Army of the Wolf (12 page)

‘Now is the time to seal our victory,’ said Vincentas.

‘Begging your pardon, sir,’ replied Manfred, ‘you must let them go.’

‘For once I agree with the Christian,’ remarked Viesthard, regaining the saddle of his horse brought to him by one of his men. ‘Fifty horsemen cannot defeat three or four times their number of Kurs. We have given them a bloody nose, lord. That is a good start.’

Vincentas exhaled loudly and slammed his sword back in its scabbard, but his thunderous expression disappeared faster than the Kurs when his men began chanting ‘conqueror, conqueror’. That is what his name meant, though he had had few reasons to remind anyone in the preceding months as his kingdom had been threatened from every direction. But now he had turned back the Northern Kurs, the people who had raided and terrorised other Lithuanians and Livs alike for years. No one had ever forced them to retreat, until now.

On the way back to Tervete the duke was in an ebullient mood as he informed Nordheim that he would write a letter to Archdeacon Stefan that very day, inviting the governor to Mesoten where he would be feasted and lavished with gifts. And afterwards he and Stefan would swear eternal friendship and an alliance would be forged between Semgallia and Riga that would last for a thousand years. Viesthard listened and his heart sank, for he knew that the Christians were worming their way into the duke’s affections. He feared that their poisonous religion would be allowed to take root in Semgallia just as it had in Livonia and he cursed Manfred Nordheim, his crossbows and his instructors.

*****

Gerceslav and his Cumans rode north then swung south to take them along the north bank of the River Gauja, striking for Treiden. The great Liv hill fort and surrounding settlement had been the residence of King Caupo who had been killed at the Battle of St Matthew’s Day. The king had no heirs and so the Liv chiefs had elected one of their number, a man named Fricis and a close friend of Caupo, to lead their people. When his scouts had alerted him that a large number of enemy horsemen were approaching he had sent warnings to the surrounding villages and despatched a rider to Riga, to the office of the grand master of the Sword Brothers, requesting assistance while he mustered his warriors. As at Wenden the Cumans lacked the means to storm the great timber stronghold, so they amused themselves burning the settlement outside its walls and raiding the surrounding countryside.

A courier pigeon arrived at Wenden from Grand Master Volquin informing Master Rudolf of this development and ordering him to stay where he was until a relief force could be organised. Rudolf tossed the note on to the table in front of him and leaned back in his chair. It was the weekly meeting of the brother knights in his hall and he was far from happy.

‘At this rate the Cumans and Russians will be knocking at the gates of Riga within a week.’

Henke shrugged. ‘The garrison is more than sufficient to protect the city.’

‘That is not the point,’ said Rudolf. ‘These heathens from the steppes make a mockery of us all. If we allow them to roam throughout Livonia at will what is to stop the Estonians or Lithuanians doing the same? They need to be punished.’

‘You are thinking of a retaliatory raid?’ queried Lukas.

‘At the very least,’ replied Rudolf.

‘Should we not wait until Bishop Albert returns before deciding strategy?’ suggested Walter.

‘If the bishop returns,’ said Henke.

‘Why would he not return?’ asked Hans.

Henke shrugged. ‘If he can’t raise any men willing to take the cross then he will probably stay in Germany for another year.’

Rudolf chuckled grimly. ‘He will have no problem attracting crusaders once the empire learns that Livonia has been laid waste by barbarians.’

Hans was confused. ‘What empire, master?’

Rudolf shook his head. ‘I sometimes forget, Brother Hans, that you were a beggar before you came to us.’

‘And a thief,’ added Johann.

‘I was not a real thief,’ Hans shot back. ‘I only stole to stop myself starving.’

‘What’s the difference?’ asked Henke.

Hans looked perplexed and Conrad laughed but Rudolf scowled.

‘The empire, Brother Hans, is the Holy Roman Empire that stretches from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, ruled by kings and princes who place their swords at the pope’s disposal.’

‘When they are not placing them at each other’s throats,’ remarked Lukas casually.

Rudolf scratched his beard. ‘The point is that if Livonia is in danger then the empire will answer the bishop’s appeals.’

‘That does not help our current situation,’ mused Walter.

Rudolf rubbed his eyes. ‘Mother of Christ.’

He composed himself and smiled at his deputy. ‘There are enough soldiers in Livonia to protect the kingdom, brother. I propose to lead all of you and the sergeants on a raid against Pskov to give the Russians a taste of what Livonia has suffered.’

‘The Russians or one in particular?’ queried Henke mischievously.

Everyone knew that the man responsible for giving Rudolf his terrible burn scars, Domash Tverdislavich, was the mayor of Pskov.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ snapped Rudolf. ‘You all saw the banner that was waved in our faces when the Cumans and Russians arrived at Wenden. Perhaps you could take that one as well to add to your collection, Henke.’

There was a knock at the door and a sergeant entered, saluted and walked over to the master’s side. He bent down and whispered into Rudolf’s ear.

‘Show him in.’

Rudolf held his head in his hands and sighed as the sergeant strode back to the door. He looked at the eleven brother knights sitting before him.

‘In my desire for vengeance I have been reminded that more noble qualities are called for in the present situation.’

He nodded towards the door where a long-haired warrior wearing mail armour and carrying a helmet in the crook of his arm appeared in the doorway.

Conrad gave him a casual glance and returned to staring at the table top. He found these weekly meetings tedious and would have preferred to be doing something useful instead, such as knocking Hans off his horse during lance practice. The warrior approached Rudolf and bowed his head.

‘I bring a message from Sir Richard at Lehola, master.’

Conrad recognised the language of the Estonians and out of the corner of his eye saw the symbol on the man’s shield. A red leering wolf’s face. A wolf shield! The same men that had raided his village and killed his wife and child. He sprang up, drew his sword and pressed the point into the warrior’s neck.

‘Hold!’ shouted Rudolf, jumping to his feet as the warrior’s helmet rolled on the floor. ‘Put down your sword, Conrad. Now!’

Conrad had been momentarily taken back to that dreadful night when Lembit’s wolf shields had raided his father-in-law’s village and slaughtered everyone inside, including his beloved Daina and their son Dietmar. And now a wolf shield stood in the master’s hall at Wenden.

Rudolf nodded to Henke who stood up, pulled his sword from its scabbard and pressed the point into the base of Conrad’s back.

‘Give me an excuse.’

‘I have ordered you to withdraw your sword, Brother Conrad.’ Rudolf spoke slowly and forcefully. ‘I will not do so again.’

Conrad felt Henke’s sword at his back and saw the point of his own weapon at the throat of the alarmed warrior who stood rooted to the spot. Then he saw Hans, Johann and Anton staring at him with disbelief at his bad manners. Walter for his part was horrified that a guest should be treated so appallingly. Conrad sighed and lowered his sword before returning it to its scabbard.

‘He’s a wolf shield,’ he said calmly.

‘I can see that,’ said Rudolf. ‘But if you had any sense, which you obviously do not, you will have heard him say that he has come from Sir Richard at Lehola, which presumably means that he is an ally at least of our friend. Pick up his helmet and return it to him.’

Rudolf glared at Conrad, daring him to challenge his authority. But the brother knight sighed and walked over to the conical helmet with a nasal guard, picked it up and held it out to the warrior. The man took it and cradled it in his arm. Conrad saw the wolf design on the shield again and sneered at it before going back to his chair.

‘And apologise too. Forgive my rudeness,’ Rudolf said to the warrior, ‘I do not know your name.’

‘Tonis,’ the man replied flatly.

‘Apologise to Tonis, Conrad’

Conrad was stunned by this demand and was going to refuse. But his friends had been embarrassed by his behaviour and it seemed churlish not to obey the master’s request. In any case he had no desire to be flogged for his insubordination.

‘I apologise for my behaviour,’ he said curtly.

‘You may retake your seat, brother,’ said Rudolf. ‘Please, Tonis, take the weight off your feet.’

He smiled at the Saccalian and pointed to an empty chair next to Conrad. Henke smiled evilly at Conrad before sheathing his sword and sitting down. Tonis propped his shield against his leg and placed his helmet on the floor. At least he has some manners, reflected Conrad.

‘Lehola is sorely pressed, master,’ said Tonis. ‘An army lays siege to it and Sir Richard has few warriors to man its walls.’

Conrad was not really listening, finding the proximity of the shield with its accursed symbol too near his body. The last time he was this close to a wolf shield he was trying to kill him.

Tonis continued, telling the master and brothers how the former stronghold of Lembit had been suddenly surrounded by thousands of brightly attired horsemen, who had then proceeded to raid and plunder the whole of Saccalia. The abruptness of their arrival had prevented the alarm being raised and consequently many villagers had lost their lives.

‘The raiders also took many women and children as slaves,’ reported Tonis, ‘before they could seek the safety of the ancient forest sanctuaries.’

‘Dreadful,’ remarked Walter, shaking his head.

‘Most of the raiders moved on,’ continued Tonis, ‘towards Livonia. But we have also heard that some struck north into Jerwen and others into Ungannia.’

Conrad’s ears pricked up at this. He hoped Kalju and his family were safe. He shot a hateful glance at Henke, the instigator of all this misery, who sat toying with the hilt of his dagger as though he had not a care in the world.

‘How many sit before Lehola’s walls?’ asked Rudolf.

‘At least five hundred,’ replied Tonis. ‘And there are more at Fellin.’

Lehola had once been the main stronghold of the Estonian leader Lembit, while Fellin, located a few miles to the south, was a smaller though still formidable timber hill fort.

‘What is the size of the garrison that Sir Richard commands?’ queried Walter.

‘Sixty of his own men plus the same number of wolf shields at Lehola,’ said Tonis. ‘A further forty Christians at Fellin and thirty wolf shields.’

Henke scratched his nose. ‘Those forts are strong enough if my memory serves me right. They were tough nuts for us to crack so a few Cumans without siege engines won’t be able to do much.’

‘But my people who have fled to the forest will be in danger from the elements if they are not rescued soon,’ said Tonis. ‘Winter approaches.’

‘I thought you people liked living in the forest,’ replied Henke.

‘Not when it is freezing and the ground is covered in snow,’ replied Tonis. ‘We still have to eat and with no food we starve just like you do.’

Hans shook his head. ‘A terrible fate.’

‘There are hundreds of my people in the forest, master,’ said Tonis. ‘If you were to march to Sir Richard’s aid the warriors among them would join you. I also know that among the Jerwen there are warriors who would fight beside the Sword Brothers if they came to their aid.’

Conrad laughed and even Henke wore a bemused look.

‘The Saccalians and Jerwen will fight beside the Sword Brothers?’ Conrad said to Tonis.

‘When Lembit was killed in battle, many among my people were glad that the years of fighting were finally at an end. We feared the coming of the Sword Brothers but Sir Richard has respected our beliefs and allows us to grow our crops and hunt in peace.’

‘What of Jerwen?’ enquired Rudolf. ‘Jaak still lives, does he not?’

‘He does, master,’ answered Tonis, ‘though word is that he and his followers have fled north to seek sanctuary with Edvin or Alva.’

Of the six Estonian tribes only the Harrien and Wierlanders continued to oppose the Bishop of Riga. Rotalia was subject to Oeselian war bands, Saccalia was under the control of the Sword Brothers, or at least Sir Richard, and Ungannia was an ally. Though whether that was still the case was a moot point. And now it appeared that Jerwen was without any governance, its leader Jaak having fled north.

Rudolf leaned forward. ‘You fought with Lembit, Tonis?’

‘I did.’

‘You know that we fought against him, and you?’ said Rudolf.

Tonis nodded.

‘How do I know that Sir Richard is not already dead and that you seek to lure this garrison into a trap to exact revenge for the death of your commander?’ asked Rudolf.

Conrad nodded in agreement and even Walter looked thoughtful.