved with the warriors toward the entrance.