Keeper of the Grail

by Michael P. Spradlin

  “Did you hear that?” I asked, referring to the humming noise coming from the satchel.

  “Hear what?” Robard asked.

  “That noise…It sounded like…Never mind,” I said.

  This was the second time I’d heard the noise, both times when I was in physical danger. But I had no wish to explain it. I couldn’t reveal how I had come to possess this thing I carried. I had lost my desire for that, at least for now. Robard was busy scanning the woods, apparently forgetting all about my question. For the time being, I let the matter drop.

  “We must get moving,” said Maryam, an intense expression on her face.

  She trotted off, heading north toward the coast. We followed quickly after her, without speaking. Before long the woods began to thin and I smelled salt air. The terrain grew rockier, slowing our pace somewhat. Finally, we crested a rise, and below us lay the sea. The half-moon was now barely visible over the horizon, and its light gave a blue shimmer to the surface of the water. It was beautiful, and had I not been so worried at the thought of Saracen patrols all around us, I might have taken time to enjoy it.

  We had been running for a while, but Maryam did not even stop to take in the sight of the glimmering water below us. She immediately turned east and continued racing along the ridge.

  Finally, Robard called out that we needed to stop for a moment. We halted near a rocky outcropping and leaned against the boulders, breathing fast. The wind had picked up, and the night air was cooler nearer the coast. Robard drank from the water skin and passed it to me.

  “We can’t rest long,” Maryam said. “We need to keep moving.”

  “Why?” Robard asked suspiciously.

  “Because, Archer, where there is one Saracen patrol, there are many. We were nearly spotted once. Our best chance to reach Tyre is to keep moving.”

  Maryam was breathing hard, and the fading moonlight revealed that her face was flushed and damp.

  “Maryam, are you feeling okay?” I asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said, “but we need to go.”

  “You seem in quite a hurry,” said Robard. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”

  “Robard…,” I said.

  This time though, Maryam didn’t answer, but merely handed me the water skin and took off running again along the ridge.

  Robard and I trotted after her.

  “Something is wrong,” he said. “She heard those men say something. She’s not telling us everything.”

  “We don’t know that, Robard. She may just be trying to get us to Tyre as quickly as possible,” I said.

  “Yes. Remind me of that again when we are hanging in chains from the wall of the Saladin’s prison,” he said.

  “Robard, do you see a conspiracy behind every tree? Is the entire world aligned against you?” I asked.

  “Not the entire world,” Robard answered.

  We caught up to Maryam before long and continued running in silence. The moon set and the sky lightened to the east. It would be daybreak soon.

  “I think we should stop,” I said. “Without the cover of darkness, we are too exposed. We should find a place to camp for the day and continue tonight.”

  “We don’t have time to stop,” Maryam said. “We must keep going.”

  Her statement brought Robard and me to a stop. Maryam continued running.

  “Wait,” I hissed.

  She stopped and turned.

  “Why? Why can’t we stop?” I asked. “I think you owe us an explanation.”

  Maryam paused. She looked at the ground for a moment. Then at me.

  “Tristan, did I not make a promise to you that I would see you safely to Tyre?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I will keep that promise, but we must keep moving,” she said.

  “Why is that? What did you hear those men say?” Robard asked.

  Maryam paused for a moment, glancing back and forth at us. She sighed.

  “You’re right, Archer. I did hear something. They were arguing about whether to continue to look for us or rejoin their forces,” she said.

  “So?” Robard said.

  “The commander said that they needed to return to the main camp before the attack begins,” she said.

  “What attack? That could mean anything. There is plenty of fighting going on to the south and west,” Robard said.

  But I knew what attack the commander was referring to. “They’re going to attack Tyre,” I said.

  Maryam was quiet and Robard looked at me.

  “What? You don’t know that,” he said.

  The look on Maryam’s face told me I was right.

  “There is not just one regiment nearby,” she said. “There are more than thirty. With more arriving. They’ll begin moving units toward Tyre in the morning.”

  It was just as I’d feared. The Saladin was moving quickly toward Tyre.

  “How do we know she’s telling the truth?” Robard said. “Stop a minute, Tristan. Perhaps she wants us to think that Tyre will be attacked while the real attack happens elsewhere.”

  “We can’t take a chance on whether it’s true or not. Knights in Acre discussed this many times. If the Saladin takes Tyre, the main road to Jerusalem and the interior is lost. King Richard will be forced to move even farther east and will not be able to resupply his forces on the plains. Maryam is right. We can’t wait. We must get to Tyre and find the Templar Commandery. We must warn them,” I answered.

  “Have you even considered that she could be part of this?”

  Maryam laughed. “Let me see if I understand you, Archer. By your way of thinking, I am a spy, privy to all of the Saladin’s plans. To make his elaborate scheme work, I and my Hashshashin brothers leave our encampment and find you in the woods. During the attack I manage to get myself severely wounded, knowing in advance that my intended victims will nurse me back to health. When I am well enough, I promise to repay my debt to you and see you safely through Saracen lines to Tyre, but in reality it is all a ruse to provide false information to the Christian commanders in the city, and then deliver you as prisoners to the Saladin himself. Does that about sum it up?” She looked at Robard and her obsidian eyes blazed, glinting in the moonlight.

  Robard’s face clouded, and he moved until his face was just inches from hers. She did not flinch.

  “Excuse me for assaulting your tender sensibilities, but we only just met you. You tried to kill us. And I shot you,” he reminded her. “You could be setting us up…”

  Maryam’s anger flashed across her face. “It was a lucky shot!” she said.

  “It was not a lucky shot!” he shouted.

  I cut in. “Robard, it doesn’t matter anymore. There are Saracens within a few days’ ride of Tyre. If we wish to make our way home, we must get there quickly and find a ship before we are trapped.”

  “I still think she’s lying about something,” he said.

  “She isn’t,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  Maryam looked at me in gratitude. I understood what she had done. She had promised to get us safely to Tyre. With the city under siege she knew we’d not be able to get home. She had shown me that her oath meant something to her.

  As we ran, I thought about how just a short while ago we were cowering in a thicket, a few feet away from a detachment of Saracens. Lying there exposed, outnumbered, with nowhere to run if we were discovered. She could have easily betrayed us, but she had kept her word.

  At least for now.

  THE CITY OF TYRE

  26

  We ran through the remaining night. As morning approached, the sun entered the eastern sky slowly, as if it were reluctant to start the day. Our course held us fast along the coast, and as we ran, we could still glimpse the sea below us. White shorebirds began their morning rituals, diving and floating above the gentle swells cresting along the shore. On the gusting wind, I occasionally heard their songs as they twisted and darted over the water. I felt I was running through Eden itself. Looking a
t the gorgeous land before me, the water a stunning blue against the morning sky, the cliffs so stark in their beauty, I could scarcely believe this place had seen so many centuries of war and unrest. It felt peaceful beyond compare.

  I had often wondered these past few months if all the fighting, killing and destruction had been worth it. Kings had been born and died here. Armies had fought here hundreds of years ago and fought again today. Battlefields had been taken and lost. Despite all that had happened in this place, the land itself was untouched by it. It remained peaceful and beautiful, as if it could speak to us. As if to say, “Fight on all you wish. I will not change. I am constant.”

  Two days of nearly constant running drew us ever closer to Tyre. As Maryam insisted, we ran through the daylight hours, and each morning as the sun took full effect and the temperature rose, I felt exposed, traveling out in the open as we were. I argued that we should move inland if we were to continue on this way. Maryam disagreed, countering that the woods were full of Saracens moving about and that we could stumble across a patrol or encampment at any moment. Running along the coast, at least we would see anyone coming from quite a way off. Then we could climb to the shore below us and hide among the rocks. This time Robard agreed with Maryam.

  So on we ran. I had no idea how close we were to Tyre, but I felt it couldn’t be much farther. If we had been traveling on the road, I think we would have begun seeing merchants and traders and other traffic heading to the city. Or perhaps the road would have been full of Saracens. Running on the open shoreline it felt as if we were the only people in the world. I knew that the nearer we drew to Tyre, the closer the main road would come to the shore, because the city sat right on the coast. At that point perhaps we would try to blend in with the traffic on the road and make our way to the city unnoticed.

  Not knowing what lay ahead, I suggested we stop for a moment to check over our weapons. Robard tended to his bow while I examined my swords. Given the fact that Maryam had remained truthful thus far, I decided to return her daggers. As I fished them from my bedroll, I noticed how beautiful they were. The blades were polished to a high sheen, and the hilts were made of gold and bejeweled. They must have been worth a great deal.

  I handed them to Maryam hilt first. She looked at them briefly, then, almost faster than I could see, flipped them around and secreted them in the sleeves of her tunic. Robard looked at me with wide eyes. I was glad Maryam was on our side. At least temporarily.

  Well past noon we crested another ridge, and there in the distance lay Tyre. The sky was crystal clear, and I could see smoke from fires, ships moving in and out of the harbor, and all the other signs of life in a city. It was perhaps three leagues away, and indeed the main road emerged out of the hills to the south, leading straight to the city gates.

  I suggested that we cut inland to the road. We were less likely to be noticed than if we approached the city along the shore. Robard and Maryam agreed and we headed south. Before long we had reentered the woods and soon had the road in sight. We paused, hiding in the underbrush and watching what passed by before we continued. For all we knew, Tyre could already be under the Saladin’s control.

  For an hour we watched and observed. Traders and merchants passed. Goatherds and shepherds with flocks of sheep moved along the road. When at last a squad of soldiers rode by, clearly members of the King’s Army, we knew we were at least temporarily safe. As we had drawn nearer to Tyre, Maryam had restored her veil and turban. Moving from our hiding place she removed it. Her long black hair now cascaded down her shoulders and back. Robard and I were startled to see her like this again.

  “I think Al Hashshashin might not be welcome in Tyre,” she said. “It’s better if I look like a simple peasant girl on my way to the marketplace. Don’t you think?” She tucked in the hood of her tunic so it didn’t show. Without the hood, turban and veil, her tunic transformed her from a Hashshashin and she looked much less dangerous than she actually was.

  “A simple peasant girl with two Hashshashin daggers hidden in her sleeves who also happens to be a deadly killer. Sure,” said Robard.

  I expected Maryam to be angry, but instead she laughed. Again, her laughter was as joyous as the first time I’d heard it.

  We crept cautiously from our hiding place onto the road. With no one immediately about we began walking quickly toward the city, entering Tyre a short time later without incident.

  Tyre was bustling and loud, reminding me somewhat of Dover. But its marketplace was larger and more crowded, with a curious mix of new smells: cooking meat, the ocean, spices and incense, the earthy smells of camels and a thousand other scents I could not identify. It was hot in the afternoon sun, and the merchants and shopkeepers did everything they could to remain in the shade.

  “What now?” Robard asked.

  “I need to find the Templar Commandery immediately,” I answered. “Then locate the Marshal and deliv…and talk to him about what we’ve seen.” I glanced at Maryam, worried that I might have given something away, but her expression was blank. Although I felt at this point I could trust her, I did not wish to tempt her Hashshashin nature.

  “Well, how do we find the Commandery?” Robard asked.

  “I don’t know. It should be easy to spot. They’ll have the banner flying. There was supposed to be a large force here. Perhaps we should split—”

  Maryam interrupted me. “Oh, for the grace of Allah,” she snorted. “Why don’t you just ask for directions?” Rolling her eyes she stomped up to a vendor at a nearby stall, speaking to him in Arabic. He answered her, pointing over his shoulder.

  “This way,” she said.

  “Wait, Maryam,” I said. “You have delivered us safely to Tyre as promised. You’ve fulfilled your obligation. Robard and I can take it from here.”

  Maryam looked at me and then Robard. She studied his face for several seconds.

  “Well, I can accompany you to the Commandery at least. I don’t mind. Besides, you may need me to translate for you if you get lost,” she said.

  With no time to argue, I agreed.

  The marketplace at Tyre was a maze. The pathways through it twisted and turned, weaving through the rug merchants, food sellers and other stalls and shops. At every one of them, someone hollered at us to purchase something. I stopped at one point to buy each of us a lamb skewer, which a man sold hot off the fire. We devoured the meat in an instant, as we had hardly had time to eat in the previous two days.

  Continuing to walk, I tried to organize my thoughts. I needed to inform the Templars of the impending attack. They would contact the King’s military advisers and formulate a strategy. I would also inform them of the fall of Acre, if they hadn’t already received word. Then I needed to find passage on a ship to England. But I must be careful. Sir Thomas had warned me that even Knights of the Temple had gone nearly mad trying to possess the Grail.

  Passing through the marketplace we found a cobblestone street leading toward the eastern edge of the city. Maryam said the Commandery was not too far away now, and for some reason, the closer we got, the more nervous I became. As we passed an alleyway leading between two large buildings, I had a thought.

  “Can both of you wait here a moment?” I asked. “I need to find a place to, well, you know…”

  Robard laughed, and he and Maryam nodded. I headed down the alley. It wasn’t straight, curving back and forth the farther along it I went. Finally I reached a quiet spot, glancing around and seeing no one about. Above me clothing dried in the sun on a line tied between the two buildings. A few empty barrels were stacked next to a door that led into the rear of one of the structures. A small yellow dog lay in the brief shade of a doorway, but its eyes were mostly closed as it napped in the heat of the afternoon sun. The coast was clear.

  Moving several feet down the alley from the doorway, I found my spot. Kneeling in the dirt, I used the small knife from my satchel to make a footlong scratch in the side of the building, very near the ground. I rubbed a handful of sand over
the fresh scratch so that it was still visible but did not look newly made. With my knife I scooped out a hole in the sand directly below the mark on the wall.

  I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should take Sir Thomas’ letter with me to the Commandery; I might need it to prove my identity. But I finally decided it was safer to keep it for some future point in my journey. It shouldn’t be that difficult to convince the local Commandery of my identity.

  I placed Sir Thomas’ letter and ring at the bottom, and after removing all my other possessions from the satchel, and double-checking to make sure that I was not being watched, I lifted out the Grail and set it gently in the hole. Then I covered it all with sand, smoothing it out with my hands. I repacked my possessions and stood up, walking back and forth over the spot numerous times, scuffing my feet. When I was finished, it looked like it had never been dug up at all.

  As I turned back, the small dog lifted its head to watch me. It yawned, stretching as I passed by, and I reached down to scratch it behind the ears. A scrawny dog, it appeared as if it hadn’t had much to eat recently. Inside my satchel I had a few dates I had saved, and I tore one into smaller pieces, holding them out for the dog to examine. She hungrily snatched them up. I gave her the rest of what I had, and the little mutt licked my hand before dropping her head back down and drifting off to sleep.

  Maryam and Robard were standing where I’d left them, fidgeting. I was sure they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since I’d been gone. Robard was doing everything in his power to look at anything but Maryam.

  “Thanks,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  We continued down the street, and before long, the Commandery appeared, a Templar banner hanging from the roof. The sight was comforting. I felt relieved to see something so familiar. The front gate to the grounds was guarded by a single sergeanto. Dust lined his face, and he sweated in the heat. His expression said he’d rather be anywhere but on guard duty.