But back to the affairs of boring life. By lunchtime the next day, Macarius could not come, because of the hype that was going on in the city. He generally could not appear until a week later. It turns out that he was beaten by the guard because he did not have anything of value. Even the wife, and she, feeling the danger of rape, fled on a boat to the sea. These high-moral defenders of civilians not only beat him and took the donated gift, but seeing that there was nothing more to take, they made a terrible pogrom, at the end of which his dilapidated hovel was burned. So that he now has nowhere to live, except in a boat. And for all this he apologized and, almost crying, asked him to forgive, that he forced himself to wait. A good artist is difficult to find at the present time, so it was decided to keep it to himself, by itself - loaded with work. He and his wife were given a separate room, the blessing that the house was spacious, and dedicated to the rules of conduct. First of all it concerned hygiene. Strange as it may seem, they did not cause any surprise at these rules and they normally merged into the general stream. As new servants of the Baron, they were sewn new clothes and shoes of good material, and, after recovering slightly, after the incident, they began with a special zeal to work. Especially worth noting is a small episode where our hero showed some concern for his charges. It would be completely wrong to leave the situation of senseless beating of the people he needed to some extent with some kind of shantrap, so, as a result of several walks, a list of all the participants of that unsuccessful inspection of the Makarius hut was drawn up. Of course, they were faced with an unenviable fate, since without knowing it, they crossed the road to a very dangerous man. As a result, they all, in turn, were abducted and with the cut tendons left in a small gorge near Athens. There usually nobody looked, but, just in case, that they could not give any testimony, they all were gouged out and the language was cut off. Whatever you say, justice is never elegant and aesthetic. Usually she looks like a well-pumped lady with an ax in her hands, which are smeared with blood in the elbow. In general, the trust of the creative family was deserved. It is also worth mentioning the fact that Makarius was presented to Zinon, who promised to bring ready shields of the detachment that his brother was preparing for the next month to be refined by the artist. In addition to the patches, his wife was contracted for sewing a cotta in the colors of the baron, who were to wear over armor both his riders and the crossbowmen of Demeter. And since the set in the crossbowmen squad was already completed, then with the shields the sizes of each soldier were to come individually, of course - with the tolerances for the armor. Eric was very much in favor of tidiness and uniformity in his troops. In general, he was lucky with the artistic part. True, not only with her. The appearance in the team of Ulrich greatly helped in the equipment of the children, as it could be separated from combat training for two to three hours a day to be used in the smithy. He did not do anything particularly difficult, but he helped me very much with the preparations. So in early August, sets of mirrors and tophelms for each mounted soldier were ready, a set of equipment for the girl was ready and an additional equipment was purchased for the Germans who had joined the ranks of his detachment. There was still time, and, having freed our smith from assistance in the smithy, so that he could devote more time and effort to the military business, Eric began to manufacture uneasy shoulder pads. Of course, it was possible to make simple petals, but there was not much sense from them, so he decided to make good shoulder-straps with a covering up to the elbow as Gothic, but with more significant shoulders, having small vertical petals that cover the neck. Quite a complicated design, but it was worth it. He decided that this unnecessary item of equipment should be provided to all who will have time. But the desire to have the best equipment in the detachment did its job, so that on October 1, 1199 such devices were for everyone except Morrigan.
Just a couple of days before sailing to Antioch, a courier arrived from Pierre de Chamond, who handed him two letters, one from the commander himself, the other from the well-known to him Maria Champagne.
Letter from Pierre de Chamond, Commander of the Venetian Branch of the Order of the Templars for Eric von Lenzburg.
"Good health. I am writing to you, as agreed. The situation with the forthcoming campaign to the Holy Land has seriously changed. Some time ago an attorney from the displaced Byzantine emperor arrived in Venice. Accepted it, at first, it is cold, since from it, by itself, there is no benefit. However, after just a couple of days, Enrico Dandolo, our respected doge, began to behave quite unusually. He literally carried it in his arms, until he sailed. What they said there - no one knows. One thing is for sure - they have something in mind and not the fact that it will do something for the benefit of the campaign, rather, even vice versa. So do not harbor the special hope for joint actions with knights and act without regard for their arrival. Concerning the second letter, I ask you to be extremely pointed. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can be a disaster. It would be great if you destroyed it after reading it.
Your success in Corfu has not been ignored, although they were apprehensive about the methods you used. Declare yourself an ancient God! Yes, you are a brave person, not everyone will decide this. I am informing you that Philippe de Plescier, the right hand of the Grand Master, was appointed responsible for cooperation with you, since you are separated into a separate authority. Now he is in the Holy Land, where he will seek meetings with you, upon your arrival there. As soon as I do not know, so I advise you to prepare for this meeting in advance, before sailing. We have accumulated quite a few questions to you and if you intend to continue to work closely with us, then they will need to be answered. And let these answers be plausible, since there are rumors about your complicity with the Devil. Of course, I think such gossip is stupid, but I do not make decisions. "
Your kind friend, Pierre.
A letter from Maria Champagne to Eric von Lenzburg.
"Kind way to you in your affairs, kind baron. " Our mutual friend showed me mercy and slightly opened my eyes to some of your combinations that you turned in Vienna and Venice. Some stories were so amazing that I involuntarily recalled old legends about the adventures of the ancient German gods and heroes. Very close to you in style. I'm scared to think about what the scale of your activity really is, if even such tiny pieces are so impressive. I would never have thought that such a young husband has such agility and such perseverance in achieving his goals. Especially I was struck by the grace with which you were able to put in place my relative and the famous for all Europe intriguer Philip. He, poor, is still suffering, trying to guess - to whom yet you are working. However, he is not alone in his mistakes. I want to please you - only a few know that you, in fact, go your own way, and completely incomprehensible. Pierre and I have long thought, trying to understand what you need and what you are aiming for. But, alas, ours with the mister commander, abilities is clearly not enough to understand the purpose of your life path.
As for our novel, I can not hate you and wail about the cunning of a broken heart. He completely satisfied me and liked me. It would be foolish and unfair to deny this. Using me for your own purposes, you gave a quiet family happiness in return, returning the spirited husband to the bosom of a legitimate family. I could not stand the child completely, but he, fortunately, was born healthy. The husband is happy, he just shines, because the child was a long-awaited boy. Eric, I get scared when I look at my son, because if a husband suspects something, then it will be very troublesome for me to save life not only for myself, but for the child. I write openly, knowing Pierre as a friend who has repeatedly proved his loyalty, so if you want to answer me, then write to him, and he will already pass on. We called the boy Benno, since he, although very weak, has already shown his bearish character. The other day, he clapped Balduin's hands in his ear, when he decided to shout at him. Yes, so clinging to the fact that we barely tore him. My father laughed heartily, and my husband was completely taken aback. I think that Hugo knows everything about us, but he does not say anything. From the very beginning of our novel he looked at you with a sly glance, as if he suspected something. But I must say goodbye. Go on with the same perseverance, and let the bright sun shine on you. "
