The sky is already dark, the moon and stars are few and far between.
Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre.
Lothar followed Archbishop William to a prayer room.
If you go out on the right side here, you can embark on the Stations of the Cross, which is the way Jesus carried the cross and was tortured.
Near the towering prototype dome, there is a narrow window, from which a faint starlight is projected, which happens to shine on the shrine containing the statue of Jesus in the prayer room.
White candles illuminated the room, which had been mottled with the changes of time.
The Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre has experienced many damages and reconstructions in history, and it inevitably has a strong Eastern Empire style.
Just like the name Yogurtsburg, it is a legacy from the period of Eastern Empire rule.
Looking at Prajna who had put on the veil, only her eyes were still showing her beauty, Archbishop William looked embarrassed and whispered in Lothar's ear:
"My lord, you are the first man to bring a girl here to spend the night and keep the commandments. Please remember that this is the tomb of the Holy Son and a sacred place!"
Lothar understood his thoughts and smiled: "Don't worry, I am a devout believer and will never act recklessly in this sacred place.
Moreover, this lady is definitely not my mistress, but my personal bodyguard. Many knights who have fought alongside her respectfully call her the 'Iron Knight'. "
"You can verify this by asking any knight who participated in the Battle of Kaleborg."
Archbishop William showed a look of surprise: "It seems that I misunderstood. But it is still very strange to bring a personal guard to the church to keep watch."
Lothar joked: "After all, I have little confidence in the security of the Holy Sepulchre Cathedral."
William was speechless.
He knew that Lothar was referring to the theft of "sacred objects".
During this time, he was quite worried about this.
On the one hand, the matter of "miracles" and "holy objects" has been reported to the Papal City. On the other hand, there are many people competing with him for the position of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
He made such a big omission and didn't dare to make it public, so he had to cover it up.
The werewolf corpses were also replaced by wild wolf corpses collected at high prices.
Someone noticed something was wrong, so he claimed that the werewolf corpse had shrunk during the tanning process.
In short, this matter was just blurred by him.
After that day, Lothar never saw Archbishop William's clerk again.
He was very sure that if he was just a small role, the archbishop would probably find an opportunity to deal with him secretly.
"Tomorrow morning, I will say a Holy Mass for you. At that time, I will prepare unleavened bread for you as the Holy Communion. Before that, you need to fast for one night."
Under normal circumstances, fasting needs to last for one day and one night. Archbishop William is obviously showing his kindness to Lothar.
boom--
The door was closed by the departing Archbishop William.
In a quiet room.
The breathing of both men was clearly audible.
Lothar came to the shrine and sat on the ground. He originally wanted to have a good sleep, but he never thought that the sleeping conditions tonight would be worse than living in a tent during the march.
"Prajna, have you brought paper and pen?"
"Um."
"I have a new story. Listen to it and copy it for me in Latin. I plan to print it and sell it."
Prajna's eyes were slightly bright, and she nodded: "Okay."
"What's the name of this story?"
Lothar thought for a moment and replied: "Song of Winter and Fire."
...
Yogurtsburg, Sego village.
It's getting late.
The miners gathered in the shack above the mine, holding a piece of dry, hard black bread in their hands, tearing it with their hands, and dipping it into the pea soup on the dinner plate.
There was a dark-faced man who wiped the plate with bread, sucked up the soup, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it.
"The food at the mine is really good. There is at least a whole piece of bacon in this pot of pea soup, and I ate several strips. In the past, I might not be able to eat one meal of meat in a year."
A young man with a typical Saracen appearance replied in fluent Germanic: "Yes, the new lord is a kind man, and everyone in our village is very grateful to him."
"Yes, I remembered that the lord also exempted you from the 'unbeliever tax'! From this point of view, he is really a generous person."
In the five villages affiliated with Yogurtsburg, the relationship between Christians and pagans is relatively harmonious.
Although in most rural areas, Christians and pagans still lived in isolation from each other.
The young man believed it, but he was still a little troubled: "It's just that I don't feel that life has become much easier. Mr. Ali in the village not long ago levied a Saladin tax and took away the last bag of grain I had saved at home. It’s gone, it’s said that it was used by the knight master of Sego Village to maintain weapons and armor and hire guards.”
If Hans had heard this, he would have felt greatly wronged.
Heavenly Father, he has never even been to Sego Village, let alone told the tax collectors that an additional Saladin tax will be levied, and Lothar has not issued an order to collect this tax.
There was silence among the companions.
This topic is still quite sensitive among them.
Because of their beliefs, the two groups are treated differently, but the tax on unbelievers is not so high that they need to pretend to convert and repent later.
The Saracen young man also realized that he had said something embarrassing and quickly changed the subject: "I actually met the lord. Not long ago, he led a large group of cavalry and passed by the village. He was wearing a jacket inlaid with golden silk threads. He wears a cloak, a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sword at his waist. He looks very handsome."
"Yes, that's right, he is so majestic!"
"It is said that the lord is very rich, so he is so generous to us. He has endless bread and endless broth for every meal."
A miner said proudly: "Especially those cavalry with feathers on their backs. They are called 'wing cavalry'. I have a brother who is one of them. It is said that their weekly salary is a full thirty A silver dinar coin."
There was a hint of longing on the face of the Saracen miner: "It would be great if I could also become a hussar."
"Haha, don't dream. You can't even ride a donkey, and you're still a heretic. You will never pick up a sword and serve the lord in your life."
The Saracen young man sighed: "That's true."
Someone next to him said: "If you can be favored by Lord Mallus, it would be a good thing to take him to the blacksmith shop in the castle and become his apprentice."
"Yes, Lord Mallus may be a bit strict, but he is definitely a good person."
At this time, the ground suddenly shook.
Gravel and gravel rolled down the slope.
The miners were stunned for a moment, then stood up in a swarm and rushed outside.
"Run quickly!"
"This is an earthquake!"
But they couldn't get very far.
The next moment, a huge figure emerged from the ground, with a bloody mouth open. The next moment, more than ten miners who were keeping vigil here were swallowed by the giant shadow.
