3 Warriors Awake!

3 WARRIORS AWAKE! Annie and Jack stood on the main road. The road passed through the center of the camp. It was lined with rows of wooden buildings. "Where is everybody?" Annie asked. "I don't know," said Jack. "These buildings look like barracks. That's where warriors sleep." "Oh. So maybe they're still asleep," said Annie. "No chance," said Jack. "Roman warriors get up before dawn. Maybe they went on a march." "Where did our guy on the black horse go?" said Annie.

"He disappeared," said Jack, looking around. "I wish we had a research book." "Don't worry, you know a lot," said Annie. "Not enough," said Jack. "Let's explore and see what we can find out," said Annie. Jack and Annie started down the stone road. They stopped at a flagpole. A red flag was waving in the wind. On the flag was the figure of a ram. Below the ram were two words: Legion Gemina. The words were followed by three capital letters: XIV. "Those letters stand for the number fourteen," said Jack. "They're called Roman numerals." "I actually knew that," said Annie. "Our teacher taught us Roman numerals." "Cool," said Jack. Then they both made notes about the flag. "Hey," said Annie. "Hear that noise?"

Jack listened. Sounds were coming from the far end of the camp. "Let's check it out," he said. Jack and Annie hurried down the road. The sounds grew louder. "Something's going on outside the walls," said Jack. Jack and Annie hurried past the rows of barracks, until they came to the camp's rear gate. "Mars the Victor!" Annie called to a guard. The guard waved them on, and they stepped through the gate onto a huge frosty field. "Oh, man!" said Jack. "Warriors! Finally!" said Annie. Hundreds of men were training on the field. They all wore armor and helmets. They were running, boxing, wrestling, throwing spears, and shooting arrows at targets. Not far away, a huge man was barking orders at a team of runners. He had a red

plume on his helmet and medals on his armor, and he waved a big stick. "Hey—a centurion!" said Annie. "Yep," Jack said. "You gave a perfect description," said Annie. "Double time!" the centurion yelled. The runners ran twice as fast. They were wearing heavy armor with huge packs strapped to their backs. "Remember how our rhyme says we should do what warriors do?" said Annie. "Ha!" said Jack. "There's no way I can do

what those guys are doing." "Me neither," said Annie. "But let's get closer to them and take some notes." Their feet crunched over the frozen grass as they headed toward the runners. "Halt!" a loud voice thundered. The tall, burly centurion had spotted them. He dropped his stick and pulled out his sword. "Yikes," said Annie. "Word of the day!" the huge man shouted, striding toward them. "Loud and clear!" "Mars the Victor!" Jack shouted. His heart was pounding. "We're visiting scholars under the command of the Imperial Guard!" "We're taking notes on the legion!" said Annie, holding up her tablet. "We want to report on your good work!" The centurion studied them. Then he put away his sword. He pointed at the runners. "Fighters in training!" he roared. "Best training in the world! Write it down!"

Jack's hand trembled as he took notes. "What's in their packs?" Annie asked. "Food, water, bedroll, pans, hand mill, spade, ax," the centurion shouted, "plus sixty pounds of weapons! Best weapons in the world! Write it down!" Jack and Annie took notes. "Do they train every day?" asked Jack. "Of course!" said the centurion. "And three times a month, they march twenty miles with full armor and packs! If one gets out of step, he is punished. If he deserts his comrades, he is slain! Those are the rules." Whoa, thought Jack. "Are there any women soldiers?" asked Annie. "Certainly not!" said the centurion. "Females have no fighting skills!" "You don't know our aunt Sally," murmured Annie. "Shush," said Jack.