I smiled. The boy had charm. "I go to Schweinfurt and beyond. I'll happily ride with such an excellent swordsman. What's your destination?"
"I have none in mind. Schweinfurt's as good as any." He spat after the retreating Klosterheim. "That man is mad," he said.
I looked to my wounds. They were not serious. A little balm was smeared on each. Soon we were riding along together, side by side.
"How were you employed by Klosterheim?" I asked casually. "As a bodyguard?"
"Partly. But he knows that I have no love for Jews, Turks or any other form of infidel. Originally he wanted me to help him in the execution of some Jews in Teufenberg. He said he had evidence of their having sacrificed Christian babies. Well, everyone knows that Jews do that and they must be punished. I was quite prepared to help him."
I said nothing to this. The fierceness with which the southern Muscovite hated his Oriental, Mussulman neighbours was well-known. The boy seemed no worse than most in this.
"You killed those Jews?" I asked.
He scoffed. "Of course I did not. One was too old and the others were too young. But the main reason was that Klosterheim had deceived me. There was no evidence at all that they had done what he said."
"And yet they were killed."
"Naturally. I told Klosterheim to do his own work. In the end that is what he did, though reluctantly. Then he told me that there were more infidels to kill and that I would be well-paid for my trouble. Gradually I began to realise that it was murder, not fighting, he wanted me to perform. And whatever else I am, sir, I am not a murderer. I kill cleanly, in fifth- fighting. Or, at least, I make sure the odds are fair, in the matter of Jews and Turks. I have never struck one of them from behind."
He seemed proud of this last fact. I laughed tolerantly enough and told him that I had known a few decent Jews in my time and at least one noble Turk. He politely ignored this remark which, I am sure, he judged to be in extremely poor taste.
Sedenko's company had the effect of shortening the journey to Schweinfurt. Every so often, along the road, we saw ahead of us the purple plume and the black garb of Klosterheim, but he was travelling at speed now and was soon it least a day ahead of us. Sedenko's story was familiar enough:
He was a son of those hardy pioneers, the Kazaks, who had expanded Muscovite territory against the Tatars (thus his traditional hatred of Orientals) and had grown up in a village near the southern capital of Kieff. His people were famous riders and swordsmen and he had, according to his own boasts, excelled in every Kazak skill until he had become embroiled in a feud between rival clans over whether or not to rise against the Poles, and had killed a chief (or hetman). For this crime he had been banished, so had decided to strike westward and enlist in the army of some Balkan prince. For a while he had served with a Carpathian king in a war which, as far as I could tell, was no more than a quarrel between two gangs of robber-knights. Being of a fanatically religious bent, like most of his kind, he had heard of a "Holy War" in Germany and had decided that this was more to his taste. He had been disappointed to discover that he could find no particular sympathy with either side, for his religion recognised a Patriarch in Constantinople, not a Pope, yet in other respects was even more elaborate in its forms of worship than the Roman faith.
"I had thought I would be fighting infidels," he said in a disappointed voice, "Tatars, Jews or Turks. But this is a squabble between Christians and they do not appear to know the essentials of their arguments. They are all faithless fools, in my opinion. I decided I could fight for none of them. I enlisted as a personal bodyguard with a couple of noblemen, but they found me too wild, I think, for their taste, and I was close to starvation when I met Klosterheim."
"Where did you meet him first?"
"Where you saw us. I had had word through a third party…a monk in Allerheim…that this soldier-priest had employment for a defender of Christ's people. Well, I decided to see what it was, particularly since I had received a silver florin in advance. That was what paid my way to Teufenberg. Now we all know that a good Christian is worth twenty Jews, in any circumstance, and that twenty-to-one constitutes fair odds if one is attacking a village. I had expected a sheiss-full, at least. I had the impression that it was a veritable army threatening Teufenberg. But three! The only male Jews in the whole town! I felt insulted, sir, I can tell you. I have rarely tolerated such condescending behaviour as that which I tolerated in Klosterheim. Everyone is an infidel to him. He sought to convert me from the religion of my fathers to his own grey faith!" ! found his open naivetЋ, his unjustified and somewhat innocent prejudices, his enthusiasm, at once disarming and amusing. His prattle took little of my attention, but it served to keep my brain from morbidly dwelling on my own problems.
Schweinfurt was soon reached: a moderate-sized city which bore the usual traces of the War. Our presence was unremarked and I asked directions for the best road to Nџrnberg. Sedenko and I put up at an inn on the outskirts of Schweinfurt and the following morning I prepared to say farewell to him, but he grinned at me and said: "If you've no objection, Captain von Bek, I'll stick with you for a while. I've nothing better to do and you have the air of someone who has embarked upon an adventure. You've said little of yourself or your mission, and I respect your silence. But I enjoy the comradeship of a fellow swordsman and, who knows, something might happen to me in your company which will lead to my finding decent employment with a company of professional soldiers,"
"I'll not attempt to dissuade you now. Master Sedenko," said I, "for I'll admit that your company is as enjoyable as you claim mine to be. I head for Nџrnberg, and from there go to a small town called Ammendorf."
"I have never heard of it."
"Neither had I. But I have instructions to go there and go there I must. It's possible that you would not wish to continue with me, once we reach Nџrnberg, where there will be plenty of opportunities for you to find employment. And it is possible that, once I find Ammendorf, you will not be able to accompany me farther. You know that I have no wish to describe my true mission to you, but you are right in recognising its importance. You must agree, for your own sake as well as mine, to accept orders where they relate to my Quest."
"I am a soldier and accept a soldier's discipline, captain. Besides, this is your country and you know it a good deal better than I.I shall be proud to accompany you for as long as it suits you."
Sedenko pushed back his sheepskin cap on his head and grinned again. "I am a simple Kazak. All I need is a little food, a worthy master, my faith in God and a chance to ride and use this"… he drew his sabre and kissed the hilt… "and I am completely satisfied."
"I can promise you food, at least," I said. We mounted again together. I felt that I would come to miss Sedenko's companionship when the time came for our ways to part, but was selfish enough to allow him to stay with me until then.
A little later, as we took the highway to Nџrnberg, he spoke more of Klosterheim. His distaste for his former employer was profound.
"He told me of the witches he's killed - some of them children. Christian folk, by the sound of them. I draw the line at children. What do you say, Captain von Bek?"
"I have a great deal of blood on my hands," I said. "Too much to let it grieve me immoderately, young Muscovite."
"But in War…the blood was spilled in War."
"Oh, indeed, in War. Or in the name of War. How many children do you think have died because of me, Sedenko?"
"You are a commander of men. There are always casualties which one regrets."
I sighed. "I regret nothing," I said. "But should I have regrets, I would regret that I ever left Bek. It is far too late for that now. I was not always a soldier, you see. You come from a race of warriors. Mine is a race of scholars and rural noblemen. We had no great tradition of warlike exploits." I shrugged. "There have been peasant children killed by my men, one way or another. And I was at Magdeburg."