Storms of Retribution

by James Boschert

  “See that man over there? He is a priest.”

  Matthew stared. “My God! He is so ugly!” He noticed the priest’s garb. “One of those Byzantine heretics? Was he born like that?” he asked with a smirk.

  “No, Sir Matthew,” replied Talon, and his tone was hard. “This island was once paid an unwelcome visit by Châtillon. Among his other crimes, he sought out and mutilated every Byzantine priest he could lay hands on. I am told that Psellos was formerly a handsome young man. Despite this great sin perpetrated against him, Psellos is a good and kindly priest, and his flock love him. We have all come to value him.”

  Sir Matthew looked shocked. “I, I, er, I didn’t know,” he said, sounding chastened.

  “No; you could not have known, Sir Matthew, but this is what is hurting your cause so much in the Kingdom. The new men who come out, full of thunder, bluster and zeal, do not realize how much damage they do by ignoring the realities in the land. They see diplomacy with the Arabs as a weakness. Châtillon is worse. He is a cruel, greedy, violent and ignorant fool, and he is very dangerous to the Christian cause.”

  There was an uncomfortable silence after that, but Rav’an came to the rescue with some sweetmeats. “Try these small cakes and those pastries, Sir Matthew. I am sure you will like them.” She smiled at the chastened knight.

  He took a bite of one and his features creased into a smile of pure contentment. “My Lady, it tastes as though it came from heaven!” he exclaimed and shut his eyes while he munched on the delicious pastries. “Then heaven is a kitchen and you’d better have another before my son takes them all, Sir Matthew,” she told him while offering the plate again before Rostam could reach for it.

  That night, as Talon lay with Rav’an in his arms, he held her close. Her hair, jet black and lustrous, fell across his chest.

  “You are worried, I can tell,” she murmured, as she gently stroked his scars. He could feel her breath on his chest.

  “I cannot lie to you, my Love,” he responded. “I hear little to indicate there will be a lasting peace. However, I am certain that the Sultan does not want war and I am sure that we will be able to persuade him to hold off for a while longer.”

  “A while longer? You mean it cannot last?”

  “No, my Rav’an, it cannot last. Not as long as he, Salah Ed Din, wants Jerusalem as his legacy and the Latins ignore the fact that he has an unlimited supply of men, arms and food. while they have to beg for men and supplies from reluctant kings in far off countries.”

  “Come back to me safe. That is all I ask of you, my Prince. Do not tarry there any longer than you have to,” she told him. There was a plea in her tone.

  “I shall, God willing. I shall.”

  The next day was full of preparation and bustle. Talon had his family put it about that he was merely going to see one of his merchant friends. This would allay any suspicion that he was departing for any length of time. Neither he nor Reza thought they would be gone more than two to three weeks at the outside.

  That same morning a ship was sighted heading for the harbor. Talon stood with Max, Reza, Sir Matthew, and one of Matthew’s servants on the top of the tower and watched the scene play out at the distant harbor entrance. They had already warned Guy and Rostam, who had spent the night on board, that a ship approached, using a signal rocket. The flash and ferocious hissing, along with the long flame and sparks as the projectile was launched with a loud whooshing sound, had caused Sir Matthew to flinch and his servant to fall to his knees with fear.

  “God save us!” the servant had cried out involuntarily, raising his arms to protect himself. Matthew, seeing that the others were not in the least bit fazed by the noise and fire, recovered his wits enough to gather his tattered courage around him, cross himself and then to snarl at his servant, who was still groveling on the floor, moaning with fright.

  “Pull yourself together, man, and get off your knees! You are disgracing me!” All the same he stared in awe and wonder as the rocket soared high into the sky, leaving a dark trail of smoke behind. He crossed himself again surreptitiously, muttered a prayer, then hurried over to join the others, who were nonchalantly leaning against the northern parapet, watching the effect of the rocket upon the people in the distant harbor. They had seen almost instant activity, and before very long Guy’s ship nosed out of the harbor to intercept the newcomer.

  “That has to be Henry’s ship.” Max stated. “I recognize it, and he is flying your colors, Talon.” It was clearly Talon’s second captain and his ship. Within a short while both vessels returned to port alongside each other.

  “That was pretty quick of Guy,” Reza remarked. “They get further out each time, which is good, as it gives them room to maneuver.”

  Talon was sure that Rostam’s sharp eyes had hastened Guy’s departure from the port.

  “So this was what we saw from our ship when we came towards your port!” Matthew said. There was awe in his voice. “God help me, but I have never seen such a thing!” He was looking at Talon and his companions with something akin to fear as well as respect.

  “If any ship got past one of our captains, there are other ways to deal with them once they try to land inside the port,” Max told him, watching Matthew’s reaction with amusement. “I, too, used to think this was a fearsome thing to behold. Now I know what makes it happen and I am not so frightened of it,” He waved his hand at Talon and Reza. “They learned all this in China; do you know where that country is? Matthew shook his head. “Is it where magicians live? Do they teach magic there?”

  “No, it is not magic, but it certainly looks like terrible magic when delivered the right way,” Talon told him. He went on to briefly tell Matthew about an ambush he and Reza had prepared for Châtillon on their way to Jerusalem a year ago.

  “He does not like me one little bit, nor I he,” Talon told the bemused knight.

  Finally all was ready for Talon and Reza to depart. They said their goodbyes in the Solarium where there was some privacy. Everyone was aware of the uncertainty, none more so than Rav’an, who held their small daughter, Fariba, in her arms when Talon kissed her and the baby goodbye. She handed him their daughter. Fariba opened her eyes and grizzled up at him. “So that you remember her and us,” Rav’an told him.

  “How could I not!” he whispered. “Look after the little one for me. God protect you, my Rav’an,” he told her, and they embraced. There were tears in her eyes as she nodded and murmured, “Come back to me, Talon. Soon!”

  Reza and Jannat were embracing in the other part of the chamber. Then the two men left together. Theodora met them in the hall below and called out, “Be safe. God protect you!” They waved as they left the hall and joined the mounted assembly in the courtyard.

  Their journey to the harbor was short and they arrived unannounced. The villagers were not surprised by the sight of their Lord and Reza with their men. Both were well known for their abrupt departures and unobtrusive returns. Nevertheless, they gathered to get a glimpse of their Lord and master, who had improved their lives measurably since his arrival over a year ago.

  The little port bustled with men and women working on the catch from that morning. Men were cleaning and preparing their fishing boats for the next day, repairing nets and stacking baskets and lobster cages. Women were standing at long tables gutting the fish and salting some. The offal was tossed into the harbor water to be squabbled over by the excited and screaming seagulls and other birds looking for a free meal. The seagulls wheeled and screeched at the humans below, and the stink of drying fish on long racks pervaded the port. The feral cats in the vicinity were gathered there waiting eagerly to snatch a morsel that might come their way. Some would even jump onto the tables only to be shoved off again by the humans carrying out the work. The fishing off the coast provided more than enough for the village and the castle that protected it. A portion of the catch would make its way up to the castle later that day.

  Talon enjoyed the smells and sounds of the small harbor. His
harbor now, and his people, where the work on two substantial towers on either side of the entrance was almost completed. They would have a couple of deadly Scorpion bows mounted on each tower eventually. Arab pirates were becoming more bold now that summer was almost here. The Emperor was unable or unwilling to do much about them on the south coast, let alone the remote north side. Talon, however, had no intention of letting pirates plunder his land and did what he could to prevent them. A palisade was half built around the port which would eventually be followed by a stone wall. He sighed inwardly. Everything took time, and there was never enough of that commodity.

  Sir Matthew was rowed out to his ship while Talon and Reza handed off their horses to waiting grooms and then walked with their men to the ship that Guy captained. Talon had already informed Matthew that he would be taking his own ship.

  “It’s not that I do not trust you, Sir Matthew. It is simply that I wish to sail with my people on this particular journey. Besides, I will need a ship to bring me home!” Matthew had reluctantly nodded his head, then stalked off to the boat waiting to take him to his own vessel.

  Talon met Henry, his other captain, on the quayside. “How did it go, Henry?” he asked, after he had extricated himself from the bear-hug greeting Henry had administered. “Very well, Talon!” Henry boomed. “Dimitri sends his greetings and he is happy. I think there is a woman somewhere in his life now. His men are of good morale and all seems quiet at the palace… for the time being. I actually got a glimpse of the Lady Tamura this time around. Damn good looking girl, I have to say.” He leered. “Wouldn’t mind a tumble with her m’self!”

  Talon smiled back affectionately at his old friend. “Don’t even think it, Henry, you might be heard by all the wrong people. In any case, you are now on guard duty here in the port. Reza and I are on our way to Tyre. No time to explain, but I want you to talk to Max, who is in charge and will explain. Have a rest, and we will be seeing you back here, perhaps in a couple of weeks. No one outside of Max and the ladies is to know where we have gone.”

  Henry looked his surprise but nodded, then replied, “Very well, Talon, I understand. I’ll certainly talk to Max. Besides, I have some bolts of cloth for their Ladyships which they asked me to purchase, and some baskets of Trudos mountain herbs for the Lady Theodora. We will keep on the alert down here, have no fear, nor concerns. God speed both of you.” He embraced them in turn, then stood back to watch them stride down the small quay towards Captain Guy’s ship.

  Talon and Reza were armored in their fine chain hauberks, not the clumsily made hauberks the Latins such as Sir Matthew wore, but fine steel links that could be worn without too much discomfort. Matthew had looked over their hauberks with undisguised envy and had even asked Talon where they had obtained them.

  “You can purchase these in Damascus, but ours came from those who had no further use for them,” was the laconic response.

  Junayd carried their bows, which he lovingly tended. They, of course, carried the Japanese swords which had been presented to them when they had left Guan Zu in China, several years ago. Neither man would be parted from these magnificent weapons. The remainder of their equipment was brought on board by their men, all known to Rostam and Captain Guy, who greeted each man by name.

  “Take it all below to the Lord Talon’s cabin,” Guy told them. “Otherwise it will get in the way.” Yosef and Dar’an, accompanied by Junayd, lugged the bulky shields, weapons and bags below.

  Rostam was hopping about with ill-contained excitement as his father and uncle boarded the ship. Talon smiled at him, amused at the eagerness of his son, and then glanced at Guy. “We can leave now, Captain, whenever you are ready. Um… do we have a navigator on board? I don’t see one.”

  Guy grinned. “Oh, cruel, Sir! You know full well we do. Furthermore, you know very well that it is your son,” he admonished his leader. “As soon as we are clear of the harbor we are all at his mercy, Lord help us!”

  In fact Guy had developed a healthy respect for Rostam’s skill as a navigator and rarely let an opportunity pass whereby he allowed the boy to test his skills.

  Talon smiled at Rostam. “Very well then, we will leave it to you. Let us see what you can do. We sail all day and all night. See if you can get us there in less than three days!”

  He looked over at the visiting ship and swore under his breath. “Damn, Sir Matthew was supposed to leave harbor behind us. It seems he is already on the move. We need to get past him and lead the way, Guy. That lumbering old tub needs to be guided home I suspect.”

  He stayed on deck and watched as his captain shouted orders to his crew and then set all sails to overtake the vessel carrying Sir Matthew.

  They cleared the entrance of the harbor where the work on the towers appeared to be proceeding well. The workers paused to watch the two ships slide by, and many waved. Talon lifted his hand in reply, then turned and stared back at the castle in the receding distance.

  “Captain Guy!” he exclaimed. “Look!” His tone was urgent as he pointed to the castle on the peak.

  Guys whirled right about and stared. A bright light, followed by a thin dark line of smoke, had streaked into the sky above the castle.

  “A signal, but what for?” he exclaimed.

  “It has to be a ship!” Talon replied. “They would not send up a rocket otherwise! Rostam, do you see anything ahead?” Talon called.

  “No Father, nothing. Wait!” He leaped up onto the transom, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Yes, I do see something ahead. A sail?” Agile as a monkey he scampered up the shrouds till he was half way up the mast. “It is a ship, Father. Not one but two… perhaps even three!” The boy was pointing now. “Father, Uncle Reza, I see three ships ahead of the visiting vessel. They are coming this way!” he squeaked, his voice breaking in his excitement.

  “Thank God someone had the good sense to send up the rocket,” Talon murmured to Reza, who had come to stand next to him. “Now we are forewarned.”

  Reza nodded grimly. “Now we’re in trouble! I will get our men ready,” he said, and began to leave.

  “You and Rostam are in charge of the Scorpions, Brother.” Talon told him. Reza raised his arm in acknowledgment and ran off to collect their men. Talon stared forward towards the oncoming sails, which were beginning to emerge over the horizon. This was an inauspicious start to a journey.

  Guy was roaring at the crew to tighten sail. “Come on, you lazy blobs of fat!” he roared. “I want to see if you are real sailors! Put your backs into it. Oars out!”

  The men scampered to obey. Within a few minutes of frantic activity, shouted orders, and the stamp of running feet on the deck, the long oars were pushed out and the men braced to their labor. In a flurry of foam the ship surged forward.

  Talon glanced back at the harbor, now a quarter league behind them, and was relieved to see that Henry’s ship was already making its way out of the harbor to follow them.

  _____________

  Chapter 3

  Intervention

  No dread of death—if with us die our foes—

  Save that it seems even duller than repose:

  Come when it will—we snatch the life of life—

  When lost—what wrecks it—by disease or strife?

  Let him who crawls enamored of decay,

  Cling to his couch, and sicken years away;

  Heave his thick breath; and shake his palsied head;

  Ours—the fresh turf, and not the feverish bed.⁠

  —Lord Byron

  By the time Guy’s ship had almost caught up with Sir Matthew the crew of that ship had become aware of strangers bearing down on them from the north. The ship’s captain brought Sir Matthew’s attention to the following vessels, then ordered his men to slacken off sail.

  “Those could be pirates ahead, Sir,” his captain said, looking worried. “We cannot fight them on our own. We should wait for Lord Talon to come up. See, there is another of his ships leaving harbor. There must be cause for concern
if both his ships are chasing after us.”

  Sir Matthew stared back towards the port where he could see the second of Talon’s ships pulling out of the harbor entrance with all sails set. It, too, had its oars out and seemed to be in a tearing rush.

  “How did they know?” he began to ask, but then he noticed the traces of smoke in the sky above the castle. “Of course!” he said. “Arm yourselves, men!” he called out.

  He and his attendants hurriedly went below to prepare for battle, while the forward progress of the ship was slowed to allow Talon’s ship to catch up with them. The approaching vessel’s oars were rising and falling in a rapid but regular rhythm, foaming the sea on either side. Its bow tossed spray high into the air as it raced through the choppy sea to catch up with the Latin ship, which was now wallowing in the swell, waiting for them. By the time Guy’s ship surged past Matthew’s vessel, the strange sails were only a league away, Talon called across the water to Sir Matthew.

  “They could be pirates! We have had news of them on the other side of the island before. Stay close behind us in line and be ready for a fight!” he shouted.

  Matthew raised his hand in acknowledgment, Talon then called over to Guy, “Put us a hundred paces ahead of them, Guy.”

  “Yes, Lord,” Guy responded. During emergencies he liked to address Talon, as “Lord”. It served to show his own men who was in charge.

  “Pull, you motherless mob! We are going to have a fight!” he roared out to his panting but grinning men; they pulled and cheered. The sails were hauled taut and their slim boat surged forward. Talon glanced behind him. Henry’s ship was catching up fast; before long it would be taking up station behind Matthew’s vessel, so that they could protect the more vulnerable ship should the intruders prove to be hostile and decide to attack.