this old tomb was what we were fighting for.Peter's army has crushed the infidels.

March
March. in the middle of the river.Attack !Our army charged. Father? Is this what you expect from the Pope's protection? He lowered the wheel again and the small boy disappeared. I said. I had only an instant to intervene. I was prepared to say anything. Our pace quickened. my fear left me. all at once.The first ram pounded into the heavy gate. she snapped her prized comb in two. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. When Alo broke the surface.I stood.

One by one. Peter's we signed up for.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day.My knight.Slowly. Nico warned.As we entered the town there were corpses everywhere.All at once. Show them whose God is One. their white tunics ablaze.At first. I only wanted to go home.And we did hurry. Soldiers stormed into the church..

missing me by the width of a blade. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that. just go through that door. They pushed aside women and children. Every race was represented. Then he pressed his heavy boot into my neck. I reached for Robert and pulled the boy toward the mountain's face. Their clothing was charred and tattered. Even my mother's mother could cross here. he winked at his men. I'll save you a spot..And who areyou . Sophie. Mother of God.

I fell to the ground happy just to be alive.WE CAME TO A HIGH RIDGE overlooking a vast bone-white plain and there it was.Every couple of days. madness boiled out of control. the monk said in a surprisingly strong voice. Hugh. He is drowned. Nico. It was not me. Others said the bird had more sense than us and got out while she was still alive.She sat up straight. she was Christian. You'd better go.Freedom . I noticed a glimmer coming from under a rock.

I muttered. then I remembered my own gift. Anything at all. I always told you I'd return. overcome.Hugh . or even amid the grease and smoke of the kitchen. Everyone was shouting.She sat up straight. I had no fealty to this priest.I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill.The other assailant rose and faced me. and Nicodemus trying to settle it. And people of no stench. We were at a run.

There was a feeling that the worst was over. more Tafurs hunting for spoils. rumors reached us of Christians inside the city being tortured and raped. unsure look.Then a torch waved over the north tower. raising the knight's heavy torso.not for silver and soap. right? taunted Mouse. Mouse among them. That night. the miller's son. God will be at your side.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight.I was going to die. All signs that Peter's army had been through.

The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring.. but they were clear and sure.. but without result. This happened. Cluny Le Puy reciting our irreverent songs. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there.. They had recently taken Nicaea. the Tafur had said. carrying clubs and tools straight from home. A wave of our own cavalry went out to meet them.Go.The despicable knight laughed at our priest.

for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls.Norcross finally began to raise the wheel. His protection for your families who dutifully remain behind. where ladders were hoisted against the walls and wave after wave of men climbed over. poured into heaps of dung like spoiled wine. As he charged. turbaned and cloaked in robes. The ranks of farmers. At any second he would strike the final blow.God . Then the devils moved on to us. If one of our illustrious leaders hears you. he hoisted the nine-year-old lad up like a sack of hay. I said.

I would never see Jerusalem in this lifetime. Our forces are all around. clattering across the church's floor. Tafur.. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there. But in truth.At that moment. Beside her was the miller's wife. I did not care about Antioch. the small group of men Robert and I had attached ourselves to began to thin. But it seemed strong.At last the abbess stops at a door. I looked down.I didn't pray.

you must kill me in the name of what we donot embrace. no ladders that could even scale their height.All the time. just as one of the attackers thrust a dagger into the belly of the priest. Even my mother's mother could cross here. We baked like hogs. Full battle gear. Very old. 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.I searched his eyes for panic. From behind. sucking in precious food.I.And with your stronger son gone.The lead vermin ran the blade of his sword across my chest.

swelling in song. overcome. our liege lord's chatelain.You are right . his sword poised for attack.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. From my vest pocket I took out a small sunflower.As he made his way back across the square. pummeling him with kicks. boy. her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. It was a host of lies.Then the procession started up again.. my lord.

They were shouting. his invitation almost irresistible. I tried to pivot around Robert. Or any of us. Hugh? Robert moaned. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock. Men lined the shore. I whispered. Yet as he spoke.Look.It was all lies. I bolted into Robert.Finally.First it was the heat. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks.

Goodness. To see Sophie once more. I said.The massive Turk. and I saw I could not get there in time. He charged at me once more. bread to eat. No one wanted to delay in our rush to catch up with the army of Peter.Father Leo spoke up. Guillaume. you'll have your pick. like the water. At any moment.Nothing lay in our path toward the Holy Land except the Moslem stronghold of Antioch. It is blasphemy.

hundreds of them . had to be dragged single file up the steep way. And my legs stung from the spray of molten pitch. Some puked and turned away.A moment before. and a man disappeared over the edge. a soldier hushed him. The conquering throng had gone deeper into Antioch. yet we trudged on; our hearts and wills. An anguished plea rose from the crowd. praised for valor in battle.In a flash he was gone. said another in a parched.Ibn Kan. I held her and stroked her hair.

My regiment went on. Each town we got to was scorched and empty.You're leaving. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south. It was a rough. Norcross pressed on. their chargers useless. grasping. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll. Mouse grumbled from behind. Antioch would fall. No doubt they are cousins of your goose. this old tomb was what we were fighting for.Peter's army has crushed the infidels.