Ermentrude's Knot. Candi J.D. Holme
Saskia.
“This is it! We are near the farm we came to find, Saskia. I don’t see the farm, though,” I said. I scanned to the right side of some trees and saw it—the farm! “Ah! There! See?” I pointed.
“We must make a plan. The men would know how to approach this place without the Sporoi noticing us,” Saskia spoke.
“Good idea! Let’s find the the Gepids’ leader!” I added. We were thrilled to find the farm where we were once held as slaves.
The leader of the Gepids was tall and blond, with a scar along his forehead. I wondered how he acquired it. He smiled at us as we approached him.
“Have you found more evidence of the attack that took place?” he asked.
“Yes, we found the farm! It’s down in the valley—come up here and see for yourself, captain, I said. “I remember the goats over there on the hill, and the farm is to the right of the trees. It’s such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, we were taken there without being asked. The villains never harmed us, as we were a gift to a woman named Draga. Draga was kind compared to the men who killed our friends,” I said.
“Do you know for sure that your friends were killed?” the captain asked.
“Ja—Draga told me it was so. She did say that one of the brothers was blinded by a knife, when he fell out of a tree, so he might have survived. This morning, I think we found that place. We found blood stains, a gold coin, and a piece of linen from torn clothing,” I reported. “I found a broken spear that Saskia knows belonged to Anselm.”
“When we escaped, we only had Draga’s information. We never had time to find out what had happened to our horses. Draga would have tried to find out more, but we jumped at the chance to escape, when it was offered,” Saskia clarified.
“Hmm. I see. We must raid the farm, where the offensive brutes left you as slaves. We will ride in at dusk, when their guards are eating. Perhaps they will be tired from a long day. With luck, we may surprise those heathens that killed your friends. You spoke of Draga with kindness. Is she the mistress of the property? I only hope her life will be spared by our soldiers,” the captain said. “It will be a massacre of innocents and guilty . . . for there’s no way to distinguish them.”
“We understand, sir. If we see Draga, we will order her to ride with us, for her safety,” I said. “May Wodanaz be with us!”
We waited, out of sight, until darkness crept over the neighboring hills, and shadows fell upon us. We armed ourselves with weapons and shields. We rode down the dark slope swiftly with intent . . . to avenge the deaths of our Gepid friends. May Wodanaz give us the strength and endurance to fight these men, who murdered the innocent brothers. I held back my tears and steadied my sword and shield, ready for battle.
As we neared the farm, the warriors yelled and roared their fiercest and most vindictive insults against the occupants. Inside the buildings, men grabbed their weapons and stormed outside to meet the wrath of our army and cavalry. Our swords sheered off heads, split open chests, and speared arms. The outer buildings were set ablaze, and livestock was taken away. Horses were captured, and the enemy slaughtered. Revenge was brutal.
Saskia and I rode rapidly, around the perimeter of the farm, to find any man that we could. We worked together to serve our need—to punish them for their disregard for life—to force them to beg for mercy, on their knees—and slash their ears and noses. Once they tasted our form of torture, they would plead for death—and we’d oblige. With one certain jab to the heart—it would be over. They would fall to their knees, then, face down in the dust.
After my third victim died, I no longer winced. I was a young warrior . . . proud of my first real battle. I now knew how it felt to take someone’s life. Saskia withdrew her sword from a man’s neck; his blood spurted everywhere. On her horse, she chased another man around the yard, until he tripped and fell, giving her time to thrust her sword into his right side and withdraw it. A large man came at her from the left, but I rode up to her side, just in time, to distract him, before lopping off his head. Who knew we were capable of such ferocity?
As Saskia and I looked about the yard, we saw no one else to attack, so we rode back to the front of the house waiting for something to happen. We’d be ready to kill again, if needed. We heard children’s screams from inside the house and decided to avoid terrorizing anyone innocent with our swords. We backed away, riding up the slope to where the Gepid women waited with captured horses and livestock. They saw us riding toward them, in darkness, our clothes splattered with blood. They looked afraid, but we smiled at them and yelled,
“Hurrah! Revenge is sweet—oh Gepid sisters!” Only then, did their faces and shoulders relax.
I heard a loud series of whinnies from somewhere behind the group of women, so I rode around them to inspect a captured horse that excitedly reared up on its hind legs. Perhaps it needed some reassurance that it was safe among these strangers. I jumped off my steed and studied the horse. It drew closer to me and snorted, as though relieved to see me. I patted its neck and withers, stroking its side and spoke to it quietly. I noticed that it resembled Brunhilda. I spoke its name,
“Aah, Brunhilda, my sweet horse. You are Brunhilda, aren’t you? I missed you. Did you miss me? You probably thought I’d never find you . . . right? Well, you’re mine, and you will always stay with me,” I cooed into her ear. Brunhilda snorted with satisfaction. I led her over to the other horse I had been riding, and introduced them. Brunhilda sniffed the mare that I had ridden to the farm; the mare shook her head and mane, stepping back a few paces. They welcomed each other with nudges.
Saskia rode up to us and laughed at me conversing with the horses. “So, you finally found Brunhilda, I see. It’s a good thing she wasn’t captured by Sarmatians. They have an appetite for horse meat, you know!”
“Please don’t tell me that! I have enough to concern me. I must look for Gerulf’s horse. . . and Anselm’s horse. Help me find them, Saskia.” We had captured fourteen horses, but it was quite dark by now, making it difficult to search for these two horses. We thought it best to look tomorrow.
I did not see Draga during our battle. Saskia had not seen her. Perhaps Draga had hidden. If so, she had hidden well. Our only hope of discovering what had happened to her would be to search the farm tomorrow. We hoped to find her and thank her, as well as, inform her of how we had escaped. Perhaps she would be willing to travel with us. We would first see if we could find her.
We returned uphill to our camp, overlooking the dark valley. The women prepared the meal, as the men slowly returned up the hill. The campfires were lit, warming us in the late summer breeze. It would not be long before the winter winds blew inland from the sea. I wrapped a blanket around me, as Saskia and I sat by the fire. We had washed off the stains of our revenge and the sweat of earning it. We were warriors, such as the men of this tribe. Tomorrow will offer a closer inspection of our deeds this night. We fell asleep late, after telling the Gepid children and women how we had fought the Sporoi. Their blue eyes glowed in the firelight, as they listened.
The next morning, we awoke to the pleasant chirping of birds up in the tree branches. Saskia opened her eyes and smiled at me.
“I saw you battle some strong men yesterday. I was worried when two of them came at you from the left and right, one after the other. I thought you would need my help. You stood your ground, and raised your sword, to remove both their hands in two swift moves of your blade. I was very proud of you, Ermentrude,” she said.
“Thanks, Saskia. That is very good of you to say. Your att-a would have been extremely proud of you, also. You struck each man with all your might. You had slain quite a few big men with your sword, as well. I had to think about what they did to Gerulf, to find my inner strength at times, but I found it very easy to punish them without mercy. Those men will never harm anyone again!” I said.
“Ermentrude, we must find out what happened to Draga and to our other horses. Let’s have something to eat and go down to the farm with our weapons. I will ask anyone I find, if they know about the horses and Draga. Perhaps we will also learn about the fate