Castellan (4 page)

The official looked up.

‘Ah, brothers Conrad, Hans and Anton. How can I be of assistance?’

‘We need three palfreys saddled immediately,’ replied Conrad.

‘And fodder for at least two weeks,’ added Hans.

‘Which we will collect later, after we have returned from a more immediate errand,’ said Conrad.

The official raised an eyebrow. ‘You are going on campaign, brothers?’

‘We are,’ said Conrad, ‘though first we are riding south to the Estonians’ village.’

The official turned the quill he was holding through his fingers.

‘If you are absent for longer than two days I will need authorisation from Master Rudolf. Standard procedure, you understand.’

‘We’ve just come from the master’s hall,’ stated Conrad, ‘and are here on the orders of Master Rudolf.’

The official looked at the three fearsome brother knights, all with well-earned reputations for being skilled killers, especially Conrad, the man who had slain Lembit and tried to kill the Danish king at Reval, or so he had been told. He drummed his fingers on the desk as the brother knights became visibly annoyed with this nondescript scribe.

‘Well,’ the official said, ‘if it is on the master’s business then I suppose I can authorise the issue.’

‘You are too kind,’ said Anton.

‘Of course you will all have to sign for the horses and supplies,’ insisted the official.

They nodded curtly whereupon the official barked an order to one of the stable hands, who went to collect the horses. As the three brother knights made their signatures on a separate parchment, Hans making an ‘x’ as he could not write, three young stable hands led three saddled palfreys into the courtyard.

‘You should learn to read, Hans,’ said Conrad, shaking his head at the official who had returned to his records. ‘The world is changing and you need to change with it.’

His friend was not convinced. ‘I am a soldier not a scribe. I have no need of it.’

Conrad asked Hillar to accompany them on the ride south to the village that had sprung up on the site of Thalibald’s settlement, some five miles south of Wenden. When the Army of the Wolf had arrived at Wenden following the battle against the Danes it had originally made camp on the large meadow south of the outer perimeter gates. But Master Thaddeus had suggested that rather than enduring months or longer in tents, the Estonians should construct their own village. Rudolf agreed but was desirous that they should build it away from Wenden, which had suddenly become home to an additional six hundred souls. Hillar’s Rotalians had stayed near the border of their homeland and seventy Saccalians had been sent to Lehola to reinforce Sir Richard’s garrison in case the Danes decided to march south in pursuit of Conrad. But the rest had followed the Marshal of Estonia back to Wenden.

Thaddeus had suggested that the village be built on the site of Thalibald’s settlement, Conrad’s former father-in-law who had been killed during a raid conducted by Lembit’s wolf shields. Overgrown and desolate, there were hardly any traces of what had been the village of Caupo’s chief warlord. Thaddeus had asked Conrad if he had any objection to the site being re-occupied but the brother knight had none. His wife and child were buried in the cemetery at Wenden. The site was close to fresh water and surrounded by land that had been cleared for fields, though now overgrown. So the Army of the Wolf had set about building its new home.

The largest contingent was Andres’ four hundred Jerwen warriors, with Riki mustering only fifty Harrien men capable of bearing arms and Tonis, the former Wolf Shield, retaining the same number of Saccalian fighters. There were in addition a hundred women and children who had attached themselves to the crusader army during its retreat south from Reval.

The four riders trotted from the courtyard, through the gatehouse and across the drawbridge that spanned the deep, dry moat. They rode down the track bisecting the area within the outer perimeter defences; to the left the well-tended, walled cemetery and beyond it the huts that housed the civilian workers who worked in the castle. On the right stood the huts where Wenden’s mercenaries slept and the training fields where the dogs of war perfected their skills along with the brother knights and sergeants. The grounds were a hive of activity, children playing among the huts, crossbowmen testing their weapons against straw targets and spearmen drilling under the watchful eye of sergeants. Conrad doubted whether any spearmen would travel north: Rudolf would want to cover as much ground as possible each day and that meant every soldier would have to be mounted.

They cantered along the dirt track leading south to the village, the other track from the castle diverting west to reach the jetties that projected into the waters of the Gauja two miles away. During the previous spring and summer months, before the pox had blighted Riga, there had been much traffic to and from the city. But now that had dried up completely. Fortunately the Gauja was still full of perch, bream, roach, dace and chub that were caught to feed Wenden’s expanding population.

Soon ploughs pulled by oxen would be going into the fields to prepare the ground for sowing the spring crops: barley, oats, peas, beans and vetches. It was fortunate for the villagers that Master Rudolf allocated them a portion of the boar, deer, duck and goose that were hunted in autumn by the garrison’s crossbowmen, the meat being salted in preparation for the winter months. When the snow lay thick on the ground the master sent his hunters into the forests to kill wolves, both for their meat and fur.

But now the land was bursting with life as the spring sun warmed the land, bushes and flowers blossoming along with bird cherry, lilac and apple trees. The rivers and streams were filled with ice-cool water and the air was filled with the twittering of birds. It was still fresh in the mornings and evenings, and frosts could last until June. But the iron grip of winter had been broken and villagers looked forward to bountiful harvests, new additions to their families and peace throughout Livonia.

Like countless villages throughout Estonia the settlement Conrad and his comrades rode to had a meeting hall, huts, barns, smithies and animal pens holding pigs, goats and chickens. Pig farming was a very popular Estonian practice so the village contained many grunting and squealing animals occupying fenced-off areas on its outskirts. Though in the winter the livestock was brought into the buildings to save them being taken by wolves and the cold.

Thalibald’s village had been strongly defended by a ditch and wooden wall. The Estonians had cleared the ditch of weeds and deepened it, constructing a fresh wooden palisade behind it. There were also crude watchtowers at the gates that gave those on guard views of the surrounding terrain. Sentries in the towers spotted their approach, and so when they trotted over the stout bridge across the ditch a reception party was waiting for them. The six Jerwen warriors were armed with spears and carried round shields that sported the bear symbol of Jaak, once leader of their people but now dead. They raised their weapons in salute as Conrad and the others dismounted.

‘Greetings,
Susi
,’ said their commander.

Conrad acknowledged him. ‘I am here to see the tribal leaders.’

‘They are expecting you,’ the warrior replied.

Conrad was surprised. ‘They are?’

He pointed up at the guards on the top platforms of the watchtowers.

‘As soon as you were identified a message was sent alerting them to your impending arrival.’

He clasped his fist to his chest. ‘They will be pleased to see you. Lord Hillar.’

‘Well, then,’ said Conrad, ‘let’s be on our way.’

When they arrived at the meeting hall in the centre of the settlement a large crowd of mostly warriors had gathered, word having quickly spread that
Susi
was among them. When Conrad caught men’s eyes they nodded purposely and the air tingled with excitement. The fact that he was with his comrades Hans and Anton, plus Hillar, who had remained in Estonia, could mean only one thing. They were going to war.

Only the three commanders and their senior chiefs were allowed in the hall. Girls served those present with large wooden cups filled with beer as a trestle table was hastily set up in the middle of the chamber. Riki, Andres and Tonis greeted the brother knights and Hillar then looked at Conrad. He took a large gulp of the cool beer as they sat around the table, the chiefs standing behind their leaders.

‘Muster your men. We are marching north immediately.’

The chiefs grinned broadly and slapped each other on the back as those Estonians at the table nodded thoughtfully. Marching north meant only one thing: the liberation of their homeland.

‘You should tell them why we are marching north,’ said Hans.

All eyes focused on Conrad.

‘We are going to Oesel,’ he announced.

There was a stunned silence. Hillar, who already knew this, cast his eyes down to avoid the others’ gazes.

Tonis, the Saccalian leader, laughed. ‘What is there on Oesel for us?’

‘We go to rescue the Danish king who has allowed himself to be surrounded by the Oeselians on the island.’

They all burst out laughing.

Riki pointed at the cup Conrad was holding. ‘You have been drinking too much beer,
Susi
, it has deadened your mind.’

‘Muster your warriors and lead them to Wenden tomorrow. Then we will ride north. No carts; we travel light and fast.’

Andres, the stout commander of the Jerwen, was now totally confused.

‘The Danish king wanted you dead,
Susi
. Why would you raise a hand to help him?’

Conrad drained his cup. ‘My friends, I understand why you think this order is strange. But I too obey orders and it is the desire of Master Rudolf that we should ride to save the Danish king.’

‘Many of my men will not be happy,
Susi
,’ said Riki. ‘My people have suffered greatly at the hands of the Danes.’

Hillar looked up. ‘As have my people. But I took an oath to serve
Susi
and will not break it.’

Riki looked at Tonis and then at Andres. The Rotalian leader was not only physically large; his voice held great sway in the Army of the Wolf.

‘The Jerwen are with you,
Susi
,’ said Andres, nodding at Hillar.

Riki and Tonis also voiced their support, which silenced the mumblings of the chiefs behind them.

‘I know that what we are about to do makes little sense,’ said Conrad. ‘In truth it makes little sense to me. But I tell you that we will not be spilling blood in vain. The Danes will be held to account for what they have done in Estonia, that I promise.’

The Estonian leaders and their chiefs filed out of the hall, their muted spirits in contrast to the faces full of expectation that awaited them outside. They announced that the Army of the Wolf would be marching north the next day, which was greeted with rapturous cheering. The men were told to gather round their chiefs who would appoint quartermasters for the allocation of supplies for the ride north.

‘They will be less happy later when they discover they ride north to save Valdemar’s hide,’ said Anton glumly.

‘What did you mean when you said that the Danes will be held to account?’ Hans asked Conrad.

‘I have yet to work that out,’ his friend answered.

‘Perhaps Count Henry is with Valdemar,’ said Anton.

Conrad’s eyes lit up. ‘I do hope so, as I trust that the Oeselians have not killed him.’

‘So you can kill him instead?’ said Hans.

Conrad grinned. ‘Precisely.’

The brother knights arrived back at Wenden in time for Sext Mass at midday, one of seven services that delineated a brother knight’s day. Immediately afterwards the knights and sergeants were expected to repair their armour and equipment and do other necessary tasks. However, as the castle was fully staffed with armourers and blacksmiths, who took a dim view of brother knights infringing on their responsibilities, there was little to do before lunch in the dining hall, save for guard duty that every bother knight and sergeant had to perform. Master Rudolf was insistent only members of the order should stand guard over the castle, arguing that mercenaries were more likely to fall asleep at their posts. Leatherface took great exception to this, telling the master that if they did they would be hanged as punishment. Rudolf retorted that it was of no benefit hanging a man if his negligence had allowed an enemy to infiltrate the castle.

Lunch was eaten in the dining hall, with the brother knights fed at the first sitting, the sergeants afterwards. Lukas’ young novices served the brother knights at table. Meals were always eaten in silence; the food first being blessed by Father Otto and then a clerk would read from a Bible during the meal. According to the rules of the Sword Brothers meat – mutton, goat, beef, veal – was eaten three days a week and fish was consumed on Fridays. All other meals contained only vegetables, usually in the form of broths, though there were always ample portions of bread, fruit when available, and cheese to accompany the main dishes, washed down with water.

The Cistercian order of monks that had given birth to the Sword Brothers through Bishop Albert ate no meat and partook of sparse meals. But Grand Master Volquin and his castellans quickly discovered that the knights and sergeants of their order needed to be fed like fighting cocks if they were to defeat their enemies in battle. As usual before going on campaign, Hans, the former starving beggar from Lübeck, attempted to empty the castle storerooms of food before he departed Wenden.