Galloglass Book One the Templar Read online

  After a moment's pause, he asked, "Can you do this without being recognized?"

  "My lord, it is a brothel. I went there once. I doubt they will know me."

  "Good. Find Himbert. He knows what I want and will provide you with clothes and weapons. You must have nothing on you that would connect you to the Temple. When you have finished, bring the head and report to me at once."

  "Yes, lord."

  I bowed and left the master's chambers. Outside, Himbert was waiting for me. "Do you have any suggestions?"

  Himbert handed me a small leather pouch full of coins, a dark woolen cloak, a plain black mantel and a linen bag. "When you enter the inn, have one of the servants point him out. Keep your cowl up and hang to the shadows. When the time is right, walk to where he is seated and toss the bag of coins into his lap. Tell him, 'My master has a message for you.' The coins will get his attention. When he asks to hear the message, tell him there are too many ears. Ask to go somewhere private. Be careful. Make sure he goes alone. Once there, kill him any way you choose. Silently is preferable. You want to be able to leave with his head in your sack, with no questions asked. Do not take that two-hander of yours. There will be no room to use it, and it is too recognizable. Use this," said Himbert while holding out his own blade.

  I unbelted my sword and then exchanged it and removed my white mantle. After putting on the plain black one and slipping on the cloak, I tucked away the linen bag and the coins and made ready to leave.

  "There is a horse waiting for you near the postern beside the northeast wall of the citadel. Go now. With any luck the Italian will be well on his way to being drunk when you get there."

  Himbert walked with me through the citadel to the postern where a sergeant waited with my horse. I mounted without a word as Himbert opened the gate. "Be back before Laudes. You have a ship to catch."

  I did not respond. There was nothing to say. I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and turned west, picking my way through the narrow streets of Acre. When I reached the barbican separating the city from its western suburb of Monmusart, I was stopped by a Templar sergeant in charge of the gate. I showed him a ring given me by Master de Beaujeu, and he passed me through without a word. After crossing the bridge that spanned the dry moat into Monmusart, I took a roundabout route to the outer wall and the Inn of Two Sisters. The inn's gate was still open as I rode into its courtyard. Business was good. The yard was crowded with horses and camels. I spoke briefly with one of the grooms and slipped him a gold coin to ensure my horse remained saddled and ready.

  I entered the main room of the inn and took a seat near a corner by a flight of stairs that led up to the brothel above. It took some moments for my eyes to adjust to the smoky light. The room was close to full. The odor of men and bad wine was strong. Merchants, travelers, soldiers of fortune—all there for one purpose. The Two Sisters had a reputation for having poor wine, bad food, and great whores and as a result was quite popular. A serving wench caught my eye and sauntered over to me, hand on her hip. "Wine?"

  I shook my head and motioned her closer. "I seek a man by the name of Andre de Bruges. Do you know him?"

  She paused and looked me up and down. Pointing her pitcher of wine in my direction she said, "Perhaps, brother, why do you ask?"

  "I am not a brother," I said, hoping that it wasn't so obvious that I had been discovered already.

  "Maybe not tonight, but you are most certainly a Templar. I have seen you before in the bazaar. I never forget a handsome face, brother." She set the pitcher on my table and leaned forward so that I could see down the opening in her blouse. It had been close to a month since I had lain with a woman. I was young, and she was not unattractive. Her wide dark eyes were inviting. "How about this? I will point Andre out to you if you promise to spend some time with me?"

  I followed her eyes to the stairs that led above us and grinned. "If I am as you say, a Templar, I fear my vows are in grievous danger."

  The wench laughed, "You would not be the first Templar to seek me out or frequent the Two Sisters, that is for certain."

  I laughed with her. "Tell me, what is your name?"

  "Ahlam. My name is Ahlam," she answered, still leaning toward me.

  "Hey wench! Where is my wine?" yelled one of the nearby tables.

  She smiled once again and then spun on her heels and showed them the pitcher she carried. To me she whispered, "De Bruges is seated along the far wall to the right of us. He is the one with the dark hair and beard and wearing a mail hauberk."

  I nodded and slipped her a silver coin as she brushed past me on her way to the table of rowdies. "We will meet again, Ahlam."

  She looked back over her shoulder at me and grinned. I knew then that at some point in the future, my vows would once again take a beating. I stood and loosened the sword in its scabbard underneath my cloak. Staying in the shadows, I drifted around the room and approached de Bruges and his companions.

  The three were all seated and laughing quite hard at something de Bruges had said when I appeared before them. "You are Andre de Bruges?"

  The three became quiet at once. They all pushed themselves back a bit from their table. De Bruges looked up at me while placing his hand on the scabbarded sword beside him on the table. "Who wants to know?" he responded in the same Latin in which I had asked the question.

  I tossed the bag of coins given me by Himbert into his lap. "My master would speak with you."

  Ignoring the coins, de Bruges looked at his companions and shrugged, "I doubt he has anything to say worth hearing."

  "Perhaps," I answered, "but you will never know unless you come with me."

  The mercenary shook his head and snorted, "Not bloody likely." He looked up and noted my face, half hidden by my cowl. "Be gone, Templar, for it is obvious that is what you are. Tell de Beaujeu or perhaps de Vendac that it will be easier to speak with the pope than with me. They have nothing I need or want."

  "Indeed, you are sure? You would not wish to change your mind?"

  "Go away, monk. Your odor of sanctity has become too strong. Wait, I forgot. You are a Templar. It is simply your odor. Go away. You are beginning to annoy me."

  His friends sneered at me, and I realized then that de Bruges had no intention of getting up, much less leaving with me. I decided that I could not fail in this, my first task given me by Master de Beaujeu. I snatched a pitcher away from a passing servant, spun, and brought it down on the head of de Bruges' nearest companion, braining him. Rather than draw my sword, I pulled my dagger and continued to move forward, slamming it into the throat of de Bruges' other companion as he started up from his seat.

  De Bruges reacted at once, coming off his bench even as the first of his friends hit the floor. I blocked a punch thrown at my head with my left hand as the Italian moved into me. I stepped back and withdrew my dagger in a shower of blood, having severed the man's jugular and windpipe. De Bruges shouldered into me while trying to clear his own sword from its scabbard. I ripped my dagger upward, trying to gut him, and missed.

  For the next minute or so, we wrestled back and forth, trying to make room to use our weapons. I managed to stomp on the outside of his ankle and smash an elbow into his throat, stunning him. I captured his outstretched arm with an over-hook and drove my dagger into his neck, just above his mail. Pulling him up on his toes, I punched the needle-sharp blade through his mail, into his heart, and finished him.

  The inn went silent with the abrupt end to the fight. I had just killed three armed men in less time than it takes to drain a good cup of wine, a fact that had everyone unsettled. The owner of the Two Sisters, an oily looking Pisan with a bad eye and a huge belly, had come from the kitchens on hearing the noise. Now he signaled for his male servants to close in. One, a big- shouldered, broken-nosed thug with a cudgel, began sliding forward.

  I threw back my cloak and pulled my sword, pointing it at the big man's crotch. "You come any closer, friend, and you'll be on the next caravan to Baghdad as a harem guar
d."

  The man looked at the three dead men sprawled before him and then the sword pointed at his manhood and stopped, grounding his weapon. I never took my eyes from him. To the owner I said, "I have one thing left to do and then I'll be leaving. You'll find a bag of coins under the table there, where the dead men are. Keep it for any trouble I have caused."

  The Pisan watched me a moment and then inclined his head. Moments later his men backed away. I lifted de Bruges up by the hair of his head and then chopped through his neck with my sword. It took three blows, making several in the room sick, before I removed it and placed it in the linen bag I had stuffed in my belt. None attempted to stop me as I stepped over the Italian's corpse and made my way to the door. A quick whistle to the servant holding my horse and I was gone. It was the first time I killed on the direct orders of Master de Beaujeu. It would not be the last.

  Three

  The next morning Himbert accompanied me to the docks southeast of the citadel. The air was cool, dawn was not yet on the horizon, and the wind was coming in from the sea. The harbor there was protected by a mole along with twin towers that guarded its opening. A floating boom ensured that no one could force the harbor by surprise. As we walked he asked, "Did you have any trouble?"

  I nodded. "Nothing went the way you envisioned it. I had to kill de Bruge and two of his companions in plain sight, inside the inn."

  "No one stopped you?"

  "The owner thought better of it when I threatened to gut his doorman from crotch to throat. I would say, though, I think several realized I was a Templar."

  "Could they identify you?"

  "Certainly."

  "Well then, that is a problem we will deal with later. For now, you must hurry. The tide will be turning, and Brother Roger will be ready to sail."

  "Any advice on meeting with the Italians?"

  Himbert handed me an ornate, lacquered box. "When you think the bastards don't believe you, hand them this. It should prove convincing."

  I took the box. As we were near the docks, I could see a party of Hospitallers standing further down the quay. Lifting my chin in their direction, I asked, "Do I trust them?"

  Himbert followed my line of sight and then smiled, "In battle, yes. Politically, never. Why do you think de Beaujeu suggested all three of the Orders send someone?"

  "Because none of us can be trusted."

  "You are learning." Himbert uncloaked his sword arm and then moved toward the Hospitallers. I followed and discovered that one of the men was not a Hospitaller at all but a Teutonic Knight. Both had accompanied their masters the night before. They were big men, broad shouldered and tall with thick necks. They were almost indistinguishable were it not for their habits.

  "You are late," rumbled the Hospitaller as we approached. "And that pig of a captain will not let us board," he said, inclining his head toward the galley.

  I looked at Himbert, but he just grinned. Turning to the galley, I saw two crossbowmen with pointed weapons standing at the end of the boarding plank. Between them stood a rather short, red bearded man in a filthy white Templar's mantle. Upon seeing me he asked, "Brother, do you have business with me? You know I don't talk to Hospitallers nor their German friends."

  I had to laugh but cut it short when I heard the Hospitaller behind me curse. "Indeed, brother. Master de Beaujeu sent us. You are to carry us to the Genoese fleet on the tide. I have orders to speak with Admiral Ascheri. I was told you had already been informed?"

  "Oh. That must be what that miserable bastard wanted to tell me."

  "Sir?"

  "You know, de Poitiers lickspittle, Gerard de Crecy. Never liked the man. Tossed him off my ship after he demanded that I listen to him."

  "Yes, well we are to sail as soon as possible." I could not help myself. I had to smile. "Could I come aboard?"

  "Of course. You can tell that overstuffed piece of shit in the red mantle he and his companion can come too, now that you're here."

  I waved my two companions on and said good-bye to Himbert and then walked up the boarding plank. Brother Roger de Flor greeted me at once. He was as wide as he was tall, with a booming voice and infectious personality. I liked him at once. He had a reputation as a rogue and a pirate with a mouth as foul as his temper, but he was most certainly the best captain in the Templar fleet. "You must be Himbert's protégé?"

  "Yes, I suppose so."

  "Always liked Himbert. He will tell you exactly what you don't want to hear," he grinned. "Sorry bastard that he is." He pointed at the Hospitaller as he stepped aboard. "Listen, if you want something, you better learn to ask for it politely; otherwise I'll have my men toss your sorry ass off this galley, armor and all."

  The Hospitaller drew himself up to his considerable height. "Sir, my name is Marin de Montcalm. Were this any other time, I would forget my vows and meet you on the field of honor, blade to blade."

  "Fuck that. Were this anywhere but here, I'd stick a knife in you and gut you like a hog. I am no peasant to be intimidated by the likes of some minor noble's blow-by. You just remember, on this ship, my word is law. And I don't like you."

  I looked at the Teutonic Knight who had accompanied the Hospitaller and saw that he too was amused by the Hospitaller's discomfort. Brother Marin was incensed but unable to do anything more than turn a deep shade of crimson.

  "Brother, do we not need to be gone with the tide?" I asked.

  De Flor waited for the big Hospitaller to say more. When he did not, he waved us forward and ordered the gangplank pulled up. "Find yourselves a spot on deck, out of the way. We will be leaving shortly. The wind is up."

  I nodded and led our party to the forecastle of the galley. By that point, the ship had slipped its moorings. I could hear the chant of the galley slaves as they began to pull at their oars. In the east, a faint glimmer of orange rimmed the horizon.

  "I did not need your help."

  I turned away from the railing and set my box down at my feet. I looked up and saw Brother Marin staring at me. "I did not realize I was helping. I simply wanted Brother de Flor to move on."

  "When we find the Genoese, you will let me speak for all of us."

  I shrugged my shoulders, feigning indifference and thinking all the while that such a thing was a near impossibility. Yet there was no need for a confrontation. I decided that patience was the best course. "Of course, brother, I'm sure you are much more skilled in such things than I."

  Marin looked pleased with himself, nodded, and then walked to the railing. I looked to the German knight who had followed Marin on board and introduced myself. In Latin I said, "Forgive me, brother. My name is Ronan MacAlisdair. I don't believe we have met."

  "Brother Wolfram von Hesse," he replied. "By your name, you are not a Frank. English perhaps?"

  I smiled and shook my head pointing north. "I am from a region of islands to the northwest of that land. They lie between Alba and Eire."

  He shook his head. "Then you are very far from home, I think; even farther than I." He pointed to the city. "Do you not find this place strange?"

  I nodded. "Of course. And you?"

  He shrugged. "At first. I have been here in Acre for ten years now. I am used to it. I don't believe I could return to my homeland now. Too much sun, I think."

  I laughed at that, liking the big blonde at once. Marin had wandered further forward to watch the galley clear the boom at the harbor's entrance. I inclined my head slightly in the Hospitaller's direction. "Do you know him?"

  He grinned. "Ja, I know him. He is, how should I say, excitable."

  "Is that what you call it?"

  "Not to worry. Master von Schwanden has informed me that I am to give the Temple all our support. When the time comes, I will take care of Marin."

  I nodded my head and then sat with my back to the gunwale to watch the sun rise. The ocean wind was cool, so I wrapped myself in my cloak. In moments I was asleep.

  An hour into our voyage, I awoke to the shaking of Roger de Flor. I opened my eyes a
nd laughed to see him leering at me. In his hands was a basket with a lump of hard cheese, half a loaf of dark bread, and a skin of wine. "It's not much, but the Italians are not far off, and I thought you might like something on your stomach before you meet them."

  I pointed to my companions on the other side of the ship, huddled in their cloaks. "Let them sleep," said de Flor. "They are not Templars."

  I was surprised at how hungry I was. I wolfed down the bread and cheese in moments, grinning all the while at the richness of the wine with which I washed it down. Hefting the skin I said, "You have good taste, brother."

  He shrugged. "One of the benefits of overseeing Acre's trade and shipping. I don't like to be left out."

  One of the lookouts sung out that they had spotted a sail. De Flor stood and motioned for me to come with him. We walked to the foredeck and leaned on the rail.

  "We should be in hailing distance within the hour if this wind keeps up."

  "They will not attack us?" I asked

  De Flor pointed back to the large, red, eight pointed cross covering the sail. "Rather obvious who we are. They'll wait until we come closer to see what we want. Besides, they outnumber us considerably."

  I nodded. "So you like wine. Does de Beaujeu know you have such good taste?"

  De Flor laughed. "To begin with, he'd ask me if it came from his own personal stock, and if it did, he'd send Himbert to steal it back."

  I laughed with him then, knowing that he was most assuredly right. We passed the next hour in agreeable conversation. Roger was a rogue, but I liked him. And he was honest in his less than strict obedience to the Rule. As the Genoese fleet loomed into view, I asked one of the nearby sailors to go and fetch my two companions and all of my gear.

  De Flor inclined his head in their direction and said, "You know, Marin will make a mess of this?"

  "It can't be helped. I am here to do as I was told."