The Storm: Part 3

[Korbel]

The war broke out in August 1409, after decades of tensions, intrigue, treason, outright wars between the Order and Lithuanians, uprisings and unexpected alliances - a whole story in itself. Finally, the Lithuania was baptized by Poles, so the Order was denied their excuse for raiding those lands. Now, the Knights had to face the Polish - Lithuanian Union and it quickly turned into a war.

The Order took initiative and with swift attacks have conquered the Dobrzyn land. The polish counterattack brought limited succes. Meanwhile, the Order had to deal with a massive uprising in Lithuania. Soon, the truce was called and both sides started to prepare for the battles to come. Recruiting mercenaries, gathering supplies and making political maneuvers to gain additional allies.

The Union leaders have devised a bold plan. Just as the truce was over, in July 1410, the Polish Kingdom gathered its armies and in a precisely planned maneuver crossed the river Vistula on pontoon bridge near the city Czerwinsk, where they joined Lithuanian forces and set off to strike a blow at the very heart of the Order - Marienburg (Malbork) Castle. Next week, they entered enemy territory. The Grand Master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, knew that Malbork is not fully prepared to withstand and wanted to save his land from pillaging, so he decided to meet the enemy in the field. First, he took a defensive position at the small castle Kauernick, protected by the river, in hope of stopping the Union advance.

Not really aware of the fact, the Union forces were heading this way. The army sent their scouting parties ahead. One of those teams, a dozen in number, was on a routine patrol, where they expected no enemy presence. At least, that's what the command told them - because soon they were ambushed by armed Teutonic forces and - heavily outnumbered - had to run for their lives, galloping wildly through the forest. But the Knights had faster horses and only three men managed to evade the pursuers. Deep into the enemy territory, far away from their main forces, they stop to assess the situation and let their exhausted horses rest just a little...

[taelor]

As the others tend to the exhausted horses, Aleksy scans the surrounding, attempting to get his bearings after the mad chase.

[taelor]

"The host should be twenty miles south of us, across the river", Aleksy says to the others. "But we must proceed carefully. The woods are thick, and the Order's forces may attempt to intercept us."

[Adronio]

Adrian wrinkles his nose. "I suggest we get moving then. I never really liked mucking about in the woods; I'm not very good at it. The faster we get back to camp the faster we can get back to killing Teutons. And if any refuse pretending to be human gets in our way, well, I guess we'll just have to clean up."

[taelor]

"Yes. The Teutons are further south and east than we expected. We must report this back to our comrades as soon as possible."

[Korbel]

Benedykt and Adrian follow Aleksy and soon they see the river they need to cross to continue their journey south. As it turns out, it`s not a very wide barrier, Aleksy estimates it to be 20, maybe 25 yards to cross and the current is not that strong, either. Unfortunately, it is not shallow enough to just ride through. The horses could wade to other side, possibly swimming through the deepest parts, but that would mean their riders (and all of the equipment) could not hope to stay dry. At least the weather is warm enough for a little swim.

If memory serves Aleksy right, there should be a village with a small harbor maybe one mile away, just nearby a small forest. Maybe they could obtain a boat there? The only problem is, the village is on the other side of the river...

[Benedict]

Benedykt raises his hand.

" Halt troops. If we are to get to the village we must get across. Before doing so we must tend to our mounts. They are already thirsty enough and the warm weather will urge them to drink from the river. This we must not do, as I see the water being unsafe. We must stop to water them from our own supplies and let them rest before crossing over. "

[taelor]

"There is a village a mile down stream with a harbor on the far shore. I'll swim across and commandeer a boat to ferry our equipment across the river."

[taelor]

After the horses are tended to, Aleksy leads the way to the riverbank opposite the harbor. Leaving his prized crossbow in the care of Adrian, Aleksy plunges in and swims across to the far side.

[Korbel]

Aleksy wades through the forest, following the river downstream, to find there's a small harbor, indeed. A path leads through the forest, connecting the harbor and village further east which can't be seen from where Aleksy is. As he can see, there's also a single boat, and five men preparing to enter it. One broadshouldered, currently with his arms being tied behind his back by another two, there's also one man overseeing the process, who's armed with an arming sword at his belt and protected by a gambeson, and the last man, an older villager as it seems, is preparing the boat.

[Korbel]

Without making any noticeable sound, Aleksy sneaks closer, close enough to hear a quiet conversation. Furtunately, there's no one else coming from the village.

"So, you will join the river Drewenz soon enough, and after a few hours you should reach the lake. That's halfway to Mohrungen" says the older man, while untying the knots.

"Great, we're gonna be rich when we sell him!"

"Shut your face up and do your work" the man with sword cuts the celebration short, but clearly he's excited, too. "Wait, did I hear something? Eh, no, there's no one here... Keep moving!"

[taelor]

"Slaver scum", Aleksy thinks to himself as he creeps up to the boat.

In a flurry of motion, Aleksy leaps into the boat and knocks out the old man with the hilt of his dagger.

[taelor]

One of the men lunges at Aleksy with a dagger just as he is completing cutting the mooring of the boat, but misses. He then proceeds to flail about ineffectually while Aleksy repeatedly stabs him in the face until he goes down and doesn't get up.

[David Mogendo]

Izajasz stands as the two men tie him up. There is a commotion from the dock and he looks to see the old man take a dagger hilt to the scalp. He looks toward the boat, considering escape, as one of the men tying him go to intercept the newcomer. Izajasz easily overpowers the remaining man, shoving him away, and is about to sprint for the boat when he hears motion behind him. Just barely ducking under the sword swing, he begins backing away from the headhunter leader. The headhunter grabs him and tries to restrain him, despite the size difference. Izajasz overpowers him and throws him over his hip. The man attempts to soften his landing with his leg but lands with the full weight of Izajasz above him directly on his knee, fracturing it. For good measure, Izajasz disarms him and watches as the remaining man flees.

[David Mogendo]

Izajasz turns to his rescuer and extends his hand. "Thanks. I'm Izajasz Dąbrowski, who might you be?" He was slightly skeptical, but the man had helped him, so he owed him somewhat.