The Throne

by Griff Hosker

  Amazingly, some of the fire arrows had worked and I saw flames licking the roof of a building to the west. John and Geoffrey enlarged the hole so that all of my men were able to step through. The eight archers who had covered us joined us. It was bizarre. On our section of the wall, we had cleared the fighting platform. There was no one above us. Others were closer to the gate trying to get at the Earl while the majority fought the fire and prepared for an attack on the western wall.

  I pointed to the fighting platform and my archers, including Ralph, began to send arrows into the backs of the men who were trying to stop the Earl gaining entry. I led my nine men towards the townsfolk who had seen us and were rallying to stop us. None, except for the one who led them, had either a shield or a helmet but some of the weapons looked terrifying. They had improvised pole weapons using cleavers, axe heads and even a scythe “We keep together! Use our shields for mutual protection.”

  It was a mob of men who ran at us. They outnumbered us by more than ten to one. The leader had a long two-handed sword. He must have been a warrior at some time but he had a grey beard. He roared and screamed as he approached. His cries were infectious and the pagans joined in. They had lost all reason and all they saw was a handful of men standing before them. As the long two-handed sword came down, I blocked it with my shield and raked my sword across the leader’s middle. I ripped him open and, even as he tried to hold back the flood of blood and entrails, I pushed him from me and thrust at the man just behind him. I skewered him in the throat. A spear came at my face. I had to trust my helmet as I had seen it too late for my shield to be of any use. It scraped off the side and I punched my shield forward into the man’s hand. I hit him in the face with my sword hilt. I had accounted for three of the mob and my men had done the same. More importantly, our archers had cleared the walls and the Earl and his men suddenly poured into the side of the mob we were fighting. The Earl had more men than I did. The effect was astounding. They hacked chopped and butchered the defenders and within a few strokes most were dead while the rest turned and ran. When the last of our men entered the town, we were able to organise ourselves.

  For once the Earl took charge. “Archers to the fighting platform and clear them. Harold of Derby, take four men and begin to set fire to the buildings behind us. The wind is from the west. We burn this half and work towards the other side.”

  One of his sergeants said, “What about booty, my lord?”

  He snapped, “Forget booty! These are pagans. The Hochmeister wants this town destroying! Destroy it!”

  He was showing a ruthless side which he would need if he was to lead men against barbarians.

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “The knights and squires to the fore. Let us show them what English nobility can do.”

  We moved forward through the town. We found few men before we reached the gate. The main street led from the gate to the square and the small hill fort with the hurriedly erected wooden tower. The fire started by Alan’s archers had been largely contained. It would flare up again now that men had stopped fighting it but we would have time to defeat the defenders. As we marched up the street, Lithuanian defenders threw themselves at us in an attempt to slow us down. It was fruitless for their weapons struck shields or, at best, armour. The Earl kept up a steady pace for he was aware of the need to provide a solid front. The result was that we saw the fire begin to eat the buildings to our left. It would destroy that half of the town and the wall but, in addition, it would drive folk who had hidden in those homes towards us.

  The dawn was beginning to break as we approached the hill fort in the centre of the town. I confess I had never seen anything like it. It was just a mass of mounds and ditches which had grassed over. It looked ancient. If it was not for the wooden tower they had built then it would have looked just like a hill. There were hundreds of men before it. Behind them, I saw the women and children. The whole of the town had gathered. They were sheltering behind the mounds and in the ditches. I spied some shields and, on the top of the tower, I saw a few crossbowmen. There were too few for us to worry about.

  The numbers were so huge that the Earl halted. He took off his helmet. “There are more men than the Hochmeister expected.”

  Sir Bengt said, “It may well be that they fled here from other towns. The massacre of the priests would be seen, by these people, as something of a sign.”

  I wondered if the Hochmeister had known that. Were we being sacrificed? Was he hoping that the death of a member of the English royal family might force the English to join the crusade? If so, he was mistaken. King Richard might go on crusade but it would be a crusade of his choosing.

  The lightening sky showed our archers on the fighting platform. The Earl shouted, “Alan of the Wood, bring your archers. Let us use the one weapon they do not have.” He turned to me and Sir Bengt, “We will form up a hundred and fifty paces from them and then let our archers rain death upon them. They have sealed themselves in their own prison. They cannot retreat.”

  Sir Bengt said, “They will attack.”

  “And our blades will hew them. Sir Robert, I want us in a solid line from building to building. See to it.”

  “Aye, lord.”

  Henry Bolingbroke was making all the right decisions. This would be neither pleasant nor pretty but it would be effective. The sun had risen by the time the archers had gathered and the Earl had told them what he needed from them. The priest who had come with us blessed us as we prayed to God. He carried the holy banner which had been given by the Bishop of Hereford himself. The pagans seemed to be infuriated by the priest. A crossbow bolt was sent from the tower. It fell forty paces short. Then the priest joined the archers behind our shields. We donned our helmets and we marched towards the waiting warriors. They did not know how effective our archers were and I saw them bracing themselves as they sang themselves into a blood lust. They expected us to charge into their serried ranks.

  We had two full ranks and a half rank of mailed men with helmets and shields. The Earl stopped us at the point where the bolt had landed. He raised his sword and I heard Alan shout, “Nock!” I could see the faces of the Lithuanian warriors. Some looked at each other wondering what our stopping meant. “Draw!” I heard the creak of bows. “Release!” Then there was the sound of more than ninety arrows hissing over our heads. “Nock! Draw! Release!” The commands were repeated twice more before the first of the arrows plunged down. The second and third flights added to the devastation of the first. Not a shield was raised until the fourth flights landed and by then the damage had been done. More than a hundred and fifty men, at least, had perished. Many had been the ones with shields. I saw one chief falling with an arrow sticking through his helmet and into his head. It took ten flights of arrows before it evoked a reaction. In those ten flights, almost half of the men who had been facing us were struck by arrows.

  I said, “They are coming, lord!”

  The Earl shouted, “Brace!” He was just in time. It was as though a dam had burst and they poured from the hill towards the metal beast which stood before them. Our archers’ arrows continued to strike bodies as the Lithuanians were so tightly packed as to be almost a single entity.

  Ironically the closer they came to our swords the safer they were from our arrows for Alan and his archers did not risk them hitting us. The Earl was the first to slay one of the barbarians. The standard held by Geoffrey marked him as a leader and the helmeted warrior threw himself at Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Northampton. He was now a man grown and a powerful one at that. The sword struck his shield but the Earl did not move. He pulled back his arm and swung the sword from over his right shoulder. It bit so deeply into the man’s neck that his head almost fell off. It was held only by muscle and sinew. Then we were all in the fight. The Lithuanians lacked skill but they made up for it in sheer anger. Even when I stabbed one of them in the stomach he still tried to bite and gouge me as his body slid down to the ground. There were so many of them that my helmet was struck ma
ny times over as well as the armour I wore on my arms and my gauntlets but they were well-made pieces and they held. The flesh we struck did not. Metal tore through arms and broke bones. Our swords gutted them and took heads. I tired of the slaughter but we could not stop killing for they would not stop fighting. As the last youth was slain by Sir Robert, the women began to keen and wail. We had won. We stood in weary silence as the last of the men we had hit moaned away to whatever passed for their heaven. The ground was covered in bloody bodies and parts of bodies. In places, there were so many as to be almost as a wall. The Grand Master had demanded the death of every man and we had achieved that. We now had to burn the town and deliver the captives to the Hochmeister.

  Even the Earl was wearied and dismayed by the bloodshed. He sent his men at arms to surround the women, children and the old. They would soon be captives. I turned to look at my men. David of Welshpool had had his helmet split by a club and his face was bleeding. Other than that, we seemed to be intact. Alan led my archers, including Ralph, towards us. When he saw the piles of the dead, Ralph doubled over and began to retch.

  Alan shook his head, sadly, “He should not have seen this, lord. Was it necessary?”

  I nodded, “They were unbelievers and they killed priests. I did not enjoy doing it but had we not then more Christians might have died. We can save those souls, at least.” I pointed to the women and children.

  Stephen the Tracker said, “I will take some men and search the houses in case any are still hiding there. If the wind changes then the fire will do our work for us.”

  The Earl sent Sir Bengt’s sergeants back to Vilnius to let them know that we had achieved our objective and to ask for priests. We had brought just one and he did not speak their words. If they converted then we would have fewer to march back to Vilnius. I did not relish that march for late autumn rains had begun to fall almost as soon as dawn arrived. They damped down the fires. While the relief from the smoke was welcome, I knew we would have the task of destroying the town and damp wood was hard to fire.

  “While they are on the hill fort mounds they are contained. During the time we wait for the priests, we will encircle them with a new camp. Sir William, have the horses fetched. Sir Bengt, see if you can speak with them. Tell them that they will not be harmed.”

  “Aye, lord, and food?”

  “Food?”

  “Yes, my lord, they and we will need to eat. I would suggest you have some men collect food.”

  Sir Robert said, “And the bodies of their dead, lord, the sight of them might inflame and anger the women. Sir Bengt, what are the funeral customs?”

  Sir Bengt said, “Sometimes they bury and sometimes they burn.”

  The Earl shook his head, “We have not the manpower to bury them. We will carry them to the side of the town which was burned. It may be that our sergeants can re-ignite the fire but the bodies will be out of sight. That was a good suggestion, Sir Robert. I thank you.”

  Already the bond between leader and lieutenants was being strengthened. I went, with John and my men at arms, back to the camp. John looked pale and moved as though he was drugged. “Were you hurt?”

  “No, lord. The mail I wore protected me but I confess that I was afeared for they were fierce and feared no death. I struck one a mortal blow and yet he continued to fight.”

  “He was fighting for his beliefs. I suppose we might fight as hard for ours. Remember, John, this came about because they said they had converted and then murdered priests.” Even as I said it, I wondered at the true motives of the Polish King and the Hochmeister. Was religion merely the excuse to grab a country and make it their own? I had been told that Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. If that was true then whoever controlled it had a mighty prize.

  Edward rose as we approached. Ralph was with him as well as the Earl’s priest. “It is over. We have destroyed their men and captured their women. The Earl would have us camp within the town.” Just at that moment, the rain stopped. It had been growing lighter as we had walked to the camp and now a single shaft of sun shone down. I saw the priests make the sign of the cross. They took it as a sign that God smiled on our venture. I was just relieved for the earthen roads we had travelled would have become a muddy morass had the rain not stopped. “Come Ralph, John, I will help you fetch our horses. Roger, take down the tents and put them on the Earl’s horses.”

  While Ralph strung our horses in one long line, I surveyed the town. The western half was blackened. The palisade had gone. On the eastern side of the town, there were patches of black where the arrows had begun fires. Tendrils of smoke still rose. Overhead carrion birds were gathering. Unless we burned the bodies soon there would be an invasion, during the night, of rats, foxes and other creatures eager to devour the results of the slaughter. It was getting on to evening by the time we re-entered the town. Most of the bodies had been moved. The captives were a little quieter and I could smell food being cooked.

  Harold Four Fingers found us, “My lord, Roger of Chester has made a camp on the western side of the hill fort. The Earl allocated our dispositions. He has spread his knights equally around it. Sir Bengt has found someone with whom he can speak. There were ladies who were married to the lords of the land and two speak Swedish. The Earl’s priest found ten women and their families who said they were Christian.” I gave him a sideways look. “He shrugged, “Who knows what is in someone’s heart, lord? They were given the task of cooking. One of the Earls sergeants, William of Bolsover, watches them to see that there is no mischief.” He lowered his voice. “We found treasure. Roger told the Earl who said he would rely on you to divide it equitably.”

  “Treasure?”

  “Chests buried in the floors of the houses. There were some larger halls which looked to have belonged to lords. There will be enough to give coin to all the men.” He pointed over to a line of twenty bodies. “We were lucky, lord, there are twenty sergeants who will remain in this heathen land.”

  I would have said that we had been lucky but I knew that was not the case. I had chosen well and my men and I had been together so long that we fought as one. The Earl and his knights had taken sergeants who they barely knew. They came from their lands but they did not share their hall. That was the difference. I might have had the smallest number of men but they were the best.

  The stink from the captives began to grow in the middle of the night watch. The Earl had thought of everything save the needs of nature. I was on watch and I began to smell it. Added to the smell of the bodies it was a nauseating and pungent aroma. I also heard the noise of scavenging animals. I roused Sir Robert, who had the next watch, and Sir Bengt. “I do not like to wake you but I think we ought to burn the bodies in the dark. The smell of the smoke and fire will dissipate the smell of dung and piss.”

  “Aye, lord, for it had disturbed my sleep.”

  Leaving Roger and my men to watch we sought oil and pig fat. As I had expected they had laid in stores to be used against war machines. The three of us carried pails to the bodies. The Earl had had them placed on the burned timbers but omitted to have them burned. It was an oversight. As we approached it was as though the bodies were moving. It was the carrion fleeing before us. We poured the oil and fat all over the bodies and then we each picked up a brand. A circle of them had been laid around the bodies. We hurled them in. The clothes on the bodies and the hair of the men burned first and there were small flames. As the fire took hold and grew so the flames rose higher. It was almost hypnotic to watch.

  The Earl’s voice from behind me made me start I was so entranced, “I should have done this last evening.”

  “You had much to think on, my lord, and the rain had only recently stopped, lord. This is good. I thought to drive away the smell of the captives.”

  “This may be God’s work but it is hardly glorious work. I intend to set off back to Vilnius in the morning. Marching on foot and with women and children it will take two days.”

  Sir Robert said, “When we pass
ed through the unburned parts of the town, I saw wagons. There are a few horses. Perhaps the older ones could travel in the wagons. It would make for a speedier journey.”

  “Good, Robert.”

  I nodded, “But I fear that some of them will flee on the journey.” The Earl looked at me, “It is something that will happen, lord, and you need to decide what you will do. Will you hunt them down or let them go?”

  He looked at the bodies, “I will let them go. This is not the crusade I envisaged back in England.”

  Chapter 8

  Even with wagons, we did not reach Vilnius until late in the afternoon two days later. We fired the town before we left. It was a good site for a town but it would have to be completely rebuilt. Only the ancient hill fort had survived the flames. You cannot burn a hill. The rest was a huge blackened scar. The priests who returned with the sergeants had catechised some of the captives but I think they still believed that their god, whoever he was, would send help to them. The sight of the siege works around their capital made all but a hundred and fifty of them decide that Christianity and the attendant freedom was a price worth paying. They chose to convert. Teutonic Knights guarded the captives which included the wives, daughters and sons of the chiefs of Ukmergė. They were taken close to the tents of the King of the Poles and the Grand Master. Our tents lay just a little way away from them. We were further from the siege works but we saw the women as they gathered, each day, before the huts which had been built for them. They were housed and well-guarded as they were a symbol of what would happen to all pagans. They would convert or they would be prisoners.

  The rains had come on the way back to Vilnius and, as the days passed, they became increasingly wintery. Sleet mixed with the rain and, as the days passed, snow mixed with the sleet. Some of the treasure we had taken in Ukmergė had been furs and winter clothing. They had been stored in the houses of the great and the good. As the rain turned to sleet and then snow, the hovels our men had built were improved and the furs and seal skins used to protect us from the weather. All of my men had a fur and most had a sealskin cape. However, after a month of such weather, all of our spirits were laid low.