Sword for Hire

by Griff Hosker

  Our horses struggled to get up the snow-covered bank. Once we reached the top I saw the huts and the people. They were less than three hundred paces from us. I saw a man, bare from the waist up. He was being pulled on to a cross. I had a feeling I knew what they intended to do to him. We quickly formed into a long line. There was nothing between us and the huts. I think it was an area they used for grazing. We had spears but this would be the last time we would have enough for all of us. It was another lesson for the jarl. He needed to bring more weapons on these raids.

  They had some men watching and they gave the alarm. The women scattered and the men ran for weapons. We were heading for them at a steady speed. I had impressed on the jarl the need to keep boot to boot if we could and, so far, he and his men were heeding my advice. The Estonians grabbed their weapons but they came at us piecemeal. It was easier than the battle we had previously fought. We had more men facing us but there was no attempt to form one line.

  We hit them as one. I pulled back my arm and I saw, as I struck, that the other spears came forward as mine did. Even the ones which hit shields were effective. The force of the blow, the mail and our horses knocked the warriors to the ground and they were trampled. I then saw arrows falling amongst the Estonians. David and the archers were in position. Then I heard a cry, “God and Bishop Albert!” Brother Harald, belying his years led the men to fall upon the rear of the Estonians. This time they did beg for quarter. We had unleashed a hell on them they had not expected. We looked around for any more foes and there were none. I sheathed my sword and looked to see if any of my men had been hurt. I could not see the archers but my men at arms were wiping blood from weapons. They lived.

  Chapter 12

  Petr ran to the man who had been hung between two trees. I could now see that he was a youth. Brother Harald was looking around for more men to slay and then I heard him shout to his men to free the captives. The two jarls had the warriors, as well as the women and children, herded in the middle. My men were slipping amongst them to remove weapons. I smiled. We had become one army. It might be the smallest army in which I had ever fought but that did not matter.

  I dismounted and handed my reins to William. “Lord, you still have your spear!”

  I nodded, “I am learning the best place to strike at these heathens.”

  Petr shouted, “Sir Thomas, I need assistance.”

  When I reached him, I saw that the young man, he was little more than a boy and I put his age at no more than fourteen summers, was not just tied to the two trees, a nail had been driven through each palm. Petr was supporting him so that the weight did not tear the nail through his hand. He was, mercifully unconscious. I turned and shouted, “William, fetch Skuld and be quick!”

  Petr said, “I know him. His father, Folke the Quiet, is the jarl of a settlement twenty miles west of here. This is his son, Fótr. They are Norse.”

  William arrived and I opened the saddlebag. I had a pair of pincers I had had made by a blacksmith in the Holy Land. I knew how to shoe a horse. Often you could not find a farrier in the desert. It was a skill of which I was proud. The pincers were used to remove old nails. Now I saw a medical use. “Petr, put your hand flat against his palm and leave a gap between your fingers.”

  “Aye lord.”

  I knew that I to be quick. He was bleeding heavily. The cold had slowed down the bleeding, perhaps it had even saved his life. I put the pincers around the head and pulled. I did so firmly. I had learned to do so on horses. One swift jerk was better than a series of tugs. The youth gave a sort of moan.

  “William, fetch the healer and fire. Petr, the other hand.”

  I pulled the other one out and then we laid him down on his back. The two jarls and Brother Harald rushed over, “Dear God, what have the heathens done to this poor boy!” The priest quickly used vinegar to cleanse the wound. He rammed some honey in to stem the bleeding and then he grabbed the brand. He nodded to me, “Quick thinking, lord. You may have saved this youth’s hands.”

  There was a hiss and the boy spasmed and his eyes flew open. He looked terrified. Brother Harald did the same with the other hand. Laying down the brand, Brother Harald put his arms around him and said, “You are safe now, boy! Your ordeal is over!”

  The Jarl Birger Brosa was grim faced as he asked, “Where is your family?”

  The youth looked in shock but he appeared to recognise the jarl. He shook his head, “I am not certain. They attacked our home three days since. The warband split up and I was brought here. My father and mother were taken by the others.”

  Jarl Birger Persson asked Birger Brosa, “Others? It sounds to me like two clans combined for a raid. Folke the Quiet had a well-made hall with a ditch and a palisade. It would not have fallen easily.”

  “Your brothers, Folki and Magnus, what of them?”

  “They were slain. My father was hurt. I tried to defend my mother but I was struck from behind.”

  Brother Harald turned the youth around and looked at the back of his head. “Fetch water he has another hurt.” He glared at The Jarl Birger Brosa, “He needs food, jarl and rest not questions.”

  “You are right and we know enough already.” We walked away. The Estonians were being closely watched. There were fewer captives here but when David of Wales came over he said, “Lord, there is a charnel house yonder. I found many bones. There were pieces of flesh there. Do these heathens just throw their dead away?”

  The jarl looked at the captives. “No, archer, they do not. The bones are of the captives they took and who were of no use to them. They kept the women and the girls. They are the men and boys. When they would have finished with Fótr he would have been disposed of in the same way.”

  He strode over to the Estonians. He grabbed an old man and hauled him up. He began to speak with him. The man did not appear to understand. Suddenly he spat at the jarl and then pulled a wicked skinning knife from his sealskin boot. He would have succeeded in his assassination attempt had not Will son of Robin sent an arrow into his back. The treachery had an immediate effect. We had only taken a handful of men and about six boys. The jarl’s men dragged them from the captives and summarily executed them. It happened so fast that we could not stop it. Their blood was hot. As they searched the bodies, they pulled out knives from their boots. Now we saw why these had surrendered. The women wailed until the jarl, now recovered from the shock of almost dying, shouted and there was a sullen silence. He spoke again and this time one woman spoke. It was a brief conversation.

  The jarl turned to us, “I thank you archer, Sir Thomas. Once again, I give thanks to God that you were sent to us. The clan joined with another to raid Folki. This village took the boy and the animals, the other had the captives. We need to get there quickly.”

  I asked, “How far is it?”

  “Twenty miles.”

  “If you travel now you will hurt the horses and we have captives and freed slaves to care for.”

  “I know Sir Thomas but these are a cruel people. They have Fótr’s mother.”

  I nodded. He was right. I looked at the sky. I was new to the land but the clouds looked to be snow laden to me. “And if it snows?”

  Brother Harald had come over to join us, “It will snow. I have stitched his head and given him a sleeping draught. He cannot be moved yet.”

  I saw the dilemma which the jarl faced. He walked to the horses and began to stroke his animal. When he turned he was smiling, “Brother Harald, I leave you here with the prisoners and the captives. We will take men who are mounted and those of my men who are unhurt. They can use skis. The Estonians have great quantities of them. We will go with a smaller number and hope that the blizzard can help us. We will go in on foot and silently. If God is with us then we will emerge victorious.”

  It was not the best plan in the world but I could also see that it was the only plan. I left six archers with the priest. They were the ones without horses. I took just David and Will. In all we had forty-six men. The jarl knew that we w
ould be outnumbered but he hoped that our armour and our skill would help us. I had seen skis before but this was the first time I had seen them used in war. As the snow began to fall we left. Amazingly the skiers moved faster than the horses. They flanked us and moved easily across country.

  The jarl had heeded my words and we went steadily rather than fast. We had grabbed food and were eating even as we rode. I had grain in my saddlebags for Skuld and water in my skin. With all the snow around we could melt it and make water if we had to. The blizzard meant that we could not see far ahead and we relied upon The Jarl Birger Brosa’s scouts. I had my spare cloak tied around my saddle to afford some protection for Skuld. My hood hung over my face so that the snow did not continually drive into my flesh. I had never endured like this before. It was like being in a cocoon. I could hear little and see less. Old Crusaders had told me of sandstorms which were as bad. I had never had to ride in one. I had been lucky and watched them from the safety of Acre’s walls.

  It was hard to estimate time but I saw the sky growing darker. Night was falling. It seemed to have lasted but a short time. The snow laden clouds had not helped. We had stopped twice to feed and rest the horses. The skiers did not seem to need the rest and they had ranged ahead before returning to report on the terrain we would encounter.

  I found myself almost dozing off as darkness fell. Skuld stopped and I looked out of my cloak. Jarl Birger Persson had stopped. He turned. He mimed dismounting. We had reached the village although, as I peered beyond him I could see nothing. I could smell nothing. It was as though we were in a white hell. I dismounted. We were close to a forest of spindly pines. We led our horses there and tied them to the trees. They would have some shelter from the snow. I saw the others take off their cloaks and I did the same. We would be colder but we needed the freedom to swing.

  This time David and Will would be under the command of the Swedes. This was their sort of war. Sverge, their leader tapped them on their shoulders and they headed through the snow. The dismounted warriors seemed a tiny number to do what we had to do. My men naturally formed up behind me. We made up almost half of the number of warriors who would attack the village. The jarls had made their plans before we had left. We would spread out in a long line and work our way in to the village. The archers we had taken would be on the far side. We hoped that our enemy would be confused. The blizzard would keep most of the Estonians inside their huts. Had we been in England I would have sent a scout in to find out where the captives were being kept. We would not be doing that. We would have to enter each hut and identify the occupants.

  Leading my men, I waved my sword to the left and the right and my men spread out. Edward was on my left and William my right. We started to walk. There was a gap between each man. I could not see anything at first and I relied on the skill of the scouts. The blizzard began to abate, even as we walked through the virgin snow. It was hard going, walking in snow which came up above our ankles. You had to lift your foot higher than normal. As the snow stopped I saw the shadows of huts ahead and the glow, through an open door of a fire. I could also smell animals. There were reindeer. I glanced to my right and saw The Jarl Birger Brosa and his men. We were still in one line.

  Suddenly, ahead of me was a line of spears and on top of each one was a skull. Three of them were fresh. I saw their gory faces and knew that one of them had to be Folki the Quiet. I pulled my shield around a little closer. The silence of the night was broken from my right. One of the Estonian sentries had been slain. I raised my sword and we began to move faster.

  There was a hut just twenty paces from us. A warrior ran out with an axe in his hand. As he glanced around he saw us and shouted something. Henry Youngblood ran up to him and talking the axe blow on his shield hacked his sword across his middle. My men followed him into the hut. I turned as William shouted. Four warriors had emerged from a hut to our right and were running at us. Hugh of Bath and William turned to face them. They locked their shields.

  “Edward, with me!” Leaving the rest of our men to deal with the warriors in the hut we ran to the aid of William and Hugh. I saw Hugh’s shield shivered by an Estonian axe and I brought my sword overhand to strike down on the axeman’s head. Even if his hide cap stopped my edge cutting too deeply the weight of the sword would crush his skull. Edward rammed his sword into the neck of a second Estonian. Hugh headbutted the warrior who faced him. The nasal on Hugh’s helmet broke the Estonian’s nose and, as he reeled, he hacked him across the middle. William kept punching his enemy in the face with his shield until the man’s guard dropped and William’s sword sliced through his throat.

  Henry led my men from the hut. Their swords were bloody. I saw the two jarls surrounded by warriors. Arrows flew from the dark and whittled down the Estonians but there were many of them. Even as I watch an Estonian axe sliced through the shield of one of The Jarl Birger Brosa’s men at arms and a second eviscerated him with a curved skinning knife. I led my men towards the fray. The snow had stopped but it was still deep. We could not reach them quickly. I saw one of the squires hit on the side of his helmet by the flat of an axe he fell.

  Before the Estonian could finish him off William had reached the Estonian and hacked through his thigh. The artery was severed and blood sprayed on the white snow. I lunged at an Estonian whose arm was raised to bring his axe down. Had the blow connected then Jarl Birger Persson’s man at arms would have been killed. My sword went under his arm and into the soft flesh of his armpit. Striking through his neck it came out at the other side. I used my foot to push his body from my blade.

  The sheer weight of numbers was helping the Estonians to win. Each of our men was being attacked by two of theirs. The battles and the journey had taken their toll of the men of the two jarls. Things might have gone against us had David not led the archers to close with the Estonians. From a range of twenty paces they poured arrow after arrow into them. Even their hide jerkins could not save them. With the rest of us hacking and stabbing at their front we ground them down.

  The Jarl Birger Brosa shouted, “No, quarter!”

  I did not disagree. I had seen the skulls of the dead jarl and his men. By the time dawn broke we had finished the last of the men. Some of the women and children had escaped. That could not be helped. Eight of the Swedes we had brought with us lay dead including two squires. The knights they had served were distraught.

  “Find Folki the Quiet!”

  I shook my head, “Look over there. I spied some spears with freshly hewn skulls upon them.”

  The jarl himself went and when he returned, his face was grim. “It is he. But where is his wife? Gather the captives together and ask where she is. Have the prisoners guarded.”

  Hugh of Bath had a bad wound in his leg. An axe had sliced through his chausse and laid open his calf. Our healer was back at the other camp. Will son of Robin said, “I will see to it. I am handy with a needle.”

  “William, take Petr and the squires who remain, fetch our horses.”

  I joined the other two jarls and the two knights as we sought the lady. It was Birger Persson who found her. She was in one of the huts along with two other women. They had been used by the Estonians. They were dead. My friend turned and drew his sword. I knew what he intended. I stood in the doorway. “Do not do this, Birger, you will regret it. There are just women, children and the old out there.” I said it quietly and in a calm voice in the hope that it would calm hm. He tried to push past me. I said, over my shoulder, “Ridley, I need you.”

  Birger said, “Did you see what those animals did to those women! They were gentle ladies. Those girls were her daughters!”

  Ridley appeared behind me. Birger was going nowhere in a hurry. “And those men are dead. We slew them. Perhaps the Brother can save their souls. The women did not do this. The children did not do this. Men behaved like animals and they have paid. If you hurt them then you are no better than the beasts we slew.”

  I saw his shoulders slump. He nodded, “You are right but I ju
st want to hit out at something.”

  “I know.” I turned to Ridley, “Thank you.”

  He grinned, “Any time, lord.”

  We stayed at the camp for the night. We were tired and we wanted a whole day to take the Estonians and the captives we had recovered back to the Brother and the rest of our men. The Jarl Birger Brosa also wanted as many of their animals as we could drive. “If we have them then any survivors will starve. We will find their bones come spring.” They fought their wars in a different way here on this northern border.

  We knew that some had escaped. The archers had deserted their post. It had been the right decision. If they had not then we might have lost. I comforted the jarls, “This may be better. They will return home and the survivors will tell of what we did here. They will choose easier places to raid and to roam.”

  We had bodies to bury and huts to search. With slow moving captives, it took some time to return to our camp.

  When we reached Brother Harald I saw that Fótr was watching for us and ran towards us. His face was full of hope. That hope was dashed when he saw our faces. “Your family has been avenged, Fótr Folkisson. Brother Harald will offer words of comfort.”

  His face became a mask of anger, “I want no comfort. I want the arms and the skills to do as you did. I would go amongst our enemies and I would slaughter them.”

  Jarl Birger Persson said, “Then you had better serve Sir Thomas of Stockton.” He pointed to me. “He needs a squire and there is none better to train you.”

  He nodded, “Would you have me lord? I know little but I swear that I will learn.”

  I saw William’s face. He was willing me to agree. It was a great responsibility but I knew I had to do as they asked, “Aye, you will be my squire until you are ready to be knighted. That will be the decision of The Jarl Birger Brosa.”

  The jarl smiled, “This is good. When spring comes we will visit your home and see what can be salvaged.”