by Griff Hosker
With sharp lances and fresh horses the Germans simply overran the Seljuqs. The horses of the dead Seljuqs barged through the shields and ran into the archers. The enemy began to flee across the river and into Damascus.
“Garth, mount your men, let us follow. Tom, the standard.”
It was only when Guy mounted his captured horse that we realised how much bigger were our horses. His feet almost touched the ground but then he was a big man. This time our advance was slow. We walked. Remus was lathered. It was July and it was hot. We kept going, following the line of the Germans. They chased and harried the survivors all the way beyond the edge of the orchard and to the enemy shields and defences. There they began to take casualties. There were men on the walls and with their elevation were able to send their arrows into the Germans. Men and horses fell. They endured it for longer than was wise and then the order to fall back to the orchard was given.
The sun was setting as the fighting ended. We had done what was intended but it had cost us more than we had expected to pay. We were relieved by men from France. “Lord, we are here to relieve you. We will keep watch.”
“Have you archers?”
The knight shook his head, “Crossbows.”
“You will need them. Do not stray beyond the edge of the trees, my friend. These Turks have good bows and they know how to use them.”
“Thank you for the advice. This is not what I expected when I left Dijon.”
“It is not what any of us expected.”
We did not ride our horses back, we walked them. We passed knots of bodies where men had fallen. Even as we trudged back to the camp we saw men coming for the bodies. Each contingent would care for their own. The Master of the Hospitallers had been relieved at the same time as we and we joined him and his men.
“Once again you did well, Sir William. You did not lose your head.”
“Had it not been for you and your brave Hospitallers then it would have been a disaster.”
He gave a rueful smile, “The problem with a counsel of war is that there are too many opinions. We will only defeat the Turk when we have one man’s strong hands on the reins. I fear this will not end well.” He lowered his voice, “Our brothers, the Templars, seem determined to have Damascus for their own and I have heard that Thierry of Flanders sees it as his kingdom in the making.” He sighed, “We came here to free this land yet there are men now who just wish to claim it.”
“For me, lord, I have not seen any that I would exchange for one acre of England.”
“Amen to that William.” He nodded to my archers. “They are a fearsome weapon. They have an effect beyond their numbers.”
“They train longer to be an archer, lord, than a knight trains. If you have not begun training by the time you have seen seven summers then you will never be an archer. Garth.”
My captain of archers walked over, “Lord?”
“Master put your hand around his upper arm.”
The Hospitaller did so and his eyes widened, “It is like knotted oak.”
“And that is why they can keep up a shower of arrows deep into the enemy lines for as long as they do. My father has thirty odd such men and more. It is the reason Stephen the Usurper has yet to claim the whole of England.”
We went to Jean and my other men. They had made a camp in the shade of some fig trees. They had spent the day picking some and we ate them while Jean and the others took our saddles from our horses and watered them. I donned my cloak and placed my helmet on the ground. “Take charge, Robert. I will find the king.”
I made my way through the camp. Tents were being erected in the orchard. I saw the standards of the kings, counts, dukes and other rulers as each claimed his own territory. As I approached the King’s tent I heard raised voices. I recognised the king and the badgering tones of de Waller. I waited outside. The two sentries recognized me and nodded.
“You ran, lord! You fled! Had not the Hospitallers come to our aid then the men of Nablus would have been slaughtered.”
“It was a poor choice of battlefield! The trees prevented us from attacking. I was losing too many men.”
I heard Theobald of Rheims say, reasonably, “The men of Aqua Bella managed to do so.”
The silence I heard was eloquent. Then the king spoke and I heard real authority in his voice. “If you do not follow my orders to the letter in future, lord, then I will appoint another to be lord of Ramelah.”
“It is not your castle!”
“No, but it is my kingdom. Tread carefully my lord! You are perilously close to treason.”
The flap of the tent was moved and de Waller stepped out. I was the last person he either expected or wished to see. He stepped close to me. “You keep getting in my way, boy. You are like an irritating insect which spoils a summer evening. Watch out that I do not squash you.”
“I fear not a bully and blowhard like you, de Waller. I gave you the chance to fight me and you declined. You are nothing but a knife in the night!”
Suddenly his eyes showed fear and they flickered from side to side as though he was looking to see who might have overheard the words. He jabbed a finger in my chest, “Watch out, Englishman. I am not the only one who has a score to settle with you. The Count of Provence knows who you are. He has injuries at your hands. Beware. You and your tiny band of brigands are in the wrong place. Take my advice and go home.”
“No, lord, we are Englishmen and we do not run when things become difficult. That is what you do!”
I saw the two sentries smile at my words and then the lord pushed past me and left. I saw that Theobald had been watching. “You care not whom you upset, Sir William.”
“A knight must do what he believes is right. If he does not then he has no right to call himself a knight.”
“Come inside, the king would speak with you.”
I entered and saw a king who bore the weight of the world upon his shoulders. “Your majesty.”
The young king looked sad and, somehow, ancient, “A bad day for Jerusalem. We were charged with making an attack and I have been let down by one of my most powerful lords.”
I was searching for something positive to say, “The Germans did well.”
“We all want different things, Sir William. I wish a secure border. The King of France wishes glory while King Conrad and Thierry wish their own kingdom here. Tomorrow we begin to build siege engines. I would have you and your men do what you did today and guard the left flank. The defenders may sally forth.”
Theobald poured me a beaker of wine. “The trouble is we do not know what Nur -al-Din has planned.”
“He will come to the aid of Damascus will he not?”
“It is not as simple as that, Sir William. Our divisions are reflected in our enemies. Mujir ad-Din Abaq rules the city. He is of the Burid dynasty. They do not wish to be ruled by Nur al-Din. The king had an agreement with Mujir ad-Din Abaq that they would be our allies. King Conrad of Germany has insisted that it should be a Christian city. His motives, as I said, are suspect.”
“Then we will do as we have been ordered, lord. This crusade is not the venture I thought it would be.”
“You are new to Outremer, Sir William, this is our way of life.”
I nodded, “My men and I will watch this night.”
“Thank you, Sir William. I will sleep easier.”
I returned to my own camp. We now had a system of watchers. Garth, Robert and myself split the watch with Tom, Henri, Louis and William. The rest of my men would have a better night’s sleep but I could not risk the king’s life.
The next day the army began to build the towers and machines which would lob stones at the walls. Our task was easier. We just sat in the shade of fig and peach trees and watched for sallies from the enemy. They tried one such attack in the late afternoon. The builders had felled trees from the western end of the orchard. The towers of Damascus meant that they could be seen from the city. As the first stone thrower began to be assembled a horde of horsemen with
bows burst forth. They caught a conroi of French knights and sergeants by surprise. Releasing arrows at a prodigious rate from the backs of their horses the Seljuq archers slew many Frenchmen before they burst through the lines and headed for the stone thrower.
“To horse! Garth make sure fewer return than rode forth!”
“Aye lord.” We had Alf returned to us and he took his sling to aid the archers as they hurried to the aid of the French knights.
We hurtled after the horsemen. They were fast and we had little chance of catching them. They would hurt our builders and there was nothing we could do. My only aim was to hurt them and reduce the numbers of these horse archers. We had little answer to them. Five archers and a slinger could not stop them. We had crossbowmen with the army but they were slow and they were vulnerable. They could do serious damage to an enemy but the Seljuqs were capable of sending arrows over the backs of their horses with such speed that crossbowmen would be slaughtered before they had a chance to kill enough of the enemy.
We rode steadily. Who knew how many times we would have to do this before the day was out? Other sergeants had mounted their horses and were riding towards the archers. They would be too late. The Turks rained arrows on the builders. Without armour the men fell. We arrived at the rear before they had finished. I thrust my spear into the back of a surprised archer who was pulling back on his bow. I tossed his body to the side and pulled out my spear. The second archer I slew was turning when I thrust my spear into his neck. It did not kill him instantly and his dying hand grasped the spear and his body pulled it from my grasp. Drawing my sword, I was able to hack into the chest of a third archer who had turned to flee. My handful of men had carved a hole in the middle of the archers. Others had joined in from the side and the horde retreated. They had slaughtered all of the builders.
As we were amongst them it was hard for them to hit us with their arrows. Our mail and shields protected us against their swords and so we were able to kill all who approached us. We slew many but many times more escaped. By the time the men with crossbows had arrived the horse archers had fled. Garth and my archers slew more as the horse archers galloped back to their lines. We had hurt them but they had hurt us more. Our war machines would be delayed.
It went on like that for two more days. The work went on slowly but it was as though we were taking three paces forward and then one back. One late afternoon, we were just making our weary way back to our camp when we were stopped in our tracks. Dusk was almost upon us and we had repulsed four attacks. It was the Count of Provence who barred our way. He was with Robert de Nissa and Guillaume de Waller. There were twenty knights with them.
The Lombard jabbed a finger at Alf, “You have my property! Release him to me and no more will be said.”
I did not answer him but stared at de Waller. “They say you judge a man by the company he keeps. I always thought you treacherous but now I know you for a snake.” I turned back to the Count. “Out of my way. Unlike you and your men we have been toiling to keep our builders safe.”
“That is all that you are good for and I am not leaving without my slave.”
I heard five bows being drawn behind me as Garth hissed, “Give me the word lord and these three will become hedgehogs!”
“A peasant dares to threaten a Count? I will have you on a gibbet!”
I shook my head and laughed, “That will be a fine trick for after they have released their arrows I will take your head.” I whipped out my sword. “Come I have killed enough brave Seljuq’s today. It is time I killed a cowardly Frank and a pair of cruel Lombards!”
I am not certain what would have happened then had not Raymond de Puy Provence appeared with eight brother Hospitallers. “Is there a problem Sir William?”
“The Count here thinks he can bar my passage to my camp. We were just pointing out the error of his ways. It is good that you stopped, Master, when we have finished with them your men may be able to aid some of those we do not kill.”
The Master nodded, “We are here should you need us, lord and we can say a prayer for their souls too.”
The Count’s hand went to his sword. Garth’s arrow landed so close to the Count’s spur that it made it spin. The Count looked up in shock. Garth growled, “That was a warning, Count. The next one will give you a third eye.”
The Count jabbed a finger at me. “This is not over.”
“I know for you are still alive and that, in itself, is a miracle for which you should give prayers of thanks.”
When they had gone, the Master said, “He is a dangerous man, William. He is not honourable.”
“It is worse than that Master. I believe that de Waller conspires with our enemies. I have no evidence yet but his actions the other day just confirm my suspicions.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
We ate and then I went with William of Lincoln to watch the tent of the king. To my surprise, he was outside his tent. All the other leaders were seated around him. The Count of Provence was there too. The Master gave me the slightest shakes of his head as I approached. I waved William to the rear of the tent and I squatted down behind the king’s seat.
There was a debate in progress. King Conrad of Germany, obviously buoyed by his victory, held the floor. “I agree with the Count of Provence. It was a mistake to camp here. We are losing men each day. Last night they sallied forth and slew thirty sergeants and five knights. We cannot take such losses. The walls give them protection and they use the orchards for cover.”
King Baldwin said, “But we have shade and have food and water here. What is the alternative?”
“The plain to the east is better for a camp. We can defend it.”
Raymond de Puy Provence shook his head, “There we would be in the direct path of Nur al-Din. There is neither grazing for our horses nor food for our men. The heat of July will kill just as surely as a Seljuq arrow.”
“I agree with King Conrad. Count Thierry and I are in agreement. We will move our men to the east on the morrow.” King Louis appeared to cast the deciding vote.
I caught Theobald’s eye. This was a conspiracy. King Baldwin was seen as the most junior of the kings and was being treated as such. His army represented the smallest portion of the enterprise. The King looked at the Master. “And the military orders?”
“We will stay with the King of Jerusalem.”
All eyes went to the Master of the Templars. He smiled, “And we will support the majority. We will move to the east!”
The conclave broke up. I was left with King Louis, the Master and Theobald. “This is a disaster, Theobald.”
The Master shook his head, “It is not yet the disaster but that is coming, believe me.”
The King turned to me, “Did you scout the plain they speak of?”
“No, your majesty and I am interested to know how they managed to get that information. None of them seem the kind to risk their men scouting behind enemy lines.”
“It is as William says. There is treachery afoot. I think it would be best if we all returned home. Nothing good can come of this.” The master sounded sad and defeated. He was a pious man who believed that God was on our side. Our allies’ loyalty was in doubt.
That night we neither saw nor heard anything. The locals who came close to the tent of the king were easily moved along by the king’s guards and we were not needed. I knew that when the assassin struck the first to die would be the guards.
This time it was the Count of Provence and his Lombards who led the army. We must have taken the Turks by surprise for we were left alone. It took a day to move and to erect the camp. This time the initiative was taken from King Baldwin. It was King Louis, King Conrad and Count Thierry who made all the decisions. Theobald summoned me to the King’s tent just before dark. He spoke quietly. “The King, I fear is dispirited. Tomorrow I would have you move your camp a little closer to the king. He seems brighter in spirits when you and your young warriors are close to hand. The Master and I are
like two old relics. We have both lived here so long that we are as dry as the dust we breathe. We are a pair of desiccated old men.”
“You do yourself a disservice but we will do all that we can. To be frank with you we prefer to be away from the rest of the army. The Hospitallers are the only ones with which we have something in common.”
It was my turn, with Henri this time, to be on the middle watch. It was the most unpopular. The first watch and the last watch meant you had a short sleep but at least it was uninterrupted. We fell asleep only to be awoken from a pleasurable dream. In my case it was the face of Rebekah which haunted me. I swear I could smell her skin in my dreams. So it was that I awoke grumpy and said little to Henri. We had a routine now. The sentries knew us and nodded as we approached. We did not speak for fear of disturbing the King. All around us was the sound of crackling fires and flatulent warriors. From the tent of the King of Germany I heard the sound of bodies grinding together. The King had brought women he had purchased in Constantinople. From other tents came the sound of mumbled conversations. What was absent was the sound of silence.
With two sentries at the front of the tent Henri and I took our places at the sides of the tent. That way we could cover both the back and the sides. I held my sword across my lap. I wore no helmet and my coif hung around my shoulders. I pulled my hood up. It was thin but it, and my cloak, would make me hard to see. I was certain that the assassin had come close before but our presence had put him off. After one watch I had seen the prints of a bare foot around the king’s tent. Our men all wore boots or shoes. I sat and listened. I tried to filter out the other noises from around me. I closed my eyes for it was night and shadows were deceptive. I used my nose as much as my ears.
The noises diminished slightly. For some reason that seemed to heighten my sense of smell. A different odour came into my nostrils. It was not one I had smelled before. I could not place it but it was unnatural. Then I heard a soft sigh. It sounded like someone was disappointed with something. I would have ignored it if my nose was not suddenly assailed by the smell of blood. I leapt to my feet and ran to the front of the tent. The two guards lay in ever widening pools of blood, their throats cut. I stepped into the tent. The king kept a candle burning and I saw the two assassins. They were so similar that they could have been brothers. One had just slit the throat of the guard who slept inside the tent and the other was closer to me and approaching the King. I swept my sword into the side of the nearest one. My sword cut through his ribs and was only stopped by his backbone. His back arced and the knife fell from his hand.