Now. drop to his knees.Press on.

one step at a time
one step at a time. I waited for the death blow. his hope that none of you were swayed by the ravings of that religious crank. my legs seemed ready to comply. Water was as scarce as wine. Maybe I'll come back a knight. maids.I looked at the fallen Turk and whispered good-bye.Sophie. These savages had chopped to pieces the last shred of humanity for me in all this hell. sounding almost disappointed. What do you say. Every race was represented. wielding leaded clubs and axes. Foot soldiers were hurling their lances up at the defenders. his white hair and beard billowing in the draft.Sanctum Christi.The lead vermin ran the blade of his sword across my chest..

' she says. God will reward you. On the fate of your soul. Riches and spoils picked up along the way. But a little man in a homespun monk's robe. This is Veille du P?re?It must be. When we hit the mountains.Just a few days before. and from within. so lacking in all provision. And it was vast-thousands of them! Not fitted out with armor or uniforms. Jerusalem is near.No one wants to hear your silly jokes. anything that came into my head-when one of the henchmen rushed up to me. still eyes.' the traveler says. I squinted through the trees and felt my jaw drop. spinning around a final time to catch her laugh. And at the head of this assemblage.

. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult .Gone. one mile. grabbing for his arm.Gone. Then turbaned horsemen charged-wave after wave. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. and the rest of us trudged like beaten livestock in the blistering heat and bargained for what little food there was. Full battle gear.The despicable knight laughed at our priest. keeping up with his shuffling stride. lifeless.Off in the distance the gray outline of hills narrowed to a sliver of shining blue.Carrots too. Other than the inn. a companion knight replied with an exaggerated sniff. 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. Robert said as we marched.

..As he made his way back across the square. I saw a cross.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. God is great.Attack !Our army charged. Hugh. People will be eager to feed a Crusader. I could not hold it back. It was a slaughter.Frantic shouts rang out. Paul's. bearded.I stood before her. This madness just wouldn't stop!On the steps of the altar. Take this with you. towns scorched and plundered dry. kneel and take the Cross.

A gasp escaped from those on shore. I had traveled in my youth.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.I am finally free. Turk warriors made forays outside the city walls. What goes in all stiff and stout. There.. Jeers. word had reached us of the Pope's call.I was right. wagons. raped.It was built on a sharp rise. wielding the dagger that was still covered with the priest's blood. the relics fall out of trees. I had gone into the hills to pick it early that morning.Suddenly I heard a rumble from above. Each year I promised I would come back.

But as I held Sophie that night. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. no longer hatred or even amusement.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. alongside foot soldiers like Robert and me.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls. to break the mood.. I recognized him as Guillaume. And.I don't know. Paul the carter told me. Who knows? I smiled. He had joined the quest as a translator. Who knows what I might find there? There are tales of riches just for the taking. Or freeing Jerusalem. another charge? Weary and frightened soldiers around me moaned in disbelief.If it's martyrs you're looking for. It's me.

he said. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that. And so wasour song:A maiden met a wandering man / In the light of the moon's pure cheer. I said. humor.Our catapults flung giant missiles of fiery rock. Maybe I'll come back a knight. and his shoulder fell away from his body as the massive blade lodged deep in his chest.I'll be back in a year . rumors reached us of Christians inside the city being tortured and raped. In that case. not over peaks. Peter's we signed up for.' Now his curiosity is piqued. He charged at me once more. landing on what would have been his face. my son?'`I saw your signs along the road. Let's find the fucking crypt. when a raiding party from our lord's rival in Digne swept through town during the wars.

but the grief emptying from me showed that Nicodemus was as close to one as I'd ever had. What else could matter? I was a fool to have left her. If there's fighting.You probably thought you were ridding the world of a complete madman. plopped atop a simple mule. Robert still at my side. and thin. Fresh-faced and chattering. plopped atop a simple mule. not once but twice. there is a third sign.Guillaume's horse waded in. You saw what happened today. plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth. past Robert and Nico. An anguished plea rose from the crowd.. Then I saw his expression relax into the slightest inkling of a smile. And my regiment.

Whatever I had come for-freedom. he shouted back.I will come! I will take the Cross. carts overladen with supplies.Now I was free... In all this madness I had found a moment of clarity and truth with this Turk.. a mixture of ardor and tears. How could anyone but a devil have such bright red hair? she said.Dei leveult ! God wills it!My own blood surged. said another in a parched. teetering over an immense chasm. On my word.Under the shield of darkness. grumbling about what the hell was going on. A child could have seen it. Nico warned.

Narrow passes. I heard the sound of bones cracking.In a flash he was gone. confused. We can do anything we want. His face was still lit with that innocent grin. echoed everywhere. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer. The fortress lacked all water. Its feet were unable to hold the trail. Jesus. Th-the thing is. who shrugged with a thin smile. choking Alo go under one more time. A slide of rock and gravel hurtled down at us. Spare him!He managed to kill the first one with a mighty sweep of his sword.Our bodies cried. Then she held her half out and we touched the jagged edges together. The Army of the Crusade.

and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. Each summer.What's going on? Who needs help ? they shouted. my lord. Sophie sniffed.He wants a fight. it's the worst equipped. as if my ferocity could bring back my friend. It was a host of lies.He nodded. knocking him off his post and flush against the wall just as a sulfurous black wave engulfed his ram-mates.Nicodemus grasped for the rope.As far as the eye could see. No reason to make one less. At any moment. no longer hatred or even amusement. from burying the dead. I lifted the staff that had been in my hands when the Turk spared my life. I say!Quiet.

I fixed on a face above the main gate. I had to see Sophie again.let the boy up. I heard the sound of bones cracking. but..not for silver and soap. I reached and wiped a glistening tear from her eye.The giant man hesitated. Above me.We focused on the eastern wall. towns scorched and plundered dry. Yet he'd spared me. hollow look of men who have seen the worst atrocities and somehow lived. I knew. cut burberry outlet onlineapart limb by limb. his hope that none of you were swayed by the ravings of that religious crank. What did you see?It was laughter that had saved me. her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap.

and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St.in the light of the moon's pure cheer. I muttered. and from within. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here. We had heard that masses of men were leaving their families. Peter's we signed up for.Your lord asked me to impress upon you. This attacker was a bear of a man with massive arms nearly twice the size of mine. You are no soldier. Men were still moaning and dying on the field. My heart went out to him. seeming to split him in two. trying to catch hold on the trail. I begged. only a fool. the towers. They left us their towns.

wagons.Only twice before had I heard the bells sounded at midday in the four years since I had come to live in this town.If this is the Holy Land. working around the inn. Arrows and spears followed them. I tried to joke. Maybe I'll come back a knight. I saw the hostility on his face fade. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb. On that first morning we lined up. What do you say.In battle.But just as the man's spear was inches from my throat. How far away she seemed right now. the lower our spirits fell. students and scholars who entertained from town to town. Begging to God. not a noble anywhere. Spare this man.

Can't it wait. I raised my sword. to ask God for the forgiveness of my sins.mapmakers. Everyone in our town was pressed around the tiny square. Spare him!He managed to kill the first one with a mighty sweep of his sword.Outside Civetot we had our first taste of the enemy. I heard voices.We looked at each other for a long while. I watched as many a loyal soul. We were heading down. Every house in the village had been burned or sacked. but there was little to find amusing. howled in anguish. It had belonged to her mother. a few of her feathers left in a cart. toward the mill...

Up here. throw up his hands and hug his mother.. sucking the air out of my belly. a new hell awaited. An anguished plea rose from the crowd. `Good enough. ? I repeated. Robert squinted into the sun.These Tafurs reported to no lord among us. I could see that she was scared. I couldn't hold it down.At first. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. past the fires to the edge of the camp.There was a shriek.There's one more thing. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. With a hideous bray.

with a thatched crown. The blade of my sword penetrated his side. We were meant to be together. Then turbaned horsemen charged-wave after wave. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours. six thousand strong. When I see you each day.A dark-skinned Saracen whirred by. the size of two men. Larger and more formidable than any castle I had ever seen back home. The detachment at Xerigordon had already been done in-not by siege butthirst. He leaped from his horse and thrashed around for Guillaume under the surface.Raymond ordered the army to break camp. `and consider yourself properly screwed!'Laughter broke out from all around. his head rolling away from him. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. suddenly. You better tell him..

think of how our lives could change. It bounced off with the effect of a pebble tossed against a wall. in a way I was proud. but the Turk intercepted me with a vicious kick. But every time a soldier moaned. covered in filth and sores.I am called Peter the Hermit.IT HAPPENED JUST THAT WAY nearly every day. You saw what happened today. Jerusalem is near.. but the Turk's stroke was so strong it knocked me backward over the dead priest. the column came to a halt. the truth seemed so clear. If it's riches.If this is the Holy Land. Yet as he spoke. instead of turning to face his attacker. maybe four feet long.

Guillaume's mount seemed to stumble. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John.Those we captured were sometimes handed over to a fearsome group of Frank warriors called Tafurs. and the head of a man next to me shot off like a kicked ball.As Norcross passed the miller's cowering daughter. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. cut apart limb by limb. rumors reached us of Christians inside the city being tortured and raped.My wife of three years hurried to the window. Hurry. I heard nobles disagreeing on the proper spot to ford the river. his goose comically trailing behind. I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. of such chilling proportion that we thought we had entered a valley of demons. landing on what would have been his face. I vowed to carry it with me wherever I went for the rest of my life. Now. drop to his knees.Press on.