Chapter Twenty-One
Creekmere Castle never stood a chance.
Braxton’s army, mingled with the Gilderdale force, razed Creekmere in less than two days.
Braxton brought his mangonels, the same war engines he had built for his battle against Gloucester, and destroyed Creekmere with barrages of flaming-tar projectiles that burned the outbuildings and killed most of Wenvoe’s men.
After burning the wood and iron portcullis into ashes and twisted remains, Braxton entered the bailey and ordered his men to kill everything that moved.
The rich keep was looted of all of its finery; furs, tapestries, plate and gold pieces were all confiscated by Braxton and his men.
He took back every pence of the thirty thousand gold marks he had paid for Brooke and Erith and then some.
The true heart of the mercenary came to pass and Braxton was ruthless in his conquest. Those who did not flee were put to the blade; those who resisted were also put to the blade.
Wenvoe himself was dragged from a closet by Dallas, who gutted the man from his throat to his groin and took great pleasure in it.
In the heat of his fury, his sense of vengeance knew no limits. Every stroke had Brooke’s name on it.
As de Aughton and the soldiers from Gilderdale began systematically destroying the walls with projectiles from the mangonels, Braxton, his brothers and father were brutal in their conquest of the keep.
When the entire thing was stripped bare, a fire of dead bodies was lit on the bottom floor and the heavy, greasy smoke of human corpses began billowing in great black tides from the windows.
Wenvoe himself was cut into several different pieces and put into a wagon with his head stuck on a pike jutting from the front of the wagon.
Braxton ordered four of his men to take the wagon to Elswick and leave it at their doorstep as a promise of things to come if Lady de Nerra and Lady Aston were not immediately released. It was Braxton’s calling card.
With Creekmere obliterated, Braxton’s next move was Elswick Castle and Roger de Clare’s family.
He fully intended to do to Elswick what he had done to Creekmere.
He spent a restless night watching Creekmere burn and at dawn the next day, his seven-hundred-man army began to move south towards Elswick.
It was a thirty-mile journey and he knew they could easily make it in a day; he was fully prepared to begin the siege the moment they arrived.
Even if they handed Gray over, he was still going to burn the place in vengeance.
He could think of nothing else. The closer he drew, the more obsessed he became.
The more obsessed he became, the more obsessed his father and brothers became. It was a vicious cycle.
Riding at the head of the enormous army, it was the de Nerra men – Thomas, Robert, Davis, Steven, Braxton and the Thomas’ three grandsons Dair, Laurence and Roderick, united for one cause, one purpose.
Dallas rode among them, one of the family now and accepted as such, as Geoff and Niclas flanked the army, keeping the men in line.
The trek south was filled with a tremendous sense of purpose and hardly a word was spoken as they covered the road to Elswick in less than a day, arriving at the castle with the sun sitting low on the horizon.
Elswick was a Gloucester stronghold that covered quite a bit of ground.
It was a big castle with an enormous bailey, huge ditches surrounding it, and fifteen foot walls.
It had a big gatehouse and an enormous keep in the center of the complex along with all of the usual outbuildings like stables and smithy shacks.
It sat on a rather flat plain, a beacon of Gloucester strength that could be seen for miles in all directions.
Braxton and Robert didn’t waste any time moving the army into position.
They surrounded the entire castle, keeping out of range of the archers as they moved the great mangonels into position.
Braxton’s plan was to fire flaming projectiles into the bailey to cripple it before moving in on the gatehouse.
Assuming his wife and daughter were being held in the keep, it was his intention to leave it untouched, at least until Gray and Brooke were safe.
Then he would burn it to the ground and everyone in it.
It was close to midnight by the time the army was completely situated.
The army had stripped wood from the nearby forests, building a fourth mangonel as well as creating massive bonfires on which to heat the thick, gooey tar.
Only when everything was set did Braxton turn his attention to the castle, which had been on extreme alert since their arrival.
He could see men walking the walls, fully alert, waiting for the onslaught.
Braxton stood by the light of one of the gigantic bonfires, watching the castle in the distance.
He was in full armor, heavy chain mail and weapons slung about his body.
There were dark splotches on his mail, bloodstains from the destruction of Creekmere, and his face was drawn and stubbled.
He literally had not slept since receiving the news that Gray had been abducted by Gloucester and it showed in every expression, every movement. The man looked like the walking dead.
He stood, staring at the distant castle as if he could see his wife through the great stone walls and tightening up his gloves.
Robert walked up beside him, his gaze moving between his brother and the castle.
He knew how badly the man felt; they all felt badly.
But Braxton’s brutality to those who had betrayed him had been nothing short of astonishing to watch.
He knew his brother was sharp, cunning, and ruthless, but his actions over the past three days had surpassed what even Robert thought he was capable of.
The rest of the knights were spread out with the soldiers; Thomas was supervising the building of the mangonel, Steven and Davis were positioning the archers, and the rest of them were mingled with the infantry.
Geoff and Niclas’ commands echoed over the darkened landscape as the senior knights in command.
Everyone was prepared, waiting. Robert faced his brother expectantly.
“Your orders, Braxton?” he asked quietly, watching the man as he fussed with his gloves. “The men are prepared when you give the word.”
Braxton didn’t look at his brother; he was still looking at Elswick.
“In a moment,” he said. “I will give them the opportunity to deliver my wife and daughter unharmed first.”
Robert nodded. “Shall I accompany you?”
Braxton shook his head. “Nay,” he replied. “You will stay here and keep Dallas at bay. I am afraid of what he will do if Elswick denies my request. He may charge in there and get himself killed.”
Robert nodded again, his gaze moving to the enormous castle, illuminated in the dark night by hundreds of torches against the sky. It was an eerie sight.
“You realize that they will probably not turn her over,” he said softly. “She is the only guarantee that you will not completely raze the place.”
Braxton shrugged and finished with his gloves. “I am going to completely raze it as it is,” he said. “I will kill any remaining de Clare relatives and post their bodies on poles for all to see.”
Robert knew that. He wasn’t going to try and talk him out of anything so he looked around, spying Dallas several feet away, using a pumice stone to sharpen the smooth blade side of his sword.
With a lingering look at Braxton, he made his way over to Dallas to await the signal to battle.
Everything was dependent upon Braxton’s interaction with the inhabitants of Elswick.
Braxton didn’t waste any time. He mounted his big black charger and spurred the beast forward, thundering towards the gatehouse of Elswick.
As he cantered towards the lifted drawbridge, he could hear shouting upon the walls of Elswick as the men inside realized that something was happening.
Someone in de Nerra’s army was about to make contact.
Everyone who was able ran for the gatehouse, waiting for the first barrage of words that would determine their future.
Braxton kept calm, focused. He thought about what he was going to say.
He wanted to stress upon the commanders of Elswick that they had little choice in surrendering Gray and Brooke but he didn’t want to provoke them to the point where they might actually harm the women.
That was his greatest fear, in fact, that Elswick would not surrender his wife and daughter and, instead, punish them because de Nerra was intent on destroying their castle.
Time would tell. He braced himself for what was to come.
He pulled his charger to a halt when he came within range of the mighty gatehouse of Elswick.
Dozens of torches lit up the structure and he could see many soldiers upon the gatehouse battlements.
Everyone was scattering back and forth, orders being relayed as men showed their fear of what was to come.
Braxton could feel their terror and it both pleased and concerned him.
Used properly, terror was a good motivator, but men that were overwhelmed with panic could do stupid things.
He didn’t want his wife or daughter to fall victim to stupidity.
“My name is Braxton de Nerra,” he bellowed for all to hear. “I have come to secure the release of my wife and daughter. Failure to give me what I have come for will have deadly consequences for the inhabitants of Elswick. Do I make myself clear?”