Monterrey lie in a bed inside the barracks of Ft. Bruford. He stared up at the ceiling aimlessly with his single eye. His left eye socket was covered by a white bandage that was stained with blood.
Baldwin entered the empty barracks, holding a tin cup filled with coffee and approached Monterrey, sitting in a chair next to his bed.
"How are you?" Baldwin asked.
"Feel like shit."
"Ah, well, It's early. You want some coffee?"
"Yes, please."
Baldwin handed Monterrey the cup of coffee, and the wounded knight began to sip from the tin.
"The men grow restless. There have been no victories since Mt. Boren, aside from small skirmishes in the woods." Baldwin said. "Demands for peace have become more persistent." Baldwin added.
"What do you want to do?" Monterrey asked, still looking up at the ceiling.
"Maybe they're right. I can't make that decision, though. The pope or the other Grandmasters would have to agree. Though they could be right, I believe in this cause, and I will not stop until I'm dead or until King Skinner accepts my terms." Baldwin went on passionately as Monterrey nonchalantly sipped from his coffee.
"I shall talk to Aldonva, Leopold, and Boscogne and see what they think." Baldwin said, rising from his seat and leaving the Barracks.
He walked down the hallways of the Teutonic Order's underground barracks. He entered the war room where many Christian leaders were discussing plans. Baldwin stood in the center of the room and announced the growing demands for peace. "Soldiers of God and Brothers in Christ, it appears our men want this war to end, my Templars do at least." He said loudly.
The other fifteen or so leaders murmured to each other and looked at him. Aldonva stands up and addresses Baldwin.
"Grandmaster Baldwin, are you sure you want to broker peace now that we have papal support and thousands of men arriving every day from Europe?" Aldonva badgered, an irritation in his tone.
"I don't want to. I believe in this war. It's just that some of my men have started questioning things because of our lack of action in the past month or so." Baldwin responded in defense of himself.
"This is your war, Baldwin." Aldonva said coldly. Baldwin nodded and spoke again. "What should I do about my men then?"
"I guess we'll have to start enforcing zero tolerance for desertion."
"What? Do you mean kill them? My men are sons of God. I will not allow it, Aldonva."
"Then you better start using your influence on them."
Baldwin clenched his fists and left the room. The other Grandmasters resumed their conversations as Baldwin left the war room. Aldonva sighed and leaned back in his chair.
Baldwin went to the barracks again and approached Monterrey, still bedridden. "Can you stand?" He asked
"Yes."
"Can you ride?"
"Of course."
"Good. Let's go." Baldwin said as he extended his hand forward and helped Monterrey out of bed.
The two climbed the ladder that led up to the tower where the secret entrance was hidden. They reached the top and made their way to the courtyard of the fort where they mounted their horses.
"Where are we going?" Monterrey asked.
"Middle Tahl." Baldwin said. "Templars, Teutons, Hospitallers, Crusaders of all orders!" Baldwin yelled out. "We march to Middle Tahl!"
The knights all looked at each other in confusion as Baldwin and Monterrey rode out of the fort. Seemingly unanimously, almost all of the soldiers mounted their steeds and followed the Grandmaster. A total of two hundred of them came trotting through the front gate of the fort, following Baldwin. A few soldiers went into the hidden depths underneath Fort Bruford and told other soldiers, who all made their way to the courtyard. Word eventually got to the war room, and many of the leaders decided to go with Baldwin. Aldonva was the last to finally leave.
The fort was now almost abandoned, all but a garrison of twenty men had left with Baldwin. Cid and Edwin rode with Aldonva and another Grandmaster, Hermaeus of the Order of Saint Lazarus. Hermaeus wore bandages all over his hands and face and always wore a helmet or some kind of face covering. He had leprosy, all the members of his order did, and they were often called the Leper Knights. His order was made specifically for crusaders with Leprosy, and they often were separated from the other orders so that they wouldn't spread the disease.
"I heard Baldwin isn't just about to sack Middle Tahl. He's also gonna attack any indian village he finds." Edwin said.
"Even peaceful tribes like Cherokees?" Aldonva asked.
"Maybe, hell, I don't know. It's Baldwin. Never can figure with him." Edwin responded.
"Why is he deciding to attack Middle Tahl now all of a sudden?" Cid asked.
"He's planned this for a while. I think I made him mad, and on top of that, his men might start deserting if the war doesn't break out of this stalemate." Aldonva replied. "He just decided to do it today after another argument with me. He's got something to prove, I guess." Aldonva added as he trotted alongside the three other men. "Go up to him and ask him what we're doing first. Middle Tahl is West. We're going northwest." Aldonva said to Cid. The Templar nodded his head and galloped to the front of the long column of soldiers marching and riding.
"Grandmaster. Aldonva wants to know what we're doing first." Cid said to Baldwin.
"I'm looking for easy targets to get these mens spirits up. A little indian village or a Faithful Vigil patrol will do." Baldwin responded with a smile. Cid rode back to Aldonva and relayed the news.
"He said he's looking for an easy target, a Faithful Vigil patrol or and indian village." Cid told the Grandmaster.
"Damn fool. We don't need to waste time on that. Why is he doing this?" Aldonva asked angrily.
"He said it's to bring morale up." Cid replied.
Aldonva shook his head, sighed, and continued to follow the column of crusaders. The army ascended up a hill, and from there, Baldwin spotted a small patrol of Faithful Vigil rangers.
"How many is that?" Monterrey asked, squinting his eye to see better.
"Fifteen, twenty, maybe. We can take them. We have well over four hundred men." Baldwin replied. He handed Monterrey a horn and ordered him to sound the charge.
Monterrey blew the horn vigorously, and all the mounted crusaders charged down the hill towards the small detachment of rangers. The ranger captain ordered his men to retreat up a hill where they would make a stand. The crusaders chased the rangers up the hill, lancing and shooting five of them.
The rangers made it up the hill and were forced to kill their horses and use the corpses as breastworks. The crusaders charged the rangers repeatedly and were repelled time after time by devastating rifle fire.
Gunsmoke filled the air, and with each charge up the hill, one or two rangers were killed, but at the same time, eight or nine crusaders were shot down. The fighting went on for another forty minutes before the rangers were eventually overrun and killed. Baldwin dismounted his horse, and the other mounted soldiers did too. They began looting the dead rangers, taking their guns, armor, and other valuables.
Baldwin walked up to one of the corpses. It was the captain of the detachment of rangers. He rolled the body over and saw a dark skinned man with long dark hair. Baldwin looked at the dead man in disgust as he realized the captain was an indian. He spat on the face of the dead man and took out his knife. He scalped and beheaded the indian captain, tying his new trophies to his saddle.
Aldonva watched from a distance as Baldwin mutilated the dead captain. He was appalled and walked away. The crusaders finished looting the bodies and mounted their horses again.
The column was moving slowly across the grassy plains when Aldonva finally realized something. He quickly rode to the front of the column and alerted Baldwin.
"Baldwin! We need more men! We can't sack Middle Tahl with 400 men!" Aldonva said urgently. Baldwin's eyes widened at the realization, and he quickly made a decision.
"Tell Edwin to go back to Ft. Bruford and tell Cid to go to Frostgrad. They're to gather more soldiers for the siege."
Aldonva nodded and rode back to Edwin and Cid. He relayed the news to the two young knights, and they sighed and rode back disappointedly.
Baldwin led the column across a shallow area of the Cochise River, and they settled down on the riverbank. The soldiers pitched their tents while the sun set, and they rested and talked to one another.
Baldwin sat on a rock ledge near the river, and he sharpened a knife. Monterrey walked up and sat beside him.
"I've been thinking about an eyepatch." He said.
"An eyepatch?"
"Yeah, like a pirate. When I was a boy, I wanted to be a sailor, I read stories about pirates all the time back then."
"Hm. An eyepatch would look good. Like a seasoned veteran."
"It would look better than these shitty white bandages for sure."
Baldwin smiled and nodded, still sharpening his knife.
The two sat together and enjoyed the sunset and listened to the flowing river. The leaves were starting to turn colors, and the wind was sharper and colder. Baldwin knew he had little time left before winter rolled in.