I hoped people would move on, but just the opposite was happening. The noise outside swelled until it sounded like a soccer stadium full of people. Men shouted orders but I couldn’t make sense of them. Getting nervous about Alexander’s long absence, I crawled toward the opening in the partition.
Right outside the barn soldiers mingled. They wore full armor or chainmail that reached like iron skirts to their knees, helmets and leather enforced vests and arm braces. Most of them showed a blue and yellow crest. But there were others, a blue crest with a white horse, and the emblem of a shield, split in half by yellow and red. Some had no colors at all.
I kept my head low and waited. I’d wasted time. Now escape was impossible.
Alexander hurried inside with a couple of water buckets. He pretended to grab some leather straps as he bent toward my hiding place. “Stay quiet. It is unsafe.”
When Alexander turned away, I called after him. “Wait.”
“Must water horses,” he hissed. He grabbed a couple of buckets, water sloshing into the straw.
“I’ve got to leave,” I said, worry creeping up my spine.
Outside, I could hear the oily voice of the innkeeper.
“Where is that rotten bastard of a boy? I shall trim his hide.” Rough chuckles filtered through the coarse boards of the barn walls. Alexander darted outside.
“Coming, Meister Sewolt.” A dull thud and an ouch told me the innkeeper was making good on his threat. New anger welled up in me. The man was a slave driver.
I crawled into the darkest corner and waited. The noise outside ebbed and swelled. I caught a whiff of roasted meat and baking bread. I felt ravenous, regretting my decision to skip the eggs. But maybe they had kept Alexander from turning me in.
I must’ve dozed off when I became aware of new movement. It came from the back of the barn, where Thomas the imbecile had his quarters. Sure enough, he shuffled through the aisle and back outside. I ducked lower. He surely had found the wallet missing and would make mincemeat out of me.
The light faded and dusk was setting. I shivered. The straw was clean and kept me reasonably warm despite the night being crisp. Besides, my stomach roared angrily with hunger and I was contemplating a drink from the horse bucket.
I kept waiting and wondering why the men outside the barn didn’t go into the inn.
At last Alexander returned.
“What took you so long?” I whispered. The boy shrugged and threw a piece of rye bread the color of dust bunnies into my lap. I didn’t care and ripped off a hunk with my teeth. I really needed water, but was afraid to drink what was in the buckets. I’d had bouts of diarrhea while sitting in Schwarzburg’s dungeon and I’d rather be dehydrated a bit longer than risk that again. “Why aren’t the men going inside to eat?”
“There are too many. Only the leaders are inside.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. The bread was sticking to the roof of my mouth, turning to glue. I kept chewing.
“Not sure,” Alexander said. “Some kind of evil apparatus is stuck in the road. The wheel burrowed into a rut and they are digging it out.”
“Can you help me get away?” I asked. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.” For a moment the barn turned quiet. Outside the men were eating, interrupted by occasional burps and farts, followed by coarse bursts of laughter.
“Only thin beer,” a voice complained.
“Give it a rest. You get all the wine and beer you can drink when we are done,” someone answered, followed by more laughing. It was dark outside now, except for an occasional orange flicker.
“I know a way,” Alexander said. “It is risky.” After a moment of silence, he grabbed me by the arm. “Follow me.”
He hurried deeper into the barn, me on his tail. Luckily, the place was nearly as dark as a dungeon. We had reached Thomas’s homemade abode. I could tell by the stench of stale urine. Thomas didn’t waste time to go outside.
“Damn lazy bone of a boy.” The innkeeper’s voice was full of loathing. “Where is that horse’s butt?”
“Quick,” Alexander said. “Through there.” He tugged at a rock, a quarter wheel of a former millstone that leaned against the wall. “Help me.”
I pushed as an opening appeared where the rock had been. I sensed the air more than I saw it. Flattening myself against the earth I began to scoot.
Something moved by the entrance of the barn. “Boy, get your scrawny arse out here.”
As I squeezed my body past the rough board, the fabric of my shirt tore. The wood dug into my back and I suppressed a grunt. Through the wall, I was now half out and half inside, I heard Alexander call.
“Sorry, Master, had to piss. The latrines are full and I…”
“Make it faster next time, boy.”
I didn’t hear the rest as I retrieved my legs and crouched low to get my bearings. I was behind the barn on the backside of the inn. The men were to my left. I crept the other way to the corner of the building. My nose told me I was close to the latrines.
I kept crawling toward the dark shapes of the outhouses when I hit a fence. It was made of wire and I felt with my hand to see if I could crawl underneath. The scrawny thing bent easily and I kept going only to feel my hands grow gooey. The sharp stink of manure bit my nose.
I’d landed in the chicken coop.
Ignoring the gunk I rushed to the opposite end. Instead of the wire fence, this side was firm wood, at least six feet tall. The inn’s way to fend off egg thieves. I rushed along the fence.
To my right in the flicker of a single torch, thirty or forty men stood waiting in line for their turn in the outhouses. I kept my head low and crept forward. The path beyond the wooden fence led toward one of the other villages. We’d gone this way to Ott’s manor.
Most of the men in line grumbled and threw insults toward whoever was inside the disgusting latrines.
I reached the path and crept along the fence. Across the way where the village held markets, fires burned. And around them lounged more men. A lot of them. I leaned my back against the wood, catching my breath.
I knew what I had to do.
Chapter 20
Nose to the ground, I crawled along the outer side of the fence until I thought I was midway. Then I turned ninety degrees away from the inn. The brush was thick, tearing at my hair and shirt. Twigs broke, the leaves beneath my knees crackled.
Thankfully the noise of the men drowned out my movements. I kept going until the land fell away. By the time I got to my feet, I was soaked with sweat and dew. It was nearly pitch black as I turned left and up. Somewhere ahead was the path toward Hanstein.
It was complete coincidence that I saw the man. He stood as still as a tree, but just at that moment he scratched. The movement of chainmail picked up the tiniest flicker. I stopped as my legs began to tremble. I’d come so close to being caught.
Of course, Schwarzburg had men stationed around the village.
I kept my head low and continued to listen. The man had a serious itch, making his mail ripple in waves.
One thing was clear; the normal path to the castle was out. I had to go around and come from the steep side, the way Enders had led me when we’d escaped from Ott’s manor during the first game.
My ears on high alert, I carefully retraced my steps and continued farther downhill. To my left, the castle stood in blackness, an immense assembly of rock.
Why hadn’t I asked Bero to help with Adela? Bero could’ve put in a good word with Werner and Konrad. They wouldn’t have turned him down. But that would’ve meant showing my face, admitting to missing the wedding and knighting. If I was honest, I was too chicken to face Bero’s anger. I knew he was disappointed in me.
Off the trail the ground immediately rose steeply. My boots had no tread and I kept sliding and unleashing mini avalanches of rocks and dirt. If anyone was out this way, they’d hear me from a mile away. I took smaller steps, grabbing at limbs to pull myself up.
Branches and boughs whipped me in the face as
I climbed higher. I sensed the outer wall more than I saw it, a deep impenetrable black. Above me, Werner’s archers waited. Did they see me? I’d learned a lot about moving in the dark. I could’ve sworn my night vision was better.
I moved along the wall toward the low flicker of a torch. The back gate.
“Max Nerds to see the Lord. It’s urgent.”
“Come to the light,” someone said in a clipped voice.
I hurried toward the torch holder in the wall. The fire stung my eyes and I felt completely blinded. I didn’t notice the man until he was three feet away. Dressed in full armor, his visor down, he carried his sword chest high. The tip hovered inches from my ribs.
“You are who?”
“Max Nerds. The Lord knows me. I was…am his squire.”
“You look nothing like a squire.” The man sounded tinny inside the helm. “More like a pig herder who has fallen on hard times.”
“Why don’t you ask someone to identify me? I’m friends with Bero and Juliana. Lady Clara and Enders know me.” I hadn’t wanted to use the name of my competitor, but it had slipped out.
“It sounds like a ruse to me.” The guard’s blade dropped to my belly button.
I fought for control. “Look, man, I beg you to get one of the people I just mentioned. They’ll identify me. If not, you can arrest me.”
“I will alert one of the squires,” a second voice called from the guardhouse. “Stay there.”
I bit my lip in frustration. Something tasted disgusting. I spit. We were wasting time. I felt worn to the bone and so hungry my vision was chalky as if I were surrounded by dense fog.
The gate opened a foot and a shadow squeezed through.
“Max?” Bero’s eyes widened. “What happened?” And then to the guard. “I vouch for him. He is Max Nerds, the Lord’s squire.” His voice sounded forceful. I thought of the early Bero, the pig herder. How he’d changed.
Without a word, the guard sheathed his blade and melted into the darkness.
“I searched for you,” Bero said. For once he sounded out of breath. “I feared the worst when I found the hut empty. Neither mother nor Adela were home. I was afraid to go to the inn, so I stopped by Luanda’s. She had not seen you either.” His voice trembled. “I thought you were dead…or gone.”
“I’m okay. I mean unharmed.”
“You look…awful.” Bero threw me a sideway glance. We’d reached the portcullis.
“I have to speak to Werner. Right now. And to you.”
“He is in the great hall. Most guests have gone to bed. We had a tourney. Sword fights and jousting. Enders won.” Bero stopped, obviously regretting his last remark.
“I’m fine,” I said grimly.
And to my own surprise I was. Juliana would be taken care of, much better than I could’ve done. Besides, what I’d just witnessed at the Klausenhof was much more important.
I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the great hall’s brightness. Werner sat in his usual seat, overseeing three long tables with a few dozen men. Konrad was there and some of Werner’s other knights. I recognized several of the swordsmen from Heiligenstadt. To my relief, the Lord’s newest knight, Enders, was absent.
“My Lord.” Bero bowed as he approached Werner. “Max Nerds has returned.”
Werner looked up from his beaker, his blue eyes the color of the North Sea, giving nothing away.
“Bring him hither.”
I shuddered as I made my way to the table. Werner sounded pissed.
“I beg your forgiveness for interrupting…” I stuttered.
Several of the men shouted or whistled. They couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d been green and worn antennas. “What happened?” someone whispered. “He fought with the devil.” One of the men crossed himself.
“Max Nerds, what is the meaning of your visit?” Werner said, obviously impatient. “You chose to disappear once again when I counted on you as my squire. Not to mention that you missed Enders’s ceremony and betrothal.” He shook his head in disgust. “I am losing patience. But I must say your appearance astounds me. What happened?”
“My Lord, I know,” I stammered. “I’m so sorry. I was mad…about Juliana. She and I… Anyway, I’m sorry. I was in Bornhagen, in the inn.”
“While we had one of the most important ceremonies, you chose to feast at the Klausenhof?”
“No, I mean, I was hiding in the barn…from Schwarzburg’s men.”
“They are after you again,” Konrad shouted with a grin. More laughter rang out.
“Let him finish,” Werner said, the eyes a shade lighter now.
“Schwarzburg has assembled troops at the inn. And some kind of contraption, too. I don’t know… I didn’t see it, but Alexander, the stall boy said—” Damn, now I’d spilled the name of the only guy who’d helped me.
“Tell me more.” Werner waved me closer.
As I approached several of the men wrinkled their noses and made faces, but Werner shot them a warning glance and everyone grew still.
“I think they’re planning to attack Hanstein,” I said. “They wore lots of armor and there were many men. They had sentries all over.”
“Did you recognize any of their markings, their colors?”
I nodded. “A blue one with a white horse and a red and yellow crest-shaped badge.”
“How many?”
“Don’t know—hundreds.”
“Why are you in such disarray?”
I looked at my pants and the front of my shirt. I was covered in the grayish muck of chicken shit, interspersed with dirt, leaves and who knew what else. My skin was brownish black with caked grime—an apparition of filth.
“I escaped through the barnyard and circled for hours through the woods.”
Werner nodded. “Max Nerds, you may be a sight to behold, but you may have saved us again.” He turned toward Konrad and in quick succession doled out orders. The tables emptied in seconds.
“You will tell me your reasons for abandoning your Lord,” Werner said. The anger had gone from his eyes, replaced by a worry frown. “Right now I must haste and ready the castle.” He nodded toward a servant girl who appeared sleepy but sprang to attention. “Get this squire nourishment. Whatever he desires.” One of Werner’s sons jumped to his side and helped fasten the long sword. “Bero, ready the squires at once.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Bero shouted and hurried off.
I would’ve collapsed had I not been so starved. Flagons, bread, roasted meat, mashed peas and assorted fruits appeared in front of me as the maid hurried to and fro to follow the Lord’s orders. I sat silently chewing, forcing myself to go slowly. The alcohol was far too strong and I asked for thinned beer. The girl looked at me funny, but nodded and returned with a mug.
The great hall had emptied. My stomach bursting, I dragged myself outside in search of buckets. I’d never missed my shower more…hot water, shower gel, shampoo. With a sigh I entered the barn and had to jump into one of the stalls. The path was clogged with squires leading battle-ready horses, decked in blankets and head and breastplates. They snorted and stamped, some whinnying and shaking their manes.
After a mediocre birdbath during which I managed to transform clean water into a grayish, stinking brew, I found my old wool pants and shirt I’d worn when I first arrived. They lay neatly folded and washed on top of my wine-stained winter boots. I also grabbed a brownish linen tunic that hung forgotten over a railing. Better that than nothing.
Outside, I made my way to the bailey, swarming with men in varying states of wakefulness and sobriety. Despite the many people it was eerily calm. Pine sap crackled. Torches burned along the buildings, but the huge open field, still shared by fifty or more cows, lost itself in shadow. The closer I came to the inky blackness of the outer wall, the quieter it became.
Archers stood every few feet, some wielding cross bows, others long bows as tall as themselves. I knew from my last visit that the towers would be well enforced with more archers.
&nb
sp; I recognized Enders who loomed above most of the men, readying long bows. It took considerable power to stretch the strings.
Near the gates dozens of horses and their knights stood waiting. The air had cooled further and I shivered with fatigue. I felt utterly useless, neither carrying weapons nor having had any training. What did Schwarzburg have in mind this time and what did Alexander mean with evil contraption?
Unsure what to do, I wandered back to the courtyard where rows of water buckets lined up to snuff out potential fires. It had to be early morning by now, the famous calm before the storm.
If Schwarzburg succeeded, he’d cut me in little pieces and enjoy every minute of it. Hanstein as I knew it would cease to exist. Lady Clara would be raped and destroyed. I smacked myself in the forehead. Adela. I had to tell Bero about his sister and dead mother. We had to find a way to rescue Adela.
In the courtyard, maids and servants set up refreshments for the men. Baskets and makeshift tables were stacked with flagons and breads, meat pies and apples. Things to be eaten on the fly. I noticed Juliana, her arms heavy with wine skins, disappear into one of the towers. Just as well. I didn’t want to talk to her anyway.
Stuffing an apple into my pocket I returned to the bailey. No way I’d sleep if Schwarzburg was about to attack. The controlled power of the men astounded me. They should’ve been scared and jabbering with nervous energy, yet they appeared calm and calculating.
I was edgy for them. I knew what Schwarzburg was capable of. He was also smart and wouldn’t attack unless he felt he had a good chance of succeeding.
To my right near the main gate something flashed. Werner’s blond hair was hard to miss even in the shadows. I hurried close. If I was unable to help, I’d at least listen to the Lord’s instructions. A few feet away Bero stood near Konrad. I squeezed past the warm bodies of horses and men until I was right behind Bero. To my surprise, Bero was nearly as tall as I was. When had he grown again?
“I’ve got to talk to you,” I whispered.
Bero shook his head testily. “Shh.”
Werner quietly gave orders.
We were supposed to wait until Schwarzburg was close enough to attack. Let the archers pick the easy targets first, and then the horse men would go outside and engage those on foot or hiding farther down in the woods. If they were outnumbered or felt overwhelmed they were supposed to return and regroup.
At Witches' End Page 16