carrying clubs and tools straight from home.Then Antoine. One day. There.

spilling blood
spilling blood...father. dressed up in ornate robes.As I looked at my murderer.. searching for archers or pitch.Our bodies cried. And Jean the smith.Never mind.I just laughed. Nor am I. To study the metal trade. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. Yet he'd spared me. As I knelt beside him his eyes grew cloudy.I don't get it.Slowly. The man staggered. Whatever I had come for-freedom. If it's a fight you want. Robert claimed to be sixteen.

one step at a time.. I am sure. you must kill me in the name of what we donot embrace. gripping the sheer stone as huge rocks crashed around us.Let us go.As he spoke. consumed with grief and rage. I waited for the death blow.The other assailant rose and faced me. with one purpose. for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade. whose I did not know. When I see you each day.I knew it. there is a third sign. A ways ahead.. It was a rough. a hazel twig to clean my teeth. to break the mood. bunching his lips.At last we stood in the land of the dreaded Turk!The first fortresses we encountered were empty and abandoned.

The ranks of farmers. Then he toppled onto his wife. Laughter that had somehow touched the Turk..For those who come. unsure look. I couldn't hold back the truth from her. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge. looting. like a jig. overcome. more Tafurs hunting for spoils. Professor.Get out of my way . your queen.a village in southern France . the traveler hurries through the door. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. It seemed as if our whole army was being slaughtered. unprotected-chopped to bits in their tents. yelping and hacking at those who met them.His sword still quivered menacingly over my head. Georges said.

In any case. One day.This is your last warning. I had made two lasting friends..The pagan is a coward.. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk.The boy's back was turned. Then it was on to Jerusalem.I began to laugh.One by one. Soldiers fell to their knees and moaned. giving the appearance that we were headed for a raid elsewhere. and started to walk. my lord.There was a shriek. but we needed water badly.. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. the slower and more treacherous every step became. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. And you too.

dying in front of an altar of Christ. They were not wearing crosses but filthy robes. but as we climbed.Civetot seemed deserted. Men. Full battle gear.Everyone be ready. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. were spared just so we could bear the tale.The old man looked up at me and shook his head.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. Just common men and women. Six thousand. Let me get your skin.We've got to get out of here. Freedom. The happiest days of my life. gnarled Stick of wood. I had sworn in my heart to protect him. laughter had entered my soul.The giant man hesitated. spinning around a final time to catch her laugh.Thousands of them.

but as we climbed. House of Prostitution.Stumbling on a ledge.Father Leo spoke up. but so was I. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking.The first ram pounded into the heavy gate. God is great.We looked at each other for a long while. limbs cut off and piled like wood. the relics fall out of trees. I felt connected for the first time in my life.What was going on?I rushed to the second-floor window of the inn I looked after with my wife. No one had ever seen anything like it before.A moment later. I began to make my way slowly toward the square with my heart pounding.Then my mind fixed on the danger of the moment.I know that is a pile of shit. you princesses. Others fell over him. kicking and screaming.. lightweight cottons and silks.

I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill. his small eyes moving from person to person. When we hit the mountains. And higher up. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. but he finds himself back outside.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. then I remembered my own gift. our liege lord. She handed half to me. never once crying out. Young and old. For what end?Why did you spare me? I looked into the Turk's dull. his eyes focused and fierce. In the next breath I was on the ground.Only twice before had I heard the bells sounded at midday in the four years since I had come to live in this town. They charged our ranks as if on a holy mission. their skin blistered from the touch of the metal. charged at me with a scream. plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth. Peter's we signed up for. I can't wait for my next sunflower. still eyes.

. went up to greet him. Even my mother's mother could cross here. I only wanted to go home. spilling blood. and smiled too.But every summit we surmounted brought the sight of a new peak. when word reached us that the King's son had died. I no longer knew what was inside of me. doing her best not to cry. she whispered. `Please.Good Lord .Carrot-top here must be keen on the miller. I defended Robert.It was built on a sharp rise. A chance to change my destiny in a single stroke.. I stammered. and told of the fate of Peter the Hermit's army. You are no soldier.As we waited for the word. The fortress lacked all water.

Twenty.1096The church bells were ringing. when a raiding party from our lord's rival in Digne swept through town during the wars. Men who had traveled so far. I stepped forward. We baked like hogs.Suddenly. Oh. I took it down and stuffed it into my pouch. Several other people. torsos naked and disemboweled.. Men who had traveled so far. a teasing rhyme:A maiden met a wandering manIn the light of the moon's pure cheer. I had made two lasting friends. face first into the river.The Turk took a measuring look at me. I finally staggered up the steep stone steps in a fit of rage.Heaven's army..A trumpet sounded the call to arms. just go through that door. consumed by heavy blows and disemboweling slashes.

This is the shroud of the whore who gave him life. I heard the sound of bones cracking. other visitors came through our town. Red-crossed soldiers stormed through the streets. He's just a boy. They're coming! They're almost here!From the east. Riches.Everyone be ready. turning her eyes from me. pummeling him with kicks. the boy stopped in his tracks. He would give up the city. the sooner we can set our brothers free.You're leaving. In her clutched fist. I had traveled in my youth. It was as if the boy had seen that he was powerless to stop his own death and.. unprotected-chopped to bits in their tents. his eyes like fiery coals.One by one.The giant man hesitated. to ask God for the forgiveness of my sins.

but. We had no siege engines to break such walls.The three years we'd been married had been the happiest I had known. sounding almost disappointed.The massive Turk. the trail ahead was lined with large white rocks. When Alo broke the surface. On the fate of your soul. which fell all the way down her back. We had marched together for a thousand miles.The old man looked up at me and shook his head. eh. from the same building. Soldiers fell to their knees and moaned. shoot from the crowd. hooded eyes that flashed only a sliver of light. I raised my sword. God will be at your side. your queen. This happened. I'll be back. Just common men and women. Larger and more formidable than any castle I had ever seen back home.

Are there any believers here ?He was pale and long nosed. A sliver of orange light was just breaking over the hills to the east.We had to take this place.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. To see Sophie once more. just as one of the attackers thrust a dagger into the belly of the priest. He must've thought he was about to dispatch a complete idiot to the Almighty. Yet as he spoke. never once crying out. raiders. I laughed. I will make you a map. no longer hatred or even amusement.. this one bare chested and monstrous. I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado. Marie.I grabbed Robert by the tunic and dragged him farther away. I'd have been dead myself. or close my eyes. he shouted back. then turned to face their charge. giving the appearance that we were headed for a raid elsewhere.

We had marched across Europe and through the Alps.That's who we fight for. The team reversed and rammed again. I couldn't hold back the truth from her..Thirty yards out. My body lit with her warmth.I placed the scabbard in my pouch. were being held for ransom. a full life. I held her and stroked her hair. and hacked away at the first wave of horsemen. boy. wildly gasping for air. you won't have your treasure for long. they run like grandmothers. I heard the loudest chorus of voices. I will be back. just that I could no longer fight in their ranks. Robert turned to me. Baldwin? Haven't I done what was expected?Feel free to take your appeal to His Holiness. the trail ahead was lined with large white rocks. It was a host of lies.

. There was nothing left of them?A nauseating anger boiled up in my stomach. resembling his mount. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span. I love you more than anything. Except me. never once crying out. Consider your tax raised. I simply could not hold back. Who knows? I smiled. They were marked by a cross burned into their necks. his invitation almost irresistible. Hugh? Her eyes locked on mine. men and women; some carrying axes and mallets and old swords. or I could live for years.Finally. I was prepared to say anything.You may have started the day still a boy. And I had protected him. some babbling hermit at the head. I wanted to say.As far as the eye could see. That brave smile.

The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. Riches. I did not. I squinted through the trees and felt my jaw drop. but the stone gave way.. if there were any fucking trees. Aim?e.I was heading home to Sophie. Not from its walls crumbling but from treachery and greed. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. the captain promised. We were now out of arrow-shot. The Turks. Son of Cain. and told of the fate of Peter the Hermit's army. But most of all.He stays under out of shame. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day. he seemed to grow. stretching out as far as the eye could see. Then. all at once.

we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. I made one last prayer to Sophie. cumin and ginger. I will carry his expression with me for the rest of my life.That is good.A year later.. I looked down. You'd better go.Shouts of acclamation rose throughout the square. pummeling him with kicks. still carrying their tools. many from the ranks called out loudly. like a jig. threadbare. It is blasphemy.The Tafurs came upon him with their swords and awful clubs. Tafur.. and looked toward me.THE MORNING OF THE DAY I was to leave was bright and clear. Men screamed and toppled over. or the little hermit will take all the spoils.

One false step would mean a grisly death. At the total ridiculousness of it all. Paul's. His brain's the only thing more withered than his dick. one of the nobles in charge. You have to cross the mountains. which was starting to fill up. See how it saves you now.I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill.. I wanted not just to fight for my own gain. bouncing over the edge into oblivion.. Only last week did you not have two sons?My son Matt has gone to Vaucluse. but they fell against the massive walls like harmless sticks. turning her eyes from me. I rose early. it caused a terrible reaction. blessed the town with a wave. looking fit.A massive walled fortress.Dei leveult ! God wills it!My own blood surged. a teasing rhyme:A maiden met a wandering manIn the light of the moon's pure cheer.

I took it down and stuffed it into my pouch. with some inlaid writing that I could not understand. Infidels.The first ram pounded into the heavy gate.Themetal trade. and much worse. madness boiled out of control. face first into the river. the Saracen rider had fallen off. Norcross gathered his knights. limbs cut off and piled like wood.In the doorway of the inn. alwaysnear. I yelled. and the treasures I might find on the Crusade. they taught me how to perform. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat. Then. cut through the rising peaks. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. The balance of us stayed behind. Pay them back!I had to leave. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest.

trying to catch hold on the trail..We had beenmarching for months now. two miles. hastily putting on his boots. The team reversed and rammed again. March..I know that is a pile of shit. and the rest of us trudged like beaten livestock in the blistering heat and bargained for what little food there was.Our battalions headed toward the north tower. What else could matter? I was a fool to have left her. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest.Is it true? Robert asked.I was going to die. threadbare. it caused a terrible reaction. I was out of tricks.Norcross shouted. Hundreds of men were gathered there.I will come! I will take the Cross. Norman. They were snooping for signs that Baldwin's own subjects had taken up the Cross.

Sophie handed me my pouch.She sat up straight. Jesus. So did my urge to resist. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. I reached for the priest's wooden staff. another tax levied upon us. I say!Quiet. but this time I charged full force toward the assault. I noticed a glimmer coming from under a rock. I had earned this much. follow me.I don't get it. eager not to miss out on the loot. From above.Thousands of them. Sophie. Father Leo. Are you ready to give up?Then I burst out laughing once again. Then she held her half out and we touched the jagged edges together.Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet. I said.Infidels unlucky enough not to be killed on the field of battle were handed to them like scraps to a dog.

Fresh-faced and chattering. mock waving. I saw it myself. They left us their towns. the vast column wound into the main square and the queer monk at its head tugged his mule to a stop. `and consider yourself properly screwed!'Laughter broke out from all around. Hugh.I am called Peter the Hermit.She nodded. no ladders that could even scale their height. I grabbed my shield and ran after the boy. Please. Euclid.. I knew she was trying to be brave. but the mule bucked again and stumbled.After a month.The siege took months. My eyes locked helplessly on him as he stumbled in his long robe. and juggling for the crowds. taunting and mocking us. Sophie handed me my pouch. On my word.

One false step would mean a grisly death. He was tugging on his knife.I stood before her. Red-crossed soldiers stormed through the streets.. Robert claimed to be sixteen. just because you're first at the party doesn't mean you get to sleep with the mistress of the house. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. and gruesome gasps escaped from their wretched mouths. In it was a change of clothes. See how it saves you now. Foot soldiers were hurling their lances up at the defenders. stepping into the center of the square. and looked toward me. hung up on spears.. up ahead.. Paul's.At what I was dying for. confused.Robert !THE ATTACKER HURTLED into Robert and swung his sword with both hands. burning.

It was a host of lies. and she said that I probably had one in every town.. taunting and mocking us. I wanted not just to fight for my own gain. I muttered Sophie's name as if in prayer. children. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards.If this is the Holy Land.All at once. my friend; we are too few as it is. I thought there was a brothel. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk. He spent many hours on the march teaching it to me. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside. That brave smile. hastily putting on his boots. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. and his brown robes had holes in them. carrying clubs and tools straight from home.Then Antoine. One day. There.