Damn, I wish I was a kid again... Everything seems so much easier from a kid's vision.
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I don't think the 'boy' in the box is Baldwin...an heir to the throne has died?
What did Matilda do?
What will happen to our intrepid Chrusaders and the desperate scientist seeking the cup of Christ?
So many questions...
TheExecuter
What did Matilda do?
What will happen to our intrepid Chrusaders and the desperate scientist seeking the cup of Christ?
So many questions...
TheExecuter
Pale Sky Before Dawn
Spring 1076, Northern France -
Annelies was in the count's chambers, trying to comfort Ellijnore.
"How could I have...? I must be the worst..."
"It was an honest mistake, Ellijnore. It could have happened to anybody. You have a lot on your mind...raising a family and running a county, now that Reinel is gone."
Of course, mentioning Reinel's name only made it worse. The sobbing erupted into full-blown wails.
"What am I going to do, Anne? What am I going to do without him?"
"Carry on, of course. You have an obligation. Your sons need you. Your county needs you. And of course, your..."
There was a knock on the chamber door. Annelies opened it, revealing a maidservant.
"Yes?"
"There is a visitor downstairs."
"Not now. You should know better than to..."
"He says it's terribly important, madame."
Ellijnore wiped her eyes, then looked at Annelies, pleading.
"Will you make whoever it is go away? Please?"
"Of course, Ellijnore. Whatever I can do."
Annelies followed the maidservant to the receiving chamber, where a man of rough dress and rougher appearance was waiting. Before Annelies could say a word of dismissal, the man knelt on one knee.
"A message, m'lady. I come bearing a message from far away."
"From Reinel, no doubt. You'll have to leave it with me. I'm afraid the Lady Ellijnore is not receiving visitors. She had to bury her infant son today."
"Actually, m'lady...the message is not for the Countess."
"...Then who is it for?"
"I come bearing a message for the Lady Annelies."
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It's quite astonishing that with so many chapters, you manage to have a cliffhanger in the end of each. 
Aha, so it's Ellijnore's son that died. But what could the message be? Can't be about Reinel, as it's for Annelies...
Snugglie said:It's quite astonishing that with so many chapters, you manage to have a cliffhanger in the end of each.
We've fallen off so many cliffs in this AAR.
@ Snugglie: I subscribe to the episodic-style of story telling. With every chapter, answer a question...and then raise two more.
@ Qorten: I'm afraid that's one question that won't be answered for a while...as first, we must return to Jerusalem, to answer the question of what happened during Reinel and Juvenal's attack on the apparently-abandoned Jerusalem.
@ Phargle: As long as these falls don't make you start hearing voices, as they did to poor Baldwin...
@ Qorten: I'm afraid that's one question that won't be answered for a while...as first, we must return to Jerusalem, to answer the question of what happened during Reinel and Juvenal's attack on the apparently-abandoned Jerusalem.
@ Phargle: As long as these falls don't make you start hearing voices, as they did to poor Baldwin...
Well, At Least You're Not Dead
Spring, 1076 - Jerusalem
The body of Count Reinel de Guines lay in a pile of dirt at the bottom of a watch tower. He had fallen from his horse. Generally speaking, it had been an unpleasant experience.
But he was alive.
Breathe in...breathe out...no pain. That was either very, very good...or very, very bad.
He lifted one arm, then another. Still there. Still functioning. Good. Slowly now...slowly stand up. Left leg, right leg. Yes! Two working legs!
Now...to deal with the arrow in his neck. It struck Reinel that the easiest way would probably be just to yank it out.
Well...on the count of three then.
One...
Two...
Thr...
"NO!"
Reinel turned, startled by the noise...but even more startled by the source.
Baldwin de Guines...imprisoned former Count of Guines...had grabbed Reinel's hand, to stop him from extracting the arrow.
"Brother! How did you get here? What are you doing in Jerusalem."
"Never mind, Reinel. We need to..."
Reinel felt his eyelids getting heavy. "Brother...I'm sorry I..."
"Forget that. It's not important. The time has come, little Reinel."
"...for my death? Have I died, Brother?"
"No. No, Rein. The time has come for us to stop it."
"To stop what, Brother?"
"To stop her from killing them all."
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...come on, I thought Baldwin was dead by now! You really know how to keep us on the edge.
And yet another crazy story twist. I wonder how you keep doing it. Did Juvenal let him out or did he find his own way out?
@ Snugglie and Qorten: All will be explained in just a moment! By the way...I editted that post, but you quicksters had replied to it before I could. Nothing drastic, just minor changes in the dialogue.
Now I have to read it again! (however it's not a cumbersome chore as it's a good story)Actinguy said:
(This begins an attempt to extend the lengths of my posts moderately, while maintaining an above-average post rate, general ease of readability (fun new word!), and record-breaking quota of cliff hangers...all without improving the quality a single drop...for we are quickly approaching my favorite plot-twist of the story so far! )
Spring, 1076 - Jerusalem
Reinel's eyes snapped open.
A dream, then. It was just a dream. He was perfectly...
No. He still had an arrow in his neck. That part was certainly real.
The Muslims were not great in number, but they had a far better position, and had the benefit of an ambush. Yet even as the fighting continued, Juvenal found his way to the fallen Count.
"Sire, you need to release the arrow."
Reinel attempted to respond to the ridiculous advice...he needs to release the arrow? What he needed was to get the arrow out of his neck...but found he had lost the ability to speak. Indeed, he had nearly lost the ability to breathe.
"Trust me. Where I come from, we know of these things. Removing the arrow will cause you even more pain, and will likely cause your death."
Reinel attemped to nod, but found even this was impossible.
"Robert!"
Robert le Blount, Ellijnore's brother (and Matilda's father) saw Juvenal standing over the wounded Count, and slowly lumbered in the general direction of his brother-in-law.
"My lord...what's happened to him?"
"He was shot with an arrow in his neck."
"I can see that, Marshal. I meant...why is he turning colors, and gasping for air?"
"...he was shot. With an arrow. In his neck."
"I don't see what one thing has to do with the other."
Even as another arrow came dangerously close to his face, Reinel removed his knife and cut off the visible end of the protruding arrow's shaft.
"I need a blanket, Robert. Some sort of cloth so I can stablize the arrow until I can take him to a monastary."
"A monastary?"
"Many monastaries are beginning to build hospitals...at the very least, they'll have learned men who can help get the arrow out."
"That's fine and all, Marshal...but where the bloody hell do you think we are? We're in bloody Jerusalem. You want a monastary, you're going to have to build one yourself."
"A Mosque, then."
"What's a mosque?"
"A Muslim monastary."
Robert nearly fell over, he was laughing so hard.
"You going to put the life of the count in the hands of a Muslim, then? What makes you think some Muslim is going to know the first thing about medicine? They live in the bloody sand, Marshal."
"Actually, Abu al-Qasim is credited as being the greatest surgeon of this region, and has greatly influenced European medicine."
"That a fact? And this Muslim...suppose he's a friend of yours, then."
"No...technically, I suppose he's been dead for around sixty years now."
This got another round of laughter from Robert, even as another soldier fell dead by his side.
"So we'll be trusting the life of the Count in the hands of a dead Muslim, then? Well...I suppose that is my favorite kind, at least."
"I..."
"Look. Here's the reality, Marshal. Even if you did find some Muslim Mosque, and they actually knew how to heal him...do you really think some Muslim is going to save someone that they just shot in the neck?"
Juvenal began to respond...then stopped to consider the situation.
"Robert, hand me your flask."
"Flask? I haven't had a drink since we stepped on to land. I knew I'd need my wits about me, what with the Crusade and all."
"Robert, the Count's life hangs in the balance. Give me your flask."
"I'm not drunk."
"Hand me your flask, or I will take it from your dead body."
"Aye, aye. No call for chest-beating. Here's the flask, then. You'll see it still has some in it. Didn't drink it all, you see. Had to keep me wits about me. What with the Crusade, and all."
Indeed, there was nearly an entire drop of wine left in the flask. Juvenal poured it onto his knife.
"Hey! Hey, I wouldn't have given it to you if I'd known you was going to waste it. I thought you'd be giving it to the Count, ease his suffering a bit."
Juvenal ignored the rambling and instead turned his attention back to his liege.
"Count...this is going to hurt...a lot."
And with that, Juvenal Quentis...engineer of the future...plunged a dagger into the neck of the Count of Guines.
)For All The Points of A Compass, There Is But One Direction
Spring, 1076 - Jerusalem
Reinel's eyes snapped open.
A dream, then. It was just a dream. He was perfectly...
No. He still had an arrow in his neck. That part was certainly real.
The Muslims were not great in number, but they had a far better position, and had the benefit of an ambush. Yet even as the fighting continued, Juvenal found his way to the fallen Count.
"Sire, you need to release the arrow."
Reinel attempted to respond to the ridiculous advice...he needs to release the arrow? What he needed was to get the arrow out of his neck...but found he had lost the ability to speak. Indeed, he had nearly lost the ability to breathe.
"Trust me. Where I come from, we know of these things. Removing the arrow will cause you even more pain, and will likely cause your death."
Reinel attemped to nod, but found even this was impossible.
"Robert!"
Robert le Blount, Ellijnore's brother (and Matilda's father) saw Juvenal standing over the wounded Count, and slowly lumbered in the general direction of his brother-in-law.
"My lord...what's happened to him?"
"He was shot with an arrow in his neck."
"I can see that, Marshal. I meant...why is he turning colors, and gasping for air?"
"...he was shot. With an arrow. In his neck."
"I don't see what one thing has to do with the other."
Even as another arrow came dangerously close to his face, Reinel removed his knife and cut off the visible end of the protruding arrow's shaft.
"I need a blanket, Robert. Some sort of cloth so I can stablize the arrow until I can take him to a monastary."
"A monastary?"
"Many monastaries are beginning to build hospitals...at the very least, they'll have learned men who can help get the arrow out."
"That's fine and all, Marshal...but where the bloody hell do you think we are? We're in bloody Jerusalem. You want a monastary, you're going to have to build one yourself."
"A Mosque, then."
"What's a mosque?"
"A Muslim monastary."
Robert nearly fell over, he was laughing so hard.
"You going to put the life of the count in the hands of a Muslim, then? What makes you think some Muslim is going to know the first thing about medicine? They live in the bloody sand, Marshal."
"Actually, Abu al-Qasim is credited as being the greatest surgeon of this region, and has greatly influenced European medicine."
"That a fact? And this Muslim...suppose he's a friend of yours, then."
"No...technically, I suppose he's been dead for around sixty years now."
This got another round of laughter from Robert, even as another soldier fell dead by his side.
"So we'll be trusting the life of the Count in the hands of a dead Muslim, then? Well...I suppose that is my favorite kind, at least."
"I..."
"Look. Here's the reality, Marshal. Even if you did find some Muslim Mosque, and they actually knew how to heal him...do you really think some Muslim is going to save someone that they just shot in the neck?"
Juvenal began to respond...then stopped to consider the situation.
"Robert, hand me your flask."
"Flask? I haven't had a drink since we stepped on to land. I knew I'd need my wits about me, what with the Crusade and all."
"Robert, the Count's life hangs in the balance. Give me your flask."
"I'm not drunk."
"Hand me your flask, or I will take it from your dead body."
"Aye, aye. No call for chest-beating. Here's the flask, then. You'll see it still has some in it. Didn't drink it all, you see. Had to keep me wits about me. What with the Crusade, and all."
Indeed, there was nearly an entire drop of wine left in the flask. Juvenal poured it onto his knife.
"Hey! Hey, I wouldn't have given it to you if I'd known you was going to waste it. I thought you'd be giving it to the Count, ease his suffering a bit."
Juvenal ignored the rambling and instead turned his attention back to his liege.
"Count...this is going to hurt...a lot."
And with that, Juvenal Quentis...engineer of the future...plunged a dagger into the neck of the Count of Guines.
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I doubt an engineer of the future has more knowledge about getting an arrow out of someone's neck then a Muslim surgeon of the Middle Ages, but hey, let's hope he makes it and Reinel lives.
Ah, this reminds me of a glorious comment made in a book I read (get hold of it, read it and the other two in the trilogy]. It is, that there is a common jest among the Templars of Jerusalem: The bes thing when wounded, is a Muslim doctor; the second best is no doctor at all; and a Frankish doctor almost guarantees your imminent passing.
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@Qorten: You dare categorize the great Juvenal Quentis as a mere Engineer of the Future? Hehe...with a name as great as that, he deserves a much more flushed-out backstory. Which I am working on, by the way, and should be up within a few days...but he is no mere engineer!
@Snugglie: Thanks for the link and suggestion! I brought WAY too many books for the deployment, but I should be ready for a new book around 2038 or so. :rofl: Incidentally, I see you're an Obama supporter. I'm currently in the midst of trying to get an interview with him...which, of course, is dependent on our paths crossing in Iraq...but I've made crazier things happen. I'll let him know that Snugglie says hello.
Hehe...with a name as great as that, he deserves a much more flushed-out backstory. Which I am working on, by the way, and should be up within a few days...but he is no mere engineer!@Snugglie: Thanks for the link and suggestion! I brought WAY too many books for the deployment, but I should be ready for a new book around 2038 or so. :rofl: Incidentally, I see you're an Obama supporter. I'm currently in the midst of trying to get an interview with him...which, of course, is dependent on our paths crossing in Iraq...but I've made crazier things happen. I'll let him know that Snugglie says hello.
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If you do, I'll make my next AAR an homage to you.Actinguy said:@Snugglie: Thanks for the link and suggestion! I brought WAY too many books for the deployment, but I should be ready for a new book around 2038 or so. :rofl: Incidentally, I see you're an Obama supporter. I'm currently in the midst of trying to get an interview with him...which, of course, is dependent on our paths crossing in Iraq...but I've made crazier things happen. I'll let him know that Snugglie says hello.