Keeper of the Grail Read Online Free PDF Page B

you to Dover—slowly, but you should be able to keep up. There you can leave him at the stable on the grounds of St. Bartholomew. The priests will care for him until our next trip there.”
    I looked at the abbot, who nodded his approval. Brother Tuck smiled, grasping me in a tremendous bear hug that took me off my feet. He set me down, taking my face in his giant hands, kissing me on each cheek. I would miss him most of all. Though he could not hear or speak, Brother Tuck had an uncanny ability to learn and know what was going on about him. He understood I was leaving, and his gesture of kindness touched me deeply.
    I looked at the rest of the brothers. They were my family. “Good-bye. I will miss all of you. I promise I’ll return someday. Soon, I hope.”
    With that, Brother Tuck boosted me onto the back of Charlemagne. As I settled into the saddle, he handed me the reins. Sir Hugh gave the command to move out. The knights were spectacular horsemen, their chargers leaping forward in unison. Sir Thomas had taken a place near the rear of the column, and as he passed by me, he reined his horse slightly, motioning for me to ride alongside him.
    I gently nudged Charlemagne with my heels and he began moving, slowly, as he was used to the plow and not the saddle. He was a gentle soul as horses go, but speed was not his gift. I had my work cut out for me to keep up with the warhorses of the regimento.
    This docile horse carrying me away to a new life was my last gift from the hearts of the finest men I’d ever known.

D OVER , E NGLAND

6
    A fter many hours in the saddle the sun moved lower in the western sky. We crested a hill and below us lay the city of Dover. From the hilltop I could smell the ocean. The city, which had been just a small village when I had visited three years ago, had changed much.
    On a hill to the north, a large castle was under renovation. I saw men climbing the wooden scaffold encasing the castle keep, crawling up and down ladders like ants. I could see ropes moving, lifting rocks and barrels of sand as the stones were set in place by men at the top of the walls.
    Below us the city spread out beneath the white cliffs that rose so beautifully above the ocean. A large marketplace teeming with booths and tents occupied the center of the town. As we rode down the ridge onto the main street leading into the city, I became increasingly aware of the noise.
    Vendors in the marketplace called out to everyone. Passing a small inn, I heard the shouts and songs of happy revelers coming from within. The sounds of a blacksmith banging away at a piece of hot steel rang through the air. We were swept away in a wave of bedlam. Even Charlemagne began shaking his head, snorting in disgust at the buzz of activity that surrounded us.
    “Have you ever seen a city before?” asked Sir Thomas, noticing the look of awe upon my face.
    “Yes, sire, I came here with the brothers a few years ago. But it seemed much smaller then. Not as many people. And quieter.”
    “No doubt,” Sir Thomas said. “War has been good for Dover. Many of the Crusaders gather here to board ships for Outremer. King Richard wants the castle reinforced and strengthened. King Philip of France is an ally for now, but allies can quickly turn into enemies. Any force attacking England by sea would make Dover a likely target, so the castle must be ready and able to slow down any invaders until reinforcements can arrive. When I first came here as a boy, Dover was a sleepy fishing village. Now the fishermen are far outnumbered by the innkeepers and the merchants.”
    Riding farther into the city, we eventually came upon several large buildings surrounded by a gated fence. Above the entrance flew a banner divided in color, with the bottom half brown and the top half white.
    “See the Templar banner, Tristan?” Sir Thomas said. “That flag flies over every Templar commandery. The colors symbolize the heaven above in white, and the earth below in brown. No