Ferry on the Danzig

6th Day of Harvest,

766 Karloman’s Peace

While Audomar and Florentin negotiated passage across the Danzig River, Ekkehard and his family rested at the riverside.

The ferry crossing had a single pier, and the ferry was essentially a large wide-based oval-shaped raft with a squat wooden cabin in the middle. The boat, devoid of sails, featured a hand-lever-operated wooden rudder and oars for propulsion and was manned by a ferryman and his two guards.

Gerwald, Evroul, and the builder Bavo were unloading supplies from the horses onto the boat.

Ekkehard and Auriana attended to Aldedramnus and his wounds. A cut on his flank, festering for over eight days, left him feverish and barely conscious. Riding at speed had repeatedly reopened his wound, hindering healing. Ekkehard changed Aldedramnus’ bandages while Auriana tried to spoon-feed him water.

‘This isn’t good,’ Auriana whispered to Ekkehard. The sudden break in her silence startled Ekkehard; Auriana hadn’t spoken in days. In truth, the entire party had little chance to stop and talk over the last half cycle. Auriana, however, had been particularly silent.

‘What isn’t?’ Ekkehard asked.

‘He’s not taking water,’ Auriana said as she continued caring for Aldedramnus. ‘His fever is strong. Without food or water, he won’t last much longer. We need to find a real healer.’

Ekkehard looked down at Aldedramnus’ wound. It was a mixture of colours, black and red in its deepest recesses with yellow pus forming around the edges. It still wept blood but that now mixed with other fluids.

‘You’re right,’ he replied. ‘We should have delt with this earlier. We'll find a healer in the nearest village once we cross the river. I’ll tell Audomar.’

‘Wait,’ Auriana said. ‘Are you okay?’

‘What?’ Ekkehard asked.

He hadn’t given much thought to his own state of mind and the question caught Ekkehard off guard. He rubbed his eyes, feeling their weight. His body ached, his head pounded, his lips were chapped, and his hair was knotted with dirt. The wound on his cheek had grown ugly. Though not infected like Aldedramnus’, it had been haphazardly sealed with little thought to aesthetics.

‘I’m fine,’ Ekkehard said, seeing no reason to worry Auriana.

‘You froze,’ Auriana interjected, ‘back there with the guards I mean. Are you okay?’

Ekkehard looked at her before answering; she was in as bad a state as he, with bags under her eyes and dull skin that reflected his own fatigue. The haunting visions that had assaulted him threatened to resurface. For a moment, he had to fight to stay composed, then regained focus.

‘It was just fatigue,’ he said, ‘we are all exhausted.’

Turning his back on her, he walked towards Audomar, Florentin, and the ferrymen.

‘Audo!’ Ekkehard heard Gisla shout as he made his way.

She had been patting the horses, saying goodbye to them; the ferry couldn’t bear their weight.

'Audo!' she shouted at her eldest sibling but was ignored again. 'Audo!' she shouted with frustration, 'Audomar!'

'Not now, Gisla!' Audomar shouted back and returned to a heated discussion with the ferryman.

Full of fright, Gisla ran over to her disinterested brother and grabbed him by the arm.

'Audo!' she shouted once more, pulling at his arm, 'look!'

'What?' he shouted, turning at her in fury.

His eyes widened as he followed the point of her finger and saw the cloud of dust coming from the large party of horsemen racing towards them. He spun on his heels and shouted at the ferryman. 'Enough! We'll pay whatever you want, but we leave now!'

The ferryman licked his lips greedily as he eyed the oncomers over Audomar’s shoulder. He was a short man with a balding head and a potbelly that was exposed by a hemp shirt too small for him.

'Now, now,' he said, ‘prices just went up. How do I know you can afford it?'

'You wanted twenty Imperial Ducats? We'll pay thirty, but we set sail now!' Audomar demanded.

‘Oh no, friend, that won’t do,’ the ferryman tutted. ‘That won’t do at all. It’s going to be at least twice that amount now. Look,’ he said indicating to the riders galloping towards them, ‘I have many eager new customers already on the way. If you want me to leave them behind, I’ll need compensating for the lost business.’ The fat little man chuckled his exposed midriff jiggling as he did.

Audomar's eyes narrowed. His expression was menacing enough to cause as the two guards standing behind the ferryman to reach for their swords. They were not the only ones to notice the change in the negotiators' tone, however. Evroul had crept up behind them, dagger drawn, ready to strike.

‘Wait!’ Ekkehard shouted, seeing the impending action.

With a nod, Audomar signalled.

Evroul grabbed a guard by the head, pulling it back as he drove his dagger through the man’s skull. The second guard, stunned, failed to see Florentin draw his short sword. Florentin opened the man’s throat. The ferryman cried out pathetically. Audomar impaled the ferryman's temple with his dagger. In seconds, all three lay dead.

‘Why did you do that?’ Ekkehard questioned Audomar as he rushed to the bodies. He fell to his knees before them. ‘They were innocents,’ he argued.

‘No one is innocent,’ Audomar replied.

Gerwald and Bavo joined Florentin and Evroul in drawing weapons and forming a defensive line.

'Put those away!' Audomar commanded, sheathing his own dagger. 'Get what's left of our supplies on this damned boat and let's get out of here!' Sheathing their weapons, the group hurried to load and untie the boat.

Moments later, as the party was almost ready to push off, the riders bore down on them. Gisla was being hurried onto the boat by Florentin. Gisla shrieked as an arrow embedded itself in the boat's cabin, narrowly passing over her head.

'Take cover behind here!' Florentin shouted, pulling her to the other side of the cabin for safety.

'Get Aldedramnus into the cabin!' Audomar bellowed.

Together, Gerwald and Bavo carried the wounded man onto the boat and into the cabin. Aldedramnus groaned as they went, his pale, sweat-slick face worrying Ekkehard.

More arrows began landing all around, striking the pier, the boat, and the water. At least ten of the riders loosed volleys of arrows toward Ekkehard and his companions. Evroul threw a sack of supplies into the boat and rushed back to his horse. He retrieved his own bow and a quiver full of arrows from the horse's saddle as an arrow struck the side of the beast. With a screech, it bolted, almost dragging Evroul with it.

Evroul pulled himself free at the last second. Then he drew an arrow, nocked it, loosed, and killed one of the approaching riders. The rider fell from his saddle and was trampled by the steeds of his companions. Evroul ran back down the pier, spun to face the attackers, took a knee, and aimed another arrow.

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'You all better hurry up!' Evroul shouted, 'I can't kill them all!' He released another arrow, and a second rider, struck in the neck, fell from his mount.

Meanwhile, Ekkehard was busy hauling a final sack of supplies into the boat. He clambered aboard, stored the bag next to Aldedramnus, grabbed his bow and quiver, and went to aid Evroul. He rushed to the stern of the boat and took aim.

Ekkehard's first arrow went wide. The attackers responded with another volley. Each missile sank into the boat's wooden planks with a thud.

'Everyone on board now!' Ekkehard shouted, 'untie this damned thing and let's get out of here before they're on us!'

Gerwald rushed to cut the boat free. It was roped to a thick wooden bollard at the centre of the pier. All others not already on board clambered on. All except Evroul. Florentin and Audomar had also gathered their bows and joined in firing arrows at their attackers. The farmhands took up oars and attempted to paddle the boat away from the shore.

Evroul killed a third attacker with his bow, while Audomar and Florentin each brought down foes of their own. Gerwald cut the rope, then ran and leapt off the pier into the slowly drifting boat. He immediately began assisting the farmhands in paddling away from shore.

The riders were nearing rapidly, they would on them in mere moment.

'Get in this boat, Evroul!' demanded Audomar as the ferry began to float to the end of the wooden dock.

Hearing his command, Evroul turned away from the foes and ran towards the pier's end. Then he was brought low, an arrow ploughed into his left shoulder, bringing him to one knee.

'No!' Audomar cried out, followed by despairing wails from his brothers.

Evroul appeared stunned for a moment. He struggled to turn his head backward to see what had stuck him. He moved slowly, as if his body was heavy and stiff. Glancing at his family's devastated faces in the boat, clarity etched his features. He smiled to his brothers one last time, then faced his enemies again. With tremendous effort, he aimed and loosed another arrow, killing a rider as their horse reached the planks of the pier.

The raft passed beyond the small wooden jetty's reach as the horsemen arrived. The boat landing was too narrow for the horses, prompting some riders to dismount, while others continued firing arrows. The first dismounted soldier, rushing at Evroul, fell into the water, struck by an arrow through the eye.

The next attacker was too close for ranged weapons; Evroul discarded his bow and drew his short sword. He parried a downward strike and sank his sword into the man's hip. The man let out a savage cry, and Evroul smacked him across the side of the head in response, causing the soldier to tumble into the river.

Evroul spasmed. Striking the man had caused the arrow in his back to shift awkwardly in his muscles.

He was defenceless and exposed.

Ekkehard watched helplessly as a third swordsman rushed Evroul. His heart contracted, the air his lungs escaping him as it did. Another brother was about to fall.

Suddenly, Ekkehard was barged aside by Gerwald, who pushed past him to grab the lever of the small ferry-boat's rudder. He pulled it back and the boat began pushing further away from the shore and its dangers.

Ekkehard’s eyes went wide with fear and anger.

'No!' Ekkehard shouted as he shoved Gerwald to the ground, 'We have to go back for him!'

'We can't!' Gerwald cried, grabbing Ekkehard and forcing him to lock eyes. 'There are too many of them; if we go back, we all die.'

Ekkehard stared back at Gerwald, momentarily stunned by the sight of tears welling in his younger sibling's eyes. Then, an agonised cry stole Ekkehard’ attention, and he turned from Gerwald to Evroul. A second arrow had struck Evroul in the left thigh.

Ekkehard grabbed Gerwald and threw him away from the rudder. 'I won't lose another brother today!' he shouted, grabbing the lever to turn the boat around.

'Neither will I!' a voice bellowed from behind.

Turning, Ekkehard was struck in the face by a great wooden paddle. Audomar's blow dropped Ekkehard to the deck, unconscious.

When Ekkehard woke, the first thing he heard was Gerwald’s sobbing. His younger sibling slowly pulled the rudder's lever back and forth, steering the ferry across the Danzig River. His chest violently contorted with each exhale of despair.

Auriana, quietly crying, was tending to a fresh cut on the side of Ekkehard's head. Wordlessly, Ekkehard pushed her hands away from him, and got to his feet. He walked over to Gerwald and gently pulled him away from the lever. Gerwald, devoid of will, let his brother lead him away.

Then, Ekkehard sought to turn the boat around.

Gazing back over to the river’s waters, he stopped.

The boat was almost halfway along the mile-long crossing. On the distant shore, only a few riders remained. The others had likely gone to report to their commander. Two of the six remaining men were dismounted and busy cutting away at something on the shoreline.

One of the two men stood up, carrying a large roundish object, which he threw into the river. The group jeered at the sight and their mocking tone carried over the water to the ears of the Reubkes. It took a moment for Ekkehard's mind to comprehend what he had seen. Then it dawned on him.

The round object had been Evroul's head.

He let go of the rudder and dropped to the deck too drained to struggle.

He had lost another brother.

He could not rise even if he wanted to.

No one spoke for the rest of the journey. Upon reaching the other side, the party silently unloaded the ship. As he carried a small sack of grain from cabin, Ekkehard saw Gerwald and Bavo about a hundred meters inland, digging a hole. He approached them and inquired about their actions.

'Audomar told us to dig,' Bavo explained.

'Why?' Ekkehard asked.

'Aldedramnus is dead,' Gerwald answered. His voice was hoarse, empty and cold.

Ekkehard was too numb to let himself feel sad anymore. Instead, he turned to meaningless actions, and helped them dig. When the time came, he and his brothers carried another loved one's lifeless body and buried it.

‘A curse upon us for denying him a pyre,’ Ekkehard muttered to those gathered around the grave. ‘His essence will never rise to fertilise the soils of Spring’s Garden.’

‘We already cursed Ekkehard,’ Audomar replied curtly. ‘Better than leaving him to the wolves at least.’

Ekkehard did not reply. He would not engage his elder on this. What did he know? He left Evroul to die.

Half an hour passed before the group, carrying as much as they could, headed towards the distant hills. Night fell before anyone spoke again.

It was Leger, one of the workers who had joined them, that broke the silence.

'He was a hero, you know,’ he said to Gisla, ‘a true hero.' She silently wept by his side as they walked. 'Both of them were, and...' his voice trailed off, realizing his words could not comfort her.

Leger, a tanner who bore a face of blemishes and spots like all in his trade, was only slightly taller and just as skinny as Gisla, despite being over twice her age. His long, knotted hair, ragged tunic, looted leather chest guard gave him a rough appearance.

'You're all heroes!' he shouted, looking from Reubke to Reubke. A steely form of determination overtook his expression. 'Each one of you,’ he said as he looked to Gisla, who stared back with tear-filled eyes.

'You saved us more than once, you Reubkes, you were good and kind to us, and you protected us when these savages came. Evroul did the same today; he saved us, he was a hero, and the Reubke family will be remembered as heroes.'

'Shut your dumb fucking mouth,' Audomar snapped from the head of the group without even turning.

Leger shrank back, silenced, his head and shoulders slumping.

'Don't mind him,' Florentin said sombrely to Leger, patting the shorter man's shoulder.

Florentin was almost a full two feet taller than the man and appeared as a slender giant beside him. 'It's taken its toll, going through what we have. Thank you for your kind words. Best not say more about it now though ay. It's too soon for us.'

'I understand,' the man replied meekly, keeping his voice low to avoid angering Audomar again. ‘You have all been through so much of late, and I am sorry if I offended. Such great deeds shouldn't be spoken of by one as low as me. One day, I hope noble poets do your family the justice I cannot.' Florentin merely smiled in response, and the group trekked on through the night in silence.

When the moon reached its zenith, the group finally reached the first slopes of the Lenzen hill range. Exhausted and weary, the band forced themselves over the first mound and into the natural cover of the range. The hills, stretching several hundred miles, sporting patches of woodland here and there, were the perfect place to hide.

'Get some rest,' Audomar instructed the group. 'The nearest bridge over the Danzig is a few days’ ride away. We have bought ourselves some time. We need to push through these hills quickly if we want to lose them for good. Who knows if they will manage to find another boat. That means an early start. If we are quick and we push on these next few days, maybe we won't lose anyone else.’

Ekkehard scowled at his brother.

Audomar marched past and muttered, ‘Don’t give me that fucking look.' Ekkehard followed Audomar out of the earshot of everyone else.

‘And what fucking look am I giving you, brother?’ Ekkehard challenged.

‘That fucking look,’ Audomar said, pointing a finger in Ekkehard’s face. ‘I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. I did what I had to do.’

They both spoke in hushed but venomous tones.

‘If you’d had your way, we would all be dead,’ Audomar continued.

‘I get that much,’ Ekkehard replied. It was hard not to blame his brother for Evroul’s death, but deep down he understood that Audomar had saved them all by stopping him from turning the boat back.

‘I understand it at least.,’ Ekkehard continued. ‘I don’t know if I could have willingly left our brother to die. I don’t think I could ever do something like that. But I understand what you were doing. I accept that. But killing innocents Audomar? Is that really what we have become?’

The images of the dead ferryman and the tortured Torsten flickered in Ekkehard’s vision.

‘I do what needs to be done to keep us alive,’ Audomar stated. They locked eyes again. ‘You’re going to have get used to that.’

Ekkehard turned his gaze to the ground. He knew his brother was right, yet it was hard to forget the loss of loved ones under Audomar’s watch and he worried what affect this was all having on those that remained.

He looked to Audomar one more time. His elder brother was meant to be the stalwart guardian that kept their family safe. Yet, he seemed as lost and helpless as the rest of them.

Ekkehard wondered if perhaps he had already lost one more brother than he thought.

They made camp. On Audomar's orders, no campfire was lit, and they set a watch rotation for the night. Gerwald took the first watch. Meanwhile, Ekkehard, lying on unfurled blankets and sharing a pillow with his wife, struggled to find sleep. An hour past until mercifully, exhaustion finally won him over and he drifted into darkness.