‘And this is something I can help with?’
De Capo smiled, ‘No, this is something that is for me and me alone, and I cannot explain what it is.’
‘You’re speaking in riddles Ralf,’ le Vicomt looked perplexed, ‘if you need help you only have to ask.’
De Capo thanked le Vicomt as he thought of the story Erasmus had told him. If the scroll was as powerful and dangerous to possess as he had been led to believe, the fewer people who knew about it the better.
‘You’ve seen Thomas?’
‘De Capo nodded, ‘Aye, he is looking better, pale, but it’s good to see he can talk and smile.’
‘Another month, ‘Le Vicomt explained, ‘and he will be back on his horse and venturing out to protect the borders and caravan routes from our Muslim friends out there.’
‘And they are one of the reasons I have come here today, I need your advice on a decision I have already made.’
Le Vicomt sat down with a sigh, ‘What have you done?
De Capo took the wine le Vicomt offered and swallowed a large mouthful, ‘It seems the men I rescued from de Chauvigny insist they repay the debt they think they owe me; they desire to protect me from my enemies!’
Le Vicomt was astonished at the revelation and smiled at the joke, ‘You expect me to believe our enemies wish to protect you?’ The stern look de Capo gave le Vicomt wiped the smile from his face, ‘You’re serious?’
‘I am,’ de Capo replied, ‘from tomorrow, each time I leave the castle I will be protected by Saracens, men who less than a month ago would have tried to kill me as I tried to kill them.’
Le Vicomt was stunned, ‘Does the Constable know?’
‘Not yet,’ admitted de Capo, ‘he would offer me men from his garrison, but they would still be men I couldn’t trust.’
Le Vicomt handed de Capo more wine, ‘And yet you are willing to trust our enemies?’
‘It appears my manservant has friends who believe they owe me a debt of life, if I cannot trust a man with that debt around his neck I cannot trust anyone.’
Le Vicomt was sceptical, ‘You are prepared to trust the very men who have sworn to drive us from this land. There may be consequences.’
‘The consequences are mine to deal with, ‘de Capo stated, ‘there has already been a failed attempt on my life. I don’t think they will try again until I take them out of the city. When that happens I will need men with me who do not wish to part my head from my body!’
‘You expect your men to go into battle with Saracens?’
‘Aye, unusual I know.’
‘Unusual!’ Le Vicomt snapped, ‘Are you out of your mind?’
‘You were there,’ said de Capo, ‘I was given no choice about this task. Now I have it I am forced to make unbelievable decisions, if I don’t agree they will watch me anyway and at least this way I will know who they are and where they are.’
‘You could have had men from here Ralf, these men you can trust.’
‘Aye, true enough, but better I have men who will never be swayed or tempted by men of their own creed and faith.’
‘You said there has been an attempt on your life already?’
‘Aye,’ admitted de Capo, ‘only the one, but my manservant hears them talk all the time about how they would like to see me die.’
‘In that case you have my support,’ le Vicomt shook his head, ‘I only hope you know what you are doing.’
~
‘How have they treated you?’
De Capo gave a forced smile, he was tired and that tiredness showed in his eyes and his demeanour as he slumped in front of the Constable after being summoned to see him, ‘They obey my orders and answer my questions.’
‘And you made them renounce an oath to Reynaud?’
‘You have good spies Sir William.’
The Constable shrugged, ‘Dangerous times, but even I did not know about that oath.’
‘Aye,’ sighed de Capo, ‘I was surprised to find they had even made such an oath, arrogant bastard!’
‘I’m not surprised,’ the Constable said, ‘with their history that Order seems to think they are above accepted rules and laws before complaining about legalities!’
‘Have you had news?’
The Constable shook his head, ‘Not yet. I’ve heard the Grand Master has petitioned the Pope, for what good that will do, the man has less power than my scribe and he has amassed enormous debts. I’ll lose no sleep over the question of legality.’
‘What is this Grand Master likely to do.’
‘An interesting question,’ the Constable said thoughtfully, ‘the man has a black heart and cannot be trusted, which is why he is in Cyprus. The Bailli refused him permission to stay here and de Chauvigny was left in charge.’
‘Why were any of them allowed here?’
‘The Papacy insisted, Blessed Urban sent them in 1096, of course the Grand Master at the time came with them but when de Fribois was appointed, the Bailli sent him back to Cyprus with half the Order. He knew him as a Master and e H if you thought de Chauvigny was dangerous you haven’t met Martel de Fribois…..banishing de Chauvigny and putting you in charge is one thing, but banishing the entire order, well that will never happen! Remember, they only understand strength and fear, if you show compassion to these men they will see you as weak and take your head.’
‘My head has always been hard to take,’ said de Capo without any humour.
‘I understand you are now guarded when you leave the castle.’
De Capo nodded warily, ‘Aye, I am now.’
The Constable raised his eyebrows, ‘And you trust these men?’
‘You disapprove?’
The Constable shrugged, ‘For a Christian knight to have a bodyguard of Saracens is not something I expected to see in this lifetime!’
‘I have a manservant,’ de Capo said, ‘his name is Hashim and I suspect he is more than a servant. He was de Chauvigny’s man but had no love for him, and for some reason he has taken it upon himself to ensure my continued survival.’
‘Some reason!’ The Constable laughed, ‘You rescue enemy prisoners from having stakes shoved up their arses, the entire city knows, and you act surprised these same men want to protect you? Where are they now?’
‘Outside the gate, the sergeant would not allow them in.’
‘No, of course he wouldn’t,’ the Constable stopped smiling, ‘armed Saracens in the castle of the Kings Constable? Even I could not explain that one to the Bailli; I had enough of a problem explaining how you have a bodyguard of them who are prepared to die for you….and I heard about the incident with the Frenchman!’
‘A subtle attempt on my life, but one I cannot prove. Things have since settled although the looks these men give me are anything but friendly.’
‘If you wish to relinquish command you only have to ask.’
‘Not yet Sir William, the time might come soon enough, but not yet.’
‘Good,’ the Constable picked up a parchment and handed it to de Capo, ‘in that case these are your orders.’
~
The trade routes overland were as important as the trade routes by sea. Trade was the lifeline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, for without trade there was no wealth, without the opportunity of wealth there was no reason to be there, and greed was the real reason the Franks were there. God was a convenient excuse, but no one would dare admit that and so, in the name of God and his representative the Pope, men arrived daily, fought, killed and died, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, all in the name of their religion. Most of them hated religion, they were scared of it and terrified of the priests and bishops who grew corpulent and obscene on the blood of the men who knew no better than to fight and die in the name of God.
The priests were parasites who dared to preach murder and death in God’s name, men who would preach against the sin of fornicating and seek out whores and boys on whom to practice their depraved sexual urges. These men of the cloth, these pillars of Christian b
eliefs would preach the Ten Commandments while being guilty of gluttony, theft and avarice.
A percentage of the wealth generated by the Christian domains, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli, always found its way back to the papal treasury, a treasury that was depleted because the riches that were once there had gone to pay the debts incurred by the current Pontiff. The Church needed more money, but a Pope in debt had little power other than a threat to excommunicate men and damn their souls to hell.
Men continued to pray to God because they believed in him and in his son, and they believed in their own right to rule over anyone who thought differently. They saw the wealth of the Church as being God’s wealth, if it belonged to the Church, it belonged to God. However, there were priests devoted to God as their divine entity, faithful to the commandments and dedicated to being good Christians, placing their faith and honesty above the material assets and possessions that kept the Church more powerful than the Kings, but those men were few and rarely achieved the role of Bishop. Those who did were indeed a minority and soon learnt it was wise to keep silent before their throats were opened by the razor sharp blade of an assassin. Being a good Christian was a dangerous vocation!
When the trade routes were threatened, the entire structure of Christian power was compromised. The routes had to be protected; Caravans allowed free access both in and out of the Christian lands. This could only be achieved by men patrolling the routes, offering protection to the merchants and pilgrims, and meting out the justice that would deter anyone from attacking them for personal profit.
De Capo’s orders were simple and straightforward, to protect Caravans, pilgrims and all non-combatant travellers from attack travelling the routes between Acre and Damascus, but only as far as the borders which had been agreed with the Mameluk Sultanate.
When Leopold was given these orders he had looked perturbed, ‘This has been agreed with the new Sultan?’
‘No,’ de Capo explained, ‘but the Constable hopes the agreement will still be in force, at least for now, Caravans are being attacked nearly every time they cross into our lands, it’s costing us dearly.’
Leopold sniggered, ‘Us?’
De Capo appreciated his reservations and despite his attitude towards him he understood what he was saying. The Kingdom was one thing, the Church another and despite each needing the other, the people this was all ultimately for were disliked by both men equally.
‘We leave the day after tomorrow, choose forty men plus you, two columns, I will lead one and you the other, and rations for a week, we both know where to get water but ensure each man has enough for two days.’
‘A week is a long time,’ Leopold said, ‘who will command here?’
‘De Paganel can earn his keep for once,’ replied de Capo, ‘and as much as I don’t trust you, I trust him even less!’
~
Leopold grinned as he walked out of de Capo’s quarters. He hated to admit it, and if anyone suggested otherwise he would cut out their tongue, but he had a grudging respect for de Capo. He had entered the castle as if he owned it, proved his point with the days of sparring and bested le Boursier, who still languished in the infirmary; he had refused to be intimidated and somehow managed to arrange a bodyguard of Saracens to guard him outside the castle. They would never be friends but perhaps in a fight de Capo would be the man he wanted next to him.
The Saracens came as a surprise to him, and the first time he saw de Capo walk out of the gate and be surrounded by these four men he stood open mouthed at the man’s arrogance. He approached de Capo at the first opportunity, ‘Saracens, guarding a man wearing our crest? This is not acceptable!’
De Capo had smirked, ‘You are in no position to question me. What happens outside these walls is of no concern to you.’
Leopold knew what was going on; he understood this was payment for the debt forced upon them. He tried to find out who had arranged it and suspected Hashim, but when he asked him the reply was as expected, ‘I am the Sayyid’s servant, I do his bidding and it would be unfaithful of me to speak of such matters. Allah, blessed be his name, does not permit me to tell lies, so I cannot answer your questions.’
Leopold could have dealt with the four men but the more he thought about it, the more he realised it would be a serious mistake. He thought about the oath he had been ordered to make and something inside told him he had to keep it.
There had been no messages from the Grand Master or de Chauvigny and until then the oath remained valid and de Capo’s appointment remained legal.
De Paganel was frustrated and he snarled and slammed his fist on a table when Leopold told him of the orders, ‘The bastard is right not to trust me! This could be our chance; we don’t need to wait for orders from de Fribois.’
Leopold remained silent a fraction too long and de Paganel looked at him suspiciously, ‘You know he has to die?’
‘We have a task,’ Leopold replied, ‘a task that has become complicated to complete with de Capo in charge, but a task none the less.’
‘What are you saying?’ De Paganel glared at Leopold.
‘Think about it,’ Leopold said, ‘you’ve seen the men he has guarding him outside these walls!’
‘I can deal with them; we’ll cut their balls off and send them back where they came from.’
‘And where do you think they came from?’
De Paganel was confused, ‘What do you mean?’
Leopold wanted to tell de Paganel his lack of sense and intelligence was the main reason that he, Leopold, had been promoted over him, but he wasn’t ready to fight de Paganel yet and so kept that knowledge to himself, ‘I recognised at least two of them, they were the men de Capo prevented us killing, we have fought them once and won, but believe me Geoffrey, the rest of them are out there.’
‘So?’
‘You really are stupid,’ thought Leopold. ‘So,’ he said aloud, ‘he has forced a debt on them; they owe him their lives, if we kill him, they will kill us and we will not have the element of surprise like last time.’
‘You’re afraid.’ De Paganel grinned, ‘The great Leopold is scared!’
Leopold’s hands twitched; he could draw both swords as fast as a man could draw breath and there were times he simply wanted to hack de Paganel to pieces, but he controlled his anger and simply rested both hands on the hilts, ‘The only thing I am scared of is failing in our duty.’
‘And our duty is to kill that bastard,’ retorted de Paganel, ‘and stake him out there in the desert.’
‘De Capo can wait,’ said Leopold matter of factly, ‘those are my orders until we hear from the Grand Master. I will not risk losing half our men for vengeance unless the Grand Master orders it.’
‘Reynaud ordered it,’ snapped de Paganel, ‘and he is our true commander!’
‘Reynaud is not here,’ Leopold moved closer to de Paganel and could smell the fetid breath of the man as he continued, ‘and there are still more artefacts to find, our true purpose, and you would do well to remember that!’
Chapter Twenty One
Erasmus spoke with de Capo on a daily basis. To spend too much time with him would cause suspicion but on several occasions he visited him in his own quarters, and on these days Hashim and Efrayim left them alone. Efrayim would use the time to check on the supplies and the inventories and as a result his work was more accurate than it had ever been. Hashim would visit the servants and listen to the stories and gossip and continue to learn about the man he served and the men whom he commanded. Since Ibrahim had returned with the four men, Hashim had continued to visit him in the market, only now the circle was getting bigger as more men joined to converse and listen. The old man was making more money than he had ever made before. His customers talked to each other knowing what they said would eventually reach the ears of the Sultan’s men, and everyone believed this Sultan was the most dangerous since Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, known to the Franks as Saladin.
‘Not in the sense you understand.’
De Capo sat back and rubbed his chin in thought, ‘You were sent here by the Pope?’
Erasmus nodded with a worried expression.
‘But you work for this Deus Militis, and you send them information no one knows about?’
‘Yes,’ Erasmus said as he started to fidget, ‘I can understand why you consider me a spy, but my task has nothing to do with endangering anyone here.’
‘And you want me to help you protect this…..scroll?’
Erasmus nodded, ‘This is vital for our faith.’
De Capo looked weary, ‘Our faith is corrupted by Priests and Bishops who use Gods work as a convenient excuse to cover their own immoralities, why would I want to protect that anymore?’
‘I am not one of those men,’ Erasmus insisted, ‘I and the Deus Militis serve God and God alone, we care nothing for the riches of man, but if this scroll reaches the Pope it will be buried away forever, or what it contains will be misused and our faith could wither and die.’
De Capo looked carefully into his eyes, trying to see if there was madness in them that would explain such a story, but all he saw was a man pleading for his help, ‘You say this Order was formed to find holy artefacts?’
‘A lot have been found,’ Erasmus said with a trembling voice, ‘and eventually the Pope and the Grand Master will realise this scroll has been found. They will work it out Sir Ralf and they will make me suffer, and I will give them what they want to stop the pain.’ Erasmus shivered, ‘As much as I don’t want to, I fear their torture!’
‘Where is it now?’
‘Safely hidden,’ said Erasmus declining to reveal its location yet, ‘will you help?
‘Maybe,’ said de Capo, ‘but you must tell me more.’
There was much to tell, and Erasmus and de Capo sat and talked softly so no one could hear, and slowly de Capo started to believe, and with that knowledge and belief came great danger. He looked at Leopold differently and realised all these men were party to a secret no one else knew even existed.
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