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The Knight And The Gnostic

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Barbaria1 said:
Episode 31.

I pick my way slowly through Beziers, headed for the olive grove on the other side of the river. It is still dark ... well before sunrise ... and the lanes and alleys of the sacked city are littered with debris, and much to my horror and disgust, decomposing bodies.

I stumble along, trying not to retch at the stench that assaults my senses, until at last I reach the town wall. I follow it's course until I come to a breach and slip through onto the cool dewy grass on the far side. The dew feels good on my bare feet as I run to the river's edge and follow it to a small wooden bridge, used mostly by those who tend the fields, vineyards and olive groves on the other side.

Apprehensively I crouch near the bridge and peer through the darkness across its narrow span. Nothing stirs. Satisfied I get up and quickly cross over. From there it is only a short distance to the grove on the crest of the hill, where my rendezvous with de Flebas is to take place. I traverse the distance swiftly, heart pounding as I scramble up the slope to safety.

I know I must hide now and wait. I find a place behind the crumbling wall of a long abandoned shed and hunker down, poking my head up from time to time to survey the deep gloom of the grove. If only there was a moon, it would be easier to know of de Flebas' arrival. I wonder what could be delaying him?

An hour or more passes, then two. My mind swirls. I imagine de Flebas and I setting off together and reaching Carcassonne, where we would rally the faithful, and lead an armed host back to Beziers, determined to avenge its sacking ... I dream of us together destroying the hated and unholy Abbot Arnaud and his marauding crusader army.

As the first glimmer of sunrise appears on the horizon, I hear the sound of someone approaching...the snap of a twig, the grating sound of boots on a patch of gravel. Cautiously I peer out through the olive grove, shrouded in gray mists of ground fog in the light of early dawn. I see no one, but know that it has to be de Flebas!

But then more sounds ... many boots, gruff voices, the clank of armor and arms, the baying of dogs! It's not de Flebas! It's Bernard and his henchmen. They have found my trail! I duck down behind the crumbling wall, close my eyes and pray that somehow they will pass by without discovering me.

But it's not to be. As they approach the dogs begin to bay excitedly. Peeking out from my hiding place, I can see the dogs tugging on their leads, pulling in my direction ... and Bernard and his men quickening their pace to keep up with the animals. It's no use. I stand up and reveal myself.

Bernard shouts excitedly, "It's her! Seize her!"

His two henchmen, the same two whom de Flebas had sent packing the night before, pounce on me, knocking me to the ground. One of them has me by the hair and kneels on one of my arms, while the other grabs my free wrist with one hand, pinning it down while he opens the front of the cloak that de Flebas had given me back in the dungeon with his other, baring my breasts.

Bernard stands over me and mutters something about unfinished business. Kneeling down and forcing my legs apart, he opens my cloak the rest of the way, falls upon me and takes me swiftly. I offer no resistance. Being violated has by this time lost all meaning for me. I just want it to be over quickly. He thrusts and thrusts and then grunts his satisfaction. Then he is off of me only to be replaced by each of his two henchmen in turn.

When they have had their fill, they get me on my feet. My cloak is tossed aside, and I am trussed naked to a wooden pole taken from the sagging roof of the hut and placed across my shoulders. My arms are stretched out along the length of the pole and bound to it at my wrists.

"The Abbot awaits your return for execution," Bernard tells me smugly. "Back to town now. Get moving! We'll make a show of it!"

He fits a noose over my head, takes hold of the loose end of the rope and guides me out of the grove and onto a rutted track leading back to Beziers. I stagger forward awkwardly, head down, eyes on the ground beneath my feet. The two guards fall in on either side of me; hitching up their breeches, smiling smugly and giving each other a congratulatory smack on the back.

We haven't gone fifty paces before I hear Bernard chortle, "Well will you look at who has turned up now? I wonder how you knew just where to find us, de Flebas?"

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:doh: I can't believe it. That eternal optimist Murphy was right.
Murphy's law:
Part 1-Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Part 2-If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
Part 3-If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
Part 4-Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
Part 5-If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

The law has been followed to a tee twice on these forums lately:p First with the missing images on threads, and now, the great escape of Barbara de Moore, and de Flebas, has gone horribly wrong:doh::eek:
I was so excited that maybe, just maybe, Barbara would finally escape an execution, but alas that is not going to be the case here. I fear the worst:eek:
I suppose, at least she was free for while, and got to feel the cool grass on her feet.
Now she is headed back to the bastard Abbot Arnaud:mad::mad:

Many thanks to the following:
Barb for another great episode.
To de Flebas for planning a great escape, and great writing.
To Madiosi for the great images.
:clapping:
 
Hondoboot2 said:
:doh: I can't believe it. That eternal optimist Murphy was right.
Murphy's law:
Part 1-Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Part 2-If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
Part 3-If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
Part 4-Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
Part 5-If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

The law has been followed to a tee twice on these forums lately:p First with the missing images on threads, and now, the great escape of Barbara de Moore, and de Flebas, has gone horribly wrong:doh::eek:
I was so excited that maybe, just maybe, Barbara would finally escape an execution, but alas that is not going to be the case here. I fear the worst:eek:
I suppose, at least she was free for while, and got to feel the cool grass on her feet.
Now she is headed back to the bastard Abbot Arnaud:mad::mad:

Many thanks to the following:
Barb for another great episode.
To de Flebas for planning a great escape, and great writing.
To Madiosi for the great images.
:clapping:
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Thanks Hondo ;)

thehangingtree said:
I was afraid something like this might happen...
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You mean you were hoping it would :rolleyes:
 
Poor Barbara. So close to escaping. She should have gone on without de Flebas and just kept on running until she was out of the country and far beyond the twisted Abbot's grasp. I fear she wont be so lucky to get a second chance to escape.
 
Scarlet_Sin said:
Poor Barbara. So close to escaping. She should have gone on without de Flebas and just kept on running until she was out of the country and far beyond the twisted Abbot's grasp. I fear she wont be so lucky to get a second chance to escape.
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Loyalty, hope, maybe even affection. She waited in hope, but you know what the Scottish bard almost said "The best laid plans of mice and Barb go oft astray"

And now we move towards the end game . . . .

Episode 32

The knock on the head has affected me more than I expected. After leaving the Abbot's men I set out to meet Barbara, but somehow I found myself slumped against a wall. I don't know how long I was there, but fearing that I may have missed my rendezvous with Barbara I stood too quickly, making me giddy for a moment, then I hurried on to the orchard.

As I feared! I approach the orchard to see poor Barbara bound with a pole across her shoulders and with a rope around her neck! That vile beast Bernard had her, I was too late! They had cast away her cloak, and doubtless violated her. Her arms were stretched out, her body exposed, and she was going to be marched through the town like this!

"Well will you look at who has turned up now? I wonder how you knew just where to find us, Flebas?"

This was too much for me.

"You forget yourself, Bernard the oaf! You will address me correctly or not at all!"

With this I cuffed him hard across the face, and kicked the feet out from under him. His face betrayed his rage and hatred for this humiliation, but he stayed down, he knew he was on dangerous ground and that I was within my rights to chastise him for such a liberty. No matter, I was late and he had the upper hand, I could not stage a rescue in the face of numerous witnesses. There was nothing to do but to go along with things now.

I join their procession back within the city, back to the Abbot. Barbara caught my eye and nodded her acceptance. She knew now that events had an inevitable momentum, her dreams of freedom were sweet but short lived. I had tried to save her, and through my own weakness I had failed. Now she was to meet the judgement of Arnaud Amaury.

madiosi 2016 - 229-KatG.jpg

There he was, hardly able to contain his pleasure that his prize captive had been returned to him. She stands before him, weary but proud, her bare breasts thrust forward by the pose forced on her, her body dirty but her spirit unbroken. I hold my breath to see what he will pronounce, sure that he has something suitably awful and public in mind to crush the life out of this rebellion.

"There you are, mistress de Moore. I am so glad to see you returned safely to our protection. Now, we must proceed without further delay. You have freely confessed your sins, your error, before our court. You have attempted to escape lawful punishment, which is a very serous matter. You will meet death, yes, inevitable for your level of crime. You will go to your maker and you will serve as an example to every person here that your heresy is a path to death and not life. You claimed spiritual purity, which strikes me as dangerously close to blasphemy. For this, and for vexing me so with your intransigence, I sentence you to death here on the walls of the city. You will be taken as you are to the wall where you will be nailed to a cross, to mark your infamy. You will be crucified in view of the army and the population and you will hang there until your death. Take her from my sight."

I gasp in shock! Crucifixion! This was outrageous, sacriligious! Can he mean this? That Barbara will be taken and nailed to a cross to die, for all to see? The Abbot was overstepping his authority this time, surely! But as I look around I see his followers nod in agreement, even eagerness. Barbara looks stunned, but struggles to pull herself together. Why couldn't I save her when I had the chance! Now I must witness this abomination of an execution, this good and innocent woman will be subject to the greatest of public indignity. While I stand in shock the party start to move off, the Abbot has clearly planned this in advance. I can do nothing but follow.
 
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