So on we ran. I had no idea how close we were to Tyre, but I felt it couldn’t be much farther. If we had been traveling on the road, I think we would have begun seeing merchants and traders and other traffic heading to the city. Or perhaps the road would have been full of Saracens. Running on the open shoreline it felt as if we were the only people in the world. I knew that the nearer we drew to Tyre, the closer the main road would come to the shore, because the city sat right on the coast. At that point perhaps we would try to blend in with the traffic on the road and make our way to the city unnoticed.
Not knowing what lay ahead, I suggested we stop for a moment to check over our weapons. Robard tended to his bow while I examined my swords. Given the fact that Maryam had remained truthful thus far, I decided to return her daggers. As I fished them from my bedroll, I noticed how beautiful they were. The blades were polished to a high sheen, and the hilts were made of gold and bejeweled. They must have been worth a great deal.
I handed them to Maryam hilt first. She looked at them briefly, then, almost faster than I could see, flipped them around and secreted them in the sleeves of her tunic. Robard looked at me with wide eyes. I was glad Maryam was on our side. At least temporarily.
Well past noon we crested another ridge, and there in the distance lay Tyre. The sky was crystal clear, and I could see smoke from fires, ships moving in and out of the harbor, and all the other signs of life in a city. It was perhaps three leagues away, and indeed the main road emerged out of the hills to the south, leading straight to the city gates.
I suggested that we cut inland to the road. We were less likely to be noticed than if we approached the city along the shore. Robard and Maryam agreed and we headed south. Before long we had reentered the woods and soon had the road in sight. We paused, hiding in the underbrush and watching what passed by before we continued. For all we knew, Tyre could already be under the Saladin’s control.
For an hour we watched and observed. Traders and merchants passed. Goatherds and shepherds with flocks of sheep moved along the road. When at last a squad of soldiers rode by, clearly members of the King’s Army, we knew we were at least temporarily safe. As we had drawn nearer to Tyre, Maryam had restored her veil and turban. Moving from our hiding place she removed it. Her long black hair now cascaded down her shoulders and back. Robard and I were startled to see her like this again.
“I think Al Hashshashin might not be welcome in Tyre,” she said. “It’s better if I look like a simple peasant girl on my way to the marketplace. Don’t you think?” She tucked in the hood of her tunic so it didn’t show. Without the hood, turban and veil, her tunic transformed her from a Hashshashin and she looked much less dangerous than she actually was.
“A simple peasant girl with two Hashshashin daggers hidden in her sleeves who also happens to be a deadly killer. Sure,” said Robard.
I expected Maryam to be angry, but instead she laughed. Again, her laughter was as joyous as the first time I’d heard it.
We crept cautiously from our hiding place onto the road. With no one immediately about we began walking quickly toward the city, entering Tyre a short time later without incident.
Tyre was bustling and loud, reminding me somewhat of Dover. But its marketplace was larger and more crowded, with a curious mix of new smells: cooking meat, the ocean, spices and incense, the earthy smells of camels and a thousand other scents I could not identify. It was hot in the afternoon sun, and the merchants and shopkeepers did everything they could to remain in the shade.
“What now?” Robard asked.
“I need to find the Templar Commandery immediately,” I answered. “Then locate the Marshal and deliv…and talk to him about what we’ve seen.” I glanced at Maryam, worried that I might have given something away, but her expression was blank. Although I felt at this point I could trust her, I did not wish to tempt her Hashshashin nature.
“Well, how do we find the Commandery?” Robard asked.
“I don’t know. It should be easy to spot. They’ll have the banner flying. There was supposed to be a large force here. Perhaps we should split-”
Maryam interrupted me. “Oh, for the grace of Allah,” she snorted. “Why don’t you just ask for directions?” Rolling her eyes she stomped up to a vendor at a nearby stall, speaking to him in Arabic. He answered her, pointing over his shoulder.
“This way,” she said.
“Wait, Maryam,” I said. “You have delivered us safely to Tyre as promised. You’ve fulfilled your obligation. Robard and I can take it from here.”
Maryam looked at me and then Robard. She studied his face for several seconds.
“Well, I can accompany you to the Commandery at least. I don’t mind. Besides, you may need me to translate for you if you get lost,” she said.
With no time to argue, I agreed.
The marketplace at Tyre was a maze. The pathways through it twisted and turned, weaving through the rug merchants, food sellers and other stalls and shops. At every one of them, someone hollered at us to purchase something. I stopped at one point to buy each of us a lamb skewer, which a man sold hot off the fire. We devoured the meat in an instant, as we had hardly had time to eat in the previous two days.
Continuing to walk, I tried to organize my thoughts. I needed to inform the Templars of the impending attack. They would contact the King’s military advisers and formulate a strategy. I would also inform them of the fall of Acre, if they hadn’t already received word. Then I needed to find passage on a ship to England. But I must be careful. Sir Thomas had warned me that even Knights of the Temple had gone nearly mad trying to possess the Grail.
Passing through the marketplace we found a cobblestone street leading toward the eastern edge of the city. Maryam said the Commandery was not too far away now, and for some reason, the closer we got, the more nervous I became. As we passed an alleyway leading between two large buildings, I had a thought.
“Can both of you wait here a moment?” I asked. “I need to find a place to, well, you know…”
Robard laughed, and he and Maryam nodded. I headed down the alley. It wasn’t straight, curving back and forth the farther along it I went. Finally I reached a quiet spot, glancing around and seeing no one about. Above me clothing dried in the sun on a line tied between the two buildings. A few empty barrels were stacked next to a door that led into the rear of one of the structures. A small yellow dog lay in the brief shade of a doorway, but its eyes were mostly closed as it napped in the heat of the afternoon sun. The coast was clear.
Moving several feet down the alley from the doorway, I found my spot. Kneeling in the dirt, I used the small knife from my satchel to make a footlong scratch in the side of the building, very near the ground. I rubbed a handful of sand over the fresh scratch so that it was still visible but did not look newly made. With my knife I scooped out a hole in the sand directly below the mark on the wall.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should take Sir Thomas’ letter with me to the Commandery; I might need it to prove my identity. But I finally decided it was safer to keep it for some future point in my journey. It shouldn’t be that difficult to convince the local Commandery of my identity.
I placed Sir Thomas’ letter and ring at the bottom, and after removing all my other possessions from the satchel, and double-checking to make sure that I was not being watched, I lifted out the Grail and set it gently in the hole. Then I covered it all with sand, smoothing it out with my hands. I repacked my possessions and stood up, walking back and forth over the spot numerous times, scuffing my feet. When I was finished, it looked like it had never been dug up at all.
As I turned back, the small dog lifted its head to watch me. It yawned, stretching as I passed by, and I reached down to scratch it behind the ears. A scrawny dog, it appeared as if it hadn’t had much to eat recently. Inside my satchel I had a few dates I had saved, and I tore one into smaller pieces, holding them out for the dog to examine. She hungrily snatched them up. I gave her the rest of what I had, and the little mutt licked my hand before dropping her head back down and drifting off to sleep.
Maryam and Robard were standing where I’d left them, fidgeting. I was sure they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since I’d been gone. Robard was doing everything in his power to look at anything but Maryam.
“Thanks,” I said. “Let’s go.”
We continued down the street, and before long, the Commandery appeared, a Templar banner hanging from the roof. The sight was comforting. I felt relieved to see something so familiar. The front gate to the grounds was guarded by a single sergeanto. Dust lined his face, and he sweated in the heat. His expression said he’d rather be
