The Sword Brothers (28 page)

Sir Frederick was
nodding his approval and Grand Master Volquin was impressed by the
idea of his subordinates. Now all their eyes turned to the bishop.
He brought his hands together and rested his chin on his
thumbs.

‘Very well. You have
my blessing.’

‘More wine, Conrad,’
said Rudolf, a smile creeping across his face.

Later, when the bishop
and the other guests had retired to bed and the table had been
cleared, Conrad lay in the hut that had been allocated to him and
the other boys, unable to sleep. The others were deep in slumber
wrapped in their blankets. The straw that had been laid on the
earth floor was dry but cold and the door was rattling in the
wind.

‘Hans,’ whispered
Conrad.

There was no reply
from his friend sleeping beside him.

‘Hans,’ he hissed more
loudly.

The blanket next to
him moved.

‘Mm?’

Conrad propped himself
up on one elbow. ‘We are going to war.’

Hans was only half
awake as he turned his head towards Conrad.

‘What war?’

‘We are going to fight
the Estonians in two months, to attack a place called Fellin.’

‘Where is that?’ asked
Hans.

‘I do not know. But it
is a fortress of the enemy.’

Hans had fallen back
to sleep but Conrad lay on his back and thought of glory and
slaying the enemy hordes. The idea that he and the others would not
take part in the fighting did not cross his mind. He was going to
war with Rudolf, Lukas and Walter to smite the enemies of the
Lord.

The birth of Christ
was celebrated at Wenden as the snow lay thick on the ground all
around the castle, weighing down the branches of the spruce and
pine. The Gauja began to freeze in the middle of December, together
with the streams and smaller rivers that fed it, the lakes and the
marshes also becoming covered in ice. The boys’ training on
horseback came to a temporary halt as Lukas instructed them on
surviving the Livonian winter. Anton told Hans that because he was
so thin he would freeze to death in the icy conditions but they
were all issued with winter clothing as worn by the locals: felt
capes, woollen underwear, woollen leg wraps, fur caps, mittens and
socks. Hans was delighted to discover that not only did he not
freeze but was actually warm in his winter clothing.

They carried on with
their training but their bulky attire took some getting used to, in
particular their large winter boots. The ground in the castle
compound froze solid and every day received a fresh covering of
snow that had to be cleared from the main track, paths and castle
courtyard. Construction work slowed and then stopped, the
carpenters being diverted from their usual duties to construct a
siege tower that would be dismantled for the journey north and then
reassembled at Fellin. The huts of the civilian families and the
mercenaries were heated by burning peat blocks that had been cut
and dried during the summer and extra food rations were issued to
feed the women and children.

The boys had been at
Wenden for nearly nine months now and each of them had become
stronger, more agile and able to wield a waster with some
dexterity. Two days after they had celebrated the birth of Christ
in a packed chapel with the other members of the garrison, on a
freezing late December afternoon under a clear blue sky, Lukas blew
a whistle to call a halt to their exercises with a sword and
shield. He waved them over to him.

‘Next month the Sword
Brothers and those crusaders who have remained in Livonia for the
winter will be marching north against the Estonians and all of you
will be accompanying the army.’

Conrad grinned at Hans
and the others looked like foxes that had forced their way into a
chicken coop.

‘Will we get real
swords, Brother Lukas?’ asked Conrad.

‘You will not. Nor
will you be doing any fighting. You will help with the wagons and
supplies. Brother Rudolf thinks that the experience of a winter
campaign will be good for you all and I agree.’

He saw their
disappointed faces. ‘However, if the Estonians overwhelm the army
you have my permission to pick up any weapon that comes to hand in
the brief time between the army’s defeat and your own deaths at the
hands of Lembit’s warriors. Either that or run as fast as you
can.’

Lukas laughed. ‘Not
that it will come to that, God willing.’

Hans shook one of his
boots. ‘It is impossible to run in these boots. Why have we been
issued with boots that are too large, Brother Rudolf?’

Lukas pointed at
Anton. ‘In winter what is a fighter’s most important
instrument?’

‘His sword,’ answered
Anton to murmurs of agreement from the others.

Lukas smiled. ‘Wrong.
His feet.’

The boys stared at
each other and their boots in confusion.

‘It is true,’
continued Lukas. ‘In winter if your feet get cold and wet then you
will get frostbite. If that happens you will not be able to walk
and might lose your toes, even your life. What use is a sword if
you cannot stand up?

‘You are all wearing
thick socks so your boots must be roomy enough to permit you to
move your toes. Tight clothes and footwear impede the circulation
which might lead to frostbite.’

At the end of the day
Lukas watched over them in the dormitory as they cleaned their
boots and rubbed them with grease.

‘Snow is an enemy of
leather and so they must be cleaned and greased daily. Use your
hands not a cloth because grease rubbed vigorously with a hand will
warm it and will penetrate the leather more easily.

‘Do not let boots dry
near a fire as they will either burn or become hard and
brittle.’

When December ended so
did their training as preparations were speeded up for the assault
against Fellin. The boys were sent out to scour the surrounding
countryside for the wood of dead fir trees because it is the best
for winter fires. They loaded the branches onto horse-drawn sleds
and then chopped the branches into firewood at Wenden. At night
they lay in their beds and listened to the mournful howls of hungry
wolves that filled the nearby forest. Parties of crossbowmen were
sent out to hunt them down, partly to collect their carcasses for
fresh meat and fur but also to rid the night of their dreadful
sounds, a somewhat forlorn objective.

Conrad accompanied
Rudolf, the leather-faced crossbowman who had taken part in the
autumn hunt and four of his companions. It was four days into a
cold snap and Rudolf was confident that they would be successful.
His breath misted as he exhaled and looked into the savage blue
sky.

‘The wolves will be
desperate for food now and more receptive to calling.’

They pulled small
sleds behind them as they headed towards the forest, trudging
through the snow which Conrad found tiring after a while. ‘Leather
face’ kept looking into the sky and spotted Conrad looking
quizzically at him.

‘Ravens circling is a
good indication of a fresh kill site. Mind you, the wolves have
probably hunted and killed all the prey in the area.’

‘That is why we
brought you along,’ said Rudolf, a crossbow slung over his
shoulder.

‘Will they move away,
then?’ asked Conrad.

‘What, the wolves?’
said leather face. ‘No, they are like the Sword Brothers: very
territorial.’

Rudolf shook his head.
‘Just keep your eyes peeled for tracks, damn your eyes. I don’t
want to be out here when it gets dark and even colder.’

Leather face winked at
Conrad. ‘Doesn’t want to be wolf bait, more like.’

They trudged through
the snow for an hour, leather face at the front of the column
following the tracks he had picked up when they had entered the
forest. Conrad found the latter unnerving, a quiet, desolate place
seemingly devoid of life. There were no wolves here.

Leather face suddenly
held up a hand and the column halted. Rudolf indicated to Conrad
and the others to huddle round as the crossbowman walked back to
them.

‘I’ll stay here and
start calling. You all move ahead a hundred paces in front and get
into position. And keep low and silent. Wolves are intelligent
creatures.’ He looked at Rudolf. ‘Unlike the Sword Brothers.’

‘Perhaps we should
kill you and save our ears from your idiotic utterances.’

They left the sleds
behind as they walked forward, Conrad shadowing Rudolf.

‘Even if a wolf
responds to the calls,’ said Rudolf, ‘he will keep a safe distance.
As my insolent friend said, they are intelligent creatures.’

All the party wore
white cloaks, white tunics and white leggings to blend into the
terrain, with white cloth covers over their boots. Conrad knelt
beside a spruce, its branches covered in snow, Rudolf next to him.
Suddenly he heard a wolf howl behind him, followed by a dreadful
high-pitched screech.

‘He is calling the
wolves,’ whispered Rudolf. ‘The last sound was the call of a cow
elk. Wolves hunt elks so hopefully they will take the bait.’

‘Why the wolf call?’
said Conrad.

‘Wolves are
territorial but if a pack thinks another wolf or wolves have
entered their territory they will come to investigate.’

Leather face made his
calls again and minutes later Conrad saw fleeting shapes among the
trees: dark grey beasts moving stealthily through the forest. He
had already loaded his crossbow and now he brought up the stock to
his shoulder. He glanced at Rudolf who was staring ahead,
unblinking. The wolves were about two hundred paces away now,
moving cautiously in their pack. Conrad knew that wolves did not
travel alone but in groups. They looked bigger up close, with great
jaws and snarling visages. They walked forward a few paces and he
focused on one of the animals, a large wolf with a dark grey coat.
He waited for Rudolf’s shot before he released his trigger. He
heard a crack and then shot his bolt, the iron head slamming into
the chest of his target and dropping it.

He did not know if the
others had shot their crossbows but in an instant the other wolves
turned and fled. Rudolf reloaded his crossbow and raced forward,
Conrad doing the same, holding it ready to shoot. He saw the other
four crossbowmen also advancing with levelled weapons, ready to
shoot down another wolf. But the beasts were long gone.

He reached his target
to see the wolf lying dead, a small bloodstain under its head.
Rudolf had only wounded his beast, which was whimpering in pain
until he used his dagger to slit its throat and put it out of his
misery. He stood up and looked around. The other crossbowmen
signalled to him that they had killed their targets.

‘Six wolves,’ he
slapped Conrad on the shoulder. ‘Well done.’

Leather face joined
them as they unloaded their bows and dug their quarrels out of the
dead animals.

‘Nice shooting,’ he
said to Rudolf, grinning. ‘Are you going after the rest?’

‘They will be a long
way away soon. We have to get back to Wenden before it gets
dark.’

Leather face winked at
Conrad. ‘Afraid of the dark, Rudolf?’

‘We could always leave
you here to wait until they come back if you like,’ replied
Rudolf.

‘And miss out on a big
meal of roasted wolf?’ said leather face. ‘No chance.’

So they loaded the
carcasses onto the sleds and pulled them back to Wenden. It was
dusk when they reached the castle but they took the wolves straight
to the kitchens where they were skinned and gutted, and later the
meat was cooked and served. As usual the brother knights sat down
to eat first, followed by the sergeants and then Conrad and his
companions with those crossbowmen who had formed part of the
hunting parties. Leather face sat opposite Conrad as Hans beside
his friend stuffed his face with meat and bread. Leather face
looked at him.

‘He looks as though he
hasn’t had a meal in a month.’

‘No talking!’ shouted
Henke who was stalking up and down the dining hall.

Hans grinned and
continued to feed his mouth from his large, over-filled bowl.
Conrad shook his head at leather face, indicating that he should
say no more. It was one of the rules of the Sword Brothers that all
meals were to be eaten in silence.

Henke stood over
leather face with a malevolent expression. ‘It is forbidden to talk
at meal times.’

‘Bloody stupid rule,’
murmured leather face under his breath.

‘What?’ snapped
Henke.

Leather face looked up
at him. ‘Nothing, Henke. Excellent meal.’

The next day, as a
reward for killing a wolf, Rudolf took Conrad to Thalibald’s
village. They rode on a sleigh, one of many that were being
assembled at Wenden. A local pony pulled it on another glorious
winter day, the air freezing and still and the snow-covered land
dazzlingly white under a bright sun. Rudolf was armed with his
sword and Conrad carried a dagger but the latter felt strangely
vulnerable as the sleigh glided over the track’s frozen surface. He
continually looked around and behind him as they travelled through
the forest south of the castle. Rudolf noticed his apprehension and
halted the pony.

‘What is troubling
you, Conrad?’

‘Nothing, Brother
Rudolf,’ he replied, peering into the trees.

‘You suspect that the
forest might be filled with Estonians?’

Conrad felt himself
blushing. Rudolf laughed.

‘Tell me, what do you
hear?’

There was no wind, no
movement among the branches of the trees and no birds in the sky.
The only sound he could hear was the breathing of the pony in front
of him.

‘Nothing.’

‘Precisely. In this
clear, frosty weather noises carry to great distances. This tells
me there are no hostile forces anywhere near and so we are
perfectly safe. You must learn to use the terrain and weather to
your advantage, Conrad. This may appear strange to you now but in
time it will become your friend.’