The Grail Quest 1 - Harlequin - Bernard Cornwell

Sir Simon said nothing. He just gazed at the weapon with a look close to awe.

Henry Colley, untouched by the moment's fervour, picked his nose.

The world,“ the Harlequin said, is rotting. The Church is corrupt and kings are weak. We have it in our power, Sir Simon, to make a new world, loved by God, but to do it we must destroy the old. We must take power ourselves, then give the power to God. That is why we fight.”

Henry Colley thought the Frenchman was plain crazy, but Sir Simon had an enraptured expression.

Tell me,“ the Harlequin looked at Sir Simon, what is the battle flag of the English King?”

The dragon banner," Sir Simon said.

The Harlequin offered one of his rare smiles. Is that not an omen?“ he asked, then paused. I shall tell you what will happen this day,” he went on. The King of France will come and he will be impatient and he will attack. The day will go badly for us. The English will jeer at us because we cannot break them, but then we shall carry the lance into battle and you will see God turn the fight. We shall snatch victory from failure. You will take the English King's son as a prisoner and maybe we will even capture Edward himself, and our reward will be Philip of Valois's favour. That is why we fight, Sir Simon, for the King's favour, because that favour means power, riches and land. You will share that wealth, but only so long as you understand that we shall use our power to purge the rot from Christendom. We shall be a scourge against the wicked.“ Mad as a brush, Henry Colley thought. Daft as lights. He watched as the Harlequin stood and went to a packhorse's pannier from which he took a square of cloth which, unfolded, proved to be a red banner on which a strange beast with horns, tusks and claws reared on its hind legs while clasping a cup in its forepaws. This is my family's banner,” the Harlequin said, tying the flag to the lance's long silver head with black ribbons, and for many years, sir Simon, this banner was forbidden in France because its owners had fought against the King and against the Church. Our lands were wasted and our castle is still slighted, but today we shall be heroes and this banner will be back in favour.“ He rolled the flag about the lance-head so that the yale was hidden. Today,” he said fervently, my family is resurrected."

What is your family?" Sir Simon asked.

My name is Guy Vexille,“ the Harlequin admitted, and I am the Count of Astarac.”

Sir Simon had never heard of Astarac, but he was pleased to learn that his master was a proper nobleman and, to signify his obedience, he held his praying hands towards Guy Vexille in hom-age. I will not disappoint you, my lord," Sir Simon said with an unaccustomed humility.

God will not disappoint us today,“ Guy Vexille said. He took Sir Simon's hands in his own. Today,” he raised his voice to speak to all his knights, we shall destroy England."

For he had the lance.

And the royal army of France was coming.

And the English had offered themselves for slaughter. Arrows,“ Will Skeat said. He was standing at the wood's edge beside a pile of sheaves unloaded from a wagon, but suddenly paused. Good God.” He was staring at Thomas. Looks like a rat got your hair.“ He frowned. Suits you, though. You look grown up at long last. Arrows!” he said again. Don't waste them.“ He tossed the sheaves one by one to the archers. It looks like a lot, but most of you godforsaken lepers have never been in a proper battle and battles swallow arrows like whores swallowing, Good morning, Father Hobbe!”

You'll spare me a sheaf, Will?"

Don't waste it on sinners, father,“ Will said, throwing a bundle to the priest. Kill some God-fearing Frenchmeri.” There's no such thing, Will. They're all spawn of Satan.“ Thomas emptied a sheaf into his arrow bag and tucked another into his belt. He had a pair of boweords in his helmet, safe from the rain that threatened. A smith had come to the archers” encamp-ment and had hammered the nicks from their swords, axes, knives and billhooks, then sharpened the blades with his stones. The smith, who had been wandering the army, said the King had ridden north to look for a battlefield, but he himself reckoned the French would not come that day. It's a lot of sweat for nothing,“ he had grumbled as he smoothed a stone down Thomas's sword. This is French work,” he said, peering at the long blade.

From Caen."

You could sell this for a penny or two,“ the praise was grudging, good steel. Old, of course, but good.”

Now, with their arrows replenished, the archers placed their belongings into a wagon that would join the rest of the army's baggage and one man, who was sick in his belly, would guard it through the day while a second invalid would stand sentry on the archers“ horses. Will Skeat ordered the wagon away, then cast an eye over his assembled archers. The bastards are coming,” he growled, if not today, then tomorrow, and there are more of them than there are of us, and they ain't hungry and they've all got boots and they think their shit smells of roses because they're bloody Frenchmen, but they die just like anyone else. Shoot their horses and you'll live to see sundown. And remember, they ain't got proper archers so they're going to lose. It ain't difficult to understand. keep your heads, aim at the horses, don't waste shafts and listen for orders. Let's go, boys."

They waded the shallow river, one of the many bands of archers who emerged from the trees to file into the village of Crecy where knights were pacing up and down, then stamping their feet and calling on squires or pages to tighten a strap or loosen a buckle to make their armour comfortable. Bunches of horses, tied bridle to bridle, were being led to the back of the hill where, with the army's women, children and baggage, they would stay inside a ring of wagons. The Prince of Wales, armoured from the waist down, was eating a green apple beside the church and he nodded distractedly when Skeat's men respectfully pulled off their helmets. There was no sign of Jeanette, and Thomas wondered if she had fled on her own, then decided he did not care.

Eleanor walked beside him. She touched his arrow bag. Do you have enough arrows?"

Depends how many Frenchmen come, Thomas said.

How many Englishmen are there?“ Rumour said the army had eight thousand men now, half of them archers, and Thomas reckoned that was probably about right. He gave that figure to Eleanor, who frowned. And how many Frenchmen?” she asked. The good Lord knows," Thomas said, but he reckoned it had to be far more than eight thousand, a lot more, but he could do nothing about that now and so he tried to forget the disparity in numbers as the archers climbed towards the windmill.

They crossed the crest to see the long forward slope, and for an instant Thomas had the impression that a great fair was just begin-ning. Gaudy flags dotted the hill and bands of men wandered between them, and all it needed was some dancing bears and a few jugglers and it would have looked just like the Dorchester fair. Will Skeat had stopped to search for the Earl of Northampton's banner, then spotted it on the right of the slope, straight down from the mill. He led the men down and a man-at-arms showed them the sticks marking the spot where the archers would fight. And the Earl wants horse-pits dug,“ the man-at-arms said. You heard him!” Will Skeat shouted. Get digging!" Eleanor helped Thomas make the pits. The soil was thick and they used knives to loosen the earth that they scooped out with their hands.

Why do you dig pits?" Eleanor asked.

To trip the horses," Thomas said, kicking the excavated earth away before starting another hole. All along the face of the hill archers were making similar small pits a score of paces in front of their positions. The enemy horsemen might charge at the full gallop, but the pits would check them. They could get through, but only slowly, and the impetus of their charge would be broken and while they tried to thread the treacherous holes they would be under attack from archers.

There," Eleanor said, pointing, and Thomas looked up to see a group of horsemen on the far hill crest. The first Frenchmen had arrived and were staring across the valley to where the English army slowly assembled under the banners.

Be hours yet," Thomas said. Those Frenchmen, he guessed, were the vanguard who had been sent ahead to find the enemy, while the main French army would still be marching from Abbeville. The crossbowmen, who would surely lead the attack, would all be on foot.

Off to Thomas's right, where the slope fell away to the river and the village, a makeshift fortress of empty wagons was being made. The carts were parked close together to form a barrier against horsemen and between them were guns. These were not the guns that had failed to break Caen Castle, but were much smaller. Ribalds," Will Skeat said to Thomas.

Ribalds?"

That's what they're called, ribalds.“ He led Thomas and Eleanor along the slope to look at the guns, which were strange bundles of iron tubes. Gunners were stirring the powder, while others were undoing bundles of garros, the long arrow-like iron missiles that were rammed into the tubes. Some of the ribalds had eight barrels, some seven and a few only four. Useless bloody things,” Skeat spat, but they might frighten the horses.“ He nodded a greeting to the archers who were digging pits ahead of the ribalds. The guns were thick here, Thomas counted thirty-four and others were being dragged into place, but they still needed the protection of bowmen. Skeat leaned on a wagon and stared at the far hill. It was not warm, but he was sweating. Are you ill?” Thomas asked. Guts are churning a bit,“ Skeat admitted, but nothing to make a song and dance about.” There were about four hundred French horsemen on the far hill now, and others were appearing from the trees. It might not happen,“ Skeat said quietly. The battle?”

Philip of France isjumpy,“ Skeat said. He's got a knack of march-ing up to battle, then deciding he'd rather be frolicking at home. That's what I hear. Nervous bastard.” He shrugged. But if he thinks he's got a chance today, Tom, it's going to be nasty.“ Thomas smiled. The pits? The archers?”

Don't be a bloody fool, boy,“ Skeat retorted. Not every pit breaks a leg and not every arrow strikes true. We might stop the first charge and maybe the second, but they'll still keep coming and in the end they'll get through. There's just too many of the bastards. They'll be on top of us, Tom, and it'll be up to the men-at-arms to give them a hammering. Just keep your head, boy, and remember it's the men-at-arms who do the close-quarter work. If the bastards get past the pits then take your bow back, wait for a target and stay alive. And if we lose?” He shrugged. Leg it for the forest and hide there."

What is he saying?" Eleanor asked.

That it should be easy work today."

You are a bad liar, Thomas."

Just too many of them,“ Skeat said, almost to himself. Tommy Dugdale faced worse odds down in Brittany, Tom, but he had plenty of arrows. We're short.”

We're going to be all right, Will."

Aye, well. Maybe.“ Skeat pushed himself off the wagon. You two go ahead. I need a quiet place for a second.” Thomas and Eleanor walked back north. The English line was forming now, the scattered flags being swamped by men-at-arms who were forming into blocks. Archers stood ahead of each forma-tion while marshals, armed with white staffs, made sure there were gaps in the line through which the archers could escape if the horsemen came too close. Bundles of lances had been fetched from the village and were being issued to the men-at-arms in the front rank for, if the French did get past the pits and the arrows, the lances would have to be used as pikes.

By mid-morning the whole army was assembled on the hill. It looked far bigger than it really was because so many women had stayed with their men and now sat on the grass or else lay and slept. A fitful sun came and went, racing shadows across the valley. The pits were dug and the guns loaded. Perhaps a thousand French-men watched from the far hill, but none ventured down the slope. At least it's better than marching,“ Jake said; gives us a chance for a rest, eh?”

Be an easy day,“ Sam reckoned. He nodded at the far hill. Not many of the bastards, eh?”

That's only the vanguard, you daft bastard,“ Jake said. There are more coming?” Sam sounded genuinely surprised. Every goddamn bastard in France is coming," Jake said. Thomas kept quiet. He was imagining the French army strung along the Abbeville road. They would all know the English had stopped running, that they were waiting, and doubtless the French were hurrying in case they missed the battle. They had to be confi-dent. He made the sign of the cross and Eleanor, sensing his fear, touched his arm.

You will be all right," she said.

You too, my love."

You remember your promise to my father?" she asked. Thomas nodded, but he could not persuade himself that he would see the lance of Saint George this day. This day was real, while the lance belonged to some mysterious world of which Thomas really wanted no part. Everyone else, he thought, cared passionately about the relic, and only he, who had as good a reason as any to discover the truth, was indifferent. He wished he had never seen the lance, he wished that the man who had called himself the Harlequin had never come to Hookton, but if the French had not landed, he thought, then he would not be carrying the black bow and would not be on this green hillside and would not have met Eleanor. You cannot turn your back on God, he told himself.

If I see the lance,“ he promised Eleaflor, I shall fight for it.” That was his penance, though he still hoped he would not have to serve it.

They ate mouldy bread for their midday meal. The French were a dark mass on the far hill, too many to count now, and the first of their infantry had arrived. A spit of rain made those archers who had their strings dangling from a bowtip hurry to coil the cords and shelter them under helmets or hats, but the small rain passed. A wind stirred the grass.

And still the French came to the far hill. They were a horde, they had come to Crecy, and they had come for revenge.

The English waited. Two of Skeat's archers played straw flutes, while the hobelars, who were helping to protect the guns on the army's flanks, sang songs of green woods and running streams. Some men danced the steps they would have used on a village green back home, others slept, many played dice, and all but the sleepers continually looked across the valley to the far hill crest that was thickening with men.

Jake had a linen-wrapped lump of beeswax that he handed round the archers so they could coat their bows. It was not necessary, just something to do. Where did you get the wax?“ Thomas asked him. Stole it, of course, off some daft man-at-arms. Saddle polish, I reckon.”

An argument developed over which wood made the best arrows. It was an old discussion, but it passed the time. Everyone knew ash made the best shafts, but some men liked to claim that birch or hornbeam, even oak, flew just as well. Alder, though heavy, was good for killing deer, but needed a heavy head and did not have the distance for battle.

Sam took one of his new arrows from his bag and showed everyone how warped the shaft was. Must be made of bloody blackthorn,“ he complained bitterly. You could shoot that round a corner.”