Castellan (18 page)

The walls themselves were constructed in the Russian style, which made use of the abundant stocks of timber in Estonia rather than stone and brick that was used in Denmark and Germany. On top of the rampart stood a row of log cells along the perimeter. These cells comprised rows of horizontal logs on three sides, the rear being left open. The front formed the outside face of the perimeter wall, which had a height of sixteen feet. Inside each cell was a fighting platform where crossbowmen could shoot bolts through loopholes in the parapet. In addition, the upper part of the wall projected slightly over the lower part to allow missiles to be shot at the space at the foot of the wall. A shingle roof covered the entire perimeter wall, including the walkway to the rear of the cells that linked them all. It provided protection from the weather and enemy missiles.

An innovation that Rolf had insisted on was a number of square timber towers at regular intervals along the perimeter wall. Forty-five feet in height their fighting platforms were also protected by shingle roofs.

Rolf had seven hundred men under arms to defend the walls, the most important members of which were a hundred and fifty German crossbowmen. He had thanked God when Valdemar had decided to leave them at Reval rather than take them to Oesel because their missiles had inflicted many casualties on the besiegers. Count Albert had returned from Oesel with just under fifty men, which were used to form the garrison of the fort atop Toompea. He had had to strip Varbola of its garrison but if Reval held out then he could always re-occupy it later.

The first pagan attack had been all along the line, the warriors carrying scaling ladders and bundles of branches tied together as they approached the ditch. Led by their village elders they hurled the bundles into the ditch to form makeshift bridges to allow them to cross the stake-filled moat and scale the rampart. Because the ditch was deep the pagans were forced to group at various spots in order to throw enough bundles into the ditch to cover the stakes sufficiently to allow men to cross it.

So the Estonians slid down the side of the ditch, crossed the bridges of bundles and scrambled up the other side. And then the crossbowmen began shooting. From behind their loopholes they poured volley after volley at the pagans in and around the ditch. Only one in ten Estonians wore mail armour, a higher percentage had helmets and all had shields. The latter, around three feet in diameter and made of fir, offered some protection but only when linked together. But the crossbowmen easily found targets as men exposed their bodies while negotiating the sides of the ditch and crossing the bundle bridges. They lost at least two hundred men in their first attack, another hundred the day after and today’s assault looked like being as costly.

The Oeselians showed a marked reluctance to approach the walls, their leaders having learned from painful experience at Odenpah how costly assaulting walls defended by crossbowmen could be. Nevertheless, their numbers added to the size of the besieging army that now surrounded the town and which outnumbered the garrison by at least three to one.

‘They are retreating, lord.’

Rolf turned away from viewing a large phalanx of Oeselian warriors grouped close to the perimeter wall protecting the base of Toompea Hill. A Danish knight was pointing to the east to where groups of Estonians were falling back from the wooden bridge across the moat giving access to the town via two gates. It was a tempting target and after their losses attempting to cross the ditch the Estonians had tried to rush the bridge. But Rolf had deliberately not burnt it to entice the enemy. The towers each side of the bridge were filled with crossbowmen who shot the enemy to pieces as they tried to smash down the gates with a crude battering ram fashioned from an oak trunk.

‘Now is the time to sally out and disperse them once and for all,’ stated Albert.

Rolf shook his head. ‘I think not. You have less than fifty horsemen, which will make little impression on the enemy.’

‘Then give me foot soldiers as well,’ pleaded Albert. ‘One attack will scatter them and end this miserable siege.’

Rolf was tempted. He knew that the Harrien, Jerwen and Wierlanders were poorly equipped farmers but the Oeselians were a different matter. He had no intention of suffering the same fate as his liege lord.

‘No, Albert. The pagans will lose heart and disperse of their own accord. The king entrusted the safekeeping of Reval to me and I will not disregard his command.’

Albert threw up his hands and stormed off as the Estonians withdrew to their camp, the Oeselians likewise retreating. Rolf smiled with satisfaction. The armouries contained plentiful supplies of crossbow bolts and the town’s stores were well stocked with food. He was confident that he could hold Reval with ease.

*****

‘Bring him in.’

Sir Richard pointed at one of the guards standing by the doors to the hall, the man saluting and exiting the chamber.

‘What he has to say may interest you, Conrad.’

The brother knight, his two friends, Rameke, Kaja and four hundred warriors had arrived that morning, riding out of the pre-dawn gloom to attack and scatter the Ungannians that had been sent to besiege Lehola. Besiege was perhaps too strong a word. Surround would be more accurate. They had set up camp and shot a few arrows at the ancient timber battlements. But mostly they had been content to sit and wait until Sir Richard surrendered. He had attempted a couple of sallies that had inflicted some casualties on the Ungannians and, more importantly, captured some goats, pigs and chickens that the enemy had plundered from nearby villages. But there were at least five hundred Ungannians encamped around the fort with more arriving each day to swell their numbers. They massed outside the main gates to ensure that Sir Richard could not deploy his whole garrison outside the walls.

It was therefore a great shock when hundreds of men on ponies charged out of the nearby woods and infiltrated the enemy camp, cutting down many a bleary-eyed, half-asleep Ungannian. They killed upwards of two hundred before the rest scattered, heading for the sanctuary of the surrounding forest. A few did not panic and managed to reach their own stabling area. But they mounted their beasts and galloped south back to Fellin rather than counterattacking the relief force.

The commanders of the relief army now sat with Sir Richard in Lehola’s great hall in the company of the Duke of Saccalia, Tonis and Squire Paul. The women and children that had been living there during the siege had been ejected. Hans looked most unhappy with the meagre portion of bread he had been served, along with a cup of water. Anton nudged Conrad and laughed at their friend’s discomfort.

‘You should be thankful, Hans,’ Conrad told him, ‘at least you weren’t trapped here on half-rations.’

‘Half-rations?’ said Sir Richard. ‘Another week and we would have been eating rats and dogs.’

The guard reappeared bringing in a prisoner with a thick beard, torn tunic and two black eyes. He was shoved down on the floor in front of the top table where Sir Richard and the others were sitting. His hands and feet were bound with rope.

‘We caught this one when I sent a party of horsemen after the Ungannians fleeing into the trees,’ said Sir Richard. ‘This one was taken alive, the others were killed.’

‘They should have killed him as well,’ hissed Squire Paul standing behind his lord.

The prisoner, undeterred by his perilous position, gave Sir Richard a contemptuous stare. When he saw the white surcoats and red insignia of Conrad and his friends his contempt turned into visceral hatred.

‘Murderers!’ he shouted at the Sword Brothers.

Conrad, taken aback, stood and walked around the table to stand in front of the prisoner. The man burned with venom as he stopped in front of him.

He spoke to the prisoner in Estonian. ‘Explain yourself.’

The man spat on Conrad’s boots.

‘I don’t think he likes you,’ said Hans who shoved aside the stale bread on his plate.

Conrad seized the man’s shoulders and hauled him to his feet.

‘If I am your enemy then I deserve to know why, seeing as once your lord and his wife regarded me as a friend.’

The man chuckled, blood between his teeth from when he had been beaten earlier. He eyed Conrad for a moment.

‘I remember you. You were one of those who came to Dorpat with Lord Kalju, may Uku protect his soul, when Villem was killed.’

Conrad was again surprised. ‘What do you mean, Uku protect his soul?’

The prisoner curled up his lip. ‘Kalju is dead, as is his wife and two daughters. But you would know that, would you not Sword Brother, seeing as it was your sorcery that killed them?’

‘Kalju and Eha are dead?’ said a shocked Anton.

‘They always showed me kindness,’ lamented Kaja.

‘Dead? How?’ Conrad was confused.

‘Killed by the sorcery of the Sword Brothers,’ was all that the man would say.

‘Tell the Marshal of Estonia who leads the Ungannian people,’ ordered Sir Richard.

The man looked defiantly at Conrad. ‘The gods spared Kristjan so he could be their avenger in this world.’

‘Kristjan?’ scoffed Hans. ‘He is but a boy.’

‘A boy with fangs, Brother Hans,’ said Sir Richard. ‘He seized Fellin and killed Peeter in short order. And would have taken this place too had it not been for a stroke of luck.’

‘He will take this place and kill you all,’ spat the prisoner.

Sir Richard sighed and shook his head.

Paul leaned forward. ‘Now he has talked, my lord, it’s best if he is executed. You don’t want a sworn enemy still living.’

Conrad spun round as the Duke of Saccalia waved the guard forward.

‘I beg for his life, your grace.’

Paul frowned and Rameke looked surprised.

‘Sir Richard is right, Conrad, this man would slit your throat if there was a knife in his hands.’

‘Let me have him,’ said Paul, ‘I will have him dangling from the walls in no time.’

‘Castrate him,’ growled Kaja.

They all looked at her in surprise but she merely smiled at Conrad. ‘One of the stable hands at Wenden told me that castrating a wild stallion calms him down.’

‘If I were you I would be worried,’ Hans whispered to Rameke.

‘We don’t want to calm him down, girly,’ said Paul irritably, ‘we want an end to him.’

Sir Richard held up a hand to still the conversation. ‘Why do you want his life, Conrad?’

‘So he can convey a message to Kristjan, your grace.’

Conrad turned to face the man. ‘He is at Fellin?’

‘He may be,’ the prisoner answered evasively.

Conrad looked at Sir Richard.

‘Very well, Marshal of Estonia, I relinquish him to your mercy.’

Paul sighed loudly, earning him a rebuke from Sir Richard.

‘Tell Kristjan this,’ Conrad told the prisoner. ‘He may have won a few easy victories but soon Bishop Albert will turn his vengeful gaze towards Ungannia and when he does he will show no mercy. He will send a great army to conquer Ungannia and lay waste to its villages. The men of iron will crush Kristjan’s warriors and machines will reduce his forts to splinters. Tell him that if he does not surrender himself immediately to the mercy of the Bishop of Riga he will bring about the end of Ungannia and the enslavement of its people.’

The man looked disinterested as he was led away.

‘I remember Kristjan from the last time we were at Odenpah,’ said Anton. ‘He was an arrogant pup then and took a dislike to Conrad. Obviously losing his parents has not changed his nature or his opinion of our order.’

‘Let us hope that your words cower him, Conrad,’ said Sir Richard, ‘because if not then he will hold Fellin for the rest of the year.’

‘You will not assault it, lord?’ asked Rameke.

Sir Richard shook his head. ‘I do not have to worry about just Fellin. There are Ungannian bands roving all over Saccalia. This fort is full of those who have fled their villages after they were attacked. Others have fled to the forests. It is difficult to estimate but there may be a thousand Ungannian warriors in Saccalia.’

Hans was astounded. ‘That many?’

‘This Kristjan has gathered every man to his banner,’ said Sir Richard.

‘Which makes letting one go so he can fight again little sense,’ added Paul.

‘Be quiet,’ Sir Richard ordered him.

The English lord continued. ‘Even with the lifting of the Danish blockade the bishop will not be able to travel to Germany and return to Livonia with an army before the leaves begin to turn brown. And few crusaders will wish to arrive in winter so that means it will be next spring until matters in Saccalia can be addressed.’

Conrad walked back to his seat.

‘Rameke and I rode with four hundred men, your grace,’ he said, ‘plus fifty crossbows and twenty barrels of bolts, a gift from Master Rudolf. He is most desirous that Saccalia remains loyal.’

‘We could assault Fellin, lord,’ suggested Hans, ‘before invading Ungannia.’

‘In normal circumstances I would agree with you,’ replied Sir Richard, ‘but these are not normal circumstances. Tonis, tell our guests what news your scouts have gleaned.’

‘The Harrien, Wierlanders and Jerwen are in open rebellion against their Danish overlords,’ said Tonis. ‘The Oeselians have joined this rebellion I have been told.’