Conrad felt a knot in his stomach as he wondered what had happened to Thalibald and Waribule. Rameke and a score of warriors had escorted the women and children from his and other villages to the castle where they had been accommodated in the castle quarters. He and the other novices had been unceremoniously consigned to tents inside the perimeter, among the huts of the civilian workers. He did not mind because it meant that Daina was safe. But the daughter of Thalibald was distraught when she learned about Caupo’s defeat, as were most of the Liv women, because it meant that her father, brother and their menfolk were probably dead. Conrad held her in his arms as she sobbed her heart out after learning of the king’s defeat, while Rameke swore revenge on the Lithuanians. ‘I will ride south with what few men I can muster,’ he hissed. ‘I am chief now.’ Conrad was shocked, not by his desire to exact vengeance but by the fact that he was now the chief of his people. ‘I will come with you,’ he said, holding Daina tight.
