The Sword Brothers (69 page)

Grand Duke Daugerutis
did not halt to celebrate his victory at Inesis. He consigned his
own dead to the fires, left the Liv slain to rot and then marched
his men north, towards the Gauja and Wenden.

Chapter 15

Master Berthold had
assembled the garrison of Wenden and those Livs who had sought
sanctuary in the castle in the courtyard to inform them that the
Lithuanians had defeated King Caupo and his army and were now on
the way to the castle. Conrad felt a knot in his stomach as he
wondered what had happened to Thalibald and Waribule. Rameke and a
score of warriors had escorted the women and children from his and
other villages to the castle where they had been accommodated in
the castle quarters. He and the other novices had been
unceremoniously consigned to tents inside the perimeter, among the
huts of the civilian workers. He did not mind because it meant that
Daina was safe.

But the daughter of
Thalibald was distraught when she learned about Caupo’s defeat, as
were most of the Liv women, because it meant that her father,
brother and their menfolk were probably dead. Conrad held her in
his arms as she sobbed her heart out after learning of the king’s
defeat, while Rameke swore revenge on the Lithuanians.

‘I will ride south
with what few men I can muster,’ he hissed. ‘I am chief now.’

Conrad was shocked,
not by his desire to exact vengeance but by the fact that he was
now the chief of his people.

‘I will come with
you,’ he said, holding Daina tight.

‘Me too,’ said
Hans.

Anton nodded in
agreement and Johann slapped Rameke on the back.

‘None of you are going
anywhere,’ hissed Lukas, ‘not even you, Rameke.’

‘I lead my people now,
Lukas,’ snapped Rameke, looking at his sister sobbing.

Lukas smiled and laid
a hand on his shoulder. ‘Listen. Cool heads are needed in a crisis.
Your first responsibility as the leader of your people is to ensure
their safety and not to ride away on some stupid revenge mission
that will only get you killed. Who will lead your people then?’

‘But…’ Rameke
protested.

Lukas held up a hand.
‘Have all your people been gathered in?’

Rameke looked around
at the dozens of women, young children and infants that filled the
courtyard. He nodded.

‘Very well,’ said
Lukas. ‘Help me and the master get them settled into their quarters
and then you and Master Berthold can discuss what needs to be
done.’

Rameke nodded his head
sullenly and slapped Johann on the shoulder.

Lukas walked over to
Daina and gently laid his hands on her shoulders.

‘Perhaps it would be
better if your brother consoled you, Daina. Conrad has duties to
attend to.’

‘I do?’ said
Conrad.

Lukas glared at him.
‘Yes, you do.’

Conrad kissed Daina on
the head.

‘I love you,’ he
whispered.

She pulled away from
him and looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

‘And I you.’

Lukas gestured for
Rameke to take his sister to her quarters and waved Conrad and the
others away. Somewhat crestfallen, Rameke put an arm around his
sister and they walked towards the dormitory.

‘And Rameke,’ Lukas
called after him.

Rameke stopped and
looked at the brother knight.

‘Your father was a
good man and like a brother to me and the other brother knights
here. We will avenge his death.’

Lukas watched them
disappear into the dormitory as sergeants, who had also been
ejected from their quarters, began herding the Liv women and
children into the building that their new chief would also occupy.
And because there were so many new civilians the dining hall was
also given over to housing them.

‘Where will we eat?’
asked Hans with alarm. The others laughed.

‘You won’t have time
to eat,’ replied Lukas.

Hans smiled. ‘I always
have time to eat, Brother Lukas.’

At that moment the
alarm bell began ringing at the gatehouse in the perimeter wall, to
be reciprocated by the bell in the courtyard.

Lukas pointed at Hans.
‘You think so?’

The sergeants hurried
everyone inside as brother knights and mercenaries rushed to the
armoury to collect their weapons. There were guards at the
perimeter gatehouse and on the timber ramparts at all times but
they would need reinforcing if the castle’s outer wall was to hold.
Lukas told Conrad and others to collect crossbows from the armoury.
They were all allowed to wear their swords now, but their helmets
and shields were deposited in the armoury and so they had to
retrieve them.

‘And don’t forget to
collect at least three quivers of bolts each,’ he said to them.

As they waited in line
Conrad saw leather face exit the squat stone building with his
crossbow on his shoulder and holding four quivers. The grizzled old
mercenary smiled at him.

‘Never fought the
Lithuanians before. Should be interesting.’

‘You have enough
quivers there,’ said Conrad.

‘Now don’t you boys
worry,’ said leather face, ‘there will be plenty of Lithuanians to
go round.’

He grinned to show his
rotting teeth before sauntering off as though he had not a care in
the world.

When he at last got to
the armoury the armourers were already flustered and irritable,
slamming down full quivers on the bench that served as a makeshift
counter between them and the outside world. They guarded the
armoury like an eagle watches over its nest. But they knew their
business and soon furnished Conrad with everything he needed:
crossbow, two sets of bowstrings, kettle helmet, shield, three full
quivers and a one-handed axe, which he tucked in his belt. Then he
and the others went outside and ran from the courtyard to man the
outer wall.

As he raced across the
bridge over the moat he saw horsemen riding up and down beyond the
perimeter wall, dozens of them. They were obviously acting as a
screen for the hundreds of foot soldiers that were being marshalled
into position behind them.

‘Do you think three
quivers each will be enough?’ said Anton with alarm.

As they descended the
slope to where the civilian huts stood they passed their occupants
rushing the other way to the safety of the castle, clutching their
children and a few pathetic belongings. The gates in the perimeter
wall had been closed and braced with logs but as Conrad looked to
the left and right to see members of the garrison loading crossbows
on the ramparts, he realised that the defenders of Wenden were
vastly outnumbered.

He was comforted by
the fact that the outer perimeter defences had been considerably
strengthened since Lembit’s men had managed to breach them quite
easily. Under the supervision of Master Thaddeus the ditch that ran
along the entire length of the outer perimeter had been deepened,
the earth that had been dug from it being used to raise the
rampart. Thus the height of the ditch equalled the height of the
adjoining rampart, with a narrow, horizontal strip of ground called
a berm left between the ditch and the rampart to prevent the latter
sliding into the former. The bottom of the ditch, which was dry,
was filled with sharpened stakes to impale anyone unfortunate
enough to fall in it.

But it was the timber
walls themselves that had been entirely rebuilt. Now the defences
on top of the rampart comprised a series of log cells placed side
by side along the whole perimeter. Each ‘cell’ had three walls: one
facing the outer side of the rampart and two at right angles to the
outer wall. These defences were built around the superiority of the
crossbow, which could be shot through loopholes in the parapet. In
addition, the upper part of the wall had been built slightly
forward, overhanging the lower part, to create a gap between the
two parts. Through this gap could be shot crossbow bolts at any
enemy soldiers who had reached the berm at the foot of the wall.
Finally, the log cells were covered with gable roofs to protect
against the weather and enemy missiles.

Conrad placed his
quivers on the floor beside him, leaned the crossbow against the
wall and peered through a loophole. Each ‘cell’ could accommodate
up to four men but because the perimeter wall was extensive and the
garrison meagre, two were usually allocated to each one. So he and
Hans checked their weapons and were left alone with their own
thoughts, Anton and Johann occupying the adjacent ‘cell’.

The Lithuanians had
made no attempt to move closer to the walls but seemed to be
content to stand in blocks of spearmen as the horsemen continued to
ride up and down in front of them. After a while the enemy began
banging drums, the irksome din reverberating around the perimeter.
After the initial excitement following the appearance of the enemy
and frayed nerves as the garrison rushed to man the walls, a sense
of anti-climax descended on the defenders. Lukas climbed the ladder
to reach Conrad and Hans and articulated everyone’s thoughts.

‘They are not going to
attack.’

‘Perhaps they are
waiting for reinforcements,’ suggested Conrad.

Lukas walked to a
loophole and looked through it. ‘Perhaps. But there must be over a
thousand of them out there so I suspect their strategy is to sit
outside the walls.’

‘To what end?’ said
Hans.

Lukas smiled
sadistically. ‘To starve us out, of course. No point in wasting men
when hunger can do their work for them.’

Conrad laughed. ‘The
other garrisons will send a relief force long before that
happens.’

Lukas looked away from
the Lithuanians. ‘The other garrisons are also besieged, or so
we’ve heard.’

‘Then who will save
us?’ asked an alarmed Hans.

Lukas shrugged. ‘Who
indeed?’

As the hours passed
and the Lithuanians began to make camp around Wenden, Master
Berthold stood down the men on the perimeter wall, leaving a small
number to keep watch on the enemy. It was obvious that there would
be no assault and so he wrote a short note and ordered it to be
sent to Riga. He would take no action until he heard from Grand
Master Volquin.

*****

Stecse took the
message that had been attached to the dead pigeon and handed it to
Daugerutis. Like at the other Sword Brother castles that had been
encircled hawkers had been placed around the walls, ready to bring
down any courier pigeons that flew from the garrison.

‘The commander awaits
the orders of Riga, lord.’

Daugerutis smiled. He
sat on his horse several hundred paces from the gatehouse in
Wenden’s outer perimeter wall, the other dukes clustered behind
him. His strategy had thus far worked perfectly. He had the castles
of Kokenhusen, Lennewarden, Uexkull and Holm besieged along the
Dvina. He had defeated and destroyed the Liv army of King Caupo and
afterwards pushed on to the Gauja to surround Segewold Castle. Now
he had arrived at Wenden, the strongest crusader castle second only
to Riga, and watched as his soldiers had surrounded it with ease.
It was true that he had six thousand men tied down in sieges but
there was no crusader army in Livonia that could mount a relief
operation. Soon he would march against Riga itself and adopt the
same strategy, and then the crusader castles would fall one by one,
and after them Riga itself. And then he would be the master of all
Livonia.

‘He will be waiting
for a long time,’ remarked the grand duke.

‘We should launch an
attack,’ growled Ykintas, ‘instead of sitting here like old
women.’

Thus far the leader of
the Semgallians had retained his full complement of men rather than
seeing them allocated to siege operations. He had fought well at
Inesis, as had the other dukes, though the truth was that Caupo had
been so outnumbered that it had been more of a rout than a battle.
Lithuanian losses had been light whereas the Livs had lost
hundreds. Now the Iron Wolf wanted to batter his way into Wenden.
Daugerutis knew that the crusader castles were not to be
underestimated, despite the small size of their garrisons.

Daugerutis turned in
his saddle. ‘What do you think, Thalibald? Do you think Wenden’s
walls can be breached?’

Thalibald and his
eldest son sat in sullen silence on their horses. At the end of the
Battle of Inesis they had decided to make a final stand and kill as
many of the enemy before they died. However, though their men had
indeed been slaughtered, he and Waribule had been overpowered and
captured. Daugerutis had treated them with courtesy but they were
continually accompanied by a score of guards to prevent their
escape. Their swords had also been taken from them. The grand duke
knew that Thalibald was second in importance only to Caupo among
the Livs. He therefore might prove useful, and if not then he would
have him and his son killed. For the present, though, it amused him
to entertain them.

‘The Sword Brothers
are no fools,’ said Thalibald.

‘They are cowardly
women who hide behind their walls,’ boomed Ykintas.

Daugerutis held
Thalibald’s hateful gaze. ‘Perhaps you are right, Ykintas. Perhaps
my tactics are too cautious. Perhaps it is time for the banner of
the Iron Wolf to fly from those walls.’

Ykintas gave a cheer
of triumph and wheeled his horse away to lead his men. Stecse
brought his horse alongside the grand duke’s.

‘Lord, it is folly to
assault those walls.’

Daugerutis looked at
him. ‘I know. But it will be a useful lesson for Ykintas to learn
and I grow tired of his bluster.’

Duke Ykintas still had
fourteen hundred foot with him and now he ordered them to fashion
scaling ladders by felling trees in the surrounding forests while
the rest of the army also collected wood, though for cooking fires
not ladders. It was now two hours past noon and there were at least
four hours of daylight left – plenty of time to take the castle, so
Ykintas thought, and roast any prisoners alive before sitting down
to an evening feast with the other dukes. Thalibald and Waribule
were escorted back to their village, which was now the headquarters
of Grand Duke Daugerutis and his fellow dukes. They feasted in
Thalibald’s hall while the Liv chief and his son were kept locked
up in a small hut.