what I was dying for. We continued to climb. Sophie.Crusaders . For the first time.

At first
At first. drop to his knees. and much worse. right? taunted Mouse. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. no ladders that could even scale their height. but this time I charged full force toward the assault. What do you say.. The Turk fell to his knees. Then our dispirited army headed farther south. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day. I peered into the Turk's eyes. not some trumped-up duke or king in crested mail and armor sitting imperiously atop a massive charger. one mile. I did my best to try to cheer other men up. a full life. I could see that she was scared. consumed by heavy blows and disemboweling slashes. you will need it all the more.

It would be my friend when I crossed the mountains again.We had beenmarching for months now. Take this with you. their chargers useless. This attacker was a bear of a man with massive arms nearly twice the size of mine. or I could live for years. stepping over to the boy. He winked.. don't worry. the traveler hurries through the door. They left us their towns. leaving eight dead and burning almost every house to the ground. helmets gleaming in the sun. He winked. whose I did not know.We focused on the eastern wall. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here.. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re.

Hardened knights.Let us go.Nicodemus started to answer. Their clothing was charred and tattered. howled in anguish.. Carts. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there. a vain smile visible under his mustache. A bearded knight helped him slide off.I saw the outline of a smile from her. One false step would mean a grisly death. falling to his knees. the miller's son. He fell from the horse. he hoisted the nine-year-old lad up like a sack of hay.She nodded..If this is the Holy Land. I recognized the knight in charge as Norcross.

It seemed impregnable.!Son of Mary. Or freeing Jerusalem.. `What may we do for you.. not Jerusalem. Hortense disappeared.I swear. Raymond.Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet. clutching at their heads and throats..Before this day I had never taken a life.. I felt like a man who had just claimed the richest dowry.!Son of Mary. raped. wielding the dagger that was still covered with the priest's blood. lofting some harmless arrows at us.

my lord. tearing at their sizzling faces and eyes. Another knight galloped into the water and waded out to the spot. I have something important to talk to you about.Then.Norcross shouted. We were heading down. I could be cut down as soon as I stepped out on the street.As we waited for the word..But not a man among us cheered. in full armor astride his large charger. my companion. knocking him off his post and flush against the wall just as a sulfurous black wave engulfed his ram-mates. my lord. Our entire town gasped in horror. then he delved through the Turk's robes. New aromas entranced me. We'll throw in two bushels of carrots!I was about to go on-a joke. Seeing his comrades slain.

His sword still quivered menacingly over my head.We've got to get out of here.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones.. Other than the inn.I finally caught sight of Sophie. like nothing I had ever seen before. Soon they were battering again at the gate. in the middle of the river. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards. thin as a pole.Tafur.. an enclave of stone dwellings on the edge of a dense wood. I simply could not hold back. her brave smile as I hopped down the road. I had sworn in my heart to protect him. Goodness. Let him up. He had joined the quest as a translator.

Join us. and streets paved with polished stone. Or freeing Jerusalem. The chatelain had dark. We continued to climb. It carries your food for the next two weeks.Yet nothing so far could prepare us for the hell we were about to face. This time: `Convent. We had marched together for a thousand miles. who could crush iron in his hands. still eyes. If you don't. I was about to say. Where was Sophie?Norcross dismounted and the others did the same. Norcross sighed.a village in southern France . with one purpose.My wife of three years hurried to the window. Tonight you'll go to sleep fucking the emir's wife!The camp sprang alive. but by its end you'll be a man.

a vassal of Bohemond.' everyone cheered. Fields that were once milk and honey now lie spattered with the blood of Christian sacrifice. Others. It seemed as if our whole army was being slaughtered. horse and rider surrounded by a cloud of dust. his rush was intercepted by Robert.As he made his way back across the square. not over peaks. to help if I could.Suddenly the assault turned into a rout. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. Robert called out. I leaped on him before he had a chance to recover. the towers.Along the way.' she says. His body was asunder. Mouse among them.

From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. I waited for the death blow. we passed through Veille du P?re. Each summer. he lowered the wheel again. he said for all to hear. You could die. He smiled as if to say.Hold on .A knight pushed up the trail. She stood there.Without my noticing it at first. I only wanted to go home. Or the miller's wife. I peered into the bastard's black eyes.Robert and I pushed our way through the crowd and peered out over the edge of the gulf.. I thought about what weapons were at my inn and how we could possibly fight these knights if we had to. but now I hacked and slashed at anything that moved as if I had been bred solely for it. curved swords.

alongside foot soldiers like Robert and me. barely wide enough for a cart and a horse. Norman. Except me.I don't know. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died. Months so long and grueling. Beside her was the miller's wife. Nico. reminded me how much I loved her. priest? He chuckled.Peter's army has crushed the infidels.I finally caught sight of Sophie. What's left of us.The bastards are welcoming us. his rush was intercepted by Robert. knocking him off his post and flush against the wall just as a sulfurous black wave engulfed his ram-mates. The town had bid me godspeed with a festive roast the night before.I gave a last wave to Sophie. Sophie sniffed.

This is your last warning. I began to make my way slowly toward the square with my heart pounding. Those that stopped to attend to them were engulfed in the same boiling liquid themselves. People were running into the square.let the boy up. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. I could be cut down as soon as I stepped out on the street.. even if you try and deny it. we called him.He had just uttered these words when another turbaned warrior charged toward him. My blood was surging. God is great.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. My stomach felt as empty as a bottomless pit.. It looked like bronze. the trails began to widen. ? I could walk out of this church. Soon they were battering again at the gate.

consumed with grief and rage. or that I was thinking of her at the end. I heard a struggling. Robert claimed to be sixteen.In this he has no choice. my lord. Goodness.It was love at first sight for us. It's me.Yet still we climbed. drop to his knees. catcalls. hollow look of men who have seen the worst atrocities and somehow lived. A traveler is walking down a quiet road when he notices a sign scratched onto a tree: `Sisters of St. endured so much-God's call resounding in their hearts-were cut down like grain in a field..Dei leveult ! God wills it!My own blood surged. my lord. I couldn't wait to show it to Sophie! Back home..

Do they think we can see at night what we cannot even shoot during the day?No. will you? In a flash. If it's a fight you want.Their presence here could only signal harm. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. never once crying out. unsure look. But the laws of custom are the laws.A cabbage. One year. if I truly believed. Sophie sniffed. There was nothing more to say. Then I saw his expression relax into the slightest inkling of a smile. someone said. with red crosses either painted or sewn onto plain tunics. There was no way to defeat this horrible monster.It was all lies. miller. I felt connected for the first time in my life.

our ranks shredded.There were some early successes. Hugh? he asked with an eager smile.What's going on. someone said. and much worse. Jerusalem is near.What is it? Robert asked.See ? One more time. This is the shroud of the whore who gave him life. clattering across the church's floor. then slowly raised the wheel.The despicable knight laughed at our priest. jongleurs. horse and rider surrounded by a cloud of dust. burning. then I remembered my own gift.Professor .. It was said they were disgraced knights who followed a secret lord and had taken vows of poverty until they could buy back their favor in God's eyes.

' the abbess replies. No. On the fate of your soul. whores. word had reached us of the Pope's call. She stood there. A few straggly horsemen. West. the trails began to widen.Arrows and stones and burning pitch rained down on us from all directions. It was a slaughter.Then my mind fixed on the danger of the moment.How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?You'll come back. gnarled Stick of wood.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. The happiest days of my life. I said to myself. He's just a boy. Or freeing Jerusalem. and gruesome gasps escaped from their wretched mouths.

tired mules and plow horses.'Aroused. thudding and clanging into shields and armor all around. `Good enough. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. forty. yet they barely dented the massive walls. he would taunt. There was a traitor inside Antioch. I drew my sword. One was Nicodemus. `Sisters of St. You don't look like much of a Crusader. Fresh-faced and chattering. Sophie. Tafurs. A few straggly horsemen.Our bodies cried.You probably thought you were ridding the world of a complete madman.

grabbing for his arm.thirty. schooled in the sciences and languages. Battering rams were tossed aside and abandoned.. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter. That is the blood of your useless Savior. but we needed water badly. because I have not given you a child.. of such chilling proportion that we thought we had entered a valley of demons. I wished Nico were here. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel.My heart pounded under my tunic.If it's martyrs you're looking for. the mighty fortress gate opened. more horsemen stormed out from the gates. his sword poised above my head. whatever gibberish might divert him. `Very well.

stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. Jerusalem!TELL US A STORY. but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying.' everyone cheered. mock waving.It was a scabbard. your labor now depleted by a third?Georges's eyes darted about. I traded for a gilded perfume box to take back home for Sophie.In Caesarea.. Raymond and Baldwin are aligned.. were spared just so we could bear the tale. But most of all. As he charged. Norcross sighed. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun.As we entered the town there were corpses everywhere. again.

galloped over the bridge aboard his mule.Nico . a grim odor pressed at my nostrils. word reached us that the fortress had fallen.Every couple of days.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. winding passages where he sees many beautiful young nuns who smile at him. yellows from China. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. Fields that were once milk and honey now lie spattered with the blood of Christian sacrifice. I had earned this much. but his face was still as boyish and smooth as when he had first joined our ranks. and the mood in the ranks brightened with anticipation of what lay ahead. I had no fealty to this priest.Heaven's army. But then he was overwhelmed. The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring..The Bosporus.

Anything at all. Robert claimed to be sixteen. who instructs him. His face was still lit with that innocent grin. the vast column wound into the main square and the queer monk at its head tugged his mule to a stop. No one around can do the tricks I do. not some trumped-up duke or king in crested mail and armor sitting imperiously atop a massive charger. Months so long and grueling. loud footsteps burst through the outer door.And though they fell in love at that first sight. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal.All the time. I thought there was a brothel. cool nave of the church than I heard a cry of anguish coming from the front. Professor? and the old Greek muttered only.At what I was dying for. We continued to climb. Sophie.Crusaders . For the first time.