“Good point,” muttered Priscus. He turned, along with Isaac, and plodded after Belisarius. The general was heading toward the heavy-walled warehouse where the Roman army had set up its headquarters. Priscus eyed the figure of his tall general, stooping into a small door. “At least he’s got the good sense to leave before the blades get wet.”
“So far,” grunted Isaac. He tugged at one of the straps holding up his heavy cataphract gear. “Damn, I’m sick of walking around in this armor.”
The cataphracts plodded on a few more steps. As they came to the door, Isaac repeated: “So far. But don’t get your hopes up. Two weeks from now, three at the outside, the Malwa will have reached the harbor. You know what’ll happen, when that day comes.”
Priscus scowled. “Sallies, lance charges, the whole bit—with the general right in the middle of it. We’ll wish Valentinian were here, then.”
On that gloomy note, the two cataphracts stooped and forced their armored way through a door designed for midgets. The door led into what seemed to be a six-foot-long tunnel in the massive wall of the warehouse. The effort of that passage left them practically snarling.
Five minutes later, they were smiling like cherubs.
Chapter 37
As soon as Belisarius straightened after squeezing through the narrow passage, he saw Bouzes rushing toward him. Except for a well-lit area against the far wall, where Belisarius had set up his writing desk and map table, the interior of the cavernous warehouse was dark. Bouzes was in such a hurry that he tripped over some debris lying on the floor and wound up stumbling into Belisarius’ arms.
“Easy, there, easy,” chuckled Belisarius. He set Bouzes back up straight. “Things can’t be that bad.”
Bouzes muttered a quick apology. Then, pointing toward a door on the opposite wall: “Maurice says you’ve got to go up and see something. He told me to tell you as soon as you arrived.”
Belisarius brow was creased, just slightly. “What’s the problem?”
Bouzes shook his head. “Don’t know. Maurice wouldn’t tell me anything else. But he was very emphatic about it.”
Belisarius strode toward the door. Behind him, he heard the heavy footsteps of his armored cataphracts following. The door, like the one he had just passed through, was low and narrow. Again, Belisarius had to stoop to pass through. Except for the huge doors designed for freight, the entire warehouse seemed to have been built by dwarves.
Once through the door, he clambered up a wooden staircase leading to the roof. As quickly as Belisarius was moving, the effort of negotiating the steep and narrow stairs was considerable, even for a man in his excellent condition and wearing only half-armor. He felt a moment’s sympathy for his cataphract bodyguards. They’d be huffing by the time they made the same climb.
The staircase debouched into a small chamber. Again, Belisarius squeezed through a tiny door, and emerged into open air. Behind him, the northern wall of the warehouse reared up like a battlement. Ahead of him, the brick roof—braced underneath by heavy beams—formed a flat expanse stretching toward the sea. He could see the delta, glistening under a midday sun.
Belisarius had selected this warehouse for his headquarters because of its odd design. At one time, he suspected, the north wall of the building had been the outer wall of Charax. It was built like a fortification, at least—which might explain the tiny doors. When Charax expanded, and new walls were built, some enterprising merchant had simply built his warehouse against the six-foot-thick northern wall. The end result, so far as the Roman general was concerned, was as good a field headquarters as he could ask for. The massive north wall gave some protection from artillery while, at the same time, the flat roof provided him with a perfect vantage point from which to observe the delta.
He saw Maurice standing on the southern edge of the roof. There was no railing to keep someone from pitching over the side onto the docks thirty feet below, but Maurice seemed unconcerned. The chiliarch had apparently heard the squeaking of the door, for he was already looking at Belisarius when the general emerged onto the roof.