Scutarius

In the high Alps, Tiberius is conducting a campaign against tribes resisting Roman expansion. Julius Quintus Quirinius, now first-spear centurion of a depleted and irregular cohort, is sent behind enemy lines. His men are to act as scutarii—shield-bearers who clear routes, disrupt opposition and protect the advance of the main Roman armies.

Successful service could restore the cohort’s formal place in the legions and finally bring Quintus closer to Rome. Instead, rapidly changing weather traps the soldiers in deep snow and unfamiliar mountains beyond easy reinforcement. Quintus must find the campaign again, keep his men alive and fulfil Tiberius’s orders before winter and the local warriors eliminate a force already weakened by years of punishment.