Greek Fire

by James Boschert

  As he neared the gates he heard a crash from above and saw a black object flying away from the walls and drop down upon the Turks, who had hauled their horses to a shocked halt. The great stone struck just in front of them and ploughed into their ranks. The two men in front could not get out of the way. Their mounts were thrown aside like toys and the men were borne to the ground in a shower of flying stones and mud.

  Talon pulled up his horse and stopped just before the gates to watch the retreating horsemen. He was panting with the effort and the adrenaline rush but his horse was almost ready to fall over. Its head was down and he felt it shaking.

  The stone had destroyed the group of horsemen. There was no one left on their horses but one animal did struggle to its feet and stand with its head hanging down next to a body.

  Talon gazed at the destruction wrought by the huge stone which now lay a hundred feet from its landing place. He then noted that one of the bodies moved. He walked his horse closer with his bow taut and arrow ready.

  Lying on his back with a couple of his men lying next to him in a tangle of torn limbs and broken bodies lay the Turk with the scar. As Talon approached the man tried to sit up but then winced and fell back with a groan. Talon cautiously dismounted and approached. He verified his earlier assumption that it was indeed the same man he had now encountered several times. He was covered in a light splattering of mud but it was surely he.

  “You are wounded, but can you ride?” he asked the man in Greek.

  “I am wounded,” Yiğit answered after staring at Talon in surprise. “Have you come to kill me?” he asked, his teeth bared in a grimace.

  “There is a horse nearby. I can help you get onto it and then you must ride away as they will be coming to kill you,” Talon responded.

  “I have seen you more than once before,” Yiğit said and then groaned. His left arm was loose. He tried to stand up. “That infernal machine broke more than my arm.”

  “If you do not try to kill me I will help you onto the horse.”

  “I will not try to kill you,” Yiğit answered through clenched teeth. “Ah, but that machine can hurl stones a huge distance.”

  “We do not have much time. Here let me help you,” Talon said.

  He assisted Yiğit onto the horse, which he had captured without difficulty, and then while the man leaned over the pommel holding his arm Talon hastily mounted his own animal and faced him. He glanced over to the town where people were clustered on the battlements watching. The gates were open but he saw no signs of any mounted men coming out.

  “You must leave now.” He jerked his head back along the way they had come.

  “Why do you do this?” Yiğit demanded.

  “There has been enough killing for one day,” Talon replied.

  Yiğit nodded. “Perhaps you are right. I lost some good men here…all because of a stone! One of them could have been my own son. I sent him back to the main camp yesterday. Fate!” he shook his head. “What is your name, Greek?”

  “I am a Frank and my name is Talon.”

  “I am Yiğit, may Allah judge you kindly for what you have done. I shall not forget.” He hauled the horse around and set off at a canter leaning forward over the pommel. Talon sat and watched him for a few moments and then turned his horse and walked slowly towards the open gates of the fort.

  He dismounted and led the horse the rest of the way past the gates and the yelling crowd, his own legs wobbly with fatigue and the aftermath of the chase. Men were cheering all around and slapping him on the back, laughing and shouting. He saw Max ahead of him surrounded by men and realized that they were the Varangians who were shouting and laughing. Some of them came running to greet him.

  Asmundr seized him in a huge bear hug. “We thought you were all dead! I even told Thor and the other Gods what I thought about that! You brought Cuthberht back with you too! By God, that was well done!” he roared and clapped a dazed Talon on the back hard enough to make him stagger.

  “It was a close thing indeed, my friend,” Talon gasped. “Is there any water to be had? I am so thirsty!”

  A water jug was pressed into his hands and his horse led away while he drank from the vessel and poured the rest over his head. He gasped at the coolness as it sloshed down his neck and front. He noticed that his hands were shaking.

  “Some of us watched the chase from the battlements,” Asmundr exclaimed. “My, but you are a horseman and an archer. I’ve never seen the like before!”

  At that Talon remembered some Welsh archers he had known once who could have argued with the statement.

  But what was that about putting one of them on a horse and sending him away?" someone asked him.

  “He was someone I’ve met before. Remember the envoy at the entrance to the passes? It was he!”

  The men around him exclaimed but they said no more about his strange action.

  Max and Cuthberht pushed through the crowd and they embraced.

  “You were not with us when we went through those gates, Talon. But here you are and God be praised for it. I am right glad to see you safe.”

  “The Greeks threw some very big stones at the enemy, Max. I am sure those saved my life. I am right glad of it too. How is Alexios?”

  “They have rushed him off to the physicians. The Emperor ordered it personally.”

  Talon looked surprised. “The Emperor? Well, I am glad. God willing Alexios will be in good hands now.”

  The jubilant Varangians who wanted to know all about their ordeal dragged them off to a wine house. It was several jugs of wine and much translating and joking before they were allowed to find some rest. Cuthberht elected to remain with his comrades, but before they left he embraced Talon and Max.

  “A man does not forget. You are our friends and we will remember you,” he said as he crushed Talon to his chest. “Be sure to come and see us when you get back to the city.”

  They fell asleep on rough beds despite the fact that it was midmorning. Talon did not even remember his head hitting the mattress.

  *****

  Someone shaking him by the shoulder waked him. The eunuch who had woken him jumped back with a startled cry; Talon’s dagger was at this throat.

  “What is it?” Talon croaked. His mouth was dry and pasty and his head ached.

  “His…His Lordship the General Makrodoukas wants to see you, Sir,” the servant quavered in his high-pitched voice.

  “I am coming,” Talon said shortly, and got up to follow the man out of the primitive accommodation he found himself sleeping in.

  He was surprised to see that it was late evening and the sun had just set; the sky to the west was streaked with red. The servant showed him the way to the fortified building that housed the senior officers of the army. The building was bustling with servants running here and there, and Talon’s nose detected the mouth-watering smell of cooking meat as the evening meal was prepared for the Emperor and his generals. Talon was shown to a room with marble and wide, red colored clay tiles on the floor. It was cool in here after the stuffy air of the street and the room he had just vacated. General Makrodoukas was seated there when he arrived, but now the general rose and walked toward him. He looked worn and tired and still wore some of his armor.

  “Ah, Sir Talon, welcome,” he said, and to Talon’s surprise the general embraced him.

  “Good evening, General, you sent for me?” He returned the embrace but then stood back.

  “I did. I wanted to thank you, Sir Talon.”

  “What have I done, Sir?’

  “You saved the life of the Emperor and I will not forget that, nor will he, as I shall remind him, but that is for later. No, I want to thank you for bringing Alexios Kalothesos safely to us.”

  “I, we could not just leave him; he is a friend, Sir.”

  “He is more than that to me. He is the son of Damianus the senator, who is very dear to me. I served under him when he was a general so his boy is important to me. The Emperor is out of sorts with Alexios becau
se of his outspoken behavior in the gorge, so I shall do the thanking for him tonight.”

  “Ah…it was God’s will that we came out of it at all,” Talon said.

  “Alexios will be well looked after here in the hospital, but there is still a long journey to go to get back to the city. I cannot stay, for the Emperor wishes to leave as soon as the army can stand on its feet. Will you escort Alexios back to his home for me?”

  “Of course, Sir. I shall be glad to do so.”

  “There is more I would ask of you, Sir Talon.”

  “What can I do to be of service to you, Sir?”

  “I would like you to stay for a meal with me and tell me more about the Templars. You are an outsider who fought well both during and after the battle. You are young, it is true, but I suspect that you are also observant and I would like to spend some time with you.”

  The general smiled and said disarmingly, “The whole thing was a disaster from beginning to end. The incident of the passes was terrible. We, the generals, had asked the Emperor to listen but sadly he did not, listening instead to some impetuous younger officers. We subsequently all lost friends in the gorge because of it. I lost my friends Baldwin and Kantakouzenos. But there were far too many others.”

  Talon was very tired and wanted to go to back to bed more than anything, but he began to like the general for his candor. He had, up to this point, found the senior officers of the Byzantine army aloof and haughty, but here was a man asking him for his opinions. Despite himself he was flattered.

  “I saw how you dealt with the Turks on many occasions with that large bow of yours, Sir Talon. Tell me though, it is not a standard weapon for a Knight Templar, is it?”

  “No, my Lord, it is not, but Sir Guy allows me to bring it along with me and right glad I have been of it from time to time.”

  “You made very good use of it during the battle from what I could see, and even today…they are still talking about the chase,” the general said with a dry smile.

  “Why does the Byzantine army not have more men with bows who are also cavalry, Sir?” Talon asked. “It is clear, at least to me, that the Turks are a fearless enemy who understand the use of the horse and the bow in a manner that your army does not seem to. I noticed that they prefer to hit and run rather than make a direct assault, but when they have to they do so without regard to their own safety.”

  They talked late into the night. As they were eating the delicious plain fare of olives and bread with oil and cucumbers in yoghurt and the lamb meat balls in gravy the general had ordered for the meal, Talon found that he was talking to a man who listened attentively and asked many questions.

  The town bell was chiming midnight when he arrived back at the room he had left earlier that day. Once again he fell into a deep sleep, barely aware of the snores coming from Max’s bed.

  *****

  Two days later the army left the town of Dorylaeum and marched off toward Constantinople. General Makrodoukas had several other meetings with Talon and during one of these he informed Talon that the Emperor had decided against demolishing the town as agreed with Arslan. The opinion was that the Sultan of Rum had broken his word when he allowed the Turcoman warriors to attack his army. Instead, the Emperor would demolish only the one fort. That was Sublaem, which was further south.

  Talon heard that the general did not think they should demolish either of the forts and was worried that the affair was not over with the Sultan. But there was nothing he, nor the other generals, could do to persuade the Emperor otherwise, so it remained at that.

  Talon watched the army marching off with a little more of its old cockiness from the battlements with Max at his side. He and Max would be remaining in the fort until Alexios was in better condition to travel. They would leave in about a week to accompany many of the wounded who had also been left behind.

  “The Norsemen told me that they expected to see us back in the big city after we have delivered Alexios to his family,” Max said. “I was told we should visit them at their barracks near to the palace of Blachernae after we return.”

  Talon nodded. He liked those rough men from the north. They watched the remainder of the army disappear from view and then headed for the hospital to see Alexios.

  He greeted them with enthusiasm, his eyes lighting up at the sight of them. His color was back and he had been bathed.

  “I owe you both my life. God’s will, but I thank you for your courage and for keeping me safe,” he called out to them as they walked into the large spacious room where he lay alongside some other survivors.

  “We only did what you would have done, Alex,” Max said.

  “What do the physicians say?” Talon asked.

  “They have stitched up my belly and they say that it will be fine as long as I do not do anything stupid like play tzykanion or go into battle,” Alexios said with a feeble attempt at humor.

  “The knee…what about the knee?” Talon asked with concern.

  “Ah, now that is another matter.” Alexios looked unhappy.

  “What did they say, my friend?” Talon asked.

  “They said that I might never be able to walk properly again.” Alexios had tears in his eyes when he said this.

  Max put a hand on his shoulder. “You will still ride, Alexios. You will get better and you will still be a good rider. That is the most important thing.”

  Alexios managed a weak smile. “I know you are right, Max, and I thank God for you both or I would not even be here but…well, I am not used to being in this condition.”

  “Hum. Even if you cannot run as you used to, Alexios, you will ride again, and I will teach you how to use the bow from the saddle so no one will even know the difference, my friend. You might even become a half way decent tzykanion player.” Talon grinned at Alexios, who pretended to look offended. “Future battles with the Turks will be fought on horseback, of that I am sure,” he added.

  *****

  It was a week before the physicians gave them permission to move on. Even then they were forced to use a cart. It was a very painful journey for Alexios as his knee could not withstand the jolting of the wagon for long periods and they had had to make frequent rest stops along the way. They had once tried to put him on a horse but he had almost passed out after only a short while, so he was placed back in the wagon along with some other wounded and the procession continued slowly along the now dry road that led to Constantinople.

  After having traversed a range of hills they paused to look down into a wide basin of green cultivated land at the magnificent city of Nicaea. Once again Talon marveled at the industrious labor that created its massive walls which enclosed a bustling city on the shores of a huge lake called Ascanius. All roads seemed to join up at this city. He was startled to see a long caravan of camels ambling slowly towards the south gate where they were about to arrive themselves. It seemed very peaceful here in this fertile valley, a long way from the battlefield they had recently left behind.

  A stopover at the city was deemed necessary as Alexios had become feverish. Talon made a point of cleaning and re-bandaging his wounds as well as his own and Max’s at every opportunity, explaining that the infections of wounds came with dirt and filthy dressings.

  Nonetheless the redness and puffiness of Alexios’ knee wound worried him enough that while they were staying in Nicaea he sought out a physician who came with him back to the inn and examined the wound. He clucked his tongue, then pasted a sharp smelling poultice on the wound to draw the poison and redressed the knee. He complemented Talon on his care and encouraged him to continue in that vein until they arrived back in Constantinople. There he should seek out expert medical care, for the wound was complicated and would need a skilled doctor to ensure a good recovery.

  Another painful week later, having paused at Helenopolis, Nicomedia and Calcedon along the way, they were in sight of the distant city of Constantinople across the sea and then they looked for a boat to take them across the Bosporus.

  *****


  They entered the great city at the Gate of St John of Cornibus located on the northern side of Constantinople. It was almost midday after three weeks on the road from Dorylaeum. They had taken a ferryboat from Gelation on the other side of the Golden Horn using some of the last coins that they possessed to pay for the crossing. As they sailed over the gap between the lands, Talon had seen the Byzantine navy at anchor and wondered if Nikoporus was somewhere there on a ship.

  Max insisted on going straight to the Church of St Demetrius, which was a stone’s throw from the gate, and giving thanks for their deliverance. As they knelt and prayed in a corner of the tall stone building they were watched with curiosity by some of the locals, and a priest even came over and stood near them. He looked askance, but Alexios, who was pale with exhaustion, still managed to explain briefly what they were there for and where they had come from. The bearded priest promised to say prayers for them as they left.

  They were unsettled to see smoke rising from various places along the hillsides. The streets were almost deserted, which was unusual and those people who were there hurried past without looking at them or pausing.

  Talon stopped one man who wanted to push past and asked him, “What is happening in the city?”

  The man looked up at him. “You have been away? The army came back two weeks ago and the citizens have rioted. They are very angry at the Emperor.” Talon would have asked him more, but he looked over his shoulder and started, then hastened away.

  Down the road came a detachment of soldiers. Talon recognized them as Varangians. The officer in charge was none other than Eadgar.

  He stopped the men and greeted Talon and Max as old friends.

  “Well met, Sir Talon, Max! Where have you been?”

  “We were delayed because of our friend Alexios here.” Eadgar into the cart at the prone figure of Alexios lying asleep.

  He nodded.“You should hurry to your destination, Talon. There have been riots and burnings. It is not safe to be out on the streets. I will give you two men as an escort.”