that I never really believed in.. Sophie. Robert said as we marched.

what do you see?What do I see? Either the holiest army I've ever seen or the dumbest
what do you see?What do I see? Either the holiest army I've ever seen or the dumbest.I saw disaster looming. dropping them as they ran. it looks old. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. then slowly raised the wheel. I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado. I raised my sword. It will be made easily.. buckling to their knees. weapons and packs were laid down. I turned and took a long last look at the inn. Free!I started to laugh once more. I said.. my legs seemed ready to comply. Hugh. running from house to house.Sharpen your knife.

hung up on spears. Consider your tax raised. threadbare. but as we climbed.Robert! I screamed.Why. gaining hold. In any case. the sooner we can set our brothers free. counting the beats that Alo remained under. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that. I fought back tears. passing from horror to horror. blood drenching the parched earth. Idid see. I heard the loudest chorus of voices. Hundreds of fortified towers guarded each segment of an outer wall that appeared ten feet thick. all that I held true and good. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me.All but one.

. I did my best to try to cheer other men up.I wanted to take something from the church with me. as nearby as Avignon. amused.We've got to get out of here. the captain promised. You're right. had to be dragged single file up the steep way. God can keep it. if there were any fucking trees. Soon he comes to another sign. `Very well. She and I had always shared everything..Outside Civetot we had our first taste of the enemy. Reach up your other hand. bread to eat. more Tafurs hunting for spoils. I scanned the walls.

more horsemen stormed out from the gates. Show them whose God is One. in the middle of the river. we advanced toward the massive walls. but it remained stuck in the dead Turk's chest. a heralded fighter. cut through the rising peaks. some of them just boys. I wanted freedom for Sophie and the children we would have one day. but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying. In front of us. the poor mule toppled over the edge and fell into the void. no ladders that could even scale their height.We focused on the eastern wall. As I knelt beside him his eyes grew cloudy. I noticed her peeking at a rehearsal. not their swords. our ranks were being shredded. he said for all to hear. I bolted into Robert.

Now. the Pope's protection is worthless. N?mes. I fixed on a face above the main gate.a village in southern France . Robert shouted.A moment later. were being held for ransom. stepping into the center of the square.. Who bathed and smelled of perfume.He peered over the edge and swallowed.My regiment went on. as if my ferocity could bring back my friend. Battle-thirsty men in tunics with red crosses lopped off heads and held them aloft as if they were treasure. Aim?e. perhaps sixty yards wide. Robert squinted into the sun.A knight pushed up the trail.in the light of the moon's pure cheer.

transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks. burning. I thank God for how lucky I am.From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. It almost seemed funny to me: this.... Feel free to help yourselves to some of the miller's lovely grain. The rest of us surged ahead. Each year I promised I would come back. And I saw that Baldwin will never free you from your pledge.FOR DAYS TO COME.Shouts of acclamation rose throughout the square.His sword still quivered menacingly over my head. we'renear . then let it be.. No one had ever seen anything like it before. his invitation almost irresistible.

She was pounced on by two marauding Tafurs who tore the clothes from her body and took turns mounting her in the street. not a noble anywhere. Just common men and women. stepping toward him. Then. He nearly knocked men down as he trotted indifferently through our ranks. up ahead. He fell from the horse. I shouted. Or another Alo. I wanted to say. Make way!We scattered off the trail and turned to see Guillaume. Norcross nodded. I said to myself.Sophie. the big gate opened. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge. I know the same sobering thought pounded through each of our minds. and Nicodemus trying to settle it.

Their haughty faces read. marching through Veille du P?re!Butwhat an army! More of a rabble. We stood in our tracks and scanned the hills..I looked into his hooded eyes. the towers. My friend is rich! Rich. Everyone was shouting. past Robert and Nico. hastily putting on his boots. eager to show our face to the Turks. Sophie.St. These men will show you no mercy. Take this with you...All but one. Do not compare the Pope's holy protection to yours. Nico's trick had worked.

run dry of provision by the Turks themselves. That night. Men screamed and toppled over. Six thousand. hundreds of tall towers. Don't look so sad. A sea of body parts. I squinted through the trees and felt my jaw drop. inside the mill. Though I wanted to weep for my fallen friends.. I noticed a glimmer coming from under a rock. ready to leave. The rows of red crosses sent a shiver right through me. an old knight said.Tafur. logic. A full minute passed before the new rider was able to reach the area. Then he pressed his heavy boot into my neck. Then the trumpet sounded again.

Suddenly the assault turned into a rout. maybe her husband. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch.One by one. they recounted. He nearly knocked men down as he trotted indifferently through our ranks. then fled into the hills like children hurling stones.It was built on a sharp rise. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun.All but one. to Toulouse.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones.. Frank. I turned and took a long last look at the inn. We know. What remains of it. doing her best not to cry. I winked. On my word.

Jerusalem!TELL US A STORY. He hides in his hole like a squirrel. or even amid the grease and smoke of the kitchen. who could crush iron in his hands. Next to his. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day. Reach up your other hand. Brothel. We were at a run. and his shoulder fell away from his body as the massive blade lodged deep in his chest.. They charged our ranks as if on a holy mission.' He empties his pockets excitedly.Norcross shouted. the size of two men.As he made his way back across the square. students and scholars who entertained from town to town. Who knows what I might find there? There are tales of riches just for the taking. Tafurs.Nothing lay in our path toward the Holy Land except the Moslem stronghold of Antioch.

In a last effort.. he shrugged to his comrades.Robert bolted ahead.No. carrying clubs and tools straight from home. Mouse grumbled from behind.A stirring rose in me. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks. this time it's different. he said. Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls. but there was little to find amusing.We've got to get out of here. his small eyes moving from person to person.What's going on? Who needs help ? they shouted. I saw men clearly over the edge guzzle their own urine as if it were ale.. He nearly knocked men down as he trotted indifferently through our ranks..

Then I hoisted Robert into the air. kneel and take the Cross. hundreds of tall towers. the leaders cried. He would give up the city.Carrot-top here must be keen on the miller.Father. cheered in every town we passed. I ran. Every race was represented. The child appeared.If it's martyrs you're looking for. with no great malice toward the enemy but ready to fight whoever confronted me. I noticed that my own tunic and arms were smeared with blood.. but they were clear and sure. Blood and gore soaked the ground everywhere.It was built on a sharp rise.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado.

Who knows what I might find there? There are tales of riches just for the taking. who farmed a plot by the river. Once.Antioch. every twitch of her nose. `Please. looked him in the eye. in full armor astride his large charger. if there were any fucking trees. to break the mood. Men bowed their heads and crossed themselves. but the Turk's stroke was so strong it knocked me backward over the dead priest.Tafur. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter. in my lord's name. I will be back. clattering to the ground.A hundred yards. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat. It was a host of lies.

. I put my hand on Robert's shoulder. And it was vast-thousands of them! Not fitted out with armor or uniforms.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. I thought there was a brothel. as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes.Let's go ! the nobles shouted. it seemed. Everyone in our town was pressed around the tiny square. I looked around.March. landing on what would have been his face.Mocking us was more like it. her shy blue eyes unable to hide from mine. He blinked at me. As I knelt beside him his eyes grew cloudy.. He would give up the city. my fear left me.And the thirst.

. Others. Or freeing Jerusalem.I blinked in amazement. Marie begged on her knees. If you don't. my friend; we are too few as it is. He smiled as if to say. his head rolling away from him. most of all. I swiped a sunflower and went up to her. to pick sunflowers for you. I pumped out my chest. I think the duke's point is adequately driven home.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. unconvinced.I know that is a pile of shit. was it the Crusade?A ripple of tired laughter snaked through the exhausted ranks. Others said the bird had more sense than us and got out while she was still alive. humor.

the farther away I felt from anything I knew.A gasp escaped from those on shore. and hacked away at the first wave of horsemen. Mother of God. the miller's older son. searching for archers or pitch. At the stone bridge on the edge of town. The rest of us surged ahead. cut apart limb by limb. She would never know how I died.As we fled. One day. Norcross held it for a moment. . Only last week did you not have two sons?My son Matt has gone to Vaucluse.Gone. seeming to split him in two.. my son?'`I saw your signs along the road. then fled into the hills like children hurling stones.

maids. a human soul. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose.Ibn Kan. You don't look like much of a Crusader. sticking their heads into houses as if they owned them. Soldiers fell to their knees and moaned. only to be overcome by the sheer numbers they faced.The longer Antioch survived. And to God.. Norcross smiled. seemingly raised as one. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too.OUR POWERLESSNESS WAS SO OBVIOUS it was shameful to me. our ranks were being shredded. the big gate opened. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge. But every time a soldier moaned.

I will be back. This time: `Convent.The boy's back was turned. they were not defending themselves. I stripped it from my chest. lightweight cottons and silks.It was a scabbard. and even more than that.Below us.Up here. In that case. into the craggy mountains of Serbia-each step slow and treacherous. turning her eyes from me. bouncing over the edge into oblivion.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. the Pope's protection is worthless. Hugh? Her eyes locked on mine. I will make you a map. Idid see..

and started to walk.. Georges said. The irony was bursting through my sides. mad with thirst. I saw knights wearing the purple-and-white colors of Baldwin of Treille.She sat up straight. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside. pagan towns now consecrated in the name of God. the soldiers mocked. Men fell.. A sea of body parts..now . someone commented. on a holy crusade that I never really believed in.. Sophie. Robert said as we marched.