Watch Your Back
The following morning, much to Tallis’s amazement, Priam and eight of his soldiers reported for duty. Elrad and Benson weren’t available, but seeing everyone else, after what they’d experienced yesterday, surprised their Triplicarious. “Priam, I thought you and your men would take today off, so you have time to recover from your ordeal. What a hardy bunch. I’m impressed. Did you visit Elrad this morning?”
“He’s hanging on, and the doctor reassures me he will live. But, he won’t walk another patrol until he regains his strength.”
“I’m relieved and pleased to hear the good news. I worried for you and your men yesterday. Elrad in particular. He lost so much blood. I plan to visit him later this afternoon. In the meantime, I’ll be glad to help you and your Conturbenium if trouble arises, though I have several things I need to do today. You’ll need to track me down, but you should find me someplace inside the town’s walls.”
“I don’t expect any trouble with so many people milling around the marketplace, but I’ll find you if we need your help or advice.”
“If you or some of your men get tired, let me know, and I’ll make sure we cover for anyone who needs to rest.”
The door creaked open. Addai’s head appeared. “Why can’t you let an old man sleep, Tallis? What brings you to my house so early in the morning?”
“How late did you stay up last night, my friend? A man your age shouldn’t spend his nights on the roof. You might get sick.”
“I spend every night on my rooftop, and I’m still alive, aren’t I? Why don’t you come in instead of standing outside? I don’t want you to get sick.”
“A polite man waits for his host to invite him inside. Besides, I want to pay you some more dinars for your help.”
“My help hasn’t been worth much so far.”
“Would you like me to stop paying you?”
“Of course not. I love the money. I plan to buy some new clothes, but there’s nothing wrong with these. I’ve had them for more than twenty years, and they still keep me warm. Anyway, I heard some men attacked some of your troops yesterday. They took a beating, didn’t they? I understand they kidnapped one of your soldiers too. Not good, Tallis. They’ll return with greater boldness the next time.”
The Triplicarious looked at the old man. “I’m afraid you’re right, Addai, but I need to ask if you overheard or saw anything to help us delay or prevent the next attack or ambush.”
“I’m not sure I have anything new to tell you.”
“Let me decide what is valuable or not.”
“You realize the spies continue to remain vigilant during the night, but I’m pleased to see your men still use the same patrolling patterns. Repeat the same routines for another night or two, and your visitors might become over confident and try to attack you again.”
“You’re a smart man, Addai. My plan includes repeating the same patterns for the next couple of nights like you said. Then we’ll hide in the shadows and keep our eyes on them. I want you to know, some of my soldiers are spending time on their rooftops during the night. You taught me a new trick, old man. Thank you. We want our enemies to think we didn’t learn anything from their last attack. But, we’ll be waiting for them if they attempt to come ashore.”
“I took a trip to the marketplace when I heard the commotion, yesterday. I hope the young fellow survives his wounds.”
“The doctor assures me Elrad will recover over time, but he’s lucky to be alive.”
“Praise God. After I had returned home, I spotted Dan leaving his place. I saw him a short time later near the marketplace after the doctor treated your soldiers’ wounds. He stayed in the background like he didn’t want anyone to see him. Then he walked to the lake and climbed into a boat with three other men his age. They rowed off toward Tiberias. His friends brought him back before your troops returned to duty last night. I bet he’s up to no good.”
Addai’s comment surprised Tallis. How did Dan and his friends miss seeing Avidan when he returned home? “Dan must not have much to do because he spends his time spying on us. If I have time today, I plan to visit my brothers. I’m told some young men keep dropping by the blacksmith’s shop, but I hear they only come to visit with Hilarion.”
“You know friends love to talk and spend time together. What would be more fun than disrupting other people’s lives in the village down the road when your chances of getting caught are nil?”
“Their day will come, Addai. I promise you, and they won’t like the consequences either.”
“I hope you catch them, Tallis. Otherwise, our residents might rise up and take matters into their own hands. One can only guess what would happen then.”
“Help from our citizens might end up being a blessing for us. We should encourage a few men to assist us. Though I realize we also need more soldiers to provide adequate protection.”
“The new doors will provide better security and make your job easier. Then you will have more soldiers available to guard the lake or hide your troops from view along the streets and on rooftops. When the insurgents feel brave enough, they’ll try to slip into Hammath again and cause more damage. Right now, our village is easy pickings.”
“I hope they do try another attack, Addai. I want them to develop a false sense of confidence, so they become bolder and make a mistake. Then we can capture them in the act, and put an end to their foolishness.”
“You could trade some of them for Benson.”
“Their friends would be so surprised. They think we don’t know what they’re up to. My goal is to dismantle their group. Go after their leadership. We need to create a plan so we can disrupt everything they attempt in the future.”
“I trust your friends in Tiberias provide you with better information than I do. These attacks can’t keep happening much longer, Tallis. The people will turn against you and your soldiers and blame Herod for not protecting our community from those misguided fools.”
“Later this morning, I plan to meet with my Centurion. My hope is he will honor my request for more troops. We can’t wait much longer to strengthen our forces.”
“Trust in God, young fellow, and He will provide for your needs.”
“Thank you, Addai. Here, take these dinars, and I hope you meet Dan one of these days.”
“Good morning, Moss. The doors look great.”
“Once they’re in place, they’ll look fantastic. You’ll find the doors easy to open and close. Two soldiers can do the job, but it will take some effort to lift the beams and put them in place to secure the doors in the closed position. I’m sure your troops can manage the task.”
“My troops will handle the job with ease. This should help us protect Hammath much better during the night.”
“Would you like to join us while my helpers carry the doors to the south gate?”
“I appreciate your invitation, but I’m expecting my Centurion to meet me sometime this morning. I don’t want Kaleb to think I'm rude if he can’t find me when he arrives.”
“As you wish, but don’t say I didn’t invite you. I’m pleased you approve of my work. It was a labor of love.”
A few minutes after Moss and his assistants left with the first set of doors, Kaleb arrived bringing three Conturbeniums along with two wagons filled with supplies, equipment, and personal possessions.
“Good morning, sir. Thank you for coming. I’m glad to see you, but what is all this you brought with you?”
“I read your message yesterday afternoon, and I’m troubled by the deteriorating situation in Hammath. While I can’t provide all the troops you requested, I decided to transfer another Conturbenium to serve under your command. Let me introduce you to your newest Decanus. Tallis, this is Gad. His hometown is Sepphoris, but he thought life was getting too dull, and he requested a change of scenery. Today, he and his men work for you.”
Tallis smiled and thanked his superior for the quick response. “I need to find housing for eleven more soldiers, sir. Do you have any suggestions?”
“
Don’t fret. Gad will share a house with Priam since neither man has a wife. His troops can share rooms with the other single men stationed in Hammath. When I can convince Nikolaos to provide you with more soldiers, we’ll need to use some of the empty residences to resolve the housing situation. We can hire Moss to repair them for us, but we can address the issue when the time comes. Now, where do I find Priam?”
Tallis turned to one of his men stationed at the north gate. “Yusaf, I need you to find Priam and bring him to me. Tell him Kaleb would like to speak with him.”
“The new doors should look spectacular once they’re hanging in place. I hope they serve as a deterrent and discourage your troublemakers from entering Hammath during the night. With one less thing to fret over, you can use your men with greater efficiency. I hope your enemies realize you can overwhelm them, and they’ll decide not to attack your community again.”
“I hope so, but I want to lure them into town and assail them in their complacency, sir. Before they can attack us again, I want to find out who is hiding Benson, and where are they holding him prisoner. Once we know where they’re hiding him, we will create a plan to free our colleague.”
“How will you do this when you don’t know who is attacking your soldiers and the community? It could be two different groups of people.”
“My men and I spend as much time as we can getting acquainted with our neighbors. They are starting to share information with us as we show an interest in their well-being.”
Kaleb’s eyes widened. “You’re a smart young man, Tallis. I would never think of doing such a thing.”
“I need to get a handle on everything going on in Hammath, sir, but let me ask you a question.”
“I don’t have any more soldiers to give you in case you’re going to ask.”
“No, after what happened yesterday, I’d like to begin training my own troops. Our men wouldn’t need to march back and forth to Tiberias, and attacks on my soldiers would no longer be an issue for us.”
“First, I will say yes to your request, but I must receive official authorization from my Superior. Many of your soldiers are raw recruits so regular training will help them become battle ready and improve their effectiveness.”
“We’ll begin training this afternoon. Thank you for your confidence in me, sir.”
“It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me, Tallis. Before I leave, I would like you to escort me on another tour so I can see first-hand what you’re doing to prevent future attacks on Hammath.”
Before heading to the lakeshore, Kaleb gave Priam the honor of taking Gad and his Conturbenium to their new residences.
“Are you ready? I want to show you something before we reach the lake. We’ll stop at my house.”
“Why do we need to visit your place, Tallis?”
“My house doesn’t matter. I want to show you the view from my roof.”
“Why are you wasting my time, young man?”
“Humor me, sir. Please, step inside, and I’ll show you an impressive sight. Follow me up the stairs. … Look you can see the entire lake during the day, but two nights ago I began sitting on my rooftop, watching the water.”
“Why would you do such a crazy thing? Does this calm your soul, or are you getting lazy?”
“Tell me, how do you like the view, Kaleb?”
“It’s nice. Let’s go. You’re wasting my time.”
The Centurion turned to leave. Tallis didn’t move. “Imagine sitting on the roof during the night with nothing but the stars and the moon for light. What do you think you’d see?”
Kaleb waved. “Well, I wouldn’t see a bunch of fishermen who are on the lake as we speak.”
“No, you wouldn’t, but as your eyes adjusted to the darkness, you might detect several boats floating on the water. Far enough from the shore so you wouldn’t notice them if you didn’t pay attention to your surroundings.”
“What’s your point? Why would you sit on your roof and watch people sail up and down the lake in the middle of the night? It sounds like a waste of time to me.”
“Think, sir. Fishermen don’t work during the night very often, and these vessels aren’t sailing. In fact, they don’t float south with the current either. Their anchors are down, so they aren’t moving at all. The boats sit and bob up and down for hours, night after night.”
Kaleb wrinkled his face as he looked at his Triplicarious. “What do you suppose they’re doing?”
“I’ve asked myself the same question. My guess is our enemy is spying on us. They study our troop movements as we protect the waterfront. Over time they figured out we ended our patrols at midnight. With this information, they decided to come ashore. Then they walked to the marketplace and destroyed everything they could without making enough noise to raise our suspicions. With the addition of Priam’s Conturbenium, we can patrol the entire night and vary our routes to make them believe we still go home at the end of the second watch. But, we won’t leave. Instead, we slip into the shadows, hiding from view. If we can lure them into Hammath, we would take prisoners.”
Kaleb didn’t respond for several seconds as he continued to stare at the water, rubbing his chin. “When do you suppose they’ll attack again?”
My Centurion asks too many questions. “Soon, I hope, and this is why I asked you for additional troops. I’m hoping they return, and we will have the great fortune to apprehend them so we can find out what they plan to do next and where they hold Benson. I would like to use them as hostages and exchange one or two of them for our colleague. The others, I’d turn over to Herod.”
“I wish I could do more to help you, Tallis, but there are no more trained troops available at the moment. I hope you understand, but before I forget, Herod began to recruit new men into his Army. But qualified candidates aren’t rushing to the fortress to sign their lives away. Twenty-three years is a long time. The pay is good, and the Tetrarch’s soldiers can marry, unlike the Romans.”
Tallis stared at the lake as Kaleb continued to look out at the water. He’d heard this story before. My Centurion wished the Army had someone to seek out qualified men and convince them to enlist. There are enough Greeks and other nationalities living in Palestine who would serve Herod well for the salary they would receive. All they need is a little encouragement. “I understand the situation facing us, sir, and I realize many, or most Jews living in Galilee and Perea would love to remove the Tetrarch from power. But living under Roman rule would place greater burdens upon our citizens than we experience now. My soldiers and I strive to treat our neighbors with respect and dignity. We try to listen first whenever possible. Do you think Rome would behave in such a manner?”
“Of course not, Tallis. The Romans don’t bother to ask questions, and they’d love to make examples of anyone who causes trouble for them. They would come into the region and start crucifying everyone who committed a crime. If they make a mistake, so what.”
“If the Romans took control of Galilee, Abigail and I would move as far away as possible. I don’t want to work for Rome.”
“Don’t worry, Tallis. They wouldn’t want you anyway. You’re a married man and ask too many questions. Besides, they might send you to Gaul.”
“Funny, sir. Come. Let’s complete our tour.”
“Why haven’t I seen Bazak this morning?”
“He needs to sleep sometime. His Conturbenium patrolled the entire night, but I did see him after his shift ended this earlier. Like me, Bazak spends part of his night on his roof gazing at the water. With the new Conturbenium, we may hide a few more soldiers on rooftops. Then we can surprise any intruders entering the village from the lake.”
“I’m beginning to think the stress is getting to you and your Decanuses, Tallis.”
The two soldiers arrived at the south gate. “Take a look at these doors, sir. Due to the wood’s thickness, breaching them will become impossible and time-consuming. My plans include posting two men at each gate. I don’t want any soldier to work alone so so
mebody can jump them by surprise, open the doors, and let the comrades in so they can attack us from the rear.”
“I’m pleased you learned something from me, and thank you for accompanying me this morning. Having two more Conturbeniums at your disposal will send a message to anyone watching you and your troops. Don’t cause trouble in Hammath.”
“I enjoyed our visit, sir. I hope you manage to convince Nikolaos to provide us with a fourth Conturbenium. Though an entire Century would enable us to become much more efficient.”
“I’m not going to promise you anything, young man. I will speak to Nikolaos, again, on your behalf, and find out what we can do to further support you and this community. After I check on Priam and his troops, I’ll head back to Tiberias. Good day.”
Chapter 19