The Templar Knight: Book Two of the Crusades Trilogy by Jan Guillou

Author:Jan Guillou
Language: eng
Format: mobi, pdf
Tags: Romance, General, Action & Adventure, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780061688577
Publisher: Harper
Published: 2010-05-03T22:00:00+00:00

Siegfried admitted that it made a big difference if one had so many infidel subjects as Arn did here in Gaza. For instance, he knew very little about the Bedouins.

Arn asked if he would like to meet some Bedouins, because Arn was going to do exactly that the next day; it had to do with the young runaways, who had in full collusion committed a bride-robbery.

Siegfried found it unseemly that Arn as the fortress master should get involved in such a trivial argument over how the infidels paired off. But Arn assured him that it was definitely not a triviality, and this would become clear to Siegfried if he accompanied him on the next day’s visit.

Mostly out of curiosity Siegfried agreed to go along.

As they rode out the next day to visit one of the Bedouin camps, Siegfried protested that they were riding alone, without the escort of a single squadron. After all, they were two knights of fortress master rank, and many a Saracen would love to show off their severed heads on the point of a lance as he rode in among his own kinsmen.

That was assuredly true, Arn admitted. And it was not entirely unlikely that on some unfortunate day both their heads might be conveyed in that manner. The Saracens especially seemed to love seeing the heads of Templar knights on the points of lances, whether it had to do with their beards or something else. Worldly Franks were clean-shaven, after all, and their heads probably looked less amusing on the tip of a lance.

Siegfried had strict objections to this lighthearted way of thinking. The beard of a Templar knight had nothing to do with the matter; it was simply that Templar knights were justifiably the most feared enemies of the Saracens.

Arn dropped this discussion at once. But he did insist that they ride without an escort.

It took them only an hour to ride at a leisurely pace to the place north of Gaza where the Banu Anaza tribe had its camp of black tents. When they were within view, a force of about twenty men jumped into the saddle and rode toward them at full speed, wildly shouting, with their lances and swords drawn to attack.

Siegfried blanched a bit but drew his sword when he saw that Arn did so.

“Can you ride at full speed, at least for a short distance?” Arn asked with an expression on his face that seemed unreasonably cheerful in the face of storming Saracen riders of such superior numbers. Siegfried nodded grimly.

“Then follow me, brother, but for God’s sake don’t strike at any of them!” ordered Arn, spurring his horse to a full gallop and heading straight toward the Bedouin camp as if in counterattack. After hesitating briefly, Siegfried followed him, swinging his sword above his head the same way as Arn.

When they met the Bedouin warriors they wheeled around on both sides of them so that it looked as though both the Templar knights and the Bedouin defenders were now attacking the camp together.

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