Andreas relaxed slightly, and he stared at the floor. He started to reply but then shook his head and remained silent. No answer was necessary. He had expected such a reminder, and had steeled himself for it, but when it came, he found he had no stomach to counter it. Doing so would strengthen Rutger’s concern that he was brash and unfit to lead the others. It would be better to show some humility, to accept the charge as given, and to move on to the larger issue at stake. Pick your battles, he had reminded the Livonian Heermeister, and it was an excellent platitude for him to remember as well.
“Feronantus’s success depends on secrecy,” Rutger said, his tone softening, “and it does us no good to be under extra scrutiny by old rivals or to engage in a drawn-out pissing contest with them. What does that gain us?”
“Respect,” Andreas replied after a moment.
“Is it part of our ideals that we seek that from other orders?”
“No. But I did not do it to earn their respect.”
“Whose, then?”
“Our brothers.”
Rutger sighed and ran a hand across his short gray hair. Andreas leaped forward to press his point. “They may not have taken up the shield, but our trainees are able. Eilif reacted swiftly when I was faced with two targets. If he had not been there, I would have had to hurt one in order to best them. I told them I was going to engage the Livonians, and they were not to be drawn into the fight unless they sensed my situation was dire. I trusted them to guard me, and they did.” A big smile broke across his face. “I would wager any one of them could handle at least two Livonians on their own. They’re not children anymore.
“And even if the Livonian Heermeister suspects we are not at full strength, he cannot be sure; however, wherever he chooses to engage us, his losses will be great. He will be cautious because he has to be; with the Mongols about, he will have to conserve his own strength. He’s not going to be thinking about moving against us; he’s going to be wondering how many men he will have to take with him to the alehouse whenever he gets thirsty. When he lays down at night, sleep will elude him because he will be worried that his compound is not secure. These are not baseless fears, Rutger, because our men could accomplish any such assault, if there was need.”
“I remind you,” Rutger retorted, “that there is no such need. Our original purpose in coming here was twofold. First, we had to find a way to stop the Mongol hordes from sweeping over all the land from here to the western sea. A task that has already been undertaken by Feronantus and his team.” He frowned. “The second half of our duty was to hold the line here and keep our enemies focused on the Circus.”
“And how are we doing that by hiding in a ruined church in the woods?” Andreas asked. “We sent one man to the arena, and when he won, the Khan stole him. What has our response been to that insult? We have done nothing. What would Haakon—if he is still alive—think of us? Have we abandoned our brother?”
“No,” Rutger growled.
“Then how are we to get him back? We don’t even know where he is. Or if he is even still alive.” Andreas sighed. “We are too cautious. Yes, Feronantus took many great warriors with him, but to think of our strength as lessened because they are not here is to think of ourselves as too weak to defend our own honor. Rescuing Haakon, holding this line, showing the Livonians that it is not in their interest to prick us just to see if we respond—these are things that we can do, that we have to do.”
Andreas searched the graying quartermaster’s face for some hint as to his disposition. He feared he had been overzealous with his words, but such words needed to be given voice. Like Rutger, he had heard stories as well, of a time when Rutger had not been this reticent, when the older man had been a lion and not a caged cub. Speaking with such fiery rhetoric was a gamble, but he saw a glimmer in Rutger’s expression that suggested his efforts were not in vain. There was still anger in his eyes, but there was also a hint of spurned pride. That’s right, brother, Andreas thought, remember who we are. Our fortunes are writ in steel and sinew, not skulking in shadows and waiting for the end.
“You have something more on your mind,” Rutger said after a long silence.
Andreas nodded. “The Mongols grow bored without the fights, as that is the sole reason they had tarried here and built their arena. Many have left, but the host that remains is still too numerous for us to fight alone. While I did not make contact with the Flower Knight while I was in the village, I think I know how to reach him and, in the process of doing so, how to draw the Mongols out again.”
He could feel the excitement building as he talked, the thought of active resistance over passive waiting causing his soul to uncoil its tensed strength. “There is a place called First Field. It is where Haakon earned the right to fight in the arena, and since the Mongols closed the arena, there has been no impetus to stage qualifying fights. We should change that; we should go to this field and challenge all comers. We should raise our standard there and say, ‘We have come to prove ourselves, and we will do so here until the Mongol Khan deigns to open the gates to the arena again.’ Eventually, he will take notice; perhaps he will even send out one of his champions.”
Rutger stared at him intently. “And you think the champion they will send out will be the Flower Knight?” When Andreas nodded, the older man grunted. “There is a great deal of risk in your venture, and I do not believe there is much chance of success. We know nothing about how many champions the Khan has, or if he even cares anymore of what goes on outside his compound.” His words were defeatist and cynical, but his tone was much lighter—the voice of a man trying halfheartedly to talk himself out of something his head knew to be foolish, but his gut told him was true.
“Low or not, it is the best option we have,” Andreas said. “The Mongol compound is well guarded, and we know too little about its layout and its guards to risk sending men over its walls. We would be better served by earning the trust of a man who resides inside.”