Testing the Chains of Loyalty
The night exploded in screams and the rumble of horses’ hooves. Out of the howling chaos death rained in feathered hissing shafts. The young knight-errant flung himself to the ground but yanked his hand back to his chest with a shriek as it stung in the darkness. Blood oozed from around something sharp and long and lethal sunk into his gauntlet. More shafts sprouted from the trampled field around him. Five yards away, an Italian soldier started screaming in startled desperation, and his cries were matched by a rising ululation from beyond the whizzing cloud of arrows.
“Could you have picked a better time for a meeting?” Asked Edmund Ryecroft, who stood in the field surrounded by dying soldiers. The Toreador quickly stepped back and forth, avoiding the Hungarian shafts that kept striking the ground where he had just stood. Despite the darkness, it would not be long before he was noticed by the archers, who would undoubtedly begin to aim more carefully. Arrows had fallen Heath Egan’s horse, and he hunkered down behind it. Next to him, Colwan, who now insisted that we call him only by the name Saturn, kneeled in the mud. He held up the bodies of two soldiers to shield himself from the lethal rain.
The storm of pain, blood and death was a garden of delights to my Beast, and I resisted the urge to gorge myself as I pulled an arrow from the Italian’s torso and drank the spurt that came forth. The young knight-errant with the impaled hand rose to his knees, momentarily frozen in the cacophony of battle, then finally scrambled to his feet and started to run, he knew not where. He dropped again as his hair parted on his neck and another arrow pierced his shoulder. Ryecroft grimaced in that direction, and at first I thought he was annoyed at the loss of a trusted servant. Soon, however, the large form of the envoy appeared there, walking without haste across the field.
As the man drew near, I could see him gaze toward me with a look of mild disgust. I pretended to ignore him, and continued drinking from the fallen soldier, who stared up at the sky through me for the last time.
“Hail! You are Theodoric, I take it?” Ryecroft managed to bow between dodges. “We must apologize for this timing. It appears King Emico is angered over the loss of Zara.”
Theodoric wore plain leather clothing, with an axe and a shield strapped casually to his back. Two arrow shafts protruded from the left side of his head. I was not sure if he noticed them. He stepped over the sobbing figure of the knight-errant, who tried to crawl after him, begging him for help.
“Greetings, crusaders. Your companion there stated that you would accept my master’s offer.” The German’s Latin was so poor I had trouble understanding him over the din. At that moment, a line of infantry was assembling behind the archers for an attack when the arrows ran out.
“Before we accept your proposal, I must ask who your master is, and his reasons for diverting the crusade to Constantinople.” Ryecroft gave up his dodging and joined Egan behind the fallen horse.
“Saturn” then addressed the envoy. “You heathen barbarian! A crusade is meant to fight for the Holy Land, not to attack a Christian city. We have committed that sin once already!”
Theodotic chose to ignore the Brujah’s outburst, and answered Ryecroft’s question. “My master is a Catholic exile from the Queen of Cities, and wishes to return home. There are Orthodox Sons of Cain there who would not allow him to return, but the appearance of a new mortal ruler would redeem him in their eyes.
“What makes you think we care about your master’s honor?” asked Egan. Do you believe the offer of treasure would make us put aside our faith? We have the souls of our men to consider. If they were to make war on their fellow Christians again, they would surely be excommunicated.”
Theodoric replied, “Your pope does not know the full extent of the matter. Isaac Angelos and his son were wrongfully deposed by Alexius III. Furthermore, Alexius III was an ally of Saladin. Your church would want to punish him for turning Byzantium against Rome.” On the ground, the wounded knight-errant clutched at the envoy’s leg, and begged him for assistance. Again, I was uncertain if Theodoric noticed this.
Egan was silent. Theodoric said to him, “Restoring the true emperor would be a righteous deed. And with an allied Constantinople, your army could press on to Jerusalem with renewed support.”
Ryecroft shook his head. “Although we would be following the Lord’s will, Pope Innocent would not understand. He would excommunicate the entire army.”
“Then he would be a fool. There is one other thing that Prince Alexius IV will offer him. When his father is again the ruler of Byzantium, he will pledge the Orthodox faith to Rome.”
This news stunned all of us. Saturn was the first to speak. “Do you swear this is true? If it is not, and the crusade attacks another Christian city for nothing…”
“I swear that is what I heard the prince declare when I saw him not two fortnights ago. Byzantium will submit to papal authority.”
The rain of arrows had stopped. At the edge of the field, I could hear the Hungarians begin to march toward us. I said, “Then it is settled. Theodoric and Edmund will accompany the army and the young prince to Constantinople, while Lord Egan and…Saturn…ride to the mountains across Hungary to meet the Boyar Deseversky.”
Egan then said, “And what of you, my lord?”
“I must return to Rome, to deliver this news to the crusade’s kindred patrons.”
Saturn jumped to his feet, and shook with rage. “You are LEAVING us? After what we have done to be part of your mission? You expect us to hunt down that devil’s spawn of a Malkavian while you flee to the cradle of ROME?” His hand was on his sword. Both Egan and Ryecroft stepped away from him. I drew myself up, and let myself be seen. “Remember that you swore an oath to me, Colwan. No matter what I do, or where I choose to go, you will find the Seer, or be twice Damned. Also, you know that if I am the one to break the news to the Holy See, I can ensure that Innocent doesn’t take any rash action, including excommunicating us all. Think on this, and you know I am right.”
Saturn stared hard at me, then turned his head and spat dark blood onto the field. “Aye, my lord. I will honor my oath. But when I am finished with the Malkavian, it is you who will be hunted down.”
From the ground, the knight-errant let forth an echoing scream. Looking down at him, I saw that he was staring at me. From across the field, answering shouts and the sound of boots signaled that the Hungarians had heard it and were hurrying to find the source. “Fair enough,” I said. “Prince Alexius’s emissaries will arrive in Zara tomorrow to make their offer. Let us leave this place to the mortals and make the rest of our plans in the city so we can part ways before the dawn.”
I walked across the field, cloaking the others in shadows. The rest began to follow me, but Saturn lagged behind. Ryecroft called for him, and I turned to see the Brujah lift the still-screaming knight-errant from the ground. Placing his hand on the man’s helmet, he cruelly twisted until there was a crunch and the screams stopped. He then pulled the head from the shaking body in a shower of blood, and turning around, hurled the corpse with all his strength at the approaching infantry. There was a crash and howls as a dozen Hungarians were knocked to the earth. Saturn then dropped the skull, and marched after us, his eyes glowing like coals.
He never spoke to me again that night.
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