THE KNIGHT'S II TALE
Knight's Second Prologue
"Dearest Knight, tell us another tale for our journey home!" cried the Host as the group of Pilgrims left Canterbury.
"Yes, tell us of campaigns and military conquests in the name of the LORD!" chorused the others, falling back into their regular traveling situations.
"It should be my pleasure to praise the name of GOD!" replied the Knight, fiddling with the straps on his saddle pack as he re-packed his water skin.
"I shall tell this tale as it was told to me from the Knight who taught me good manners and chivalry when I was but a squire myself."
The Knight's Second Tale
In the Holy City of Jerusalem, there are many relics of Catholicism. But some time ago, the Muslim infidels took over the Holy city, besmirching the City with their false god's ways. The Holy See was distressed at the loss of such magnitude, and a Crusade was organized under Pope Urban II. Some went by land, others by sea, yet those who went were all promised a place in Heaven for fighting against the infidels. Along the way, many good men died from attacks along the road, or in the darkest part of night when even the best watchman could not see 20 feet in front of him, no matter how hard his eyes would strain. These men weren't given the proper burial that they deserve, because that would have delayed the arrival. May their souls happily rejoice with the angels and saints in heaven, praising the name of GOD. In spite of attacks and raids, the Crusaders arrived in force, and eager for battle. The night before the siege, such glorious songs of worship and praise were sung, and sung so that the deaf would have heard them over a hundred clanging bells. The morning of the siege, we prepared our bodies and minds for the battle, and in a moment of glory we charged the walls and gates with fervor only possible when one fights for the glory of the LORD. We pushed our way through the gates and gained a foothold there. As we slaughtered the infidels, we saw that our GOD was at our side and in our brothers, guiding our weapons and giving us strength.
"Look there! On the Tower!" A voice of one of the commanding officers called out. "Infidels on the roof! Desecrating the Tower of David!"
"Archers, take them out!" There was the unmistakable twang of bowstrings and arrows leaped forth from behind our front lines. Seconds later, the arrows felled men like the wrath of God in Egypt and blood fell like the rainwaters of the flood. It dyed the cobblestones of the streets a deep ruby, with streaks of grey, silver, and gold from the armor.
"Inside the tower men, or you'll meet God faster than you can say, 'Knife!'"
"Kni-Uh!" One man who was trying to lighten the mood started to say something, but was cut off by an arrow punching a hole through his throat. The other men nearby wasted no time standing around and hurried inside the Tower of David. When the heavy wooden doors slammed shut, several archers made their presence known as a barrage of arrows slammed into the heavy wooden doors. The men stood inside the doorway for a moment, and then a few of the more morbid of them started laughing at the way his captain had been proved correct. Several jumped when the sergeant barked an order to explore the Tower, eliminate all resistance and tie up the enemies to use for information at a later date. His answer to our inquiry of his order to tie up the enemy was,
"We will show mercy to those who attempt to harm us as Christ the Lord tells us we must." We left a group behind to guard the Tower and moved forward, bursting out of the trapdoor onto the Tower roof. We disarmed or killed any remaining Muslims, and gathered the dead for a proper burial. When we had secured the whole tower, we offered a baptism into the true faith. Those who refused were quickly disposed of and thrown at the armies of their friends, to impede their defensive plans. We were charging back into the thick of things when our liaison with the French troops (I couldn't remember his name for the life of me) came running towards our platoon, and between gasps for air, managed to say,
"Stalemate…gasp… French and… heave… infidels… puff…at the Temple… follow me…gasp…" We looked at each other, shrugged, and replied,
"Lead the way."
Later, with the French troops outside of the Temple.
We had been standing here in rest position; with our weapons drawn but not up, from midday to near the middle of the night. We had recently been hearing the Muslim forces inside speaking in progressively louder voices until just recently when one yelled what sounded like a command and the others stopped talking. Then, some unintelligible whispering too low for our translator to hear commenced, and then that too stopped. Finally, in broken English, a man said that they would be willing to surrender if we were willing to give our word not to attack them immediately. An intense whisper discussion ensued, this time on our side, and it was eventually decided that we would accept on their terms. The message was relayed, and you could almost hear the sigh go up among their numbers. They came out, with the front man holding a small white handkerchief as a flag of truce. We led them back to a spot outside the city walls and sent them to tell what had happened here as a warning to all those who tried to desecrate the Holy Land with false religions.
Epilogue
(Alec) "It is believed that all men who died fighting to re-take Jerusalem from the infidel forces are going straight to heaven for redeeming the birthplace of Our Savior. Those who showed mercy to even the worst of the heretics are surely going to be given a spot near the Apostles and in the Army of Heaven. The veteran who mentored me was descended from the captain of the platoon who took the Tower of David, and aspired to be as like his ancestor as possible in every way." Finished the knight, who was smiling while lost in memories of the man he called his teacher. Bittersweet tears threatened to spill over his eyes and shone with the light that only memories can bring forth.
" A splendid tale indeed, Sir Knight! May God watch over your mentor, no matter where he be." The Host said from his place on the right of the Knight's squire.
"Yes, a grand tale for those on a pilgrimage as we are. Somehow I feel as though I can relate to the members of the armies of the Crusaders, as though we both grew closer to God during our journey," added the Wife of Bath, "But they thought naught of their wives while they were away at war? Did they not wish for the comfort of their women?" The Knight thought his answer over, and replied,
"Truly Madam, I am sure they woke up thinking about their wives, and drifted to sleep thinking about their wives, until the Lord gave them the solace of dreaming about their wives and families that they left at home. And they knew that should they die in the service of the Lord God, their families would be cared for by their brothers and uncles, just as the almighty Father would take care of the soldier in heaven," came the Knights reply from behind a handkerchief. "Now if you would be so kind as to excuse me for a moment or two, I must have a time of remembrance." And with that he stopped his horse and rode towards a clearing by in the woods by the side of the road.