by Griff Hosker
I did not mind either the exclusion nor the weather. We would be paid handsomely for six months work. Thus far we had seen little danger. The attack from the pirates had not hurt us and my men had managed to acquire coins and a couple of weapons from the dead. They had all shared in the small bounty. Even Ralph had been given coins. If we continued in the same manner then we would return to England a little richer. Hopefully, we would have had a better harvest and my wife would be happier.
We had a journey of over three hundred miles. Even with horses, this would take more than a week. There was a shorter route but that would have involved us passing through lands which were, as yet, unconquered. We stayed each night in towns and villages. The people who lived there were not thrilled to have over two hundred men and horses take over their homes. This was not the Holy Land. There the pagans, the followers of Islam, could be identified by the colour of their skin. Here, the pagans and the Christians looked identical. We had little idea of the religion of those who lived in the houses through which we passed. I made certain that we kept a good watch each night. The sergeants of the order patrolled but my men did so also.
We were halfway to Vilnius when trouble struck. I had no idea of the names of the places through which we passed and as Sir Bengt was not near us then there was no one to ask. All we knew was the land was largely flat and there were still many forests which looked to be virgin. Many areas that we had passed through had been cleared to grow wheat which, along with timber, appeared to be the major products upon which the people depended. They kept a few pigs and cows but they were not kept in large numbers. As we headed to Vilnius the civilized land was replaced by forests and woods. It was as we entered yet another one that my senses began to tingle. We were towards the back. Teutonic sergeants guarded the baggage behind us. I could not explain my sixth sense. Perhaps it had developed when I had anticipated a clout from my father and ducked out of the way. It may have been from the times I scavenged, often on my own. All I knew was that I had learned to trust my sixth sense.
I turned to Roger and Alan, who rode together behind me, “I am uneasy. String your bows and ready your weapons. Keep a watch on the trees.”
Neither man questioned me. They had followed me long enough to trust my senses. I heard John say to Ralph, “Don your helmet and be ready to draw your sword. Tie Jack’s reins to your cantle and it will free up your hand.”
“But I see nothing!”
“Sir William smells trouble. Trust his nose, Ralph.”
This was not England and we did not travel on Roman roads. As far as I knew the Romans had never reached this part of the world and the roads over which we rode were made of mud. It meant that our horses did not clop. They were almost silent for the mud was soft and deadened the sound. That helped me to hear. I did not look for if there were attackers then they would be hidden. Their clothes would blend into the brown of the land. It was an absence of birds which alerted me. The birds close to the track had been silent in each of the forests through which we had passed but I had heard them in the distance. Here they were silent even in the depths. That meant there were predators in the woods. I wondered if we might be too powerful a force to tackle. Alan of the Wood had been an outlaw but his band had numbered less than twenty at its height.
For the past two days, the Earl had ridden surrounded by his household knights and priests. Our conversation had lasted but one day and then he had tired of me. I did not speak politics. I did not plot. I was a warrior who could fight and protect the Earl. Henry Bolingbroke had elevated me but that did not mean he liked me. He did not dismiss me but, gradually, he became surrounded by the ambitious young knights who would be given manors and estates as the Earl increased his power. We were behind the squires and the priests but ahead of his sergeants and archers. My men had closed ranks around me forcing the Earl’s men closer to the horses.
The attack, when it came, appeared to be at the head of the column. We heard shouts and the sound of horses whinnying. The trumpet sounded, ordering us to stand to. We drew weapons. My warning meant that Alan and his archers had their bows strung and arrows nocked before the notes had died away. I pulled up my coif and drew my sword. I raised up my shield. Turning around I saw that my men had done as I had but the Earl’s men simply stared around. They appeared bemused for there was nothing to be seen.
I shouted, “Don your helmets and draw your weapons. Archers, nock an arrow! Guard the baggage!” My words stirred them and they had just obeyed my order when a shower of arrows and stones descended from the forest. We were close to the baggage and that was the target. “Archers dismount. Roger prepare to follow me.” I held up my shield as I wheeled Blaze around. Arrows and stones cracked into it. I saw one of the Earl’s archers felled by a stone and a man at arms clutch his arm. Two of the Earl’s priests ahead of us were thrown from their horses by arrows. The pagans would target priests! They were seen as Christ’s wizards by the pagans.
Alan of the Wood and his archers used their horses to protect themselves and they began to choose targets. They had good eyes for the terrain and the arrows which flew from the woods identified where attackers lurked.
“Ralph, dismount and stay here. Watch the archers’ horses. Roger, John, let us root out these savages.”
I spurred Blaze and headed into the forest. I held my sword below and behind me. My shield was held over Blaze’s head. Almost as soon as I entered the forest, I found myself in a dark and gloomy world. The trees were huge and ancient. That meant there was little undergrowth and men had to hide behind trees. When they sent an arrow at the column, they had to expose themselves. An arrow came from nowhere and skittered off my shield while another hit my chest. It stuck there, caught in my surcoat and mail. When it did not penetrate then I knew they were using hunting arrows and not war arrows. That gave me confidence. I had seen the movement of the arrow and I pulled Blaze to the side and rode towards the hidden archer. He must have thought that he was invisible for I saw him nock another arrow. Blaze was fast and, even as he drew back the string, my sword swept across his chest. It tore open his body and, bleeding heavily, he fell to the ground. The archers and the slingers had now lost their advantage. We were so close to them that they had no time to react to charging horses ridden by mailed men. I wheeled Blaze to the left and rode at a bowman who was oblivious to my presence. He sent an arrow towards the column and only sensed me at the last moment. The last thing he saw was my sword sweeping towards his head. I sliced off the top of his skull. It was a quick death. My men and I were few in number but the archers and the slingers could do us little damage. They began to flee.
This was where my men’s training paid off. I shouted, “Wheel! Ride to the other side of the woods!” The attack had come from two sides of the trail. We had eliminated the threat closest to us. I had no doubts that the knights of the order would be hunting down men at the front but the pagans were after the horses and the baggage. As we neared the trail, I saw that men with swords and axes were attacking the baggage guards. Two sergeants were hauled from their horses and butchered. The other side of the road would have to wait.
“Wheel left!” I used my sword to direct my nine men.
The pagans fought half-naked. They had no helmets but their long axes, spears and double handed swords were biting into horses and sergeants alike. There were almost forty of them close to the train. I saw younger warriors leading off horses. The horses had tents and weapons on them. To us, they were more valuable than gold! The first Lithuanian I slew knew nothing about it for my sword hacked into the side of his head even as he swung his pike at one of the Earl’s archers. I switched my sword to strike over Blaze’s head at the next Lithuanian. He saw the blow coming but my horse’s snapping teeth and my shield distracted him. I split his skull in two.
Then I was spotted. Perhaps he was a chief, I know not but he wore a metal ring around his neck. He was a huge warrior with an axe and he shouted something. Five men turned to face us. He swung his axe in appar
ently lazy circles. This was where Blaze’s training would pay off. John was to my left and Roger of Chester to my right. I could ignore the other men and I rode at the chief. They had no shields and were in a loose line. The chief’s swings meant that none were close to him. An axeman has to choose his moment to strike. Perhaps this chief had never faced a horse. I hoped so for, as he decided that my horse was in range, he swung harder. I jerked Blaze to the left. The axe struck fresh air and I saw resignation on his face as my sword swept down and across his face. He was a large warrior and a brave warrior but my sword ripped open his face and he was dead before I had withdrawn my weapon. There were cracks and cries from behind me as my men rode through and over the five men who had turned with the chief to face us.
We swept around the mass of men trying to get at the horses. The Earl’s men and the Teutonic sergeants had organised themselves and they began to drive against the barbarians. A horn sounded from the woods and the barbarians fled. We did not allow them to leave unmolested and we hacked, slashed and stabbed at all who tried to pass us. Some of the Earl’s men looked to follow them. I shouted, “Hold! Reform for there may be a second attack!” Thankfully they obeyed.
There were dead and there were wounded amongst our men. Only two priests had survived. Some of the pagans had almost deliberately sacrificed themselves to attempt to hack the priests to death. Horses had died as well as sergeants and, crucially, three irreplaceable archers. I went with my men to finish off the wounded and to collect the weapons and their valuables. When I reached the chief, I took the torc. It was a gold alloy. I handed it to John to put in his satchel.
The Earl himself rode down our line. I saw him speak with his sergeants and examine the bodies of the dead Teutonic priests. He looked shocked. I walked over to him and he dismounted. He shook his head, “Savages! Savages!”
“Now we know the type of man we fight, my lord.” I think that the Earl had expected a slightly easier opponent. After all, they wore no mail and did not use horses. How could they stand against knights?
He nodded to me, “My men said that you took charge and it was because of that we did not lose more. Thank you. You have justified your selection.”
“Aye, but we lost three archers, lord. That should not have happened.”
“How could we have stopped it?”
“You need the archers under one commander. We should use them as a block of bowmen.”
“And who would lead them? You?”
I shook my head, “Alan of the Wood. He could command.”
“But he was an outlaw.”
“And he was pardoned.” I pointed. Alan and my archers were walking through the woods retrieving usable arrows. “That is the mark of a bowman. Your men stand around just grateful to be alive. They are good archers but they need a leader.”
“You are right. Make it so.”
After collecting the horses which the pagans had tried to take, we rode just four more miles to camp at a small village. It was deserted, which led me to believe that it was pagan and they had been part of the attack. Our dead were buried in the village. Their bodies would be dug up and despoiled once we left but I had no say in the matter. Siegfried von Plauen was commander and he made the decision. I spoke to Sir Bengt and told him my thoughts.
“You may be right, but what else could we do?”
“You could have buried them in the huts and then burned the huts. Their graves would have been hidden. It is done now. Tell me, Sir Bengt, why do you not use scouts?”
“We cannot trust the locals and we have none ourselves. I fear this will happen again.”
“I have an idea how to deter the enemy. Come with me to the Earl and then we will see the Hauskomtur.”
The Earl was still in a state of shock. Two of his minstrels had also died and it had shaken him. He agreed and we went to the Hauskomtur. Sir Bengt translated my words. The Teuton nodded and spoke. Sir Bengt said, “He thanks you for suggesting that we use your archers to watch the flanks and the woods but he fears that they will just be sacrificed.”
“Tell him that I am confident that they will not.”
He finally agreed and I was vindicated. Over the next four days, the pagans tried to attack us three more times. Each attack was spotted early by the archers. Warning was given and a wall of spears and shields greeted the attackers. The pagans were brave but without the element of surprise, they could not harm us. My archers slew forty of them. The Earl himself managed to kill one who broke through our cordon to close with him. His colourful livery marked him as important.
We knew we were getting close to Vilnius when we spied the camps. The outer camps were the ones who served the Teutonic Knights, the Polish King and their allies. As we neared the siege works, we saw the camps of the white-robed Teutonic Knights. The blue and gold of the Swedish contingent could also be spied as well as the red and white of the Danes. Sir Bengt pointed to a small and empty space close to the Swedish camp. “That is your camp, Earl Henry. I will visit with the Hochmeister and then return. I am to camp with you.
The Earl’s face fell. We were on the periphery. It showed his lack of importance. He was a symbol. He represented England. His livery was that of the Plantagenet royal family. He gave legitimacy to the Teutonic Order’s attempt to increase its territory. I let his men organise the camp for Roger had already picked out a place for us. I studied the walls of the mighty city. They were high walls. I saw ladders and towers. Men were attacking but not around the whole of the city. They had three towers and just two ladders attacking one section of the wall. This would not succeed. The pagans could just put their best men on the wall that was being attacked. Attacking walls was never a choice a man at arms would willingly make. You climbed a ladder holding on with one hand using your shield to protect yourself. You could not fight until you reached the top and there would be two men trying to kill you. Even as I watched I heard a trumpet and the attackers fell back. They had been beaten. Pulling back the towers brought more casualties and the ladders were left in place. They were lost to us. Each defeat made the next attack even harder. I dreaded the order for us to attack. I had with me just eight men at arms and if we had to scale the walls then I might not have any to take home.
We had one tent for us. My archers would make hovels. They wandered off to the wood we had passed three miles down the road. They would gather wood and, I had no doubt, hunt for game. We knew how to campaign. Ralph had grown during the time we had been in Lithuania. He had seen men die. He had witnessed horses being hacked to pieces by barbarians. The youth was learning to be a warrior. He found some timber and began to build a pen for the horses. Roger had chosen a site which was well away from any danger. We would have a long march to reach the siege lines but that was a price worth paying for security. The danger would be locals trying to steal our horses. Our run in with the barbarians in the forest had alerted us to the possibility of an attack in the night. Roger came to me when the hovels were erected. “Alan and I will have two men on guard at all times in the night, my lord. I wouldn’t trust some of these others as far as I could throw them. We found some wild blackberry bushes. We have cut them down and we will use them to protect the horses.”
“I know what you mean. The Teutonic Knights are the only ones who are trustworthy. As for the rest…” I suppose it was the same with all crusading armies. There were those who came for the right motives and there were those who were out to get whatever they could. We had not chosen to be here. We had been chosen. I think that the Earl realised that we had paid for our passage already. But for us, more of his men and priests would lie dead.
Our archers had returned and we were cooking the game they had brought when Geoffrey summoned me to the Earl’s tent. The young knights who had appeared so dismissive of me and my men when we had arrived now displayed a different attitude. Sir Bengt was seated with them and his squire. The Earl was not there. Sir Bengt said, “The Hochmeister wished conference with the Earl. I believe he wishes to use you and yo
ur men in a display to make the barbarians think that the English army is coming to join us.”
“Hochmeister?”
“Grand Master of the Order!”
Even barbarians knew the three golden lions and the fleur de lys. King Henry had created an Empire which had astounded the world. His sons might have lost most of it but the legend still remained. The knights gathered around me. Sir Robert d’Aubigny asked, “Sir William, where did you learn to fight against barbarians like that? When I saw you lead your men into the forest, I felt sure we had seen the last of you but you and your men slew twenty or thirty of them. How?”
“I have never been in a tourney, Sir Robert. I suspect I would do badly in one because I was not taught to fight properly. I learned as did my men by fighting as a sword for hire.”
“I am sorry, Sir William, you were never taught, you say you learned? I do not understand.”
“All of you, my lords, were taught to fight when you were squires. You learned to parry, to sweep, to thrust. You were shown how to fight from the back of a horse. When you fought in tourneys then you fought against men who were taught the same way. We learned in battle. We learned with men not trying to unhorse us or disarm us but men who would kill us unless we killed them first.” I looked at their earnest faces, “I will offer some free advice. You do not need to take it but here it is. When you are in battle try to kill with the first blow. Forget ransom. Forget making a beautiful stroke. Use an ugly one if you have to. Take your dagger and saw a man’s head off. Disembowel him from beneath. Do all that you can for if you do not then he will do that to you.”.