On the fifth of May, the day after Saint Florian’s Day, a strange mission arrived in the Hussite camp. Several richly attired burghers, several high-ranking clergymen, several knights, including—judging from their coats of arms—Zedlitz, Reichenbach and Bolz, and on top of that a Pole bearing the Toporczyk arms. The entire company joined in secret negotiations with Prokop, Jaroslav of Bukovina and Královec long into the night in the only surviving building of the Cistercian grange. When, at dawn, Prokop issued the order to move out, everything was explained. Another agreement had been reached. Following the example set by Jan of Ziębice, Bernard of Niemodlin, Ludwik of Oława, Helena of Racibórz, Przemko of Opava, Kazko of Oświęcim and Bolko of Cieszyn had all decided to save their own estates by entering into negotiations.

The talks with the Silesian dukes had fuelled rumours in the army that it marked the end of the plundering raid and that it was time to go home. Rumours were circulating that the march ordered by Prokop on Nysa would shift to Opava, and from there the army would carry straight on to Odry in Moravia.

“Perhaps we’ll be home by Pentecost,” said Dobko Puchała, lending credence to the rumour when asked. “In that case,” he added, winking at Reynevan, “we ought to torch something here before we go, hadn’t we?”

Oh, my sorrow, my grief!

I cannot find out,

Where I shall spend the first night,

When my soul flees the body…

The sky was shrouded in black clouds, a cold wind was blowing and a thin rain fell from time to time, pricking like needles. The weather had a clear influence on the songs sung by the Poles.

This perfidious world told me,

That my life would be long,

Yesterday it did not tell me,

That my life would be long…

Puchała’s destination was the village of Berzdorf, the grange of the Henryków monastery, which was protected by the Ziębice agreement. Wanting at one fell swoop to send up in smoke the ducal grange in Ostrężna and the little church in Wigandsdorf that had survived by a miracle and not stay too far behind the army moving swiftly towards Nysa, Dobko divided his detachment into three combat squads. Reynevan and Samson remained with the commander. Scharley didn’t take part in the operation, since he was suffering from a bout of diarrhoea so severe that even magical medicine was unable to help him.

They rode through rough country, crossing narrow gorges with tributaries of the Oława flowing at the bottom, carrying peat-brown water over rocks and around fallen logs. Beside one such stream, Reynevan saw the Washerwoman.