Friendship by Margit Sandemo

Author:Margit Sandemo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jentas A/S
Published: 2019-09-11T16:00:00+00:00

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After Tilly’s troops were defeated at Nienburg, a new battle followed not many miles south of the town itself. It began without warning in the dead of night so unexpectedly that King Christian’s armies were woken from their sleep by discordant trumpet calls.

Tarjei had already been working in his field hospital for twelve hours and was about to make his way to bed. He pushed the thought from his mind and ordered his assistants to be prepared for the worst. Not far away, Trond swung himself into his saddle, barked some orders to his section and rode away. He knew exactly what he planned to do.

Rising drowsily from his sleeping place, Jesper rushed back and forth, looking for his socks until Brand brought him to a halt and handed him the clothes that had lain in front of his nose all the time. Brand’s heart was racing as together he and Jesper hurried to join their company.

Alexander Paladin wasted no time looking for his helmet or breastplate. He got in the saddle, black hair flowing behind him and cloak billowing in the wind and galloped ahead of his squadron. Alexander was an excellent and respected leader who inspired all under him, and his cavalrymen followed him without question wherever he led them.

There had been several fateful nights in the history of the Ice People since that night many years ago when newly orphaned Silje found Dag and Sol within minutes of each other in Trondheim, in the middle of the deadly plague epidemic. Then within the next hour she’d met, in quick succession, Tengel the Good and Heming the Bailiff-killer. Not long afterwards, they’d survived the dreadful events of the night when their homes in the Valley of the Ice People were razed to the ground and almost every living creature there had been brutally murdered. More recently, there had been the landmark night that saw the birth of the dreadful Kolgrim and the simultaneous death of his poor mother, Sunniva. Although none of those concerned were aware of it, this was to be another night like those that had gone before, when the fates of many of the surviving Ice People would be decided.

Once it had begun, the battle raged throughout the dark hours. Early on, Alexander Paladin paid the price for not wearing his breastplate when he and a small number of his soldiers were engaged in close combat with Catholic mercenaries. It seemed that Alexander’s men would turn out victorious when suddenly a musket shot rang out and he felt a searing pain in his back. Two of his men caught him in their arms before he could fall to the ground.

The fierce fighting continued unabated and both sides won and lost much ground. The dull heavy thud of cannon from all quarters underscored the sound of musket and pistol fire and the screams of men; repeated infantry charges were ordered and positions were frequently overrun and then sometimes hastily recaptured. The pace of the fighting was relentless – but Alexander Paladin was oblivious to all of it.

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