Baphomet's Meteor (1972.DAW No. 35) Read online

  “Is that so? You know they weren’t ashamed to do the same at Antioch and everywhere else,” the two brothers protested in chorus.

  “You think that a valid excuse? Of course, if these belonged to the unfortunates killed in the battle, it would be difficult to locate their heirs, so I will shut my eyes to it this time. On the condition, you understand, that you give one-tenth to God. . . .”

  Whereupon, he extended his sack with a haughty gesture. Guiot and Clement glanced at each other and then, regretfully, divided their spoils of war with the Templar.

  “This is well done!” grunted the latter. “You may be sure that we will make better use of this treasure than you. I shall go straight and give this to its rightful owner. And take care to remember alms for the poor.”

  With these words he wrapped himself in his white mantle and left with great dignity, followed by the obsequious bowing and scraping Saracen, only too happy to find himself protected by his distinguished guests.

  The other Tholon brothers consoled themselves for their misfortune by gorging themselves with pastries and loukoums, greatly regretting the fact that the religion of the pagans did not permit them the use of strong drink. After that, they began to make free with the servant girls but, fortunately for them, fatigue came to their aid, the valiant warriors quickly falling into the deep sleep of the just. ...

  CHAPTER III

  ☆

  William of Beaujeu, himself, had more important things to do. The Grand Masters and the Commanders had installed themselves in the governor’s palace, the fortified dwelling where the last defenders of Jaffa had put up a desperate struggle. The squires had effaced all vestiges of the combat, covering the bloodstains with rich carpets, hiding the walls with tapestries. Torches flared brightly in the secluded room to which the Grand Master had retired, still wearing his armor and his white mantle. The coffers containing the precious grenades, as well as the effigies of Baphomet, had been stacked along the walls.

  William was in a good humor and, for the first time in years, his faithful servant knights, Marc and Erard, heard him murmuring Guiot of Provins’ verses praising the merits of the Order:

  “The Templars men of experience and integrity are;

  To them knights betake themselves from afar,

  Knights who have enjoyed the age nearly wasted,

  Who have owned, who have seen, and who have tasted.

  With estates and worldly goods they are done

  For there all belongs but to the Highest One.

  This is the Order of the Cross and of high chivalry,

  With great honor in Syria for many a hard-fought victory.”

  But he quickly resumed his habitual austerity and directed, “Erard, my Brother, this day will live forever in the annals of Christianity. Nevertheless, do not at any time forget our motto and render homage to whom it is due. It is fitting to honor Baphomet thanks to whom we have won this memorable victory. . . .”

  At once the knight seized a filigreed key held out to him by the Grand Master, and opened a coffer ornamented with allegorical motifs, with, in their center, a heart radiating rays of light.

  Inside, on a black velvet cushion, was a statue which resembled to an astonishing degree the being who still lay at the bottom of the pool in the Grand-Orient Forest.

  Assisted by Marc, the Grand Master took it out and respectfully placed it on a side table surrounded by incense burners emitting a pungent smoke.

  William knelt before the image and, after crossing himself, placed his hands on the short horns to put the device into operation. Almost at once, the eyes of the manikin Baphomet gave off a glow like live coals and a deep voice rang out:

  “Speak, my Brother, I am listening. All has gone according to your hopes?”

  “Yes, indeed, Lord Baphomet, thanks be to you: the powerful weapons that you entrusted to me have destroyed the hosts of the Saracens. Bibars is no more. Never was victory more complete!”

  “Did you have doubt of it?”

  “Not for an' instant Nevertheless, I swear that the outcome surpassed my wildest expectations.”

  “Do not believe it within my power to assist you to an absolute supremacy. The number of my weapons is limited and, to assure their wisest use, they must be launched only at troops in battle formation. Never squander them, therefore, on minor skirmishes. You know I have designs of wide intent...”

  “I am not forgetting that, Lord Baphomet, and I shall act according to your orders. Now the Hospitalers cannot choose but to obey me.”

  “That is well, Brother. Do not linger in Jaffa: you must profit to the maximum from the fear provoked by this magic weapon. Follow my plan to the letter and all will turn out for the best I have made a strategic analysis of the situation with the aid of my computer: a few years hence you should possess the most far-flung empire ever ruled by a single man.”

  “Thanks to you, Lord Baphomet, thanks to you I shall never forget that.”

  On these words, the statue became inactive.

  With a gesture, William ordered his knights to replace it in its container, out of the view of prying eyes; then he had them call William of Tyre, his historian. For two hours, the Grand Master dictated for the benefit of posterity, recounting the events that marked that memorable day. At midnight, he had himself undressed and slept straight through till dawn.

  The next morning he awoke refreshed and in high spirits. After attending mass, he ate with a hearty appetite and then prepared to receive the high dignitaries convoked the night before.

  The Grand Master of the Hospitalers arrived an easy first. The rings under his eyes gave evidence that the Chapter of his Order had stayed up the whole night to discuss the disquieting problem posed by the surpassing power of their rivals.

  However, the Hospitaler seemed affable, chatting of one thing and another, particularly of building churches in the newly delivered city. He obtained without difficulty the office of Patriarch of Jaffa for a Hospitaler, which greatly surprised him. John of Villiers, a diplomat to the bone, never accepted anything at face value.

  Otto of Granson and John of Grailly finally put in an appearance: their rheumy eyes and thick tongues giving evidence of a night of plentiful libations.

  With no preliminaries, William went to the heart of his subject.

  “Brothers, Hospitalers, noble Lords, you have seen proof that I am not a fabricator. The lightning launched through my good offices has rid us of the evil Bibars forever, and few pagan sultans have had such an escort for their entrance into the realm of Satan.”

  “Indeed, that’s very true,” exclaimed Otto of Granson. “The Prince of Shadows is going to have trouble finding punishments for him.”

  “Henceforth, no one will dare to confront our forces: the Holy Land will fall into our hands without a blow being struck. Jerusalem will again be a Christian city.... King Charles will soon arrive by sea to take his place on the throne. All counts and barons will recover their former castellanies. The convents, houses and fortresses of our two Orders shall revert to their former owners. It must be our care to restore all the castles that have been to a large extent demolished, even to the Krak of Moab near the Asphalt Lake, including that of Aila on the Red Sea. However, I forbid the annexing of any lands other than those granted to the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the pact of. Jaffa. Can I count on your concurrence; good gentlemen?”

  “Certainly,” the Grand Master of the Hospitalers assured him. “Justice itself speaks with your lips, my Brother. However, one thing distresses me:, you speak as though the Templars would not participate in supreme joy—the occupation of Bethlehem, of Holy Jerusalem! Surely, am I mistaken... ?”

  “You are not, gentle Brother. I would certainly give years of my life to know the Dead Sea, the Holy Temple, the Sacred Grotto, the Garden of Olives. Alas! The Archangel Gabriel has visited me again and has commanded me to leave the highest happiness to you.”

  “What? Would the Templars leave us alone to reconquer the Holy Land?”

  “Unfortunately—yes, my dear Brother.... Besides, who is in a position to resist the valiant knights of the Hospital, with warriors of France and England at their side?”

  “This is a greatly astounding thing. You will leave us some of your weapons at least?”

  “Why should I do that, my friend? It will be enough if you take with you some of the mangonels and coffers filled with gray stones. Everyone will suppose that you, too, have the lightning of our Lord at your disposal and no one will dare to resist you.”

  “That is a point of view that I in no way share.”

  “John of Villiers, are you afraid of the infidels?”

  “Certainly not! I only find the affair somewhat risky considering our total strength. What do you think of it, John of Grailly?”

  The French knight pulled at his beard thoughtfully, then declared:

  “By my faith, I agree with William. These dogs have been so soundly thrashed that they will not meddle with us soon again. With the reinforcement which we are going to receive, we will have no trouble in reoccupying the Holy Land. However, I would like to know the motives that incite the Templars to abandon us on such an easy path....”

  “That is only fair! Know then that the Archangel, from a cloud of light, commanded me with these words: ‘You have accomplished the first part of the task which has been allotted you. Now the Hospitalers and the Christian knights are going to achieve the liberation of the Holy Land. It remains for you to carry the True Faith to the inhabitants of the vast countries that extend behind the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Countless human beings, at this moment, are under the yoke of the Mongols. You must free them and instruct them. The Templars, therefore, will embark aboard the vessels come to Jaffa, and sail to the city of Alexandretta, where they will land.
From there, across the Princedom of Antioch and the country of Edessa, they will enter the Mongol Khanate of Persia, where Abaka, son of Hulagu, reigns. When the armies of that savage Khan have been destroyed, I command you to attack the Khanate of Kaidon, which extends southward from Lake Baikal. Despite the terrible fire that you possess, you will fight hard battles. Then you must reduce the Emperor Kubla, who oppresses the empire of Cathay, to unconditional surrender. This done, when the True Faith is known from the shores of Syria to those of Cathay, you can at last enjoy a well-earned rest, but make no stop along the way for the Divine wrath will come down on you. . . These are the commands of the Archangel. I must obey him, and that is why the Templars are going to leave you, setting out to accomplish the mission which God has entrusted to them.”

  “This is an astonishing revelation, my Brother!” cried the Grand Master of the Hospitalers. “I am completely dumbfounded by it. . . . What, you dream of conquering that immense empire with such feeble forces?”

  “Faith moves mountains! I possess weapons of a power unknown until now. The Mongol Khans cannot protect themselves from heaven’s lightning entrusted to me, and they know the fate of Bibars. Further, word of our brilliant success will spread throughout the Christian realms. All the knights will outdo each other for the honor of - joining our host.”

  “I already claim for myself, and for my knights, the favor of fighting at your side,” John of Grailly, all fervor, enthused loudly. “Death to all unbelievers; the True Faith will triumph.”

  “I accept your offer gratefully,” the Grand Master of the Templars assured him. “We shall assuredly have formidable encounters with small groups of enemy partisans. In such cases, there must be no squandering of the heavenly lightning. Lances and swords will still have a role to play..

  “Such vast designs frighten me,” resinned John of Villiers. “Pacification of the Holy Land with only the troops left to me will certainly not be easy. So you will understand why my Brothers cannot join with yours. I would, however, like to be kept informed as to the progress of the operations. Will you allow our Marshal, Matthew of Clermont, to travel with you?”

  “Assuredly: thus you will have a faithful report on the progression of our army. But it would be well to have matters clearly defined: the Hospitalers will be observers only and must not, under any circumstances, interfere in my affairs.”

  “This is as I would have it” The Grand Master of the Hospitalers assumed an offended air. “It goes without saying, on my side, that I shall direct the forces operating in the Holy Land and that our former fortified places shall revert to us in full right.”

  “A promised thing is a thing due! I shall not go back on the word I have given. Take note, nevertheless, that the Hospitalers must yield to the temporal authorities that which falls within their jurisdiction. The King of Jerusalem, the Prince of Antioch, the Prince of Tripoli must recover all the prerogatives they have enjoyed.”

  “I give my word.”

  “Under these conditions, good gentleman, we are in agreement. The first thing in the morning, the Templars will sail aboard the fleet for the Princedom of Antioch. We must strike while the advantage is ours. We wager our messengers will soon bring you great news! My Brothers, noble Sires, may God keep you in His Holy care....”

  The high dignitaries crossed themselves, then—bowing to William of Beaujeu—they withdrew to their quarters. The next day, just at dawn, horns and drums aroused the Crusaders who made for the port in an orderly way. Once again, all showed astonishment, for they had expected to pursue the campaign on land, to attack Jerusalem. Rumors were rife and the ordinary soldiers, pretending to be well-informed, claimed that William of Beaujeu, wanting to erase the disaster of the Fifth Crusade, was going to launch an assault on Damietta. The shame of the capture of Louis IX at Mansdra would thus be forgotten.

  This illusion did not last long. Once the ships, galleys and dromonds were on the open sea, the • fleet headed toward the north....

  During the crossing, William spent all his time in pondering the manner in which he would pursue the vast operation: the most ambitious ever undertaken by Crusaders.

  He knew the strength of the Mongols. His predecessors and he, himself, had had contacts with them during that time when Saracens considered French and Mongols equally dangerous adversaries. Louis IX, himself, had hoped to form an alliance with them so as to attack the Sultan of Egypt on two fronts. Unfortunately, the synchronization of the two operations was difficult to achieve, so the King of France, having launched the assault alone, suffered a crushing defeat. Bibars himself was of Mongol origin. In 1244 his troops had struck a shattering blow at the Templars and the Hospitalers; three hundred knights of the Temple had met their death. Yes, the Grand Master knew he was facing valorous adversaries who should not be taken lightly.

  William of Beaufeu and his Marshal reached immediate agreement on one point: as long as the forces of the Crusaders kept a tight formation the enemy could do nothing against it. Any large concentration of Mongol forces would be wiped out by Baphomet’s weapons. On the other hand, the harassment by Abaka’s swift and extremely mobile horsemen would be an ever-present danger, particularly to their lines of communication. These, in any case, risked stretching to the breaking point as the army advanced. Thus it would be necessary, come what might, to live off the land, to seize cities—if possible— intact by delivering a smashing attack. And, concerning this, it was vital to assure rapid liaison between different branches of the army as well as with the reinforcements which would be making their way from the Mediterranean ports.

  William and his faithful Peter of Sevry came naturally in this way to speak of the effigies of Baphomet which could receive messages, the words of that strange creature, from the distant pool near Troyes.

  “I sincerely believe that our Order is going to conquer a vast empire, thanks to the weapons given us by Baphomet,” the Grand Master declared. “There is every reason to be satisfied: the meteor-borne traveler finally decided to reward us otherwise than with ingots of gold. Our riches have contributed to the establishment in all the realms of Christiandom those flourishing Templaries which have allowed us to acquire a considerable influence. However, I ask myself the same question over and over: are we perhaps the dupes of he who seems to be at our mercy? What would happen if we decided to give him no more food?”

  “The same thought has occurred to me. I have wondered again and again why this stranger, exiled so far from his own kind, elects to aid us so benevolently for mean subsidies of food....”

  “According to tradition handed down from that time when the venerable founder of our Order encountered Baphomet for the first time, the meteor which brought him across the fathomless reaches of space had been seriously damaged, the devices which allowed him to manufacture his food, destroyed. Our donation let him survive to attempt the repairs of his ship: no doubt about that.” “Yes, but what will happen if his fellow-countrymen receive his messages? We will be swamped by them! No possibility of resisting weapons as terrifying as theirs....” “Undoubtedly, my worthy Peter: I have often dreamed of it. We are—alas!—as defenseless against him as a child against a knight in armor. If we should cease our ministrations, his vengeance would be terrible!”

  “We should at least attempt some remedy. It is impossible to live thus at the mercy of a creature so completely a stranger to us....”

  “You are right: we must, at any cost, discover the secrets of his alchemy so that we, ourselves, can make the engines whose mysteries are hidden from us. I have already dropped a hint to our chaplain. Did you know that Brother Joubert has extensive knowledge of alchemy? I will have him called in.”

  Some minutes later the Templar entered the cabin. He was a small, dark man who had never acquired the dignity of knighthood for his awkwardness with weapons was proverbial. But, in compensation, his lucid and searching mind made him a wise counselor, whose advice William often sought.

  “Brother Joubert, I have sent for you so that you may practice an exercise for me that will demand all your intelligence.”