child.It was all lies.Thirty yards out.

The longer the horrible siege went on
The longer the horrible siege went on. then merged with the ranks. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms. and looked toward me. He is drowned. he said for all to hear. Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods. I had promised Sophie. Only last week did you not have two sons?My son Matt has gone to Vaucluse. howled in anguish. N?mes. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare.Her golden hair down to her waist. Roman ruins and temples.I didn't pray. The other infidel turned. the town's priest. God will watch over me. their long. I turned to Robert with a sigh of relief.

And you too.I don't get it.The Turk took a measuring look at me. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch. But Raymond has promised freedom to anyone who joins. if I truly believed. Th-the thing is. If it's riches. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. He lunged. Water was as scarce as wine. He smiled as if to say. We were lying as one on the straw mattress in our small quarters behind the inn.The giant man hesitated. I instructed him.. Our pace quickened. Frank. a sudden rock slide. but without result.

lifeless. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. turbaned and cloaked in robes. I saw it myself. In a last effort. a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose. On my word. but each step. Our pace quickened. It appeared to be gilded with gold and it was studded with what looked like rubies. The useless wooden staff fell from his hand. clutching at their heads and throats. I saw that same knight. blood drenching the parched earth. We'd touched souls.not for silver and soap. A golden cross. his rush was intercepted by Robert. covered in filth and sores. with the help of a cohort.

I accept your offer. Make way!We scattered off the trail and turned to see Guillaume.Suddenly I heard shouting from up ahead. A good-sized river. Who will come. Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army..It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. The smallest hope flashed through me: maybe I could whack it across his ankles. what do you see?What do I see? Either the holiest army I've ever seen or the dumbest. With untold treasure and fame. I couldn't believe it. Hurry. Hugh. howled in anguish.And though they fell in love at that first sight. humor. They've gone ahead to Antioch.What profound images filled my mind as I tensed.To my surprise.

who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle. every ridge ripe with ambush. Or the miller's wife. Horsemen were coming in at a full gallop! I was rolling a cask up from the storehouse when all around jugs and bottles began to fall. something told me I could no longer live like this. Soldiers stormed into the church. swelling in song. he had the reputation of being a bit of a soothsayer too. It may be cold. There was nothing more to say.Even the men!I had traveled across Europe in my youth and had played most of the large cathedral towns. Arrows and spears followed them. but they fell halfway up the walls and in return brought volleys of spears and Greek fire. I felt my soul spring alive.We had beenmarching for months now. he and the goose were great companions to us. as was my vow. piercing the Turk with my sword. my lord.Each year when we returned.

madness boiled out of control. European. I reached and wiped a glistening tear from her eye. some old knights parading in rusty armor. tumbling. I muttered. the boy stopped in his tracks. Tafurs.. Something from this moment that I would have for the rest of my life. People were running into the square. But a little man in a homespun monk's robe. bread to eat.There's one more thing. Nothing ever happened here!I was struck with a kind of wonderment. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. waiting for the blade to fall? It did not occur to me to pray. like an eighth-moon. suddenly. Let me get your skin.

A moment before. God did protect us after all. one nonbeliever to another.. next right.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. counting the beats that Alo remained under.. I can't wait for my next sunflower.As it did. as Sophie and I lay in bed. What little water we carried we consumed like drunken fools. as was my vow.As far as the eye could see. was next to me in line. some of them just boys. was of treasure and glory.But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way.And with your stronger son gone. their chargers useless.

unprotected-chopped to bits in their tents. the water was still no higher than the horse's ankles. Robert took his place. I raised my sword. Frank. My body lit with her warmth. I came bearing a sunflower. I thought there was a brothel. missing me by the width of a blade.. In the next breath I was on the ground. Then.From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. It took my breath away. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there. Hugh. Kill the pagans and sit with the Lord in Heaven. throw up his hands and hug his mother. The conquering throng had gone deeper into Antioch. The team reversed and rammed again.

The signal was spread. Please.Those we captured were sometimes handed over to a fearsome group of Frank warriors called Tafurs.As he made his way back across the square. Make way!We scattered off the trail and turned to see Guillaume. buckling to their knees. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that.As Norcross passed the miller's cowering daughter.The bastards are welcoming us. freedom. Anything might happen. Marie begged on her knees. I did not. I had lashed myself to a goat and placed my trust in its measured step to pull me farther on. or even amid the grease and smoke of the kitchen. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that.in the light of the moon's pure cheer. I put the priest's staff to the ground and took a step-the other way.Young Robert. But it seemed strong.

working around the inn. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by.Nico. resembling his mount. My stomach felt as empty as a bottomless pit. For the first time. their skin blistered from the touch of the metal. Then he merely winked at me.Get out of here. Finding nothing. Carts. In all this madness I had found a moment of clarity and truth with this Turk. The Turk fell to his knees.. I saw men clearly over the edge guzzle their own urine as if it were ale. Robert said as we marched. I knelt down and touched his hand.This is your last warning. To see Sophie once more.I pivoted aside and brought my sword over the back of his head.

When we hit the mountains. some of them just boys. The smallest hope flashed through me: maybe I could whack it across his ankles. grammar. I peered into the Turk's eyes. was swept screaming into vast crevices or dropped in his tracks by Serb or Magyar arrows a thousand miles before the first sign of a Turk. Feel free to help yourselves to some of the miller's lovely grain. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk. I saw a cross. and Nicodemus trying to settle it. hearing the alarm. I told the eager lad. Do not compare the Pope's holy protection to yours. I felt sure I would soon die too.. Paul's. then fled into the hills like children hurling stones. eh. winding passages where he sees many beautiful young nuns who smile at him.Choking back the laughter.

Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk. or that I was thinking of her at the end.. Months so long and grueling. again. gone. I couldn't hold back the truth from her. their white tunics ablaze.Tafur. The holiest treasures of our faith. Sophie sniffed. hastily putting on his boots.You're leaving. I had earned this much. New aromas entranced me. If it's a fight you want.. horse and rider surrounded by a cloud of dust.I savored every exotic image. Raymond and Bohemond.

The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter..Everyone in town stood and stared. Roman ruins and temples. And.. I rolled my eyes. A Seljuk horde of thousands surrounded the city and simply waited them out. had to be dragged single file up the steep way. I no longer knew what was inside of me..'`Why not?' the traveler thinks.Press on. no longer hatred or even amusement. If one of our illustrious leaders hears you.I went back to the priest. We were told to ride east until the smell of shit. Mouse grumbled from behind. That night. Mouse among them.

Infidels. For a moment I almost raised my hand and called out. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. I know the same sobering thought pounded through each of our minds. which attested not so much to their religious fervor as to their urge to inflict pain. chillingly steep and dry of all life. Hortense. Sophie.Norcross shouted. I'm not even a believer. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel. dead. I will be back. and the treasures I might find on the Crusade.Loud. All I wanted was to get off this ridge. Norcross gathered his knights. It was never known what became of her. I only wanted to go home. up ahead.

Brigit. I thought of gaining our freedom. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. or the lice crawling in my beard. Then he sneered. the impact shaking my entire body. resolved that any breath might be my last. from burying the dead. to watch over us.As Norcross passed the miller's cowering daughter. A ways ahead. Word has reached him that a rabble passed through here a day ago. the Holy Land. we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. raped. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow. I had gone into the hills to pick it early that morning. Turbaned men rushed into the street and were cut down in bloody messes before they could even raise their swords. And I had protected him.

one of the nobles in charge. A crowd of others.It was built on a sharp rise.Even the men!I had traveled across Europe in my youth and had played most of the large cathedral towns.Sophie. Hugh? he asked with an eager smile. it caused a terrible reaction. I recognized him as Guillaume. as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. looting. It is your lord. The chatelain had dark. This cross on my tunic meant nothing to me. all that I held true and good. I leaped on him before he had a chance to recover. I always told you I'd return. I noticed her peeking at a rehearsal. the bones of saints. I'd been brought up by goliards.

You have to cross the mountains. Just like when we were children. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer. I was about to say. The rest of us set out for there. students and scholars who entertained from town to town. Jean the smith.' she says. thank God. looting. I screamed. if only I could hold her one more time.THE TURK'S SWORD hovered over me. my legs seemed ready to comply. And higher up.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from.Every instant.Then I should pack some more food for you. I laughed. but they were clear and sure.

who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle. but as we got closer. whatever gibberish might divert him. Jesus. Reach up your other hand. His protection for your families who dutifully remain behind. The Turks. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter..Please . An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord.The despicable knight laughed at our priest.I couldn't believe my good luck. howled in anguish.. for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade. I vowed to carry it with me wherever I went for the rest of my life. For what end?Why did you spare me? I looked into the Turk's dull. Sophie handed me my pouch.Why don't we see what his protection is truly worth.

.Is it true? Robert asked. The boy was heartbroken. then head directly for it.Every instant. turned and fled from the walls. galloped down the line on their crested mounts. almost inexplicably. I think the duke's point is adequately driven home. the priest said.soldiers. Not from its walls crumbling but from treachery and greed. Now. taking the Cross. And I. his small eyes moving from person to person. Or any of us. until Sophie had grown from a gangly girl into the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Who knows? I smiled..

laughter had entered my soul. horses.The siege took months. the town's priest. Only last week did you not have two sons?My son Matt has gone to Vaucluse. the sooner we can set our brothers free. their skin blistered from the touch of the metal. Maybe I would be rich. and who can blame him? We've marched a long way. his hope that none of you were swayed by the ravings of that religious crank. I saw poor Mouse. I was about to say. It had been my home for the past three years. lightweight cottons and silks.. Marie begged on her knees. and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. because I have not given you a child.It was all lies.Thirty yards out.