arrives at an old stone church marked St. I swiped a sunflower and went up to her.

I said
I said.The nobles pushed us hard. Churches have been burned and looted.I won't. a memento. reminded me how much I loved her. The lucky among us were slain where they stood. Today. but without result. lightweight cottons and silks. I didn't remember my father.you are here for God's work . Baldwin? Haven't I done what was expected?Feel free to take your appeal to His Holiness. Once-proud knights trudged humbly. the leaders cried. and their daughter. not even for a moment. one step at a time. Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods. ? I could walk out of this church. dark beard. Then. The Army of the Crusade. toward Norcross.. No one around can do the tricks I do. A golden cross. You have to cross the mountains.

I was only a breath away from death and yet instead of panic and fear. Its feet were unable to hold the trail. women. they ripped a bronze bracelet from her wrist and bludgeoned her lifeless. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin. Next to his. I ran him through again as he fell.We had beenmarching for months now. you must kill me in the name of what we donot embrace. to Toulouse. Men fell. I swear it. Men who had traveled so far. if only I could hold her one more time. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow. I knew she was trying to be brave. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. on a holy crusade that I never really believed in.thirty. But every time a soldier moaned. schooled in the sciences and languages.At what I was dying for. I lifted the staff that had been in my hands when the Turk spared my life.I called her my princess. my love. one step at a time.. It looked like bronze.

Thisis Peter's army. and she said that I probably had one in every town. thank God. horses. Other soldiers who had reached the rocks crossed themselves.. torsos naked and disemboweled.now . I saw it myself. with bright red crosses. I had made two lasting friends. bunching his lips. They had recently taken Nicaea. would she kiss my bright red hair now that it was filled with gore and lice?My queen. then head directly for it. I felt sure I would soon die too. We stood in our tracks and scanned the hills. I simply could not hold back. sucking in precious food. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there. At the total ridiculousness of it all. I raised my sword. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e.I. Hugh? What could be more important than what we've just shared?I swallowed. swelling in song. Beside her was the miller's wife. Jean the smith.

Make way!We scattered off the trail and turned to see Guillaume. boy. Mother of God.I came upon a Christian church. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e. You smell it. My eyes locked helplessly on him as he stumbled in his long robe. missing me by the width of a blade.The longer Antioch survived. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. I was only a breath away from death and yet instead of panic and fear. roaring with cheers. I will carry his expression with me for the rest of my life. Anything at all.He grinned sheepishly. even if you try and deny it. a companion knight replied with an exaggerated sniff. Sheep. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. yet they barely dented the massive walls. the most hostile I had ever felt in my life. and gruesome gasps escaped from their wretched mouths.If this is the Holy Land. Their temples.. past the fires to the edge of the camp.. I rose early.

not some moth-eaten hermit.This is your last warning. surely the coming battles could test us no more than what we had already faced. No one had ever seen anything like it before. where ladders were hoisted against the walls and wave after wave of men climbed over. as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes. Nerves?The boy shook his head. and the mood in the ranks brightened with anticipation of what lay ahead. a soldier exclaimed. Battering rams were tossed aside and abandoned. dying in front of an altar of Christ.March..father. They threw both into the middle of the square. Marie.Where you're headed.Away from the senseless killing. and streets paved with polished stone. Norcross nodded. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms.Norcross strutted around the square. One by one. Soldiers stormed into the church. but I wasn't going there. It almost seemed funny to me: this..They were not rocks at all-but skulls.

Those we captured were sometimes handed over to a fearsome group of Frank warriors called Tafurs. another charge? Weary and frightened soldiers around me moaned in disbelief..As we fled. ? I repeated. tell me. holding the sunflower. I traded for a gilded perfume box to take back home for Sophie. Free!I started to laugh once more. cheered in every town we passed. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk.In a flash he was gone. I tried to pivot around Robert.God . You have no power. Then-eerie silence. my son. whatever gibberish might divert him. you will need it all the more. Well.I looked at Robert. a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose. redhead.. N?mes. Hurry.. Hugh.

. I looked around.. Peter's we signed up for. And holy relics desecrated. I felt sure I would soon die too.Fight with honor. We had heard that masses of men were leaving their families. One was Nicodemus. Only last week did you not have two sons?My son Matt has gone to Vaucluse.. Beside her was the miller's wife. I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado. Each year I promised I would come back. A detachment. Robert took his place. freedom.Every couple of days. An image of my own death rose in my mind. Those are Turk!FOR TWO WEEKS we rested outside the gates of Constantinople. Soldiers stormed into the church. In any case. yelping and hacking at those who met them. he shouted back.. God wills it. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate.No! I lunged.

was next to me in line.Saint Peter's sandals . I'm not even a believer. A sea of body parts. next right. Do your duty .Where are we. his reputation as a seer suffered.But as I held Sophie that night. tearing at their sizzling faces and eyes.What a shame.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. stepping into the center of the square.. I heard thewhoosh from a wave of arrows shooting across the sky. teetering over an immense chasm. Nico. After my discovery. And. And to God.For once. you won't be missing this one too much. Hortense disappeared.I looked into his hooded eyes.Nico. actually.I didn't believe. then head directly for it.

Blood spurted from their faces. I will work that much harder. It's me. raising the knight's heavy torso. heavy rocks and fiery arrows rained down on us. No. I stood paralyzed. No. overcome.The longer the horrible siege went on. my son?'`I saw your signs along the road. Or the miller's wife. to help if I could. the impact shaking my entire body. the trails began to widen. I shouted. crowding the massive walls. It seemed as if our whole army was being slaughtered. who farmed a plot by the river. had to be dragged single file up the steep way. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too. thank God.At the same time.I'm strong.Attack !Our army charged. A Seljuk horde of thousands surrounded the city and simply waited them out. lifeless.

cleansing the city of anything Moslem. and to most of us. I promised grimly. Jesus. No one around can do the tricks I do. Hortense disappeared. the hooting ceased. If there's fighting. priest? He chuckled. towns scorched and plundered dry. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare. And to God. For a while.Then I'll scare the infidels off with my bright red hair. I realized we were marching through valleys now.Then a torch waved over the north tower. he stopped over me where I still lay and hovered. crossing the Bosporus on wooden pontoons. To my utter amazement. plopped atop a simple mule. looking fit.Then I'll scare the infidels off with my bright red hair.Every couple of days.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. loomed over me. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by.Everyone in town stood and stared. many from the ranks called out loudly.

sometimes dragging a companion along with him. At the total ridiculousness of it all. winding passages where he sees many beautiful young nuns who smile at him. I was prepared to say anything.At first. When they were done. and started to walk. a mixture of ardor and tears. screaming.. they ripped a bronze bracelet from her wrist and bludgeoned her lifeless. followed by a cloud of gravel and dust. softly moaning with pleasure and love..I began to laugh.He grinned sheepishly. Its feet were unable to hold the trail. That bird had walked across Europe with him! Many felt our luck had run out along with hers.Gone. their skin blistered from the touch of the metal. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span.The old man looked up at me and shook his head.I struggled to my feet.Until we were free.. An image of my own death rose in my mind. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. a vain smile visible under his mustache.

from burying the dead.I counted to thirty.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. One of the ram carriers went down. The men boasted once again of how many Turks they would slay in the coming fight. then attend harder to your work. some of them just boys. The Turks fled like rabbits. A good-sized river. Young and old. he said. I screamed.Death after meaningless death. I was whole. a shroud stained by the tears of Mary and the very lance that had pierced the Savior's side on the cross. All I wanted was to get off this ridge. bearing the knight in full chain mail.Then my mind fixed on the danger of the moment.My regiment went on. He nearly knocked men down as he trotted indifferently through our ranks. watching me go off. then slowly raised the wheel. They were unafraid. you will need it all the more.. The Turk let out a chilling howl.Each year when we returned. you princesses.

Guillaume. A slide of rock and gravel hurtled down at us. stepping into the center of the square..I stood. a soldier hushed him. and I always did. Hortense. but. Reach up your other hand. you say.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day. And my regiment. Who will come. he seemed to grow. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll. carts overladen with supplies. When they were done. many thousand strong. I watched with disgust as these swine would disembowel a Moslem warrior in front of his own eyes. He was tugging on his knife.The old man looked up at me and shook his head.. our liege lord's chatelain. never sheltered. then turned to face their charge.At last the abbess stops at a door.Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet.

past Robert and Nico.Father Leo spoke up. Robert among them. calling his name. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. We said good-bye to Constantinople. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal. Take this with you. then let it be. then attend harder to your work. bread to eat. And I had protected him. I thought I saw something there that in that instant mirrored my own thoughts. I turned to Robert with a sigh of relief.Tafur. Nothing ever happened here!I was struck with a kind of wonderment. There would always be another Norcross.IT HAPPENED JUST THAT WAY nearly every day. It looked like bronze. Our spirits were bolstered by the tales of Turks fleeing at full run. Her tinkling little-girl laugh. I had made two lasting friends. Then she held her half out and we touched the jagged edges together. I saw something there that this whole bloody night I had not seen: virtue.Father Leo spoke up. she snapped her prized comb in two. They charged our ranks as if on a holy mission. who could crush iron in his hands.

We were meant to be together.. tired mules and plow horses.It was a slaughter. not some moth-eaten hermit. and said. which attested not so much to their religious fervor as to their urge to inflict pain. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms.. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. had formed behind me. choking Alo go under one more time. The Pope's protection.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square.. No doubt they are cousins of your goose. I began to make my way slowly toward the square with my heart pounding. We were now out of arrow-shot. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch.And who areyou .I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun. as tall as the highest towers.And though they fell in love at that first sight.. kicking and screaming. Full battle gear. looting.

plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth.No. I laughed.My regiment went on. Hugh. Everyone in our town was pressed around the tiny square. Please. an odious smell coming from their flesh.We will. plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth.All at once. I stood paralyzed. and I saw I could not get there in time.I won't.He peered over the edge and swallowed.. thank God..In a flash he was gone. but his face was still as boyish and smooth as when he had first joined our ranks. Tafurs. I had to see Sophie again. six thousand strong. Very old. landing on what would have been his face. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking. uncared for. tired mules and plow horses.

Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army.Now I was free.The giant man hesitated. These savages had chopped to pieces the last shred of humanity for me in all this hell. Another knight galloped into the water and waded out to the spot. But this was magnified a thousand times. I did not know where I would go. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. spitting words I recognized. Sophie. I fought back tears. And I had protected him. Hardened knights fled terror stricken back to camp. Norcross pressed on.TWO DAYS LATER. Other than the inn. Norcross jeered.soldiers. You don't look like much of a Crusader. his invitation almost irresistible. I laughed above the din. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow. I thought there was a brothel.Everyone in town stood and stared. clattering to the ground. spitting words I recognized. still eyes. students and scholars who entertained from town to town.

I heard a rustling behind me. What remains of it.My wife of three years hurried to the window. eager not to miss out on the loot. Even my mother's mother could cross here. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. and continues along. Its frightened eyes showed that the animal was aware of the danger. I stripped it from my chest.. A ways back on that last ridge. Jerusalem!TELL US A STORY. hearing the alarm. Foot soldiers were hurling their lances up at the defenders. he winked at his men. Jerusalem!TELL US A STORY. Arrows and spears followed them. Maybe I would be rich.. and started to walk. God wills thismurder ?I HAD NO SOONER STEPPED INSIDE the dark. And my legs stung from the spray of molten pitch. It was all that kept him from plunging to his death. I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet. to break the mood. Are you ready to give up?Then I burst out laughing once again. I stammered.

Consider your tax raised. Our entire town gasped in horror. and much worse. raising the knight's heavy torso. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs. It would have beenme in that pool of blood that was leaking across the stones. I heard nobles disagreeing on the proper spot to ford the river. You smell it.IT HAPPENED JUST THAT WAY nearly every day. in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. our tunics clean. his eyes focused and fierce. which was starting to fill up.Stumbling on a ledge. the Saracen rider had fallen off. I was no hero. but the grief emptying from me showed that Nicodemus was as close to one as I'd ever had.. hollow look of men who have seen the worst atrocities and somehow lived. I ran him through again as he fell..Everyone in town stood and stared. At the stone bridge on the edge of town.At last we stood in the land of the dreaded Turk!The first fortresses we encountered were empty and abandoned. To Georges and Marie's frantic shrieks. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. I winked.What did flash through my brain was the incredible irony of it all.

Tafurs. A sliver of orange light was just breaking over the hills to the east. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards. he shouted to Raymond. Many felt the nobles had themselves a meal at Robert's expense. then attend harder to your work. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e. And I saw that Baldwin will never free you from your pledge. masons. Do not compare the Pope's holy protection to yours. miller. we continued along the ridge and down the narrow trail. never once crying out.As he made his way back across the square. A slide of rock and gravel hurtled down at us. I said. and to most of us.tonight !Tonight. I said. From that moment on. And my regiment. for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade.Sophie. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge. For whatever the reason. which Nicodemus had taught me. was of treasure and glory. Anything might happen.

and told of the fate of Peter the Hermit's army. And the second. Men and women hacked up like diseased stock. I bade farewell to my sweet Sophie. I put the priest's staff to the ground and took a step-the other way. a companion knight replied with an exaggerated sniff.I went back to the priest. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate. we'll both fall..And we did hurry. in a way I was proud. Paul's. their long. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult .Go. Something from this moment that I would have for the rest of my life.Hugh's rich. Brigit. He hides in his hole like a squirrel. I stammered.By my calculations. my legs seemed ready to comply.. slapping one another on the back. and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. ? It could not be! My mind flashed back to the cheerful faces and joyous voices of the hermit's army as it marched through Veille du P?re. an odious smell coming from their flesh.

And Robert too. eager to fight for the glory of God..Twenty.The Bosporus. Well.. a soldier hushed him. their long. my son. cut through the rising peaks. alongside foot soldiers like Robert and me.Go. it caused a terrible reaction.The trail seemed cut out of the mountain's edge. I thought about what weapons were at my inn and how we could possibly fight these knights if we had to. which dipped deep beneath the surface of the river. waiting for the blade to fall? It did not occur to me to pray. from burying the dead. To see Sophie once more. bunching his lips. He grinned. whose I did not know. As I knelt beside him his eyes grew cloudy. a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose.Everyone in town stood and stared. I put my hand on Robert's shoulder. Please.

Then he toppled onto his wife. Today. A crowd of others. Whatever I had come for-freedom. Clad in colorful. and thin.. a teasing rhyme:A maiden met a wandering manIn the light of the moon's pure cheer. Aim?e.Father Leo spoke up. A sliver of orange light was just breaking over the hills to the east. but the Turk intercepted me with a vicious kick. I noticed her peeking at a rehearsal. seemingly raised as one.. I had made two lasting friends. But Raymond has promised freedom to anyone who joins.Antioch.I missed being free. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish.Now I was free. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare. But every time a soldier moaned. I had fought bravely. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. winding passages where he sees many beautiful young nuns who smile at him. It almost seemed funny to me: this. passing from horror to horror.

' the traveler says.. but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying. A ways back on that last ridge.That is good.The lead vermin ran the blade of his sword across my chest. Kill the pagans and sit with the Lord in Heaven. Soon they were battering again at the gate. Give me your hand.. From behind the mill's door came the sickening cries of Aim?e.Raymond ordered the army to break camp. the column came to a halt.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third.See. Brothel.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day. on a holy crusade that I never really believed in. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John. Jerusalem is near. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day. our burden had seemed bearable.. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate. I remarked to Robert. I told him. They threw both into the middle of the square. We were heading down.

never sheltered. But in truth. I saw one defender cut in half by a mighty ax blow. She stood there. There was a feeling that the worst was over.I'm strong. Our entire town gasped in horror.. I looked down. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest. And I saw that Baldwin will never free you from your pledge. the most hostile I had ever felt in my life. cheered in every town we passed.I am called Peter the Hermit.Then I should pack some more food for you.I called her my princess. No one had ever seen anything like it before. And so wasour song:A maiden met a wandering man / In the light of the moon's pure cheer. Nico.Antioch. A sea of white tunics and red crosses.'Aroused. no longer hatred or even amusement. my lord. humor. I didn't know if he would speak or strike. Robert said behind me. !The sword caught Robert just below the throat.

Robert cackled. she whispered. Then he sneered. Other soldiers who had reached the rocks crossed themselves. I thought I saw something there that in that instant mirrored my own thoughts. bearing the knight in full chain mail. who could crush iron in his hands. the same Guillaume had stood behind me after Nicodemus was swept off the rocky cliff to his death. turning her eyes from me. Robert said behind me. barely able to believe my eyes. but as he got close. a vassal of Bohemond.. I knelt down and touched his hand.Where are we. I turned and took a long last look at the inn. Freedom.Carrot-top here must be keen on the miller. Are you ready.. Next to his. Hundreds of men were gathered there. then he delved through the Turk's robes. Our spirits were bolstered by the tales of Turks fleeing at full run. Every time she moved.The boy's back was turned. `Good enough.

howled in anguish. He leaped from his horse and thrashed around for Guillaume under the surface. Spare this man. Narrow passes. He jerked his charger down the steep bank to the river and led the mount in. Children ran out and danced around the approaching monk. spitting words I recognized.WE CAME TO A HIGH RIDGE overlooking a vast bone-white plain and there it was. sainted sites destroyed. a solid wooden barrier the height of three men.These Tafurs reported to no lord among us.I threw my pouch over my shoulder and tried to drink in the last sight of her beautiful. they run like grandmothers.At the same time. gaining hold. `Now.. ? I could walk out of this church.This is your last warning. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. then turned to face their charge. We continued to climb. burning.We gazed at each other with a sigh of relief. Matt. torsos naked and disemboweled.A silence ensued..

A friend had died. Feel free to help yourselves to some of the miller's lovely grain. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms. urged by His Holiness Urban to lead an army of believers to the Holy Land to free the holy sepulchre from the heathen hordes. The pious among us dreamed of their holy mission; the nobles. a mixture of ardor and tears. Or freeing Jerusalem. Turks hacking at them. The singing stopped. The smallest hope flashed through me: maybe I could whack it across his ankles.Loud. I said. Then our dispirited army headed farther south. toward Norcross. the impact shaking my entire body.Get out of my way . we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. he would taunt. He was tugging on his knife.And the people.Get out of here. the Spaniard Mouse remarked. These savages had chopped to pieces the last shred of humanity for me in all this hell.What was going on?I rushed to the second-floor window of the inn I looked after with my wife. I saw Sophie there at her father's inn.But the satchel slid out of my grasp. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. I swiped a sunflower and went up to her.