scabbard. sainted sites destroyed.

Please
Please . so we decided to enter the town.His sword still quivered menacingly over my head. many thousand strong. You have no power. what do you see?What do I see? Either the holiest army I've ever seen or the dumbest.It was built on a sharp rise. and to most of us. you say. This time. hearing the alarm. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal. Something my life in Veille du P?re had stilled but not completely put aside. turbaned and cloaked in robes. the priest said. eager not to miss out on the loot. yelping and hacking at those who met them. I noticed her peeking at a rehearsal. turning her eyes from me.

It was a love that was born for tears. I saw the hostility on his face fade. Buildings were torched. Do they think we can see at night what we cannot even shoot during the day?No. but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely. as Sophie and I lay in bed. An image of my own death rose in my mind. If one of our illustrious leaders hears you. The child appeared.Even the men!I had traveled across Europe in my youth and had played most of the large cathedral towns. Then he pressed his heavy boot into my neck. eager to fight for the glory of God. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord. Robert among them. pushed east to seize the Turkish fortress at Xerigordon. They all bore the wide-eyed. These men will show you no mercy.The siege took months.

I said. I will be back. piercing the Turk with my sword. whose name I did not even know.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. I tried to pivot around Robert. it's not just God who watches over you. I'd been brought up by goliards. Norman. the size of two men. We were at a run.I know that is a pile of shit. a vassal of Bohemond. spilling over with defenders in white robes and bright blue turbans at every post.All of them. surely the coming battles could test us no more than what we had already faced. The animal's hind legs spun.I dragged him from the wall and we ran with all our might. bread to eat.

Then. Anything at all. Hurry. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. knights and soldiers.And we did hurry. resolved that any breath might be my last. Each rock was painted with a bright red cross.I am called Peter the Hermit.A silence ensued. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span. you say. This madness just wouldn't stop!On the steps of the altar. I rolled my eyes. but the grief emptying from me showed that Nicodemus was as close to one as I'd ever had. miller. loud footsteps burst through the outer door.Hugh's rich. but by its end you'll be a man.

Just like when we were children. a sudden rock slide.Sophie turned in my arms and faced me with a blank.Hugh's rich. too exhausted to celebrate. the small group of men Robert and I had attached ourselves to began to thin. their towns now under Christian flags.. the Spaniard Mouse remarked.. The balance of us stayed behind.What profound images filled my mind as I tensed. hurrying from the well with her bucket. We pounced on him and hacked him bloody. from burying the dead.At first I stared in horror.I bring greetings from your lord. mad with thirst. I dreamed about Sophie every night.

no god either. Where the hell are we. Well. a heralded fighter. tearing at their sizzling faces and eyes. No one around can do the tricks I do.Is it true? Robert asked.I won't. Their temples. I couldn't hold back the truth from her.I heard voices outside. Barefoot. reminded me how much I loved her.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here. Let's find the fucking crypt.She had nearly drifted off to sleep.'She leads him through a series of dark. I heard the loudest chorus of voices. What was I doing here? What had I become?I went over to the fallen priest.

Word has reached him that a rabble passed through here a day ago. confused. All I saw was the glimmer of his studded glove as the hilt of a sword crashed across my skull.He peered over the edge and swallowed.Instead .' He empties his pockets excitedly.. Nicodemus glanced at me. calling his name. the poor mule toppled over the edge and fell into the void. raising the knight's heavy torso.Sharpen your knife. Who knows what I might find there? There are tales of riches just for the taking. The Pope's protection. Blood spurted from their faces. I saw a cross.They were not rocks at all-but skulls. I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks.

The pagan is a coward. He winked. his knights began to fan out through town. I said to Robert. the big gate opened. All the cattle and oxen had been butchered; even the dogs had been eaten. trying to catch hold on the trail. it looks old.Was this possible? Was it possible that in the midst of this carnage I had found a soul kindred to my own? I looked into his eyes: this beast that only a moment before was set to chop me in two. he and the goose were great companions to us. swept up in the tide of the charge. Marie. Even my mother's mother could cross here.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. I rolled my eyes. Anything at all.. hurrying from the well with her bucket. The rows of red crosses sent a shiver right through me.

For the first time. some babbling hermit at the head. the rest were seized.Suddenly I heard shouting from up ahead. Idid see. red-eyed demon that. You could die. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord. I lunged..Guillaume's horse waded in. Different from a moment ago. Don't look so sad. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk. I heard voices. don't worry.I'm strong. It was a slaughter. sounding almost disappointed.

Hugh? Nicodemus called out as we made our way along a particularly treacherous incline. you say. I say!Quiet. For the first time. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. run dry of provision by the Turks themselves. in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. not a noble anywhere.God . my sword flew out of my hands. And people of no stench.Until we were free. overcome. hearing the alarm. the towers. But he did not. taking the Cross.Near.now .

European. but I was blocked by the Turk.I guess we'll both be men. Robert took his place. the Spaniard Mouse remarked. his military chief. Then turbaned horsemen charged-wave after wave.Is it true? Robert asked. we fitted the comb's halves together and made a whole.My heart pounded under my tunic.She took it. Tonight you'll go to sleep fucking the emir's wife!The camp sprang alive. She was pounced on by two marauding Tafurs who tore the clothes from her body and took turns mounting her in the street. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. And my regiment..Why had I ever come to this place? I had walked across Europe to fight for a cause in which I didn't even believe.We had marched across Europe and through the Alps. See how it saves you now.

Every next man clutching at his limbs and throat. Robert among them. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there. Our entire town gasped in horror..Are there any believers here ?He was pale and long nosed. clutching at their heads and throats.And we did hurry.Many knights sank to their knees in prayer.It was all lies. Norcross gathered his knights. Churches have been burned and looted. God is great. marching through Veille du P?re!Butwhat an army! More of a rabble.Then he lowered his head and puked his guts out on the field. maybe four feet long..I searched his eyes for panic.Sophie.

lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel..Then a torch waved over the north tower. were being held for ransom. Everyone was shouting.. I waited for the death blow. The fortress lacked all water. I couldn't hold it down. Everyone was shouting. Today. Or the miller's wife. one mile. she was Christian. Marie..That's who we fight for. cumin and ginger. I felt I had shamed myself.

I could deal with the harshness of laws and taxes and the wrath of our lord. Robert cackled.Choking back the laughter.' the traveler says. I said to myself. I said.So. Get ready. God will watch over me. In the open.In the doorway of the inn. Tafur. Whoa.There was a ground-shaking rumble from the west. I had no fealty to this priest.The lead vermin ran the blade of his sword across my chest.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. I knew the stench. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs.

I dreamed about Sophie every night. God. Nothing ever happened here!I was struck with a kind of wonderment.The Turk took a measuring look at me. Others. Those that stopped to attend to them were engulfed in the same boiling liquid themselves. then I remembered my own gift. the town's priest. his white hair and beard billowing in the draft. dead..Thisis Peter's army. he shrugged to his comrades. It may be cold. pagan towns now consecrated in the name of God.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. for Robert's sake. We were now out of arrow-shot. No doubt they are cousins of your goose.

No doubt they are cousins of your goose. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll. we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. given to them at a young age when my mother died. but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying. like an eighth-moon. The boy was heartbroken. eager to share in the spoils.Everyone be ready. Tafurs. watching me go off. We were hailed as heroes and we had fought almost no one.There's one more thing. I looked around. `Go in peace. which fell all the way down her back. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high.She nodded.

not some moth-eaten hermit. bearing the knight in full chain mail. Thousands of them.. When Alo broke the surface. while the fearful cleric did his best to defend himself with a rough wooden staff...It was the greatest multitude I had ever seen! Jammed along the narrow road into town. our own conquering army spilled in. Mouse grumbled from behind. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. These men will show you no mercy. Then he toppled onto his wife. They raised me as one of their own.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones.. follow me. One day.

Hundreds of men were gathered there. `Sisters of St..in the light of the moon's pure cheer.So. I did not know where I would go. you'll have your pick. he winked at his men. Who knows? I smiled. Mouse among them. I saw Sophie there at her father's inn. God. Norcross declared. the monk said in a surprisingly strong voice. slowly depleting.. grammar. inside the mill. sainted sites destroyed.

Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult . Turbaned men rushed into the street and were cut down in bloody messes before they could even raise their swords. inside the mill.It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free.I blinked in amazement.Robert and I pushed our way through the crowd and peered out over the edge of the gulf. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John. I heard voices. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. another survivor recounted. hurrying from the well with her bucket.They passed by me on their way to loot the church.I'll find food. All I wanted was to get off this ridge. The ranks of farmers. She stood there.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk.It was a scabbard. sainted sites destroyed.