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By Root 4111 0

form of an old man with a hood over his head: and if any man saw him then, he knew that he would have good luck all year. The fields were protected by the corn maiden, whose sacred rites were held at Samain, the great feast at the beginning of winter. And the chalk ridges were protected by Leucetius the god of lightning, who would strike dead any invader who dared to disturb the ancient tombs on the high ground. The henge, too, was protected by his own ancestors the ten giants, the greatest of whom had three heads which grew again if they were cut off. The dune was protected by Modron the war goddess with her ravens. His own family – were they not under the personal protection of great Nodens the cloudmaker, to whom they had built a shrine?

Sarum and its ruling family might have fallen from their former greatness, but they still had powerful allies amongst the gods.

Tosutigus still possessed, locked in a great oak chest, the huge iron sword of Coolin the Warrior. All Sarum knew that with this sword, centuries ago, the mighty Coolin had slain a chief from the north. Everyone knew the story of how he had then cut off his head and made the skull into a drinking cup; of how, the first time he had raised it to his lips the skull had righted itself and, in front of all his companions, had started to speak and had prophesied that as long as the family of Coolin dwelt there, Sarum would never be taken in battle.

With such protection, the people of Sarum believed, their dune was impregnable.

As Tosutigus contemplated these matters with a grim smile, he realised that the old man was still talking to him.

“You have the protection of the Druids as well,” Aflek reminded him smugly. “There is nothing to fear.”

The power of the Druids varied from tribe to tribe, depending upon the attitude of the ruler. The Belgae often favoured these priests because their secret network helped to stir up trouble for the Romans in Gaul. The Durotriges also honoured the priests because they represented the Celtic gods in defiance of everything Roman. In other parts of the island, while the gods were worshipped, the Druids often had little power. Recently however, Tosutigus knew, Druid priests had travelled far and wide performing a flurry of ceremonies and sacrifices to the war gods to ensure that the Roman invasion would be beaten back. Until five years before, a community of Druids had worshipped at a sanctuary near Stonehenge, and his father had been obliged to support them. It had been costly and the Druids often complained about the meagre provisions they were given. Then they moved north-west to a council of Druids that was held at the island of Anglesey, two hundred miles away, and to his family’s relief they had never returned. Two months before, however, Aflek had arrived at Sarum from Maiden Castle; and the young chief had no doubt that he had been sent by the Durotriges as a spy.

Tosutigus did not reply to the Druid; for even as the old man spoke, his eye was caught by a flash of metal in the woods to the south. All four men had seen it, and all four now stared intently at the place from which it had come. Several minutes passed, and then they saw what they had awaited for so long – a column of Roman soldiers crossing a small patch of open ground two miles away.

At last. The moment had come. His plan was ready.

“Bar the gate,” he said curtly to Numex: “When I give the order, everyone is to man the walls.” The carpenter and his brother hurried away.

The Druid began to shout imprecations. “Modron, goddess of war, smite our enemy; Nodens the cloudmaker, protect your people!”

He seized the young chief by the arm.

“Modron will give you victory,” he reassured him earnestly. “The gods will destroy these invaders.”

But Tosutigus was paying him no attention.

“You Druids said they would never get across the sea,” he muttered.

This was true. The year before, the Druids had sworn that the sea god would swallow up the Roman fleet before it ever reached the island’s shores.

The young chief turned to face the older man.

“You must go now,” he