John Dalmas - The Yngling

"Dismount!" he ordered loudly in Anglic. "And follow me." The three swung from their horses and started forward. "Just the northman," the knight snapped. "The other two swine stay here."

Nils strode over to him and looked up through slitted eyes. "Listen to me, knight, and listen carefully." His voice was soft but intense, and somehow it carried. "I've had too much hard mouth since I came here, and you'd better not give me any more. Either my friends come with me or I'm going to pull you off that horse and break your neck." He sensed the listening Poles.

The two men locked eyes, one an armed and mounted knight in linen shirt and spurred boots, the other a barefoot and unarmed youth on foot, his torso smeared with sweat and road dust. For a moment the knight's hand hovered above his sword hilt, but he did not grasp it. He looked back toward the king's tent; Casimir had emerged and was looking across, as if waiting for them. The knight swore in Polish and turned his horse. "Come then, all three," he said hoarsely, and they led their horses toward the king while the escort that had brought them looked at one another, impressed.

In his prime, Casimir had been a famous fighter. He was still a strong man, but so overgrown with fat that he had to be lifted onto his horse. But his brain was not fat, and the fiery recklessness of his youth had given way to an uncommonly logical pragmatism. He was not yet forty and, given a reasonable life span, might have ruled much more than Poland, had not Kazi come into the picture. He stood in a robe of bleached linen embroidered with gold thread, and a light golden circlet sat on his brown hair. One fat hand wearing a huge signet ring rested casually on the golden haft of a dagger, a sign of authority.

Jan Reszke, his chief counselor, contrasted sharply. A gangling stork of a man, his two meters of height made him one of the tallest men in Europe, but he weighed much less than Casimir.

As they neared the king, the knight barred their way with his drawn sword.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the king asked in Anglic, although he'd already been told.

"I am Nils Jarnhann, warrior of the Svear, recently in service to King Janos of Hungary. My friends are from Janos' guard.

"I have visited the court of Baalzebub, fought in his arena, and seen his vileness. My greatest feat was escaping alive.

"I've been told that you're sending an army against Baalzebub and would send another except for the northmen landing on your shore.

"Word was to be sent to the tribes that I am coming. Baalzebub's land is broad and rich. I've come to lead the tribes against him, and when he's destroyed, we'll take his land." Nils folded his thick, sinewy arms across his chest and looked calmly at the king, his speech finished.

"And why should I believe you can do that?" Casimir asked.

"You're not damaged if I fail and a lot better off if I succeed."

"You mistake my meaning, barbarian," Casimir said, "or misuse it, more likely, if what I suspect of you is true. Never mind. Most likely you'll have a chance to prove yourself."

Nils shot a question to Jan Reszke. "Yes," Reszke thought back, "he knows-has known for years. He deduced psi without ever having heard of it, from listening to my council and considering the possible sources of my knowledge. Since then I've shown him the tuner."

Casimir glanced from one psi to the other, his narrow, full-lipped mouth amused in the gold-streaked brown beard, then spoke in Anglic. "Guard Master!" The surly knight stepped forward hopefully, sword still in his hand. "Jan Reszke and I will confer privately with the northman. I don't want to be disturbed unless there is an emergency. Meanwhile, see to the comfort of these two knights." Casimir gestured toward the Belas. "They have ridden hundreds of kilometers in haste, and I doubt they've had a proper meal in days. When they're refreshed, quarter them with my household knights. And Stefan," he added, gesturing toward Nils with his head, "you have called the barbarians a pack of wolves. Don't curse the wolves 'til we see who they bite."

They entered the royal tent and Casimir lowered himself onto a cushioned seat, gesturing toward two seats facing his. "Sit there. I want to see your faces while we talk. I'll ask again the question that you didn't answer when I asked before. Why should I believe the northmen will follow you? And why should I believe they will fight Baalzebub if I let them out? And finally, why should I believe they can make a difference, as few as they are?"

Nils looked squarely back at him. "The tribes elect their leaders. Chiefs are chosen by all free men for their wisdom and justice. Raid leaders are chosen from among the warriors, by the warriors, for imagination and cunning. War chiefs are selected from among the raid leaders.

"Now the tribes are migrating, and I know something about the world they are entering-much more than almost any of them. They have no doubt selected a war chief already, but they'll listen carefully to anyone with experience here. Also, you have guessed what I am and know the advantage it gives me.

"And finally, I expect to go to them with your oath that you will let them pass untroubled if they in turn give their oath to join you against Baalzebub. And if they give it, they'll keep it. Besides that, I will tell them truthfully that if they don't fight him now with powerful allies, they will have to fight him later with little help and less hope.

"As for their value as allies-haven't some of your people fought them? Why did you bring this army here instead of a small force? When all the warriors have landed, there should be two thousand of them or more. And if you chose ten of them blindly, by lot, you couldn't match them with your ten champions. Our freeholders will fight too, if needed. They are skilled bowmen and familiar with swords.

"If you furnish them ships, they will surely ally themselves with you, and they could be landed faster and be ready to move sooner."

"All right," said Casimir. "You sound as if you might pull it off at that. Jan has already made a strong case for you, and if I didn't respect his judgement, I wouldn't keep him around. Besides, when things are bad enough, one does things he might not do otherwise. As for ships, I've already furnished some unwittingly, but I can send more. I'll order them landed to take on guides from among your people. But see to it that they are met peacefully and the crews well treated. If you fail me in that, I will see you all dead. I'll send a messenger now. When will you go to your northmen?"

"Let me ask a few questions, then feed me and I'll go," Nils answered. "But let my two companions stay with you, for among the tribes almost no one knows Anglic. And among your people they'll find customs much more like their own. They came with me only to help discourage robbers along the way."

"Tadeus!" Casimir bellowed, and a page hurried into the tent. "See that food is prepared for the northman and me. And have a fast messenger sent to me, prepared for a hard ride to Nowy Gdansk. Go!" He turned to Nils as the boy hurried out. "And when you talk to Jan, talk out loud."

"Jan," said Nils, "ask Raadgiver to have Danish ships sent to harbors in Jotmark and Norskland to help move the tribes. It may be hard to do, but we need to speed things as much as possible. And have you heard from the Magyars?"

"The western lords have left Pest. They are on their way."

"And what about the fighting?"

"We've lost contact with our man with the Ukrainians. He's probably dead. Yesterday we had a message by courier but it was a week old. Our army under Lord Bronislaw still had not come to any Ukrainian troops; apparently the fighting is well to the south yet."

"How large are the combined forces against Kazi?" Nils asked.

"The Ukrainians began with over six thousand and there will soon be another four thousand in action under Bronislaw, including nearly a thousand Saxons under the banner of Duke Hermann. The Magyars will add thirty-eight hundred or so. We have three thousand here and Albert of Prussia is holding fifteen hundred against the northmen, all of which can be sent when we have an agreement with your people." He paused. "And later, of course, your two thousand northmen." The latter had been hard for him to say; it still was not real to him that Nils could settle this confrontation of Poles and neovikings and bring his people in. "Some of the independent west German nobles are raising their armies too," he went on, "but it's hard to know how many they'll come to or when they'll start."