He wanted to be shrived and I nodded yes and loaded him up on his horse, tying him into the saddle. Conrad insists on using a silly low saddle, but a waist-high warkak has its advantages. The high bow and cantle can keep a man in place even if he’s unconscious.
With his weapons slung over my saddle bow, we went slowly back to the others. Four victories and not a spot on my new outfit!
FROM THE DIARY OF CONRAD SCHWARTZ
Looking back, I’m sure that I handled the whole thing wrong, but at the same time, I don’t know what I could have done differently. I couldn’t have possibly let those children be abused any longer. No decent man could. My admittedly harebrained idea was that if I could free enough of the kids, the guards might chase after them’ , rather than coming after me. Once I had all of them running loose, the guards could never catch but a few of them and those few might be rescued later. I never for a moment thought I could take on all seven of the guards and win, even with Vladimir’s help. And he can be unpredictable.
As it was, the boys had been too stunned to run away! The guards had all piled on me before I could cut more than three of the slaves loose and the kids had just stood there. If Vladimir hadn’t joined in, I know they would have killed me. His absolutely murderous charges killed three of the guards and chased off two more. I wounded one man and had to kill another, but we were alive and a hundred forty-two children were safe and that’s the way I wanted it.
Yet as soon as the fight was over, Vladimir rode off down the trail like a madman! I swore I’d never figure the fellow out.
After the fight, I looked over the mess we’d made. Four men were dead, but the man I had quite literally disarmed was still alive. He was the same one I had been talking with earlier. I got a tourniquet on the stump of his forearm and called for my medical kit.
I was getting quite good at this. sort of thing and had the arteries tied off and the stump sewn mostly up, leaving it open enough to drain, by the time the man regained consciousness. Besides being thirsty, the fellow was surprised that he was alive and that I was patching him up.
“It won’t help you none, you know. After what you’ve done, the Order will get you even if you do fix me UP.”
“I’m not doing it to win any gratitude. I wouldn’t want gratitude from the likes of you, or your kind. You enslaved children! You brutalized them. You were selling them into an absolutely ugly life. Why should I want your friendship?” I finished bandaging his arm.
“Then why’re you doing this?”
“I don’t really know. Maybe it’s just that there’s no real reason for you to die right now. I’m not your judge. Maybe it’s just Christian charity.”
“You’re a strange man.”
“I’ve been told that. Let’s move you back into the shade.” He cried out when I started to drag him away. I soon discovered that his leg was broken.
“How in the world did you do that to yourself’? Well, let’s get your pants off and a splint on it.”
An hour after the battle, I had the group into some sort of order. Anna had taken it onto herself to round up all the stray horses, mules, and ex-slaves, plus the dozen-odd mule skinners who had accompanied the caravan.
I put the men to cleaning up the mess, stowing the bodies on their horses and making a litter for the surviving guard.
The Pruthenian children spoke a language that was just beyond the edge of intelligibility. It was a little like the Kashubian tongue spoken by a minority group in modem Poland. But not quite.
Two knights approached. “Sir Vladimir!” I shouted. “Welcome back. Where have you been?”
“I was trying to get the last two, but I only bagged one, and he needs a priest. You are ready? I think we should go back to Sir Miesko’s manor.”
The guard next to Vladimir was in the saddle but unconscious. His stomach had been ripped open and contents of his small intestine was dribbling down his leg, mixed with blood. There was nothing I could do for the poor bastard. Even with a competent doctor and a modern hospital, it would be touch and go.
“Yes, Sir Miesko’s would be best. Mount up! We’re going west!” I cried.
We left the gutted guard in the saddle, since taking him down would be doing him no favor. He needed speed, for there was no comfort. The girls had been silent, frightened since the fight started. As we went slowly back, they stationed themselves on either side of the gutted guard, keeping him upright and soiling their dresses with his blood.
I went to Vladimir’s side. “You saved my life, Sir Vladimir. I’m grateful.”
“Think nothing of it. But tell me, all these arms and armor and goods. Do we own that now?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. We’ll ask Sir Miesko. He was once a clerk and knows something of the law.”
“Please don’t think that I’m criticizing, but why did you go after those last two guards? They were running away and wouldn’t have hurt us.”
“Why? To kill them, of course! Had I gotten the last one, perhaps no one would hear of this bit of work. We could have dispatched the peasants and taken the caravan to Constantinople ourselves, with no one the wiser. As matters stand, if Count Lambert doesn’t hang us, the Knights of the Cross will.”
“Incidentally, why didn’t you come to my aid with those last two Crossmen? Your horse can outrace a windstorm. We could have gotten the last one and wouldn’t be outlaws. But perhaps we can sell much of this loot quickly and go to France. I’ve heard lovely things about France.”
“And another point. Whatever prompted you to loot this caravan? Aren’t you wealthy enough already?”
This whole line of thinking was absolutely foreign to me.
“Wait a minute. I’m not an outlaw. I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“You haven’t done anything wrong? Attacking a caravan on your liege lord’s land wasn’t wrong? Killing a half dozen peaceful guards wasn’t wrong? Putting me into this awkward situation wasn’t wrong?”
“I’m sorry I got you into this and I’d be dead without your help, but the fact is that I never asked for it. You charged in of your own free will. I’m glad that you did, but I’m not responsible.”
“As to the caravan and guards, they were abusing innocent children, whom we rescued. I am not ashamed of doing that.”
“Children? You mean the slaves?”
“Ex-slaves,” I said. “And I am not going to run off to France or any place else.”
“You mean to stay? After breaking your oath to Count Lambert?”
“I never broke my oath! I swore to protect the people on Lambert’s lands. Well, those children are people. They are on Lambert’s land and they certainly needed protection. I did what was right.”
He stared down and shook his head. “Oh, my. The cat’s been at the yam with this one!”
That evening at supper, we talked of the day’s adventures with Sir Miesko and his wife.
When we finished, Lady Richeza had tears in her eyes.
“Sir Conrad, we were so close! In another few years, the schools would all be running and…” She got up and ran out of the room.
Sir Miesko was shaking his head.
“Sir Conrad, if ever a man fell down an open garderobe, you’ve done it. You have affronted your liege lord, attacked the merchants, and declared personal war on the most powerful military force within a thousand miles. While you were at it, why didn’t you pee on the Pope? Then you’d have everybody at your hanging!”
“No, I think we did a thorough job of it,” Sir Vladimir said. “After all, the Crossmen are a religious order with a papal sanction.”
I ignored him.
“I still say that Sir Vladimir and I did no wrong.”
“In Sir Vladimir’s case, you’re probably right. He’s likely in the clear, unless the Crossmen decide to get really vindictive, which they always might.”
“It’s the doctrine of implied vassalage. See here. None of us present is liege to one another. But you are eating at my table and under my roof. If I were attacked at this moment, you would be obligated to come to my aid as though you were my vassals.”
“Furthermore, as my vassals, you would not be responsible for any of my actions. Now, as I understand it, Sir Vladimir has been traveling with you for some months, at your expense, so I would suppose that implied vassalage would apply.”