Command decisions legion.., p.1
Command Decisions (Legionnaire Book 20), page 1
LEGIONNAIRE
BOOK 20
COMMAND DECISIONS
By Gilbert M. Stack
Amazon Edition
Copyright 2025 by Gilbert M. Stack
Cover Copyright 2025 by Shirley Burnett
Map Copyright 2018 by Chris L. Adams
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Map of the Jeweled Cities
Map of the Southern Jeweled Cities
Table of Contents
Map of the Jeweled Cities
Map of the Southern Jeweled Cities
Dedication
Prologue: How Long until We Reach These Barbarians?
Chapter One: He Wanted to Take the Whole Town
Chapter Two: We Are Gota!
Chapter Three: Now What’s the Bad News?
Chapter Five: They Are Not Your Warriors
Chapter Six: Sufficient for Its Purpose
Chapter Seven: Men No Ready
Chapter Eight: Is There a Problem, Capitán?
Chapter Nine: The Princely Sum of Five Hundred Thousand Sceatta
Chapter Ten: Did You Learn Anything Practical?
Chapter Eleven: Two Sides Clashing Violently
Chapter Twelve: We Will Do It My Way
Chapter Thirteen: A Core of Courage
Chapter Fourteen: He’s Running Away
Chapter Fifteen: We All Respect Your Zeal for Battle
Chapter Sixteen: Taste My Steel
Chapter Seventeen: Get Out of My Way!
Chapter Eighteen: She’s a Wū Yī
Chapter Nineteen: Mounted Gente Coming Toward the Gate
Chapter Twenty: A Lot of Reinforcements
Chapter Twenty-One: Follow Me!
Chapter Twenty-Two: So that the Liberation of Parades Could Begin
Chapter Twenty-Three: Fulgus Likes a Cunning Man
Chapter Twenty-Four: Why Did You Scowl?
Chapter Twenty-Five: Yessenia Is a Distraction
Chapter Twenty-Six: You Should Get Rid of Him
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Something Isn’t Right Here
Chapter Twenty-Eight: This Just Gets Worse and Worse
Chapter Twenty-Nine: They Outnumber Us
Chapter Thirty: It May Burn Me
Chapter Thirty-One: Now You’re Just Dead
Chapter Thirty-Two: I Need Fifty Warriors
Chapter Thirty-Three: I Know What Is Going to Happen
Chapter Thirty-Four: If You Don’t Form Square
Chapter Thirty-Five: With Her Magic
Chapter Thirty-Six: This Legion in Terreno Espinoso
Chapter Thirty-Seven: We Should Be Able to Track Them Down
Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Small Complication
Chapter Thirty-Nine: If You Lead Us
Chapter Forty: Those Men Aren’t Old
Chapter Forty-One: What I Love Most in All the World
Chapter Forty-Two: With the Clouds Breaking Overhead
Chapter Forty-Three: Ten Minutes
Chapter Forty-Four: A Bunch of Old Men
Chapter Forty-Five: Waves Block Out the Sky
Chapter Forty-Six: The Ways of Fighting Have Changed
Chapter Forty-Seven: Until the Storm Broke
Epilogue
Excerpt: Local Legend
About the Author, Gilbert M. Stack
Other Works by Gilbert M. Stack
Contact Gilbert M. Stack
Dedication
This one is for Terry Mancour and his Spellmonger series. Mancour has managed to create both a complex and believable magical system and a political backdrop to his medieval fantasy world that rings true and creates plenty of problems for his protagonist. Neither of those things is easy to do and both are critically important when your hero is a wizard who is singlehandedly trying to rally a defense to a massive goblin invasion. He’s also not afraid to empower his bad guys. Even as the good guys get their acts together, the bad guys also constantly strengthen and improve. The result is a truly impressive series with loads of action and dramatic tension. Thanks, Mr. Mancour.
And as always, this novel is also for anyone who loves stories of ancient Rome and enjoys wondering how those legions would have fared against the great threats of fantasy literature. With your shield or on it, Marcus!
With Prefect Marcus trapped by the Curse of Madre Tierra, it fell to his capitáns and allies to assume command of the war.
Seneca Liberus
Prologue: How Long until We Reach These Barbarians?
The Bottomless Sea East of The Jeweled Coast
“We have been on the Bottomless Sea for weeks, admiral,” General Lei Peng observed as he joined Gui Hai at the prow of the Guāngróng de Shènglì, the command ship of the fleet their dreaded emperor had sent to assist the soon-to-be vassal state of Diamonte on its path to conquering all of the Jeweled Cities. “I bet you look forward to the day when we have enslaved those wind magos of the coast up ahead so that you can direct them to speed your journey.”
“That will be a formidable advantage to our fighting strength when we take the coming war to Aquila,” the admiral conceded.
Ahead of the two men, there was nothing but ocean, a rolling gray expanse that never seemed to change. Peng sometimes fancied that it went on forever and that talk of the Jeweled Coast and the Jeweled Hills were just figments of some sailor’s imagination. He had written a poem about his experience.
The gray ocean rolls
Ever toward the west
Searching for a coast
That does not exist
He played with the words in his mind, not quite happy with the execution of his fancy while he and the admiral continued to stare out across the water.
Abruptly, Admiral Gui intruded into his thoughts. “Your men will be ready to fight the moment we arrive?”
“It would be better if we had a few days for them to recover their land legs, but they are soldiers of the Qing Empire. They will do their duty.” He paused for a moment to make certain that the admiral absorbed his confirmation of the army’s readiness before adding, “but it should not be necessary to fight right away. Diamonte has foolishly invited us to help them in their war against their neighbors.”
“That is true,” the admiral conceded, “but it is always best to be prepared for any eventuality.”
“The reports I have been given on these barbarians do not suggest that they could present a substantial threat to us even if their welcome turns hostile,” Peng noted.
“Hmmm,” the admiral took the time to consider again something that he had already studied in great detail. “While that is obviously true in the final analysis—the Gota of the Jeweled Cities are far too fragmented and disunited to join their strength against us early on when they would have the best chance of frustrating our arrival in their lands—I am not certain that we would be able to do so without using our bùsǐ zú jūnduì.”
“That may be true,” Peng reluctantly agreed. “We have not seen what the Gota cavalry can actually accomplish yet.”
“And the Dread Minister to the Barbarians was quite explicit. He does not want the Gota and their Gente subjects to see the skeletons and our other bùsǐ zú jūnduì at this time. They were requisitioned to us only to serve as a final resort if our mission has failed.”
“It would be a grave embarrassment to be forced to waken them,” Peng observed.
“So, we will not waken them,” the admiral ordered. “When we can do so discreetly, we will remove them from our holds and secure them on land for the time in which we must teach this barbarian, Clovis, that he exists only to be the puppet of our Dread Emperor. Now, have you any other concerns with the mission?”
“I have but two,” Peng confided.
“And they are?” the admiral prompted him.
“There was a report that suggested Aquila, in the form of one of its patricians, Prefect Marcus Venandus, had already infiltrated the Jeweled Cities to prepare the groundwork for their own conquest,” the general reminded the admiral.
“I am assured that Aquila is not supporting this Venandus,” the admiral assured him.
“I saw those reports,” Peng admitted, “but I interpreted them differently than you have.”
“Meaning?”
“I read them to mean that the faction that held the consulships a year ago was not using this tribune, but that others with greater foresight had positioned him to create the excuse that they would need to come to power and start the war for the Jeweled Cities.”
The admiral frowned. “That would be unfortunate. One of the reasons that we have been ordered to work through this puppet, Clovis, is to keep the Aquilans from becoming concerned about our presence. You must make it a point to direct these puppets to seek out and kill the Aquilans wherever we find them.”
The general nodded his agreement.
“And the other concern?” the admiral prompted.
“It is always difficult for our young officers to deal with barbarians,” Peng noted. “They are proud young noblemen who have difficulty understanding that the boorish behaviors of unc
“You will have to keep a tight rein on your officers, letting only the most trustworthy act where you cannot exercise complete control,” the admiral ordered.
“That is what I intend to do,” Peng assured him. Then he changed the subject. “How long until we reach these barbarians?”
“A week to ten days,” the admiral told him. “Less if the storm behind us continues to strengthen and catches the fleet.”
“Does this storm concern you?” Peng asked. He had not been aware that one was coming.
The admiral shrugged. “We may lose a couple of vessels and be scattered so that we need to take the time to reunite as we approach the coast, but I don’t foresee any true difficulties arising from this tempest.”
“A week to ten days,” Peng repeated, “and we can begin subtly claiming this land for the Qing.”
Chapter One: He Wanted to Take the Whole Town
Puertos Granos, Diamonte
“That’s Puertos Granos, Warrior Rollo,” Warrior Wolfgar pointed at the fortifications as they approached and Rollo got his first look at the defenses of this so-called legion. He was having a lot of trouble taking them seriously. Maybe if they were the real thing from Aquila he would have felt more cautious, but whatever fancy name you wanted to give it, this was still just an army composed of the worthless Gente and Qing.
The fortifications—such as they were—reinforced his already low opinion of his foes. There was a wooden palisade, probably fronted with a ditch and a wooden watch tower overlooking the road that Rollo, Wolfgar, and three hundred warriors from the city of Rubí were using for their approach. The road went directly into the fortress—apparently without even a ditch to make passage through it more difficult—and the gate was currently open.
“It certainly doesn’t look like much,” he told Wolfgar.
“I agree,” Wolfgar told him, “and yet, without even those defenses, the legionnaires currently in Puertos Granos killed hundreds of Gota warriors when they attacked with Thegn Clovis.” He hesitated as if hating to admit the next thing. “They killed them and then drove the thegn out again. Some say he and High Mago Deverel were lucky to escape.”
Rollo turned the urge to laugh into a loud harumph. The very idea that Clovis, the mighty thegn of Diamonte, had had to escape from a bunch of Qing and Gente amazed him. What had happened to that once proud man? The word in Rollo’s own city of Rubí was that Clovis had sent so many men through the pass to assault tiny Amatista that he’d had nothing left when this legion snuck through the same pass after his army had gone through and surprised not one, but two, of his major cities. That was why Rollo had gathered together three hundred of his fellow warriors and taken ships south instead of joining one of the many troops looking to take advantage of the chaos in the central Jeweled Hills where the opportunities were also extraordinary.
It had all begun when the thegn of Peridota had gotten himself killed trying to aid a coup in Amatista. His lands had descended into chaos as his many sons fought for the right to become the new thegn. Then Diamonte’s war against Amatista had begun and turned into disaster for his allies in Morganita and Granate. Headless, both lands had descended into further chaos. Now, the thegn of Circon had gotten himself assassinated right after putting five thousand warriors into leaderless Peridota, sending that great city spiraling down into the same chaos as the other cities as men contested with each other in a growing civil war. That had led Aquamarina, Espinella, Turquesa, and Perla to get involved in the civil strife—each striving to carve off territory for themselves while picking the next thegn of those headless city states. It was madness with Gota killing Gota on a level that had not been seen in two centuries.
That was what had ultimately led Rollo to lead men south to Diamonte. He wouldn’t be fighting other Gota here—men who had the skill and the numbers to pose a serious threat. No, the Gota had all left Diamonte to fight the war in Amatista leaving great estates for the taking once Rollo wiped away this ridiculous legion.
“What’s that happening up ahead?” Wolfgar asked and Rollo pulled his thoughts back together to spy out what the other man had seen.
Ahead of them, about a hundred feet from the open gate, fire sprang out and rapidly spread, climbing high even at it sent black smoke billowing up toward the sky.
“Their wall is on fire?” Rollo muttered before turning on Wolfgar. “Did Lord Fritigern send out another group of warriors in addition to us?”
“I don’t think so, warrior,” Wolfgar told him. “But honestly, it is possible he has other scouts out here looking for the enemy.”
“But he sent us to Puerto Granos,” Rollo complained before urging his horse into a trot. “Let’s take a closer look.”
The three hundred warriors from Rubí all followed after him as the Gota rapidly closed the distance to the burning wall. Ahead of them, men scrambling to put out the fire without much success and chaos began to spread outward from the flames as men tried to respond to it running through the gate with buckets of water as if they could possibly carry enough of them to douse that fire.
Those men were clearly vulnerable to him, but Rollo didn’t care about killing a few dozen Qing—he wanted to take the whole town right now and prove to Lord Fritigern that he was a man who could be depended on to get things done.
He urged his horse into a cantor.
“I believe I owe you an apology, Capitán Calidus,” Senior Mago Efraín Estudioso observed from his place near the wall a little to the right of the part that was supposedly being consumed by torrential flames. The fire resulted from Acting Magus Seneca Liberus spewing a truly excessive amount of flame into the air in his effort to make the burning of the wall look far more serious than the bit of pre-laid brush that was actually on fire.
“And why is that, senior mago?” Calidus asked the ranking Gente magical practitioner in the legion. Both men had known each other for more than a year now, but unlike Prefect Marcus and the senior mago, they had not become friends. The problem, in Calidus’ mind, was that Efraín was a scion of the absolutely highest ranks of Gente society as Marcus was in Aquila. While not technically a nobleman or a merchant, both groups lauded the magos with all the respect that a man could possibly covet. Even the Gota ruling class usually managed to keep a polite tongue when speaking to a member of one of the magical families. It just made good sense. Most people believed that magos could do so much worse than kill you if you managed to anger one.
“I owe you an apology,” Efraín elaborated, “because I thought this idea was idiotic. It was only my respect for your rank as the acting leader of this legion that prevented me from telling you in no uncertain terms that not even the Gota could be so stupid that they would fall for a trick like this—again.”
Calidus made no effort to keep the grin off his face. Unlike the senior mago, he had been born into the poorest echelon of Aquilan society. He’d never met his father or heard his name and his mother had had so many men visiting her that unkind terms like prostitute and whore probably legitimately applied to her. He himself had grown up to be a conman and a petty thief until he got unlucky and was given the choice of either joining the legions of Aquila or becoming a slave.
Except, it didn’t prove to be unfortunate. Joining the legion had changed Calidus’ life. It had brought him under the command of Prefect Marcus Venandus and that great man had seen something in Calidus that he had never noticed in himself. He had mentored him, taught him to read, promoted him twice, and taken him into exile with him when enemies in the senate had managed to twist heroic actions that had saved a whole Aquilan province into some type of disgusting treason.
Here in the Jeweled Cities, the prefect had promoted Calidus even higher, so that now, while he the great man was unable to lead due to the curse of Madre Tierra, Calidus had been given command of the entire legion fighting in Diamonte.
“Do you mean to tell me that you didn’t think the Gota would hurry in to investigate the fire consuming our defenses?” Calidus teased the older man. “You didn’t think they would take one look at the still open gate and ride directly into our hands?”
“That is precisely what I intended to say,” Efraín assured him. “It is as if they have learned nothing from all their losses to us in the past year.”
