The heavy-bearded knight reared his mount over us on the steep ridge. March, you princesses, or the only Turkish blood you'll see will be at the end of a mop.
March...We had beenmarching for months now. Months so long and grueling, so lacking in all provision, I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet, or the lice crawling in my beard.
We had marched across Europe and through the Alps. At first in tight formation, cheered in every town we passed, our tunics clean, with bright red crosses, helmets gleaming in the sun.
Then, into the craggy mountains of Serbia-each step slow and treacherous, every ridge ripe with ambush. I watched as many a loyal soul, eager to fight for the glory of God, was swept screaming into vast crevices or dropped in his tracks by Serb or Magyar arrows a thousand miles before the first sign of a Turk.
All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us, slaughtering infidels and hoarding all the spoils, while our nobles fought and bickered among themselves, and the rest of us trudged like beaten livestock in the blistering heat and bargained for what little food there was.
I'll be back in a year , I had promised Sophie. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. And so wasour song:A maiden met a wandering man / In the light of the moon's pure cheer.
Along the way, I had made two lasting friends. One was Nicodemus, an old GREek, schooled in the sciences and languages, who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle, Euclid, and Boethius.Professor , we called him. Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk. He spent many hours on the march teaching it to me. He had joined the quest as a translator, and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe, he had the reputation of being a bit of a soothsayer too. But every time a soldier moaned, Where the hell are we, Professor? and the old Greek muttered only,Near... , his reputation as a seer suffered.
And there was Robert with his goose, Hortense, who had sneaked into our ranks one day as we passed through Apt. Fresh-faced and chattering, Robert claimed to be sixteen, but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying. I've come to carve the Turks, he boasted, brandishing a makeshift knife. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking. Here, start with this. I laughed. From that moment on, he and the goose were GREat companions to us.
It was late summer when we finally came out of the mountains.
Where are we, Hugh? Robert moaned, as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes.
By my calculations... I tried to sound cheerful. A left at the next ridge and we should seeRome. Isn't that right, Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. Peter's we signed up for, wasn't it? Or, shit, was it the Crusade?
A ripple of tired laughter snaked through the exhausted ranks.
Nicodemus started to answer, but everyone shouted him down. We know, Professor, we'renear , right? taunted Mouse, a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose.
Suddenly I heard shouting from up ahead. Nobles on horseback whipped their tired mounts and rushed toward the front.
Robert bolted ahead. If there's fighting, Hugh, I'll save you a spot.
All at once, my legs seemed ready to comply. I grabbed my shield and ran after the boy. Ahead of us was a wide gulf in the mountains. Hundreds of men were gathered there, knights and soldiers.
For once, they were not defending themselves. They were shouting, slapping one another on the back, thrusting their swords toward Heaven and hurling their helmets into the air.
Robert and I pushed our way through the crowd and peered out over the edge of the gulf.
Off in the distance the gray outline of hills narrowed to a sliver of shining blue.The Bosporus , people shouted.
The Bosporus...!
Son of Mary, I muttered. We were here!
A jubilant roar went up. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge.Constantinople. It took my breath away, like nothing I had ever seen before. It seemed to stretch out forever, glinting through the haze.
Many knights sank to their knees in prayer. Others, too exhausted to celebrate, simply bowed their heads and wept.
What's going on? Robert looked around.
What's going on... ? I repeated. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch. Then I hoisted Robert into the air. You see those hills over there? I pointed across the channel.
He nodded.
Sharpen your knife, boy.... Those are Turk!
