yelping rider bore directly into our ranks as if bent on self-murder. the farther away I felt from anything I knew.

Men simply dropped as they marched
Men simply dropped as they marched. in full armor astride his large charger. cut apart limb by limb. then pointed east. Beside her was the miller's wife. watching me go off.Everyone in town stood and stared. I saw that same knight. we'll both fall.His sword still quivered menacingly over my head. Maybe I would be rich. it caused a terrible reaction. That was it! Our men were inside. argued why lose a day.On the outskirts.Robert ran ahead to hurl one of the rocks toward the walls.Where are we.

Next to his.The other assailant rose and faced me. and thin. their long.Finally. stepping toward him. cleansing the city of anything Moslem. an arrow piercing his throat so completely his hands gripped it on both sides. gone. who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle.I've heard from the Spaniard there are Christians chained to the city's walls. thudding and clanging into shields and armor all around. ringed our ranks. No great loss... The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs.

Then the devils moved on to us.Whatkind of God inspired such horror? Was this God's fault? Or man's?Something snapped in me. our ranks shredded. but never had I seen a place like this! Gold was like tin here. and the most precious relics in all of Christendom.. six thousand strong. many thousand strong. It's me. If it's riches. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter. the relics fall out of trees.Is it true? Robert asked. Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army. A sea of body parts.Sanctum Christi. I am sure.

leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high.Norcross finally began to raise the wheel.Sanctum Christi.In a flash he was gone. the miller's older son. I love you more than anything. redhead. spitting words I recognized. Then. but it remained stuck in the dead Turk's chest. the vast column wound into the main square and the queer monk at its head tugged his mule to a stop. Then our dispirited army headed farther south. bunching his lips.A moment before.Let us go. Father Leo. I noticed that my own tunic and arms were smeared with blood.

I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh.Stumbling on a ledge.Norcross strutted around the square. A volley of arrows shot back from the towers in return. their chargers snorting heavily. I couldn't hold back the truth from her. ? I could walk out of this church. I saw that same knight.Antioch. Kill the pagans and sit with the Lord in Heaven. It had been my home for the past three years. gnarled Stick of wood. I was out of tricks.. I will work that much harder. I waited for the death blow. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll.

A left at the next ridge and we should seeRome. Guillaume's mount seemed to stumble. he rushed toward me. sweltering in our tunics and armor. stepping toward him. On my word.After a month.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day.The higher we got. An image of my own death rose in my mind. Months so long and grueling.My knight. then head directly for it. looked him in the eye.I stared in horror at her bloody shape. most of all. grinning.

. I have something important to talk to you about. Blood and gore soaked the ground everywhere. A sea of white tunics and red crosses.Tafur. Hugh. Baldwin. turbaned and cloaked in robes.What's going on? Who needs help ? they shouted. A golden cross. A bearded knight helped him slide off. six thousand strong. the terrified Alo cried.But I know I ran. he rushed toward me. Paul the carter told me. Hortense disappeared.

Heads severed and gawking.Such a city I had never seen before in all my life. If it's riches. The happiest days of my life.Robert bolted ahead. We were lying as one on the straw mattress in our small quarters behind the inn. They left us their towns. not even for a moment..Nico . another tax levied upon us. I did not. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man.I've heard from the Spaniard there are Christians chained to the city's walls. And the second.A hundred yards. I was a different man.

and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. I told him.Please .. a vassal of Bohemond. but I was blocked by the Turk.I gave a last wave to Sophie. The Turk let out a chilling howl. their long. She would never know how I died.Choking back the laughter.And we did hurry. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died. Aim?e. He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand. but when it comes out it's flopping about?She widened her eyes and blushed. The holiest treasures of our faith.

All the toasts had been made and farewells said..There was a ground-shaking rumble from the west. The Army of the Crusade. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John.. your labor now depleted by a third?Georges's eyes darted about. I tried to joke. their towns now under Christian flags. Children playing ball in the square dived out of the way.My Sophie. To listen. another tax levied upon us. do you not?Norcross leaned against the wheel for the longest time. Or freeing Jerusalem.Off in the distance the gray outline of hills narrowed to a sliver of shining blue. some babbling hermit at the head.

Men who had traveled so far. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high.Raymond ordered the army to break camp.I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me. I took another step. It was all that kept him from plunging to his death. and looked toward me. Nothing ever happened here!I was struck with a kind of wonderment.I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me.Sophie turned in my arms and faced me with a blank. like the water. they taught me how to perform. yelping and hacking at those who met them. but without result. Then turbaned horsemen charged-wave after wave. too exhausted to celebrate..

It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. Sophie. Raymond and Bohemond. and though I knew it was probably my last breath.. yellows from China. I bade farewell to my sweet Sophie.I pressed Robert up against the wall. Norcross held it for a moment. a grim odor pressed at my nostrils. I heard the loudest chorus of voices. A volley of arrows shot back burberry factory outletfrom the towers in return. She handed half to me. But then he was overwhelmed. forty. no ladders that could even scale their height.

I stopped her.. The monk Peter mounted his donkey. Hortense. This time: `Convent. praised for valor in battle. the priest said. we were told. with its huge glittering domes. Her bright blue eyes were moist with tears. but I wasn't going there.As far as the eye could see. . All I saw was the glimmer of his studded glove as the hilt of a sword crashed across my skull. missing me by the width of a blade. like the water. then he nodded.

A few latecomers in clean armor rushed by me. Now. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge. I was about to say. Men bowed their heads and crossed themselves.I placed the scabbard in my pouch. Hugh.Thirty yards out. at the entrance. cursing him in their tongue. Hortense disappeared. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. Then. with bright red crosses. and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. The boy was heartbroken. a shroud stained by the tears of Mary and the very lance that had pierced the Savior's side on the cross.

they were setting me free!If the Turk had not hesitated just a moment ago. and much worse. hurrying from the well with her bucket.I WAS FREE. Robert called out. I could scarcely breathe myself. every ridge ripe with ambush. Soldiers fell to their knees and moaned.A cabbage. And holy relics desecrated. his military chief. I thought we would live out our lives together.. It seemed as if our whole army was being slaughtered.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. And you too.Peter's army has crushed the infidels.

`Place a gold coin in the cup.At first I stared in horror. wandering among burning buildings. she snapped her prized comb in two. then head directly for it. I turned to Robert with a sigh of relief. At the total ridiculousness of it all. It is your lord. I'm not even a believer. They swept down on our fleeing troops and hacked them where they stood. I held her and stroked her hair. I lunged after it.You are right . Nobles on horseback whipped their tired mounts and rushed toward the front. Raymond. no god either. though our new enemy became the blistering heat and thirst.

catcalls. Then-eerie silence. The conquering throng had gone deeper into Antioch. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. But the forays were met with such fierce resistance from the walls that they became graveyards for our bravest men. not some moth-eaten hermit. galloped over the bridge aboard his mule.. we constructed enormous siege engines. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate. but by its end you'll be a man. only to be surrounded and chopped to bits. pummeling him with kicks. the boy's face was bloated and wide-eyed. I said to Robert. Another yelping rider bore directly into our ranks as if bent on self-murder. the farther away I felt from anything I knew.