00 - Templar's Acre by Michael Jecks Read Free Book Online Page B

different set, and you’d have lost
everything. All the coins you’d built up, all the spare coins, all their coins. It’s a common ploy.’
    Baldwin gave a low whistle. Are you sure?’
    ‘I have lived here a long time.’
    ‘I had better warn Roger, then. If those others were cheating . . .’
    ‘Not the sailors, boy! It was Roger’s dice you were playing with.’
    ‘But he’s a Templar!’ Baldwin said, outraged.
    ‘There are Templars and Templars. None are allowed to gamble. Roger Flor is a good seaman, but he’s no knight.’
    Baldwin eyed the fortress beside them. ‘Are the Hospitallers better than the Templars?’
    ‘They are military Orders. Neither is better nor worse than the other. Both fight for what they believe in, however, and that sometimes puts them on opposing sides.’
    ‘How can that be? They both fight for Jerusalem, don’t they?’
    Ivo grunted. ‘More or less. But Templars are allied to Venice; Hospitallers are more closely aligned to Genoa.’
    ‘Still,’ Baldwin said with a confused frown, ‘surely their aims must meet? The Genoese and Venetians want to help Christians, don’t they?’
    ‘They want to help themselves,’ Ivo said, looking at him. ‘This is the last great city of Outremer. You realise that? For hundreds of years we have fought over this land. First
to win Jerusalem itself, but we lost her. Since then, we’ve tried to encourage crusaders like you to come here and fight for our faith, but all too often the crusaders themselves have been
worse than the enemy.’
    ‘How can that be? We come to serve, that is all.’
    ‘Aye. But serve whom? It is greed, a desire to take lands or glory that inspires most. The others are the felons: murderers and thieves who come here in expiation of their sins. Some cause
more harm than good,’ Ivo said with disdain.
    Baldwin was silent. Ivo’s words sounded like a shrewd analysis of his own journey of redemption.
    ‘Why are you here?’ Ivo said, on cue.
    ‘I was persuaded by a priest,’ Baldwin said quietly. It was no lie. As he sat by Exeter’s sanctuary, it was the priest who had suggested pilgrimage to Jerusalem, there to fight
and win absolution.
    ‘I see,’ Ivo continued, eyeing him askance. ‘The city has to accommodate people like you.’
    ‘Have you ever been there?’
    Ivo nodded, and his face eased slightly at the memory. ‘Once. I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and saw the birthplace of Christ. It made my life whole again.’
    ‘How so?’
    ‘None of your busines,’ Ivo growled.
    Baldwin glanced at him. Ivo had his own secrets too, then.
    ‘You will find your way about the city quickly. Always look for the Towers. See, over there is the Tower of the Temple; here is the Hospital; at the top of the hill between the Venetians
and Genoese is the Monastery of San Sabas with its own lands. You will need to be cautious when you are out on your own. Not all the people of the Kingdom want you here.’
    ‘So you said,’ Baldwin nodded. ‘People don’t like crusaders.’
    ‘You have the arrogance of youth. Many here hate pilgrims like you. Merchants and . . .’
    ‘The merchants don’t want us?’
    Ivo rolled his eyes. ‘Of course they don’t. Your arrival means disruption. Don’t you realise? Acre is the capital of all trading between Egypt and your home. If there is a war,
how will they make their money? That is what this city exists for – money. Without trade, it wouldn’t exist.’
    ‘Surely it’s the centre for pilgrims too?’
    Aye. And pilgrims bring money with them,’ Ivo said.
    Are we leaving the city?’ Baldwin asked as a wall loomed before them.
    ‘No. This is the old city wall. The city has grown well in the last years, so a new wall was built to enclose more land for all the people.’
    ‘Where are we going?’
    They walked under a tower in the wall, and out into a wide space.
    ‘This is Montmusart.’
    Baldwin looked about him. Before him was a garden with olives,