However, the fighting that had taken once place between combatants became pure slaughter. In a swarming sea of half-naked, blood-frenzied barbarians, a hundred deep in every direction, Joth kept Rinka at arm’s length, intent on keeping her safe near Arminius and the barricades, and within sight of Varus and the last pocket of Roman resistance. Having suffered a wound in one of the ceaseless attacks, the governor and the last of his officers sought refuge behind a few overturned oxcarts. It was similar in construction to the one that Arminius had eventually overpowered after Joth had quit the battle in search of Rinka at the Cherusci camps where the women had been raped and murdered. Varus and his men were huddled behind mass of wood planks, …show more content…
“Arminius Rex!” proclaimed a third.
Basking in the praise, Arminius raised his right hand to silence them. “We have won a great battle,” he orated; his words received a resounding cheer. “But I fear Caesar will return.”
“Bring on the Romans; we need more bodies for our pyres!” Falken the Elder insisted. Food and wine dripped from his filthy beard. His leather and tunic remained bloodstained-brown. More pounding on colorful shields followed his words.
Arminius silenced them all with a raised hand. “What happened here, in this forest, was a great victory for our people.” More cheering followed and more framea handles were pounded against shields, creating a rapid-fire staccato thumping.
Once again, Arminius quieted them with a raised hand. “But I fear that there Germanic tribesmen still loyal to Rome among us,” he warned. “In the villages at the Rhine banks, where Germanic people and still live and trade with their Roman masters, and in the garrisons to the west, where Caesar will stage his revenge, the threat will grow, like a seedling in the springtime only to become a hearty plant at harvest.”
His words prompted howls and jeers. “We shall destroy all those tribes allied to Rome!” demanded one robust noble with his captured Roman gladius pointed toward the