Immortals. Knights from Arkona

– It’s like the whole island is out of it. Dig – a shovel or two in depth.

– Why don’t you bring me here?»

– Who needs him?» There is a lot of wood, and there are places in the boats for blubber, skins and walrus tooth, or someone who will spoil the fish. On the spot, they heat the stoves on the island. But the heat is strong, carefully necessary, otherwise the chimney and pipe will burn and you will burn the house.

– What does not happen… I’ll buy the cargo, Viten. How much will you take?

– Yes, six Roman gold for a fish fang, and twenty-five gold for forty sables.

This price was twice lower than Constantinople. And what can I say – a pound of Romea silk was sold for twenty gold, so they will buy sable, and the walrus bone, they, craftsmen, will need a lot. But it was necessary to bargain, what kind of deal without bargaining?

«So six?» – and Gorazd thoughtfully took up his chin, and began to tell that there had been no rain in Kerch for a long time, and sturgeon fell in price, and vobla rose in price, grapes got ugly, and wine was expensive.

The foreman looked respectfully at the tiuna that the Venda’s tongue was completely boneless and words poured without stopping. Shook his head too. and a conversation ensued, and with fun and jokes. The price was reset to five coins per bone, and to twenty gold for forty sables. Viten shouted Lute, and he brought the scales. Gorazd took the cat from the lad, began to lay out coins, the foreman laid down five cropped around the edge. Tiun nodded, agreeing.

– Put the goods in the cart, but carefully.

The eldest of the youths nodded decorously, and began to shift walrus fangs onto thick linen fabric, and sables into clean canvas bags. So soon the cargo from the laboratory migrated to Gorazd’s cart.

– Well, I gotta go, Viten. Come next year, guests are welcome here.

«How will the gods decide,» the foreman replied thoughtfully.

The cart, creaking on an uneven road, rolled to Oleg’s yard, where, you see, there was already a new governor, and the northerners moved to their inn, burdened with gold.

All the knights gathered in the courtyard of the Anastasia inn. The artisans laughed, looked at each other, remembering the past day visiting Pelagius. Viten watched that the comrades were going on the road, not sucking. Fortunately, nothing needed to be shifted, the goods were sold out. The squad spent the night, and at dawn moved into the harbor.

Viten went to the laboratory where their boat was stored. The foreman’s fingers ran through the seals, breaking the hemp ropes and removing wax from the grooves. The excitement was leaving, everything was ending, and soon they would leave Constantinople. He himself, and then with Lut, opened the flaps, and the rising sun illuminated their ship. Everything was fine, an oak keel rested on the rollers, the leather sides were in perfect order. The northerners grabbed the sides, and dragged the boat to the sea water. Strong hands and feet coped with a difficult task, and the blushing artisans lowered their reliability and support in the far side to the blue surface. But, while the boat by the bow bar was tied with a rope to the pier. Now they brought on board belongings, supplies and water. The oars have already been attached to the oars.

Viten took out a tavern with honey, and poured it into the water, asking for help from the deities.

– Hello, Viten! – suddenly there was a voice of Vanir, – Are you already going to Arkona?

– Are we?» – Viten was delicately surprised, – Why should we go to Ruyana? Our way to the Urals, ten.

– Centurion. Well, how will I hammer you into the iron, I will go out into the thousandths. Throw swords, there is no need for your youths to die, – shouted the tsaregrader.

– Perhaps,» the foreman nodded, and winked at Lute

Twinning all picked up, groped for a knife in his sleeve, and quickly made a sign with wisdom to Uslad, and he, as it were, accidentally got up to the rule. The Knights kept the heavy oars ready.

– Let’s! Viten shouted to Lute.

He was at the rope with a jump, cut it in two blows, and pushed the boat away from the pier with a torn cry.

The foreman, with a clang, exposed two swords, and jumped to the stunned Vanir. Viten with the sword of the sword that there is strength hit the centurion’s shield, and he fell to the ground. The guards rushed to the rescue of their heads, arrows had already whistled. Northerner repulsed the blows of five warriors, breaking three swords of opponents. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the ship was leaving the shore.

Viten frightened four with a deceitful blow, and ran to the pier. But on the run I felt an injection of an arrow in the thigh and jumped into the water. He swam, only in his arms, and climbed the boat along the oar served by his brothers. Nearby, several more arrows fell into the waves, but the northerners rowed, full of rage, quickly passed a dangerous place, and they did not need rest.

– Well, foreman, everything is fine? ’smiled a pleased Lute, bandaging his shoulder wound.

– Yes, okay. And Vanira did not kill. Yes, he is a good man, and a warrior, – as if the foreman was making excuses.

– He wanted to kill us, didn’t he?» Asan boiled, not understanding the leader.

– How do you kill us?

Invasion of Waldemar of Denmark

Bad times came, without the help of the Magyar Hungarians, the princes Griffins could not resist, and the greedy Dan King Waldemar did not give a damn about past treaties, sent a letter demanding to abandon the faith of his ancestors and recognize Jesus Christ. About this I read a letter to three hundred selected soldiers of the Magi Slavomir. The warriors dispersed, each doing his own thing, and only a few of Svyatovit’s squad were invited to the tower to the Magus. These people, in small numbers, were sitting in the upper room of the Magi. The acolytes smashed honey and sweet harnesses, and the knights listened to the leader. They were very young men and women, but all with gray hair, trimmed bald, with pigtails on the back of the heads. The wrists were decorated with gold bracchiates, and the necks were thick hryvnias made of cast gold, in the right tie there was an earring with a yacht. The clothes, however, were not very rich, but bizarrely embroidered.

– Goes to the island of Waldemar in heavy power. With him in the assistants, Prince Pribyslav Obodritsky, Casimir and Boguslav, henchmen of Heinrich Leo.

«There are few of us left,» nodded Tiudimir, «three died, the bodies could not be taken from the coast at Retra. It’s bad that they fell chopped in the sea.

– There are many of us and never were, – Jaromir grinned, – it is necessary to leave for Alatyr.

– Do not accept us, not according to the custom of them immortals hide. And we have only ten ships, Valdemar has about a hundred. Let’s not pass. And we cannot leave the rest.

«Bad thing,» Lubomir nodded, «I had to leave with the Lutichs, as Geda and Visna said.

Four girls, also tall, in heavy armor, sat next to the knights. There were only eighteen of these heroes. Only the armor was three times heavier than usual, and the swords were also huge.

– Didn’t leave, wanted honor to observe. But, – Viten stood up, the foreman of the knights, – our messengers will pass in a small boat. Lipa and Uta! Take the boat, the scrolls of our temple, written on gold sheets, and get to Alatyr. Mara will accept you, regret it. And the True Village will be with you, the Griffin Banner will wait for the Chosen One there.

– Griffin’s banner? and Lubomyr jumped up.

– Calm down, deliberate husband. You know the Prediction. We tried to wake up the Princess?

– Yes, it turned out bad then, – said Tiudemir, – and you are not petrified, Lubomir!

– Lucky, we Viten, you know. Our fault, we thought we were smarter than Pryakh. Yes, we hardly reached the Forbidden Island – the path is difficult, we walked without youths. And the Eternals said their word:

He will find out, He will come.

He himself will take the Dead

In the years of Ivan will enter

He will tear off all the covers

Ice will melt with a kiss

And wake up, all rejoicing,

But love only one

My heart is dear to him

Still Seven Princesses

In the power of Heavy with him

will go to the throne

Zlatoy Will Perch

White lad, son of Dawn.

Don’t wait for this day soon…

– How do we know, Slavomir?

– You saw Tsareven, it is impossible not to recognize them, Right. Tiudemir?

«So,» the knight reluctantly agreed.

– And how? What, the Princes will immediately go to War for all the Evil of the World? – raised a huge Viten, taller than the heroes on his head, – will the Chosen One raise the Dead himself, with his strength?

All together, both men and women, smiled, remembering their distant youth.

– Cures, foreman, miraculous cures, They, the Princes, will rush to save people, heal, help in any way they can. Rumor will quickly spread throughout the lands, – said Jaromir, – The dead will appear later… When they get furious with human anger. Here are the heads on the belts then appear. And the army of the Dead will rise again, lead the Chosen and Immortal Princesses, and then the Chosen One will kill all enemies. And, you know yourself – the Princesses will call us, and those who sleep without heads in the Shelter are waiting in the wings.

– And you, Viten, know where all fighters from Tsareven’s decks sleep without heads? Where is the secret refuge? If we found them, but resurrected, there would be sixty swords in our army

– And sixty – a little… It’s not thousands of Dead, twinned.

– Okay, we need to see Lipa and Utа. We will cheer up the asdings today, – added Tiudimir, smiled, something cheerful, – at night, but night is not a hindrance to us.

***

They prepared a leather rook, and the servants of the magi brought two chests. Slavomir himself, the magician of the church of Svyatovit, followed them. Sixteen soldiers came to help two forever leaving for distant lands.

– Don’t remember us dashing, Lipa and Uta! – said the Magi, – go where we came from – to the Great River Ob. The main thing is to get there, do not disappear on the way. And do not lose your head and remember – the bones would be intact, and the meat would grow.

– Let’s manage, – said the eldest, Lipa, firmly, – we will keep our trust.»

She was already four thousand years old, Ute is three hundred years less. Jaromir did not take his eyes off his beloved.

– Yes, I… ’the girl tried to utter.

– You’ll get there, Uta…» the warrior said quietly.

Five knights carried a leather boat, the rest – chests and a gold treasury on the road. Everyone was in triple armor, which the crossbow bolt did not take. The trail was narrow and four went ahead. Quietly, as if not the knights had passed, but the ermine between the branches. They saw in the dark as in the afternoon. Six Saxons basked around the fire, waiting for the fish on pegs around the fire to cook.

Tiudemir pointed to a heavy bow, but Jaromir did not agree, and took out two streets. They owned the same with their left hand and right. From fifteen steps they could not miss, and the dying fell to the ground, wheezing, and clutching at the shafts sticking out of their bodies. The force with a dagger quickly completed what had begun, finishing off the strangers with blows to the heart. The rest dragged the bodies away from the fire, and dumped them in a hole.

– Before the morning will not be enough

– Well there are no dogs with them, – answered another, – let only the fire burn:..

The knights nodded, and moved on. Five more were killed at the bay, so it all happened casually, without much trouble. But with a quick step, almost running, they brought a boat, which was pushed to a deep place, and loaded with things.

– Well, goodbye, Lipa and Uta! That’s right, we won’t meet again.

– Nothing, Jaromir. If you’re lucky. steady. Lipa smiled wryly, adjusting her braid.

«You’ll walk in the haze again.

«Now they say sable,» Usil corrected his friend.

Friends said goodbye in complete darkness. There was no need to light torches, immortals saw in darkness better than gray owls.

«Let me kiss you, goodbye, Jaromir,» Uta said quietly, «if Elena decides, let’s see you,» she finished, and touched his lips with her lips.

«I’ll try to find you,» the knight promised.

«It’s time, it’ll be shining soon,» Lipa whispered.

– Don’t just lose your head, Jaromir! said the usual words between them, a beautiful maiden.

– And you don’t lose your head!

But here, trying not to give themselves away with a splash of water, with powerful strokes drove the little ship to the East, to Novgorod, and there, along the rivers and to Gandvik itself, where the magical Alatyr was waiting for them.

Scary section

The Danes unstoppably approached the ramparts of Arkona, pulled fascines and rams closer to the ditches, and the Magus Slavomir decided to arrange a sortie to burn the siege towers of the crusaders under construction.

– Magi, better we attack the camp at night, and arrange a massacre, – said Tiudemir, – for us that light, that darkness, everything is one. Hundreds of four, or even more, we will kill their warriors. Here we will set fire to the camp of enemies, and everyone else will run.

– It would be you, as in fairy tales, three hundred, so would do. But, you will attack half an hour before dawn, and then the entire army of Arkona will come to the rescue.

– Three thousand against twenty?

– So I’m not the Princess, I don’t know how to lift the Dead, – Slavomir was indignant, – Anyway, there is no one with us.

– So, we will do so, – the knight agreed with visible difficulty.

– Do not forget to take the youths with you, what would be pulled out of the sich if any of you are injured.

«As always. Not one of us was carried out dead. I have already died twice, – said Tiudemir, – The main thing during the battle is not to be left without a head.

Magus grinned, and with excitement banged the staff on the floor, and carefully looked at Jaromir.

«Just don’t bury yourself. Kill the sentinels, set fire to the siege guns and withdraw, – said Slavomir.

«Our swords are not stupid,» one of the knights boasted, «iron is from Siberia.» Almost seven hundred years ago, Attila-batyushka presented.

– Okay, you need to rest. Go, you need a dream too, – the Magi sentenced, – The morning of the evening is wiser.

***

A shop covered with bearskin served as Yaromiru’s bed. The warrior slept soundly, even now, before the sow. For him, she was far from the first, and not the last wine. In front of him on the table was a cup with potion, helping not to get tired in battle. This drink came from distant times, not even all knights remembered who first boiled this brew.

The squad youths stood guard. Those who were supposed to help in the battle, carry away the wounded, bring and serve new shields instead of broken ones. And now, at this early time, they began to bypass the rooms where the knights slept. There was also a knock on Jaromir’s door, then the door opened and Rostislav’s voice sounded:

«It’s time to get up!

The knight instantly woke up, put on ports and a shirt, his feet found the chuni themselves, and his hand reached for drink. Jaromir was distorted by the taste of the drink, but he habitually swallowed everything to the bottom. Now it was necessary to eat quickly, and he went down to the refectory. Everyone was assembled.

«Good morning!» he said.

– Hello to you! ’he heard back.

The servant put porridge with honey, and he quickly ate, and followed his friends to put on armor. It was hard to dress all this myself, and the soldiers were dressed up by the usual youths. Over the shirt, he dressed a quilted jacket, so as not to feel the blows, then his favorite armor, from plates riveted to a leather base, then the lad helped to put a mirror on top of the armor and fixed the belts. Handcuffs, elbow pads, knee pads and loincloths – all full armor. A thin gray linen shirt was thrown over the top so that the iron would not heat up in the sun. Kaftan did not want to dress, so it would be hot. Toole, with bow and twenty arrows, dagger, knife, axe, sword and spear.

«Do I carry everything with me?» Tiudemir joked, glancing at Jaromir.

«There is no superfluous here,» he replied, «the main thing is that it would be enough.»

Finally, his favorite sword, the shield on the belt hung behind his back, and the knight held the helmet in his hand.

– Are everyone ready? – bored their foreman, Viten.

«That’s it,» replied Lute, the foreman’s foreman and assistant.

Slavomir did not say a word, only stood, and blessed the soldiers going into battle. They went down to the basement of their tower, where Slavomir’s assistant, Zvonko, opened a secret door. The warriors lit torches, and they quickly moved along the secret passage. Nobody should have known about him, so they were not accompanied now by their servants and helpers, and it was unusual. Magus opened three heavy doors from a secret place, releasing the knights under the light of the moon, and not yet the sun.

***

There was time before dawn, and it was necessary to hurry. The Danes were no strangers to battle, and there were five lookouts ahead of the camp, given out by large bonfires. But the Ruyans were not children, in order to believe in such a naive trick that all the soldiers would be in sight, by fire. The squad broke into threes, and the knights went in wide arcs, looking out for enemies in the dark. Moreover, they saw now, as in the light of the sun. Jaromir was in the top three with Geda and Visna. Virgins were not weaker than him, only angrier on the tongue.

– See, Jaromir, Uta is now far away. How now? Maybe you’ll get to me for a while? Visna made him laugh.

– Look around, – muttered Geda, – you can’t smell dogs

– No… – but still led Wisna’s air with a snub nose,

Jaromir stepped quietly, so that he could not be heard by the supostats. Like all Immortals, in the dark I saw how during the day. The knight under the bushes noticed four danes. Three slept, the fourth gawked in the darkness, and rubbed his fists. The knight gestured wise to the warriors, they took out knives without words. The warrior threw a narrow blade that fell directly into the throat of the guard, and he fell on his side, wheezed, trying to reach his comrades. The girls ended the sleepers quickly and mercifully, without having fun. Only straw scarecrows sat by the fire. The other three finished all the same quickly. Now they were waiting for the moat and the camp stockade, and ten guards on guard. In front of the gate old firewood burned, driving away the darkness of the night. Danish warriors sat and stood, with shields, bows, pliers in armor and helmets.

But the Immortals stood eighty steps away, and sixteen arrows fired from such a distance killed even such a reliable guard. Arrows from heroic bows holed the usual armor, like hare skin, arrows even pierced the shields, plunging to the very plumage. They walked along the trampled path, habitually and gloomily looked at the bodies of those killed and dying, but one of the Danes managed to reach the rope of the bell, and the ringing brought down the night darkness. Even the arrow of Visna, fired at the wounded bell ringer, did not solve anything. In the camp, there were now belated screams, awakened frightened people. Tiudemir, on the other hand, took up his favorite business – fire from a small night lamp began to light tar and throw it into the tents and carts of the enemy camp.

Everything around was dusty, but then three dozen heavily armed knights – crusaders attacked the knights, behind them stood a wall with a hundred of their squires, who immediately began to shoot arrows at the ruyan. Even from a distance of fifty steps, the arrows did not pierce the armor of the heroes, but they, like iron columns, rushed forward. Geda and Wisna fired arrows. Danish swords broke like dry reeds on Siberian steel. At five minutes they cut down the knights, the squires rushed away. The bogatyrs advanced towards the king’s tent, hoping to surprise the guards. It did not work, now they were moving through dozens of chopped bodies, pouring their blood over the ground.

It was already bright, the bright rays of the sun, still red, glided along the blood-stained earth. Now the rumble of battle was heard from the other side.

– The townspeople attacked the Saxon camp! Tiudemir remarked.

«Exactly…» agreed Lute.

Now the king’s warriors came out against them with a banner, in bright clothes and capes over the best armor. These warriors were the best in the Dan army, bold, skillful and loyal to the king.

– King Voldemar himself sends us his chosen warriors, – Viten shouted.

A terrible felling began, enemies attacked the heroes from three sides. But the knights did not know tired, and in front of them grew a shaft of bloody bodies of the Danes three arshins high, the dead lay on the wounded, and the wounded on the dead. Suddenly, with a long ax, the asding blew off Visna’s head, her splattered blood drenched Lute from head to toe. Jaromir, with his sword, pierced through the gilded chain mail of the king’s servant, and with his left, freed from the shield, grabbed the warrior’s head from the ground by the scythe. Tiudemir lifted the body, hanging it on his shoulders, Ged grabbed the weapon. They began to withdraw, and the Waldemar warriors did not pursue them, tired of a bloody battle.

But the militia of the Arkonians against the Saxons had a hard time, and Viten with a dozen heroes attacked the army of Heinrich Leo.

«Go to the fortress,» the foreman shouted.

«Visna and Jaromir and Tiudemir go, we will stay,» Lute added in a thunderous voice.

The three who left with the body dived into a secret passage, and the door behind them was closed by the magi who had been waiting for them all this time.

– Slawomir, headless Geda! Visna shouted.

«You know the secret chambers. It will lie down, nothing, – answered the uncertainly magician, without taking his eyes off the girl’s decapitated body, with his hands sagging powerlessly.

They turned to the left, here the floor of the tunnel was covered with stone slabs. A servant of the gods lit the oil lamps that lit the place underground.

– Who will stay with her?

«Jaromir,» and Visna pushed the knight in the back.

Tiudemir put the body on the bench, and went out, only finally looked, pursing his lips, at the bloody body. Jaromir removed his armor, lifting unruly flesh by his shoulders. Fingers glided in frozen blood, he hardly found the hooks of vestments. With difficulty, he took off his armor, mirror, elbow pads. Quilted under the armor of gray was just a bard, and he flew into the corner.

«Don’t be mad at yourself,» whispered Visna, taking off her boots and pants, «I’ll go get two buckets of water.»

The knight transferred the naked female body to an iron lattice, put his severed head to his neck. The head fell to the left. He sighed, and took from the shelf several rollers of coarse fabric stuffed with river sand, and with their help he installed the severed part flat to the body. He took out a ribbon of silk from his bag and attached his head to his neck, trying to wrap it tightly. It seems that so far everything has worked out. Visna put buckets on the floor, and Jaromir washed the body from blood, then wiped it and put it on the bench and covered it with a blanket.

«I went,» and tapped him on the shoulder.

Now he stayed here for three days. Bogatyr took off his armor and lay down on a free bench. He blew out the lamp, in the dark he saw well, but he wanted to sleep.

Resurrection

Sleep mercifully came to the hero, giving the long-awaited rest after a hard day. A warm blanket came in handy in Arkona’s cold and damp dungeon, and a sleeper wrapped himself in it.

True, it was not possible to sleep a lot. The body began to behave quite unusually… The hands began to shrink and unclench, and finally the hands calmed down. Jaromir just sighed, and sat down on his bench, and rolled over onto the other side.