"Vana quoque ad veros accessit fama timores."
"Idle rumours were also added to well-founded apprehensions."
- Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Roman poet during Nero's reign
The Sanjek left his post on the tower and began parading across the army.
He needs to show himself in front of every single soldier here, to show that he is perfectly fine and healthy, to make them actually believe that the rumour is indeed a rumour. The Sanjek knows that there must be some thing fishy in the army when he heard reports of the gossips turning into a widespread rumour in such a short period of time, but he has no time and mood to sort it now. Though he can still use the chance to make speeches everywhere and increase his men's morales.
