Keeper of the Grail

an attack. Admittedly an attack on a single girl and a small dog, but still he took the front.

When the arrow thunked into the dock, he skidded to a stop.

“Halt immediately! In the name of the Knights Templar I demand you return at once!” he shouted.

Robard answered with another arrow, which landed even closer. Sir Hugh took several steps backward and barked an order to his men. “Crossbows!” Now we were in trouble.

The men-at-arms sheathed their swords, pulling their crossbows from around their backs. They began to load the bolts. Our time was running out. The only advantage lay in the fact that crossbows are difficult to load. Once they release a bolt, it can take a minute or more to reload.

Maryam had drawn her daggers and stood crouching at the end of the dock, ready to go down fighting. The dog was yapping furiously. The crew had started to really pull at the oars, and we moved farther from the dock.

“Go back!” I shouted again at the captain.

“No, laddie,” he said.

I pulled my sword and placed it at his neck. He gulped and his men stopped rowing.

“I’ll give you two seconds to change your mind,” I told him.

“Reverse! To the dock,” he shouted to his crew.

He must have paid his men well, for they didn’t hesitate, reversing the oars, and we moved slowly backward toward the dock.

“Robard! Watch the crossbows!” I attempted to keep one eye on Maryam and the other on the captain lest he change his mind.

The first bolt whistled at the boat, striking the side. But it glanced off, doing no damage.

Robard let loose with another arrow, and a second later I heard a scream from one of the men-at-arms and saw him crumple to the dock. We were still about ten feet away from Maryam.

“Maryam, we’re coming!” I assured her.

She looked back at us and then at the men still several feet away down the dock. Without a word she backed up a little, took a running start and leapt through the air to the boat.

“Look out!” the captain hollered.

Maryam landed on top of Robard and me. Luckily Robard was not in the act of shooting or she might have been pierced by another of his arrows. We all landed in a heap at the bottom. The boat rocked back and forth, and for a moment I thought we might capsize, but then it steadied.

“Go,” I yelled.

The captain and his crew rowed furiously. Sir Hugh and his men reached the end of the dock. Two of them dropped to their knees, taking aim with their crossbows. I pushed Maryam to the side and both of us crouched beneath the gunwales of the boat.

Robard, however, stood, drew another arrow from his wallet and let it fly at the dock. It landed in a post about six inches from Sir Hugh’s head. Darn the luck. He shouted in surprise and very quickly moved behind the men-at-arms.

With each second we gained distance. Another bolt from a crossbow whistled toward us but missed again, landing in the water beyond the bow.

I noticed something moving in the water by the dock that caught my eye. The dog. It had jumped off the dock and was swimming toward us.

Maryam saw it too. “Tristan, look!” she said, pointing.

“I see it,” I said. “Captain!”

“I’m not going back again, not against those crossbows. Strike me down if you must, but I’ll not risk my life and crew for a mutt,” he said.

The dog bobbed and floated in the water, struggling mightily to catch up to us.

We were almost out of range of the crossbows.

Without thinking, I stood up, unbuckled my sword, dropped the satchel to the floor and dove into the water. I was an adequate swimmer, having learned in the river near the abbey, but I hadn’t swum in a long while.

I kicked forward, plowing through the water with my arms, trying to keep my head up and the dog in sight. It was difficult and I slipped beneath the water a few times to confuse the bowmen, but I slowly closed the gap.

When I reached her, the dog was nearly exhausted. I grabbed her in one arm and turned toward the boat. I was in range of the crossbows, and although I was completely disoriented in the water, I could hear Sir Hugh shouting, “Shoot him! Shoot him!” The bolts whistled over and around me in the water but miraculously none of them hit me.

I paddled away with my one arm, the dog clutched tightly in the other, kicking furiously. Off somewhere I could hear Robard shouting to the captain, but I was tired and the boat slipped farther away.

I drifted under the water once, then again. Each time I burst to the surface spitting out water. My legs were cramping and I had no strength left. Exhausted and not sure I was going to make it, I came to the surface only a few yards away from the boat. With every ounce of strength I had left, I kicked mightily. It was not enough.

I felt something hard knock me on the shoulder. Reaching up I grabbed a piece of wood and was pulled through the water. It was Robard leaning over the side of the boat and pulling me in with his bow.

Hands lifted me up and over the side. I slumped to the floor with Robard holding me up by the shoulders. He shouted at the captain to get moving, and Maryam took the dog from my grasp. She set it on the seat in front of us, and it shook the water from its coat, looking at me and barking happily, its tiny tail wagging. It jumped into my lap eagerly licking my face. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

When I could lift my head, I looked back at the dock to see Sir Hugh pacing back and forth yelling at his men to “find a boat!” but they grew smaller and smaller as we moved farther out into the harbor.

Safe at last.

ON THE SEA 31

The crew took up a fast rhythm as the oars sliced through the water. We moved past the ships lying at anchor, around several galleys and barges, until we came to the last ship, anchored farthest from the shore. Well, at least the captain called it a ship. It looked as if it could barely float. Of course the lighting was poor. The moon had set, and only a small flame came from the torch the captain had lighted. As we drew closer, I saw that it was true. The ship was a wreck.

First of all, it was small. Very small. A quarter the size of a Templar ship, and with very little draft, so it sat high in the water. Three oars reached out from each side, and a single mast held a tattered sail hanging from it. The railing around the main deck was broken in places, and it looked all in all like it might sink at any moment.

“You booked us passage on this?” Robard said, his voice full of disbelief.

“Well. Yes. But looks can be deceiving,” I replied. In fact, I thought in this case, looks were perhaps as accurate as could be. I had a horrible feeling about it.

As the longboat pulled alongside the ship, one of the crewmen scampered up the anchor line, and in a few minutes a rope net came over the side. We climbed aboard. Standing on the deck of the ship I saw that it was even worse than I had first thought. After the captain fired several torches to give us light to see by, I wished we had stayed in the dark.

The deck was warped and rotting. Several of the boards were curved up at the ends. The sail was in terrible shape. It looked to have more holes than fabric. And it stank-an odd combination of unpleasant odors.

While the crew hurried about in an effort to get us under way, the captain approached me. “You can stow your gear below if you wish,” he said. Since the smell on deck had already made me nauseated, I didn’t believe the hold would be any better.

“No, thanks,” I replied. “I think we’ll sleep up here on the deck.”

“Suit yourself. I know she doesn’t look like much, but trust me, she’ll get you where you want to go. Eventually. Long as you’re not in a hurry, she’ll do you fine. Now, you owe me some money. Don’t forget you’re