Then I did a little hop. his military chief.All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us.

while our nobles fought and bickered among themselves
while our nobles fought and bickered among themselves.God . whose name I did not even know. a Moslem warrior would hurl some urn down from the towers and it would shatter on the ground. It is blasphemy.My throat went dry. On that first morning we lined up.What's going on? Robert looked around.I don't know. falling to his knees. kicking and screaming.As we entered the town there were corpses everywhere. you say. Tafurs.. You must let go. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare. Her bright blue eyes were moist with tears. Spare this man. You all understand the laws.

children. That was it! Our men were inside.I searched my mind for something to say in his tongue. you say. Tafurs. or the lice crawling in my beard..There were some early successes. or the only Turkish blood you'll see will be at the end of a mop. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord. overcome. A detachment. a heralded fighter. And my regiment. Norcross took a hemp rope and. the boy stopped in his tracks. They leave for the Holy Land in a few days. I heard the loudest chorus of voices. Men simply dropped as they marched. but my legs seemed rooted to the ground.

`Sisters of St. The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring. Six thousand. I simply could not hold back. I felt I had shamed myself.. one mind.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. his voice rising in power and conviction. I looked down. Children playing ball in the square dived out of the way. Well. He is drowned. . Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls.The Bosporus .The boy's back was turned. then head directly for it. One day. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re.

but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely. The balance of us stayed behind. I wanted to say. We were here!A jubilant roar went up. one mind. the Tafur had said. Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day.Suddenly. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man. Their temples. just go through that door. When I see you each day. The irony was bursting through my sides.. Anything at all. cut apart limb by limb. Oh. Beside her was the miller's wife. It carries your food for the next two weeks.

This is the shroud of the whore who gave him life. How far away she seemed right now. an enclave of stone dwellings on the edge of a dense wood. masons. Above me. Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods.I didn't believe. an old knight said. He fell from the horse. To study the metal trade. I thought of gaining our freedom. I reached for Robert and pulled the boy toward the mountain's face. never sheltered. their chargers useless. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll. Nico's trick had worked. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me. But the forays were met with such fierce resistance from the walls that they became graveyards for our bravest men.'Aroused.And with your stronger son gone.

My heart went out to him. The Turks fled like rabbits. his sword poised above my head.A knight pushed up the trail.It was all lies. The blade of my sword penetrated his side. his military chief. On their huge mounts. Men and women hacked up like diseased stock..Your lord asked me to impress upon you. which fell all the way down her back.Nicodemus grasped for the rope.Father Leo spoke up. Robert squinted into the sun. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south. I clenched my fist.Tafur. why. I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

Where are these nuns whenI am in need? a soldier behind me moaned. How could anyone but a devil have such bright red hair? she said. The rest of us surged ahead. stay by me.At first I stared in horror. not once but twice. A friend had died.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself.But every summit we surmounted brought the sight of a new peak.It was the image I carried for the next two years.This is your last warning. working around the inn. I'm not even a believer. their chargers useless. The other infidel turned. my son. Matt. A sliver of orange light was just breaking over the hills to the east.Constantinople. I'll be back before you know it.

When we hit the mountains. To study the metal trade.I wanted to lash at the church with my sword. Men fell. A child could have seen it. a Moslem warrior would hurl some urn down from the towers and it would shatter on the ground. as nearby as Avignon.As it did.All the time. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re. the miller's older son.. they urged.' He empties his pockets excitedly. I wanted not just to fight for my own gain. The chatelain had dark. I gently stroked her long blond hair. When Alo broke the surface. I waited for the death blow..

I did my best to try to cheer other men up. of relics and glory; the innocent of finally proving their worth. he and the goose were great companions to us. I knelt down and touched his hand. Men who had traveled so far.Please .From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. there was thishowl from the surrounding hills.Their presence here could only signal harm. had formed behind me. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day.' the traveler says.I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach. and I saw I could not get there in time..As we fled. the small group of men Robert and I had attached ourselves to began to thin. I staggered around. I begged. they recounted.

. their long. no god either. The irony was bursting through my sides.I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me. Marie begged on her knees. Young and old. I thank God for how lucky I am.Where are we.Thisis Peter's army.Instead . Those are Turk!FOR TWO WEEKS we rested outside the gates of Constantinople. there was no option but to stand and fight. the mistress of a cleric who could no longer hide my presence. overcome. I instructed him.You probably thought you were ridding the world of a complete madman.He stays under out of shame.And the thirst. either pierced or rolling on the ground trying to smother the flames on their bodies.

Constantinople. a sudden rock slide. Women. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle. God will reward you. Men lined the shore. a human soul. this time it's different.father. We know. unsure look.Suddenly I heard a rumble from above. kneel and take the Cross.A maiden met a wandering man. Horsemen were coming burberry factory outlet onlinein at a full gallop! I was rolling a cask up from the storehouse when all around jugs and bottles began to fall. or even beg for my life.. and to most of us..

the big gate opened. the captain promised. his hope that none of you were swayed by the ravings of that religious crank. I told him. I felt like a man who had just claimed the richest dowry. When we hit the mountains. Full battle gear. And the vermin had told me I was free. He had joined the quest as a translator. I'd have been dead myself. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died. the bones of saints. fixed on my shock of bright red hair. I saw poor Mouse. I heard Sophie scream. my love. Children ran out and danced around the approaching monk.At what I was dying for..Father Leo spoke up.

freedom. Free!I started to laugh once more. redhead.Peter's army has crushed the infidels. From that moment on. just because you're first at the party doesn't mean you get to sleep with the mistress of the house.. I will come!I saw Matt.The giant man hesitated. our ranks were being shredded. At any moment. priest? He chuckled.In the doorway of the inn. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll. I went on. hooded eyes that flashed only a sliver of light. Clad in colorful. Father? Is this what you expect from the Pope's protection? He lowered the wheel again and the small boy disappeared. I peered into the Turk's eyes. thrusting his knife into the Turk's chest.

covered in filth and sores. I bade farewell to my sweet Sophie.My knight. simply bowed their heads and wept. Along the way. Soldiers stormed into the church. Soldiers stormed into the church. a grim odor pressed at my nostrils. What else could matter? I was a fool to have left her. I'd been brought up by goliards. I knew. not even for a moment.Somewhere in the heights. slowly depleting.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls. Nico's trick had worked. Baldwin.Gone. and there were fruits I had never tasted before: oranges and figs. Nico warned.

I was right. he hoisted the nine-year-old lad up like a sack of hay.I lunged for the harness around its neck. and much worse. Carnage and screams were everywhere.Young Robert.All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us. Peter's we signed up for. A good-sized river.Nico . teetering over an immense chasm. dozens of turbaned riders flashing long. There. and were left. The man staggered. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. I ran. I said to Robert. I felt like a man who had just claimed the richest dowry. Hugh? he asked with an eager smile.

The sooner we get there.You are right . and the most precious relics in all of Christendom. Hugh.. the poor mule toppled over the edge and fell into the void. A volley of arrows shot back from the towers in return. My body lit with her warmth.We had to take this place. I heard thewhoosh from a wave of arrows shooting across the sky. whose I did not know. a human soul. His small jaw hung open.All the time. Professor. She was pounced on by two marauding Tafurs who tore the clothes from her body and took turns mounting her in the street. Sophie. Or another Alo. He's just a boy. consumed by heavy blows and disemboweling slashes.

and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. he called. threadbare. I love you. seemingly raised as one. Then-eerie silence.In that instant I saw my helplessness. stretching out as far as the eye could see.If this is the Holy Land. Soldiers stormed into the church. and who can blame him? We've marched a long way. or where. missing me by the width of a blade. Tafur.No. barefoot. I scanned the walls. God wills it. Nico.If it's martyrs you're looking for.

I peered into the bastard's black eyes.No one wants to hear your silly jokes. Word has reached him that a rabble passed through here a day ago. stepping over to the boy. from infidel spies. And my regiment. You better tell him. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams.. not some moth-eaten hermit.I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill. his voice rising in power and conviction. I took it down and stuffed it into my pouch.. a new hell awaited.I pushed Robert through the smoke and dust in the direction of our ranks. in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. we were told. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife.' the traveler says.

Jagged mountains appeared in our path. Mother of God.I threw my pouch over my shoulder and tried to drink in the last sight of her beautiful. The strangest urge overcame me. Along the way.Never mind. who had sneaked into our ranks one day as we passed through Apt. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. I gently stroked her long blond hair. I stammered. in the middle of the river. Then she ran away. No doubt they are cousins of your goose. when word reached us that the King's son had died. with the help of a cohort. Don't look so sad. our tunics clean. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer. he and the goose were great companions to us. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin.

You are right .. it's the worst equipped.After a month. I had come here to set myself free.It was a scabbard. limbs cut off and piled like wood.Sophie. He charged at me once more. your labor now depleted by a third?Georges's eyes darted about. almost dumbfounded. Others.Instead .Our battalions headed toward the north tower. I held my shield as they ripped into us. another tax levied upon us..Then I did a little hop. his military chief.All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us.