The Goat Herders peered out from under the cover of their bush and watched an army discharge itself from twenty or so Galleys. Their Middle Brother had been sent to warn the village but as the elder of the two remaining Goat Herds looked on, he knew that if this Army wanted to ransack his village there would be nothing it's inhabitants could do but hide, he vowed to protect his brothers. When they had realised the unusual sight of a fleet were headed straight at them they had moved the herd from the cliffs into the nearby forest.
They were quite used to seeing boats at sea crossing their horizon they were also adept at recognising the national traits of each ship, as their father had taught them to keep watch for raiders from the north. Even the Youngest Goat Herd knew that this fleet was mostly Roman Galleys with a handful of other trade vessels from around the empire thrown in.
What the Elder Goat Herd wandered as he looked on was why a Roman fleet were supposedly invading their own empire why wouldn't they have landed at a port?
The first of the men who had landed had fanned out and set a perimeter guard around the beach. As horses carts and goods were unloaded from the ships. Looking into the woods a couple Sentries now came to stand close to where the Goat Herds watched from.
From this distance the Elder Brother could see that many of the Soldiers were younger than he was. They could of been the boys from his village but they looked tough, they carried their armour well and their bare arms revealed taught muscle. The strangest thing the Elder Brother noticed was the weapons that they carried across their chest. They looked to be a club of wood and polished metal.
A man on a horse rode up the beach and spoke with the nearest Sentries. The soldiers were close enough to get heard. The Horseman spoke Latin with a Roman accent. The Sentries accent’s were mixed. The Goat Herds hadn't met enough strangers to place them.
The Elder Brother was straining to hear the conversation when from behind him a dog flew out of the woods and straight for the horse. The small dog was one of the dogs the Goat Herds used to herd the flock. It's job was to round up the stray Goats by nipping at their heals. It occurred to the Elder Goat Herd the dog may not of seen a horse before and had mistook it for large Goat.
The Sentries raised their weapons but the dog was in amongst the horses legs. The horse remain calm and then kicked the dog in the head. The dog flew across the ground and the Younger Goat Herd let out a shriek. The weapons were pointed at their bush. The man on the horse ordered them out.
‘Stay low and run home’ the Elder whispered to his brother and with that he stood and came from the bush.
He saw a Sentry take aim with his strange weapon at his brother but the man on the horse ordered them at ease. ‘What’s your business boy.’
The Goat Herd felt angry at being addressed as a boy but he was wise enough not to show it. ‘I‘m a Goat Herd lord.’
‘Are there more of you in the bush?’
‘My Brothers lord. I sent them home.’
‘Where’s your flock?’
The Goat Herd whistled and his remaining dogs brought the flock from the forest toward him.
‘A fine flock, twenty heads?’
‘Eighteen.’
‘I‘ll by them from you. To feed my men.’
‘Sir?’ He knew legally the army could take what it wanted.
‘How much?’
‘May I keep six sir.’ He thought of the milk his family needed.
‘Of course how much for twelve?’
The Goat Herd knew the price of Goats he had driving flocks to market since he was five but he didn't know if the Man on the Horse was toying with him. ‘Twelve bronze coins.’ this was half of what they were worth but he figured the Soldiers might punish him for being greedy.
The Man on the Horse laughed. ‘Your father would more likely kill you, than me, if you were tell him you sold them to me at that price.’ He reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a purse. ‘Show me my twelve.’ The Goat Herd walked into the flock and pulled the six females he wanted to keep and with a series of whistles herded the rest toward the Soldiers. The Man got down from his horse and inspected them. ‘They look good. I'll give you four gold.’
The Goat Herd didn't know what to say. Four gold was five times what they were worth. He looked at the other Soldiers to see if they were grinning at him but they were sour faced scanning the woods for more movement. ‘Four gold is too much sir.’
‘Nonsense’ The Man took four gold coins from his purse and gave them to the Goat Herd. He then instructed a sentry to go down the beach for a cart. He returned his purse to his saddle bag and remounted his horse. Then from a holster on his saddle he pulled a weapon exactly the same as the sentry’s. He put it to his shoulder and aimed it at the Goats. The weapon released a cacophony of cracks like thunder and before he knew it the Goat Herd was stood in amongst twelve dead Goats and a puddle of his own piss.
‘Where's the coast road from here?’
‘Two miles that way.’
‘Take your Goats home and never speak of us.’
The Goat Herd obeyed.