East of Ashes (12 page)

They were welcomed warmly enough by the Crusaders, whose joy at the reinforcements and supplies was evident. Lamech's hand was grabbed and sh
a
k
en
in greeting by seemingly every soldier there, each of them looking him straight in the eye and embracing him as a fellow Crusader.

At first
,
being welcomed as such sat uncomfortably with him. His was not a holy war, but he realised that in the eyes of those around him, he was there to help free Jerusalem. If it would ease his way, he was not going to correct them.

Once more he reflected on the events that had led him to this place. Right up to the attack in Arles, he had not given vengeance much thought. He had known that her murderer had joined up with the Crusade during the first wave, but he had not considered going after him.

After his father stayed his hand in the man's house that day, the rage had left him as he was numbed by grief. Taking the opportunity presented to him, her murderer had left town and joined up with the Crusaders just as they were setting out.

Lamech had tried to keep up to date with what
had
happened to the man, silently wishing he would never return. But he
ha
d not expect
ed
him to die within only a few short months though.

The news had left Lamech deeply unsettled. When her murderer died at the hand of a Caracen soldier, all possibility of revenge had died with it. Only then had Lamech surfaced from the depths of his own grief and realised how much he
had
actually craved to do something about her death.

That craving had led him down a deadly path that soiled his hands in blood, but the lust for revenge had not lifted. He had sunk into deep depression and despair, frustrating anger becoming his constant companion. He had fled to Avignon to avoid capture for what he had done, but the anger had followed him.

Meeting Leala and then later witnessing the feelings between her and Joash had ripped him wide open, momentarily unhinging his murderous emotions. The way they had clung to each other after surviving the attack in Arles had brought back a memory that was sharply driven through his very being like a nail, bursting the chambers of his heart wide open.

Chasing through the night on the back of his horse, memories of her had ripped through him until he fell off his horse and collapsed next to the side of the road, tears silently streaming down his face. Eventually he
had
succumbed to exhaustion and passed out.

The next morning he was woken by pummelling raindrops. Despite the stormy weather, his head was as clear as it had ever been and he intuitively knew what he had to
do
. Following in her dead murderer's footsteps didn't make much sense, but at least it held the allure of doing something - even if all it offered was to quench the bloodlust still ringing in his ears.

Identifying the best way to join the Crusade had taken him a couple of weeks but when saw the urgency with which Captain De Lagery was preparing to go to war he knew it was the way.

After shaking the hand of the umpteenth soldier welcoming them to St Simeon, Lamech noticed one standing to the side, watching the gathering. Lamech guessed him to be a good couple of years older than himself.

Like the others, he had
an
air about him of a man who had seen his share of battle. But Lamech was surprised to find that, unlike the other Crusaders, there was peace written all over his face.

Drawn to him, Lamech walked over to introduce himself. As he drew near, the soldier noticed him approaching and watched him appraisingly.

Lamech reached out his hand and the soldier clasped it without hesitation.

"I'm Lamech."

"Othniel," the soldier replied and smiled slightly.

Lamech turned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Othniel. Together they watched the throng of sailors unloading equipment from the ships.

After a moment of surprisingly comfortable silence, Lamech turned his attention to Othniel and asked: "When did you join the Crusade?"

"I guess that's as good a question as any to begin with," Othniel smiled. "I joined up at Lyons with the Northern French army."

"So you've been at it from the beginning," Lamech remarked. Othniel shrugged
,
noncommittal.

"Do you report to them?" Lamech asked.

"Not really, no. I'm what you could call
‘
on my own mission
’
, with no liege that I report to except God. You'll find a number of others who are in similar situations," Othniel replied.

"Sounds good to me - I think I'll fit right in," Lamech said.

"Oh no you won't," Othniel chuckled. "You'll find that this Crusader army is often more concerned with politics and squabbling over the spoils of war than freeing Jerusalem. Even the ultimate aim of conquering Jerusalem is really motivated by power and money."

Othniel continued: "Those of us who don't concern ourselves with those agendas are considered to be... unreliable by some - and thus left on the fringe."

"I'll bet they don't complain when you lend a hand during the fighting though," Lamech remarked dryly.

"Indeed not!" Othniel laughed. "Which is fortuitous as it means I get to choose my battles. As you so rightly put it, they don't mind if I tag along."

"Does choosing your battles take you away
from
, or closer to danger?" Lamech asked, eyeing his new acquaintance closely.

"It depends on where the Lord directs me to fight," Othniel smiled.

His answer annoyed Lamech slightly.

"Do you believe God is indeed behind this war?"

"No. I don't believe this war is of God," Othniel replied calmly. "But even in the midst of the devil's work, God can work His purposes."

Lamech turned his attention back towards the activity before them and did not reply.

Othniel scrutinised him for a few seconds and then said: "As you can see, I'm not really interested in Jerusalem."

"Neither am I," replied Lamech, and then walked back to the ships to lend a hand with the offloading.

Othniel watched his retreating back and smiled.
Well, well, well
, he prayed silently.
What have You brought me here
?

-------

--- On the road to Antioch, November 1097 ---

Lamech was impressed with how quick the Crusaders were in offloading all the equipment and getting it ready for transportation to Antioch. On the trip he was told how the Crusader siege of Antioch had, up till now, been a hit-and-miss affair. This made their haste in moving all the extra equipment to their camp all the more understandable.

The city had a number of gates, but the Crusader army was not big enough to affect a complete blockade of all of them. As a result
,
the Caracen garrison was free to come and go as they pleased, and - more importantly - to receive supplies from outside the city walls.

After a brief lull following the initial arrival of the Crusaders, the Antioch garrison had also begun to attack them. At first these attacks were mere skirmishes, but they had been steadily growing in size and ferocity.

Lamech was riding at the back of the convoy as it slowly lumbered towards Antioch.
A month into the siege the Crusaders were clearly desperate to tighten the noose around Antioch and limit its garrison's mobility
, he thought grimly.

Othniel was riding to his left, having sauntered up to him when they set out from St Simeon. Lamech acknowledged his presence with a polite nod, but they had been riding in silence for the most part.

One could easily be fooled into thinking Othniel was just lolling lazily with the motion of his mount, but Lamech suspected he was extremely alert. Every couple of minutes he would catch him looking at the ridge to the left of the road, as if waiting for something.

When Lamech turned his attention to the other Crusaders around him, he discovered that most of them were doing the same thing.

"Are we expecting company?" he asked, turning his attention back to Othniel. His companion looked at him and smiled slightly.

"The Caracens enjoy harassing us. No doubt they won't be pleased to see this equipment arriving at Antioch," he said. "Hopefully they'll only find out about it once we arrive at Antioch, but I will be very surprised if that turns out to be the case. If they do find out about it before we reach the city... well, let's just say it's not going to be much fun defending our current position."

Lamech nodded at Othniel's words and glanced at the ridge.

"I would have been happier if Bohemond was here," Othniel remarked after a while.

"Who?" Lamech asked.

"Bohemond of Taranto," Othniel replied. When Lamech looked at him nonplussed, he continued: "He's an Italian and one of the leaders of this Crusade. I don't care much for the man - he's ambitious and too self-assured for my taste - but he's a military genius. Having him around would significantly increase our chances if we were attacked."

Lamech received his words in silence and continued in deep thought.

"What do you mean by ambitious?" he finally asked.

"Yes, surprising," Othniel replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "For Bohemond - and many of the others for that matter - this Crusade is about so much more than freeing Jerusalem. In fact, word has it he's actually got his sights on Antioch."

"Why Antioch?"

"It's of extreme strategic importance," answered Othniel. "If we actually reach Jerusalem in the end - and conquer it - any supplies that were to come over land would have to pass through Antioch. Imagine the tax income that could be derived from it! Furthermore, it's of vital military importance to the stability of any conquest of the Holy Land. Having a clear corridor from the Byzantine Empire in the north to Jerusalem in the south is crucial. Which makes whoever's in charge of Antioch extremely powerful."

"
If
we reach Jerusalem?" Lamech asked.

"Yes!" Othniel laughed. "We first have to conquer Antioch!"

"Right," Lamech conceded with a chuckle.

Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion ahead. Three soldiers kicked their mounts into action and sprinted up the banks of the ridge on their left.