by Griff Hosker
The Earl was summoned to a council of war. When he returned, he appeared for the first time since our return from Ukmergė to be optimistic. “The Grand Master believes that the resolve of the defenders is weakening. Tomorrow he and the King will go, under the flag of truce, and show some of the captives to those within Vilnius’ walls. He has discovered that two are related to the besieged leaders.”
I was not sure of the efficacy of the strategy but I was a mere sword for hire. What did I know? The Earl and his knights were invited to witness the meeting. They declined for the Earl had developed a cough and he stayed close by the fire, wrapped in his furs. Although they marched under a flag of truce, the two leaders had bodyguards as well as the Bishop and four priests. They were all armed. Four women, better dressed than the rest, were taken to within two hundred paces of the walls. Horns sounded and we saw faces appear above the gate. All wore armour. These were not common men. They were their lords, their leaders and their priests. We could not hear the words. We heard nothing. The intermittent sleet and snow had stopped and a wind wailed across the ground. It was obvious that there was a conversation going on for I saw hand gestures from those on the wall and before the wall. Suddenly one of the women broke free from her guards and bared her breasts. A crossbow bolt flew from the walls and struck her in the centre of her chest. All hell broke loose. A priest and a Polish warrior were struck by bolts as was a Teutonic sergeant. The Grand Master drew his sword and, in three strikes, decapitated the remaining three women. With shields protecting them the party hurried back. More of the Teutonic Knights and Poles ran to help their leaders.
The Earl turned to Sir Bengt, “Go and find out what happened. I am sure this was not planned.”
It took hours for us to discover what had happened. Sir Bengt looked shocked when he returned. “It seems, my lord, that their plan did not go the way they expected. King Jogaila tried to use the women as hostages. The wife of the lord of Ukmergė broke free and begged her cousin to kill her and the other women for they did not wish to be the cause of the ending of the siege. He obeyed her wishes and we saw the rest. The Grand Master and the Bishop had to persuade the King not to slaughter all of the captives. The Poles now guard the captives but the Hauskomtur is also present. I am afraid this has created dissension. The Poles were already smarting from their losses in the burned tower.”
The Earl nodded, “And the new towers appear to be no further forward. We did what we were expected to and yet we are no closer to ending this siege.” Just at that moment, the sleet turned to real snow. Great white lumps fell from the sky and the Earl shook his head. “And now winter arrives!”
We returned to our tent. Our men had already built up the fire. Each day, since our return, Alan and his men had ridden the few miles to the nearest wood to cut down timber for firewood and to collect dead wood. We had hoped to dry it out before the snows came but that would not happen now. I had managed to find a sealskin cape in the town of Ukmergė and that, along with the bear fur I had found, meant I was as warm as I was likely to be. Ralph and John also had furs. Our archers had hunted most days and we had rabbit and hare skins made into hats and mittens. We would find it hard to fight but we were relatively dry and as warm as we could be. I saw my men at arms using the falling snow to pack around their hovels. When it froze it would keep the wind out. With cloaks soaked in water for their doors then the hovels would probably be warmer and cosier than our tents.
When Alan and his men returned, they had managed to catch and kill a couple of mink and a polecat. When skinned we would enjoy a stew and the furs we could also use. They had their horses laden with kindling and wood. Alan shook his head, “The snow is thicker to the north and west of us, lord. I know not how the people who live here move in it. Already it is difficult to walk.” He waved his hand at the snow. There is not a problem here yet but,” he pointed to the black clouds, “soon it will be.”
“I will speak with Bengt and see how the Swedes cope with this type of weather.”
I went alone to speak to the knight. He was with the Earl and they were drinking. “Come and join us, William, Sir Bengt has brought this distilled liquor which warms from within.”
I shook my head, “I came for information, lord. Sir Bengt, how do your people move when the snow lies so thickly on the ground?”
The Earl laughed, “This is not thick!”
“It will be, lord. Is there some sort of trick?”
Sir Bengt shook his head. “We do not use wagons, we use sledges and we have wooden planks for our feet. We call them skis. When the snow freezes you will find it easier. It is when it is wet that it is more difficult to move. The next few days will see the snow become deeper. When it stops and the skies clear then it will become ice. We stud our shoes with nails and that stops us sliding around. Horses become less effective when there is ice.”
The Earl looked appalled, “What a God-forsaken land!”
I smiled, “I think, my lord, that is the reason we are here. God has not forsaken it. He has sent us to save it!”
I told my men the dire news. Camping in winter in a snow-covered land was not to be undertaken lightly but they were philosophical about it. Harold Four Fingers said, “Well, lord, if we cannot move then neither can those in Vilnius.”
John shook his head, “I am not sure that is true, Harold Four Fingers.” He pointed to the pile of snow which covered the bodies of the four women. “They have not yet been moved. That must have an effect on those within the walls of Vilnius. They are a symbol.”
Harold looked at the snow and then nodded towards John, “Your squire has a clever mind, lord. The King and the Grand Master left the bodies of those women outside to rot. You can see people viewing them from the walls. If they thought to hurt those inside it is not working. Wilfred of Loidis here reckons that they are barbarians and will not sit idly by and endure the insult.”
I looked at Wilfred who shrugged, “I was on duty close to the walls and I saw the looks on the faces of those on the walls. They were not happy faces.”
My squire, John, said, “I am not a lord and not of noble blood. If my mother and her sisters were treated as the captives were then my father and I would try to do something about it. We would not sit and do nothing. I know these kinds of people, lord. There are no pagans in our village but we all lived simply. The family is all to us. The woman was the cousin of the lord of Vilnius. This will eat away at him. I think God sent the snow to keep them within the walls. Let us pray he does not turn it to ice.”
The storm raged for four days. The land became a sea of white with little lumps which marked the hovels. Ralph and my men spent each day clearing the snow from around our horses. They piled it up to make wind brakes. Finding forage was hard. Now we had to find food and kindling for us and for our horses. It sapped our energy and the mood of our camp was depressed. Then the snow stopped. The nights became so cold that some horses and sentries died. Sir Walter’s horse died. His squire was distraught and blamed himself. Our snow walls, built to keep the wind from our horses now became solid walls of ice. John’s warnings prompted me to seek the Earl. Sir Bengt had been right. It was easier walking on the ice than through snow. It was also dangerous. I fell over twice on the short journey to the Earl’s tent.
“My lord, I came to warn you that those within Vilnius may use the ice to come and cause mischief.”
“What makes you think so?”
I did not quote John for he would be dismissed as a squire who knew nothing. Instead, I gave his theory as my own. Surprisingly, he did not think it a ridiculous one and Sir Bengt agreed. “I will go to speak with the Hauskomtur.”
When Sir Bengt had left us, the Earl pulled his fur a little tighter around his shoulders. “The work has stopped on the towers. Food is scarce and there is no prospect of a surrender. Why did I come, William?”
I did not say it was for the glory instead I gave him the answer he wished to hear, “God sent you here, lord, and, alone out of all the men wh
o are here, our men have saved some souls for God.”
He brightened, “You are right. I would go home now but our ships will not be here for three months at least.” The other raiding parties had not found enough pagans to capture. They had slaughtered all that they found.
I shook my head, “The Baltic might well be frozen. Sir Bengt told us that sometimes happens.”
His shoulders slumped. “Then we are stuck here, even longer! What is happening in England while we are trapped in this sea of ice?”
When the Swedish jarl returned, he brought with him no comfort. “The Hauskomtur does not believe there will be an attack but he thanks you for your concern.”
I stood, “I, for one, will have my men keep watch this night. We can sleep during what passes for the day in these parts. If nothing else it will give the men something to do.”
“And I will watch with you, Sir William.” The Teutonic Knight and his squire would be a useful addition to my men.
I told my men to sleep while there was daylight. Ralph was happy to do so. He was worried about the horses. He had managed to find some discarded and torn cloaks. Using a needle, he had repaired them and all of our horses had a winter coat. He had also managed to acquire some old apples. I suspect he stole them. He might have even brought them from Ukmergė. The result was that our horses were in better condition than the other English horses. I slept too. As darkness fell, we rose and we ate. The other English archers now emulated mine and we were all fed better than the Poles and the Teutons. We went, in the dark, to guard the perimeter of our camp. We were armed and mailed although we did not use helmets. Instead, we wore our fur hats instead of comforters beneath our mail coifs.
As I stood with Alan, Roger and John, I confessed that I did not know what exactly we were waiting for. Roger just nodded towards John, “I think Master John has it right. Those women were brave ‘uns all right. They were willing to die. The lads inside the town, well, they destroyed a tower and they sent us packing but they have not done anything as brave as those lasses. I reckon that they will come tonight. They will have been building themselves up while the snow fell and will be ready about now. This ice makes it easier to move. If I was the one in charge of those inside the town, I would try to rescue the captives.” He pointed, “They are close to the King of the Poles and I am betting they would like to have his head. There will be the hard lads just waiting to come out and do what they have been desperate to do for a while, kill Christians.”
Roger’s simple assessment of the situation made sense to me and we waited. We watched the gate, although I did not think for one moment that they would use that way to come. There had to be sally ports or they could simply clamber down a rope. I stared up at the moon and the stars. It was so clear that it felt as though we could reach up and pluck the moon from the sky. And it was cold. The rabbit skin hat I wore was a better defence against the freezing cold than my coif.
Stephen the Tracker was the one who spotted the Lithuanians, or their shadows, at least. They were close to the two remaining war towers. He told me and I was about to shout the alarm when a cry ripped the night. The Polish sentries on the towers had been slain and one, in his dying, had given the alarm.
“Stand to!”
Bengt shouted the same in German and Polish! We drew our weapons and our archers strung their bows. Flames suddenly leapt up the two towers. Men began to rush towards the burning towers. Bengt shouted, “Let us go and help!”
I shook my head, “Wait. There are more than enough for that. I think it is a diversion.” Earl Henry and his knights emerged from their tents and I pointed to the burning towers. “It is a distraction, lord. Arm!” The Earl and his knights would waste precious time donning mail. My men and I were ready.
Alan pointed to the tents of the Polish King and the Grand Master. Shadows were moving towards them and the captives’ camp. As I watched I saw four of the sentries butchered. The sentries guarding the tents and the night guard were all racing towards the burning towers. The rest of the camp was waking up. “Follow me!”
I raised my sword and ran towards the captives’ camp. I heard the clash of steel from the tents of the commanders and their bodyguards. Alan and his archers stopped and began to send their arrows towards any who looked like a Lithuanian. A Teutonic halb-bruder, a sergeant, was hacked down by a mailed warrior. The Lithuanian was surrounded by ten other men. “Alan, go and see that the King and the Hochmeister are protected.”
The captives’ camp had a gate. The Lithuanians were busy tearing it down and we were able to close to within twenty paces before they saw us. These were warriors for they immediately went into a defensive formation. Bengt stood at one side of me and Roger of Chester and Harold Four Fingers on the other. We had our shields. We did not run across the slippery ice. We moved steadily as though we were one being. The Lithuanians were more confident. I think they had better footwear.
Their leader was not only mailed, but he also had a war axe. It was a long-handled weapon with a small head and a beak like extension. It could break armour and bones. The reverse side had a spike which could be used to smash into a helmet. He was not an opponent with whom I could take chances. He moved easily on the ice. His round shield was much smaller than mine. I braced myself for his first blow. I led my men but I could not watch them. I had to watch out for myself. As the war axe came towards me, I followed its line, watching it come effortlessly closer. The sharp night and the clear skies aided me. He had angled the blade so that it would strike down on my shield. I turned my hand over so that my palm was uppermost and the axe head slid down the face of the shield without damaging it. It missed my poleyn by the width of a finger. As the war axe slid towards the ground, I took my chance. I brought my sword from on high. I was aiming at his shoulder and he brought up his shield. It was too small to fully stop my strike and, although it blocked my blow, the sharpened blade of my weapon gouged a hole in the edge. As I pulled my blade out it exposed him a little while he was pulling back his right arm for another blow. My shield was still horizontal and I rammed it towards his neck. I hit it hard and he began to gag. Instinctively he pulled up his shield and so I swept my sword across his thigh. He wore no mail there as he had on a short hauberk. He reeled as blood spurted. He had to step back on his good leg, his right one, and that unbalanced him. Instead of hitting me with his axe he had to use his right arm to keep his balance.
Behind me, I could hear my men and the Teutonic sergeants. They were fighting and slaying the other Lithuanians. Some of the captives had managed to escape from their camp and they were running towards Vilnius’ walls. I could do nothing about them for I still had a dangerous opponent to fight. He was far from finished. He roared and swung his axe from behind him. This time I could not angle my shield. I would have to block the blow square on and my shield would be destroyed. I had no choice. I used the ice. I turned to my right to spin away from the blow. I could have fallen but God was watching me and I did not. As I came skidding around, I brought my sword hard into his side. He was wearing mail but my sword broke links and then broke ribs. His roar was like that of a wounded animal. He flicked his axe at me. My hands were fast enough to block the blow which had no force behind it. His wounded left leg was bleeding badly. The cold was congealing the blood but the wound had to hurt. I balanced myself and then swayed from side to side. He knew the blow was coming but not from which direction. My moves had shown him that I was fast and he had to react. His war axe was now a liability. It had no edge. He could not spar with me. He had to make a decisive blow.
He was cunning. He pulled back his right arm and then smashed at my face with his small shield. Although not the best weapon to defend against a sword, the shield was perfect for punching and he hit me square on. I saw stars and then started to tumble. He stepped forward on his good leg and raised his axe to slay me. I was groggy and dazed but I had just enough wit to let go of my shield and I threw it towards his feet. He stepped onto the shield with his good leg but the
ice beneath it made him slip. His right leg could not support him and he tumbled to the ground. In one motion I rose to my feet and drew my dagger. I launched myself at him. My sword drove into his side but it was my dagger which killed him. It drove up under his chin and into his skull.
I heard cries and shouts coming from the tents. I saw that Wilfred and Natty had both been wounded and that Ralph had his sword in his hand and was helping John despatch the last of the Lithuanians. The remainder of my men were rushing to help the beleaguered King of Poland and the Hochmeister. Sir Bengt was already there with his squire and sergeants and they had a protective ring around the Hochmeister who lay in a pool of blood. I picked up my shield and ran at the Lithuanians. My sword had a tip and I rammed it through the back of the warrior who was about to stab Sir Bengt in his back. When Ralph and John ran to add their swords to the battle then the tide was turned in our favour. I saw Earl Henry leading his knights and men into the fray. We now had numbers.
King Jogaila was the one who slew the last of the raiders. The King was bloodied but alive. Around the two leaders lay the bodies of half-dressed warriors who had died defending them. Sir Bengt shouted, “Healers! We need healers!”
I saw that my archers had empty quivers, “Go and watch the captives.”
“Some escaped the camp, lord, but they were slain before they could reach the walls of Vilnius.”
I shook my head. What a waste. I saw that the two towers had been destroyed but they were surrounded by a pile of bodies. More men ran to us and they formed circles around the two leaders. The King looked at me and said, “Thank you!” I bowed and saw a frown on the face of Earl Henry. I wondered if he saw this as his chance for glory and a name which would be honoured by other Christian princes. It could have been his but he had not recognised the danger.