Sword for Hire

by Griff Hosker

  We parted the next day. Burchard von Bruggeneye was an adventurer. This life would suit him. We went back a different way. Now that I knew their king was dead this land was less safe. We had left a trail south. I wanted no ambushes as we headed north. We followed the river downstream. The grass was lush there and afforded good grazing. The trees which lined it gave shelter and shade and the river meant our horses could be watered. It made camping easier. We made thirty miles that first day. My men put lines in the river to catch fish and we built our camp. The main channel of the river here was both narrow and shallow. There were many smaller branches. We camped by the main branch protected on two sides by water. I was looking forward to a trouble-free journey home. The man in the river prevented that. It was Skuld who found him. Skuld whinnied and we drew our weapons. My men had learned to trust his instincts.

  It was getting on to dusk. Mordaf had good eyes and it was he who spotted him. There was a wounded man clinging on to an overhanging branch of the river. He looked barely alive. Mordaf looked at me. I nodded. I had no idea if this was an enemy or not. He looked to be alone and I took the chance. Gruffyd helped his brother to drag the wounded man to the fire. Edward used his knife to cut away the cloth of his tunic. The man was not an Estonian. His clothes were too well made. As the torn material fell away we saw the wooden cross around his neck. Crudely made it still identified him as Christian.

  “Lord, he has a bad wound along his side. He has lost blood.”

  “Clean it with vinegar and then have him stitched. Will son of Robin, you are handy with a needle.”

  “Aye lord.”

  “He is unconscious. Do it quickly.” I turned, “Have some honeyed ale prepared.”

  Jack son of Harold said, “He is more dead than alive lord. It is a waste of good ale if you ask me.” We had a limited amount of ale and Jack was like his father in that respect. He liked a drink.

  “Nonetheless he will have the honeyed ale. What is a Christian doing here deep in the land of the pagan?”

  I sat and watched as the man was stitched. He did not look either Slavic or Estonian. His skin was not tanned nor was it as pale as those who lived in these parts. He was not Swede or Dane. I put his age to be older than me. He looked to have seen more than thirty summers. His hands were gnarled and showed evidence of hard work. He was not well fed but his body was muscled. He was an enigma. No matter how hard I thought I could not come up with an explanation.

  We ate while he slept. The ale was kept warm in a metal pot by the fire. We kept a good guard. I was about to retire when he moved. David of Wales and Edward were on watch and we all went to the man’s side, “Edward, fetch the ale.”

  Edward put a good glug of honey into the warm ale and stirred it. He had put in some dried rosemary. We believed it helped to heal but, even if it did not, we liked the smell. David held the man’s head while Edward poured the warmed ale into his mouth. He coughed a little.

  “Don’t waste it, my friend.”

  Suddenly the man’s eyes opened wide, “You are English!”

  The enigma had become even more confusing. What was an Englishman doing here in the middle of this wild and pagan land? “I am Sir Thomas. We are English warriors serving Bishop Albert of Riga. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

  Edward said, “Lord, let him drink some more. He is weak.”

  I nodded, “You are right to chastise me, Edward. Drink friend. We can wait a few moments for your story.”

  The man drank deeply and then shook his head, “You are wrong, lord. We have no time to waste. My lady is in trouble and she needs your help.” He struggled to sit up.

  “Be careful, my friend, you have a wound which we have stitched.”

  “I am John of Derby and I serve Lady Margaret the daughter of Sir William Mowbray. My lady recently married a German knight, Diderick von der Borch. We were on our way to Riga for he wished to speak with his cousin who serves with the Livonian Brothers of the Swords. We were ambushed yesterday.” He looked around to orientate himself. “Where is the river?”

  Edward pointed to the west, “Yonder. It is where we found you.”

  “We were west of the river. It was a band of Slavs, or so Sir Diderick’s squire, young Johann said. The baron’s men fought hard, we all did. I was told to flee with Lady Margaret, her two ladies and Johann. We headed for the river. They chased us and I was hit and fell into the water. I must have lost consciousness for I did not wake until…”

  “Until just now.” I stood. “David, wake the men, we ride.”

  “But it is night time, lord.”

  I nodded, “And there may be English women out there. They too may have fallen from their horses or, even worse, taken by the Slavs.”

  “There may be Slavs waiting too, lord.”

  “I am counting on that for if there are they will have a fire and we will be able to see them.”

  The men were roused.

  “John of Derby, how many men were there in this band?”

  “They had twenty on horses but there were two score or more who rose from the grass when they ambushed us.”

  That meant that there had been sixty Slavs. I had to hope that this baron had killed some or we would struggle to overcome them. This was their land and they would have friends nearby. We were now in a land which was unconquered.

  We used one of the ponies for John of Derby and we forded the rivers. It was not easy. I feared for John of Derby as the river was swift and I prayed he would not be swept towards the sea. We made it. After we had adjusted our girths I pointed south. We would go upstream. I had worked out that John would have been swept downstream when he had been knocked from his horse and the ambush had to have taken place upstream. We back tracked up the river. Skuld whinnied. Our weapons were in our hands. I saw the horse grazing. John said, “That is Tom, my horse. This must be where I fell.”

  I shook my head, John was not a warrior that much was obvious, “No, John, your horse would have been taken if this was where you were struck. Your horse ran on after you had fallen. We have a way to go yet.”

  The moon was out, making it easier to see. We found where John had fallen. The grass was flattened. There had been horses and we saw that the tracks led west. Of the ladies and the German there was no sign. I took that as hopeful. If they had been killed we would have seen their bodies.

  We heard the foxes fighting and knew that we had found where the battle had been. We approached cautiously. The carrion fled and we found Baron Diderick and his men. After they had been killed their heads had been placed on spears and their bodies dismembered. There were ten bodies.

  “Is Johann amongst these?”

  “No lord. These were the sergeants the Baron had with him.”

  “Which is the baron?”

  He pointed to a grey-bearded man. He looked old although a skull was not a good indicator of age. “Is Lady Margaret old?”

  He shook his head. “She has seen eighteen summers. Her mother and father died of the plague. King John took her lands and Baron Diderick was an old friend of the family and he married her to keep her safe.” He hesitated. “He did not lie with her lord. He was a true gentleman. It is why he sought to visit with Bishop Albert. It was to give thanks to God for his bride.”

  “Lord, I can see their tracks and, unless I am mistaken, I can smell wood smoke in the wind.” Mordaf and Gruffyd had noses like hounds and I trusted them.

  “Lead on. Be ready, all of you, to fight. Give John of Derby a weapon.”

  We followed the trail which soon became so obvious that even I could see it. They were not attempting to hide their tracks by spreading out. They had cut a swathe through the grass. The wind was from the west and soon I smelled wood smoke and food. Their camp was close but I could not see it. Behind us I saw a lightening of the sky. Dawn was not far away.

  Mordaf held up his hand and we stopped. Faintly, in the distance I could hear noises. It could have been another band of Slavs but I did not think so. We had
not lost the trail and had just passed a pile of warm horse manure. This was the band we sought. Moving until we saw the glow from their camp fire and the murmur of voices could be heard we dismounted. We hobbled our horses. I could not afford to leave men to guard them. I would have charged in on horses if I had thought that the ladies and this Johann were dead. Then it would have been a vengeance raid. So long as there was a chance that they were alive we had to be precise. We had to save the captives and then slaughter the rest. The problem was that I did not know the numbers we would be facing.

  I spoke quietly to Fótr, Harald and John of Derby. “Your task is to ensure that the captives, if they are still alive, remain so. Leave the killing to us.” They nodded, “David, I rely on you and your archers to take out the sentries. As for the rest, stay together and kill as quickly as you can. We have seen what these men do to captives.”

  We did not wear our helmets. They were dangerous in the dark. We would have to hope that our mail coifs would give us enough protection. Taking off my spurs I also left my cloak on Skuld too. I wanted the freedom to swing. We moved in a loose line. I took them to approach the camp from the south. If the sun came up I did not wish to be silhouetted against the light. The thin light of dawn was sufficient for us to see shapes.

  My archers led. The glow from the fires was a good indicator of the camp. The smell of their horses and the neighing told us where they were. As we neared the camp I saw the sentries. There were pairs of them. I counted three sets. I had told David of Wales what to do. I waited. My archers had worked together for long enough so that they did not need words. The ten arrows flew and six sentries dropped. Inevitably the falling bodies made a noise. Even as I heard a question in the dark we were moving forward. More voices shouted. I did not know their words but I worked out they were asking the sentries what the problem was.

  The sun began to peep over the horizon to our right. By the glow of the fire ahead I saw Slavs grabbing weapons. Dawn’s light would soon illuminate them. I could see no captives. I ran, with William and Edward, towards the nearest Slav warrior. He roared in the dark and I saw sleeping men rise. Arrows flew from behind us as David and his archers slew the ones they deemed to be the most dangerous of our opponents. They were hampered by our bodies. It was till poor light and we were in the way. I ripped my sword across the body of a half-naked Slav. His guts tumbled from his middle and I was already punching my shield at another who had risen from beneath my feet. As he fell backwards, stunned, I rammed my sword through his chest. It was a confused battle. All that I knew was anyone in mail was one of my men. Those who ran at me with weapons were enemies.

  The sun was now rising like a red glow in the east. I saw the captives. Six warriors stood before them. There were, however, another thirty warriors who had yet to be killed. We had woken them and they had grabbed whatever weapons were to hand. Few had shields and the ones they had were smaller than ours. We hacked, slashed, stabbed and chopped our way through them. Suddenly I saw two men break from the ones around the captives and run to their horses.

  “David!”

  Arrows flew and one Slav fell but the other made his horse and he galloped off. He would have gone for help. Time was no longer on our side. The Slavs fought hard and they died hard. None even thought of running. The only place they ran was at us. One used the bodies lying before me to jump high into the air. I held my sword up and he impaled himself on my sword. The weight of his body knocked me to the ground. I rolled him off me and stood. It was now light enough to see clearly and the majority of the enemy were dead or dying. The four who remained, five paces from us, could now be seen standing behind the four captives: three women and a bloodied body that had to be Johann. They held sharp knives to their throats. Two of the women were weeping but the third looked at me and I swear she smiled.

  One of them shouted something. I did not understand his words but I knew what he wanted. I said, “David have you a target?”

  “A risky one, lord. Your bodies are in the way.”

  I shouted, “The rest of you sheathe your weapons.” We all sheathed our weapons. “On my command, I want you to sit. David, the lives of those four are the hands of you and my archers.”

  “And God, lord.” I heard him take a breath to calm himself. “Ready lord.”

  “Now!”

  It happened so suddenly that it surprised even me. As we sat ten arrows flew towards the four Slavs. My men were just ten paces from them. They did not miss. The four Slavs fell and, as they did so, Johann also fell.

  Chapter 18

  “Edward, John of Derby, see to the captives. Philip of Poitiers see to the wounded.”

  Sir William said sadly, “He is dead lord as is Hugh of Bath. I will see to the wounded.”

  Ridley the Giant said, “I will see to them, lord.” It was as I saw him trudge away that I remembered how close the two had been. Philip the small chatterbox and Ridley the silent giant.

  I would grieve for the dead later. Right now, we had more pressing business. One Slav had escaped. He was riding for help. I did not think that help would be close at hand. If it was then they would have ridden there instead of making a camp. We had to use that time well.

  “Mordaf and Gruffyd, fetch their horses. Will son of Robin and Thomas son of Tom fetch our horses.”

  I hurried over to the captives. The two women were still wailing. The one who had smiled snapped, “Hilda and Bertha, pull yourselves together. We are not dead. It is poor Johann who is hurt.” She took my hand and kissed it, “Thank you lord. God must have sent you!”

  “I am Sir Thomas of Stockton, Lady Margaret, we will talk later. Right now, we need to get out as soon as we can. What is wrong with the youth?”

  “He received a blow to his head. They broke the bones in his feet and a couple of his ribs. I think they intended to do to him what they did to my husband and his men.”

  There was the hint of a tear in her eye. It was understandable. “We will protect you. We have a long way to go but my men are the best.”

  Mordaf shouted, “They have six horses lord.”

  “Put Philip and Hugh on two of them. As soon as Edward has seen to Johann we leave.”

  Sir William approached, “Which way do we go lord? Back across the river?”

  I shook my head. “We will head for the river but ride down this bank. There are ships which use the river. They can give us protection. I am not risking the ladies and an injured man to ford a river.” John of Derby had struggled and the three women looked to be even more of a liability.

  It was not the solution I wanted but events had forced my hand. As soon as our horses arrived we mounted. We left the Slavs where they had fallen. Everything of value was taken. Most of it now belonged to the German’s widow. The sun was climbing in the sky when we eventually left. We had had to tie Johann on to the back of a horse. Edward had rigged up a support for his back and he was tied to that and the saddle. Edward led the horse by a length of rope. I was not certain if he would survive but we had no choice. We rode steadily north and east. I wished to take the most direct route to Riga. I was not sure if there were any bridges but that did not matter. Bishop Albert could use ships to ferry us across. What we had to do was to avoid capture. We spied the river just afternoon. Gruffyd was sure that he spied the mast of a ship as we approached but by the time we had reached the river, if there had been one, then it had gone. The river was too wide and deep for us to ford. I had made our bed and we would have to lie in it.

  The two weeping ladies proved to be the problem and not Johann. They complained the whole way. I knew that it was difficult for them but Lady Margaret was bearing herself stoically. Having said that she was a competent rider. She rode as a man did. She had control and mastery of her horse. The two ladies clung on for dear life. We stopped only for the horses. My men had dried meat and we shared that with the four captives. Johann remained unconscious. Edward forced water into his lips each time we stopped.

  By evening I estimated t
hat we had travelled thirty miles and we had twenty left to go. We camped by the river. “We will light no fire. I do not wish to give our pursuers a beacon.”

  I sat with Lady Margaret and her women. Edward, Fótr and Harald were designated as nurses for Johann. He was of an age with the two squires. As we ate more dried meat and drank the last of our ale I spoke with the young Lady Margaret. Her two ladies cuddled close together and slept.

  “I am sorry for your loss, my lady.”

  She smiled, “Diderick was a kind old man. He married me so that I would not be married off to one of King John’s cronies. Diderick was an old man. He and my father had fought together in the Holy Land. He said that when he died then I would inherit his estates. It was pure luck that he arrived when he did. He was on his way back from the Holy Land and intended to join Bishop Albert’s crusade. When he saw my predicament he acted swiftly. He was a true knight.” Tears streamed silently down her face. I think she had only just realised that he was not coming back. “He said that he was old and would not live long. Then I could choose a husband. I would not be chosen.”

  “He sounds like a brave man but why come to Riga? Why risk the journey through such hostile lands?”

  “His cousin is Reimar von Tork. His father was the eldest child and the manors all belonged to him. My husband had been in the Holy Land for twenty years. Reimar von Tork had promised the Livonian Brothers of the Sword his estates. He had dedicated his life to God. He had given away Diderick’s too. My husband was sure that it was a mistake. He said that if he explained in person why he wanted them then they would be returned to him.”

  “I do not understand. I thought you said that the estates belonged to Diderick.”

  “They did but he had spent twenty years in the Holy Land. The Emperor allowed Reimar to manage them. As I said, my husband was certain that it was a mistake. He had not been concerned when it was just him but he wanted me to have the means to choose my own husband.”