Pride and Honour - The Battle for Saxony by Nathaniel Burns

Author:Nathaniel Burns [Burns, Nathaniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heiken Marketing
Published: 2013-10-23T04:00:00+00:00

21

THE WESER RIVER languidly followed its winding path through the Weser region, its surface and surroundings shrouded in a heavy layer of mist. A large, ghostlike shadow stirred its surface, steadily moving, advancing. The wind gently rustled the reeds on the riverbank, while the egrets hidden within shifted their wings in their sleep. The mists and the moonless sky cast the world in a surreal, eerie ambiance.

Alongside the river, recently mown hay lay on the fields, its sweet scent permeating the air as the farmsteads lay sleeping. Forests stretched into the distance, dark and foreboding. An owl’s hoot sounded in the evening air.

Water lapped lightly against wood as a shadowy shape sliced through the water, only to lose itself in the darkness of a wooded bank. Low, hushed voices were heard, creaking footsteps on wood, wood knocking against wood and the rasping of ropes, and then all was quiet and the river once again calm.

Dark, ghostlike shadows moved over heath and moor. The shadows stealthily made for their undisclosed destination, and cautiously whispered the word, Weking, whenever other shadows rose from the ground before them, to stall their progress. The shadows would then dissolve into the night, allowing the travellers passage.

The darkness of night and the slumbering landscape paid no heed to the actions of these shadowlike creatures as they approached the gates of a prominent farmstead on the banks of the Hunte River. The visitors were only permitted within the gates once they had knocked lightly and given the official sign.

Mighty oak trees’ crowns extended protectively over the high thatched, mossy roof of the grand house. Strong hands took hold of horses’ bridles and led the animals into the protective darkness of the nearby trees, while the Sattelmeiers, Duke Widukind’s most loyal retainers, ensured that no uninvited guests gained entry within, just as the Eppmeiers and the Baumeiers were doing outside.

They surrounded the farmstead in a double ring of guards, while the Nordmeiers and Ringstmeiers guarded the main gate and the entrance to the house.

Days had gone into preparing the large homestead for the arrival of its guests. Its resident animals had been led from their usual stalls by tightlipped farm hands, who would have let themselves be hacked to pieces for their master, if need be. The straw, harness and stored goods were then removed and long benches were erected, effectively converting the entire building into one large meeting hall, ready for the conspirators.

At midnight, all those summoned gathered within the candle lit hall. Many had ridden for several days through the Saxon domains, hiding deep in the forests or on the moors during the day, only to move under the cover of night undetected by the Frankish sentries. Most of them were large, burly men, peasants or freemen, and the best from the Eastphalian, Angarian and Westphalian homesteads. Only a few of the nobles who had not ridden to Paderborn to submit to the Frankish King were present. Others had stubbornly remained on their manors, or fled overland, pursued by the King’s cavalry squadrons.

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