Bleed through from the Future

[Marshal Davout]

The knight managed to escape back to Rome. He went to his Favorite Inn he hadn't seen for five years , because of the wars ! What's your Pleasure; sir Knight said the Girl waitess; sort of like an Arya/Lilly ? I want your Best Dinner; a Roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Baked Potatoes, Sausages, Vegetables, and 3 pitchers of Wine to start out with ! Do you have some money, sir Knight ?
Yes I have Gold ! Here's a Gold piece for you and two for the Cook ! Yes; sir knight, and the girl ran off to the kitchen. Shortly she brought him back a Pitcher of wine and he downed it without a glass ! Another he said ! A young Priest came in and sat down at his table. Did I tell you you could sit down ? The Priest said; the Pope wants to see you ! I don't know any Pope ! He knows you ! And he says you Owe him Twice ! I know a Priest who would say that, but not a Pope ! He just got elected last year ! Well; I just ordered the best Dinner in Rome, and I'm not leaving till I eat it ! How does the Pope know I am in Italy ? The Priest says the Pope has spies everywhere ! Well; since he is my old friend, he is going to have to wait !
Two of the garrison knights walked up to him. The old one said; since you are new to the Inn, you must buy our group some flagons of wine. I'm not new to the Inn, since I was here five years ago ! Perhaps you must renew your membership ! And you are going to make me, said the Knight ? Your sword is hung on the wall and there are five of us !
Well, said the Knight; I suppose I should warn you I have killed five men at a time and I am never disarmed and so he pulled two short swords out of his cloaks and stuck them in his table ! I suggest you leave before I forget you are both "knights" yourselves. The old knight thought better of testing him and so they left ! The waitress Arya/Lilly came back with some of his food and so he grabbed her to sit her down with him. She squealed Sir Knight ! ? You can help me eat some of this. I thought Knights were Chaste, said the Priest ? You've got a lot to learn about the world yet said the Knight ( to be continued )

[Marshal Davout]

They were Besieged and they were Starving ! Of Course a Relief army had been promised; but the Knight knew that Relief armies never arrived ! And so the enemy offered them terms; March out, give us your weapons and we'll allow you to sail away ! But the Knight told his Commander; they intend to kill us, so we should tell them we keep our weapons ! But the Commander agreed to the terms and so they marched out and gave up their weapons; but the enemy proceeded to kill them. And so the knight managed to get his Broadsword back and he and a German knight cut their way through to the Harbor ! The German night was hit by an Arrow but the Knight managed to get them a small boat with a sail and they managed to sail away. Luckily they had the wind so the Knight kept the boat near the mainland shoreline. Towards Dawn he found a part of the shoreline with overhanging trees so he got inside and covered the boat and disguised it. The enemy searched for them; but didn't spot them. He went into the woods and found some herbs and made a paste to put on the other knight's wound after he got the arrow out. We can't risk a fire yet, we will have to wait ! At night they set sail again to get further away. eventually they outsailed the searching enemy. He pulled in at night and made a secreted fire. I'll have to cauterize your wound he told the German. He heated a short sword in the fire, gave the German a stick to bite on and then laid the sword on the wound the German screamed and passed out ! They passed some villages and he saw two horses ; and so he took them and left 2 gold pieces and a note where the boat was for payment; then he made some reins out of some leather they had and so they rode to the west. eventually they almost made Italy. The Knight gave the German the best Horse and bade him farewell as he would ride north. You truly are a Great Knight , said the German and then he left. The Knight's horse was kind of breaking down, so he didn't ride but merely used it to carry his sword and articles. No one bothered him, because you see, in those days Knights were like the State Police ! Having been Consecrated in a Church by the Priests with the Authority of the Pope; they were entitled to Mete Justice to any Brigands they came across and so thieves were likely to avoid them! And even a group of thieves knew that a Knight was trained in all types of Combat ! Eventually he came to a farm in the north of Italy and saluted the House. The Farmer came out and asked the Knight what could he do for him ? Is it possible to get a breakfast from you ? Yes, so he took the Knight in and made him a meal. The Horse he gave to the Farmer's son and told him to let him into the pasture and give him some Hay and Oats. He is out of shape now, but in a month or two he will be strong again ! You may keep him ! The Knight gave the Farmer a Gold Coin and a Silver to take care of the Horse. And then a passing merchant came by and so the Knight hitched a ride with the merchant down to Rome; who was glad of the Knight as nobody would try to rob him with a knight along ! And so the Knight eventually made Rome ! ( To Be Continued )

[Marshal Davout]

The Next day the Priest finally got the Knight organized and set off to see the Pope. At the Residences; the Papal Guard told them he can't come in here with that Sword ! The Knight said I don't give up my sword for anyone ! But the Priest told the Papal Guard; he is a friend of the Pope's and here is his Pass signed by the Pope ! So finally the Guard let them in. The Priest led him to the Pope's audience room. So, here you are at last my Knight ! I plan to retire and marry the Inn girl; so what do you want ? I need you to take command of an Island Fortress ! Not another Siege, said the Knight ! Yes, my Spies in Constantinople have found out that the enemy are raising an army to take my fortress; so I need you to command it ! How many enemy asked the Knight ? A Fleet of many ships, Cannons, and about 60,000 men ! And how many do I have ? You will have about 7,000 knights and 5,000 auxiliaries ! Five to one Odds ? The place has already fallen ! I'm raising a Relief army to come to your aid ! You know how many times I've heard that ? Twice and both times I had to escape with my life; because they never came ! Get somebody else ! You have the Requisite experience to hold the Fortress if anybody can and you owe me Twice ! All Right said the Knight ! I'm not promising I can hold it and after this we are square, I will no longer owe you ! And I want a Bag of Gold for my retirement and I want to marry the Inn Girl, so you must keep her safe while I am away ! Done said the Pope !
These Knights won't accept me as I am not of their Order ! That doesn't matter; because today I am making you their Grand Master of their Order ! And I have written up a new identity for you with a similar name as a Knight Hospitaler; so they won't know who you are ! That's a good thing; as they might string me up otherwise !
The Pope called in the Knights of the Order;who had been waiting in another room. He told the old knight of the order who was slightly infirm; I am sorry but I have decided to relieve you as Grand Master of the Order ! This Knight will now take over as your Grand Master ! What; they most all said; who the blank is he ? He is not of our Order ! He is exceptionally qualified to command in Sieges and so I have retained him ! He is a Knight Hospitaler; the Pope lied ! Here are copies of my orders and his resume ; so to speak ! You will now all swear to obey me and him as my Grand Master of your order immediately or you will be relieved ! Now !; said the Pope ! The Knight stood up ! So they all got on their knees and swore to obey the Pope and their new Grand Master ! ( to be continued )

[Marshal Davout]

The Knight went on board the Grand Master's ship and told the Captain to haul down his Ensign ! who are you asked the Captain. I am the new GrandMaster and so that is my ensign Flag! He showed him the order of the Pope, so the Captain gave him the ensign. The Knight took it on board a Merchantman; which was the fastest ship in the Harbor. Be prepared to sail with the Tide to my fortress in 2 hours and raise my Ensign in your Mainmast ! And so they sailed for the Island fortress.
The Knights' saluted his ship with a Cannon firing; as he sailed into the Harbor with his Ensign Flying ! Who are you ? They asked when he landed; I am the New GrandMaster ! Assemble all the Knights and Auxiliaries in the Stadium ! He had them all swear Allegiance and Obedience to him as the Representative of the Pope ! Then he inspected the Fortifications. They are impressive ; are they not, said one of the Knights of his staff.
Yes, said the Knight; they might help you to hold off the enemy for two or three days and then you will be destroyed !
We need to start building three more Forts on the Promontories with Walls and Cannons and have permanent garrisons of Knights in them ; to prevent the enemy from having easy landings ! And so he started building up the Fortifications everywhere !
A man was ushered in to see him. what does he want ? He claims the entire Island an it's fortifications belongs to him and his family and he wants us all to clear out ! What do you base this on ? The Grave of my ancester who was buried with the date of his death of 1000 on his grave ! And what is our claim based on ? The Grave of an ancient Knight of the order and the date on his grave of 1350 ! According to that we lose ! Show me the Grave of this Knight. And so they went to the ancient grave and the date was shown to be 1350 ! The Knight examined the history chiseled into the grave and then said the date on the knight's grave is a forgery ! It has been altered ! The True Date of our Knights' Burial is 850 ! And so our claim to the Island predates theirs ! In the name of the Pope I declare their claim null and Void !
The Priest asked him later; how did you know the true date of the knight's burial ?
It is a Secret known to a few on each Knightly Order; that the true date of a Knight's burial is entered several times in his history in a Code that only fellow Knight's know how to read. Because they know that people in the future will seek to alter the date of a Knight's burial; so they can make prior claims and thus I could read the true date in his history and know that the original date had been altered by someone !
( A sort of Indiana Jones ! Ha ! ; But I have read it somewhere ! )

[Marshal Davout]

The Templars stated out poor knights; but gradually adopted an original form of Banking where you could give them Gold in Paris and they would give you sort of a Letter of Credit. and when you went on a pilgramage somewhere; you could give the letter of credit to the local Templars and they would give you the Gold ! Meanwhile you could not be robbed of your gold on your journey because you did not have it with you ! And no one tried to cheat the Templars; because , being Knights, they were authorized to Mete Justice to Thieves ! And they would charge a fee or donation for their services. And thus the Templars grew very rich ! And allover europe you can still find many of their fortified locations ! Now it happened that a king conspired against them and browbeat a weak Pope into excommunicating them so he could seize their treasure ! But the Templars got wind of the Plot and loaded most of their Gold and Silver onto their Fleet of Ships and the Grandmaster told the Junior Grandmaster to sail the Treasure to the West and hide it from the King.
And so; to this day, no one has found the Gold and Silver Treasury of the Knights Templars. It is Lost. And though the king tortured the Knights and the Grand Master, no one could tell him where the Junior Grandmaster had sailed to !
Now our Knight was engaged in the defence of the Fortifications; when they told him the enemy had somhow broken into the basement of the fort and so he took his guard and raced down there to confront them ! In running through the basement rooms somehow his guard lost him and so the Knight ended up in a room with five enemy ! They expected him to run; however he charged them; pushing them back against their entrance; so they couldn't deploy. He caught the enemy on the left with his short sword and twisted his blade away like an epee fencer; while he banged into the enemy on the right with his broadsword knocking him down ! Then he swung his broad sword at the 3rd enemy who ducked; but the second didn't see it coming and so he half beheaded him ! Then he swung his broadsword back at the first enemy who had staggered up and wounded him in his arm ! He kneed the third enemy in his head knocking him back and thrust the short sword into his chest ! But the fourth enemy manged to stab the Knight in his chest through his leather armor. But the Knight finished off the 1st enemy by running him through with the broadsword ! Now it's only two to one the Knight told them ! They charged him swinging their swords; but he dropped to the floor; chopping at their legs and chopped one guys off ! The Fifth jumped on him to try to stab him with a shirt sword ; but the knight grabbed him with his tunic and threw the guy over his head with his legs. Then they both got up winded. They manoevered around each other; and the enemy charges him; but again the Knight confused the enemy's sword with his short sword and hacked at him with his broadsword until he beat the guy to his feet and then ran the guy through ! The Knight went around and finished them all off if they were still alive ! His Guard finally found them and the Knight said nice of you guys to show Up; the he kinda collapsed as his wound was bleeding !
They took him to the Priest to get his wound treated. The knight had passed out and the priest told them the girls and I will care for him ! He send the girls out for hot water and bandages. He started to take the knights garments off ! But the Priest was astounded as an interior garment had the Knights' true order with a cross ! And as the Knight came to ; the Priest said; Why you are a Templar ? ! You must not tell anyone, the Knight said or they won't follow my orders and the place will fall ! You must keep this a secret and cover up my colors ! And so the Priest agreed not to give him away !

[Marshal Davout]

What you may not know; is that the Knights Hospitalers and the Knights Templars Castles had Interior Walls. Thus it could appear to the enemy that a castle had fallen; but the Knights were inside the Walls ! And then they would debouche upon the enemy from the rear and take them in flank at unexpected moments. Then if the enemy recovered and counter-attacked, then the Knight could disappear back within the walls by a hidden doors.
Thus it was; during an attack against the main wall of fortifications; that the Knights raised three stone fake walls on a side fortification and opened three strong Wooden doors and the Grand Master and his Knights charged their Flank and smashed it in with their broadswords. As the enemy suddenly recoiled in fear the Knights did as many of them in that they could ! Finally the enemy formed a new side line against them and counter-attacked pushing the knights Back. And so at a certain Signal by a recall Trumpet; the Knights ran back to their side doors and escaped the enemy who chased them. And as they ran the Auxiliaries and the Women shot Arrows and Darts into them from the top of the fortifications to cover the Knights withdrawal and the doors were slammed shut and the stone walls lowered over the doors ! The Grand Master wore a Red Plume into Combat in his helmet and so the enemy called him a Devil ! And so the enemy recoiled from the side fortification as the women poured the arrows and darts into them ! when we take this place; all our army will have you they shouted at the women; but some of the women who knew the language shouted back; You'll die before you take the Forts from the Knights !
And not here; but in a Castle in the East, The Castle was so large that the Knights kept a Stable of 150 or more WarHorses inside the Castle, and they had a "Highway" inside the Castle where they could mount up the Horses Fully Armored and at a signal they could open a hidden door and 150 Armored Knights could charge out of the Castle and ride over the enemy. And the Horses knew a Knight from the enemy and so they would trample an enemy and Bite and Kick them; but they would not do so to a Knight because the Knights took care of them ! And the Knights would ride around the castle and rout the enemy trying to besiege them and then ride back into their castle if they needed to. and the warhorses were like the King's Guard in Britain who do not like the Tourists to touch them and so they will Bite the Tourist because the Horse knows they are not a Knight !

[Marshal Davout]

Le Sergeant took the Squad out into no-mans land ! Two Scouts, two left wing Flankers, two right wing Flankers, Two Rear-Guard, and Four Main Body with him !
And so they marched. Since he was the only one who could get tired; he called the Breaks ! He consulted their Comm Box for any mission updates. The only thing they said was possible enemy action in the vicinity.
It was weird to be the only human in the unit;as they looked to him for orders !
They resumed Patrol.
Suddenly the scout Yelled DOGS ! And began firing wildely. Firing Line he yelled to the Patrol and hide behind the Trees ! This pulled his flankers in and his rear guard up.
The Robot Dogs tore through the unit trying to destroy them by biting their arms and legs off; knocking them down and biting them.
His Scouts screamed as they were taken down. But the rest of his unit was firing to destroy the Dogs. One jumped Susan and knocked her down; but he managed to put a bullet through it's brain and she rolled it off of her. Another Dog knocked him down and tried to bite his neck; but his force field held and Susan shot it off of him ! Then they had destroyed the Dogs ! One Dog Ran off, said Alice ? That's unusual, he said for a killer dog to run off ? But then Dorothy told him our Comm unit is missing ! So then maybe that Dog took it ?
Lets find our Scouts ! The Scouts had had a bad time of it; because multiple Dogs had jumped them. So they were in pieces when they found them ! I hurt said Lynn as her electronics had been damaged ! Just End me ! But the Sergeant said we don't end anybody in this unit ! They called up two of their ambulance carriers from the Squad's Supply carrier and carefully placed the parts of each robot in them . He plugged in electronic life support for them and then programmed the carriers to manoever two miles to the rear; so that they could be picked up by SAR ( Search and Rescue ). ( To Be Continued )

[Marshal Davout]

What do we do now ? , asked Susan Never do what the enemy thinks you are going to do; said the Sergeant !
They think we are going to retreat with casualties, so we will make them think we did. Their equipment and comm carrier was damaged and could not keep up with them; so he programmed it to return to the SAR point to be picked up and repaired. And he got four fake soldier robots out of it and programmed them to go back to the SAR point with it.
They think we might continue with the mission; but we will move to hide for a bit, said the Sergeant. We will move to this hill to the right for some high ground and then we will hide for a bit, till they think we have retreated with casualties. And so they moved off, we will dispense with a rear guard, as we are down two robots !
They got to the hill and then secured it with an all-around squad defence and camouflaged themselves against enemy scans.
I need some shuteye and so I will sleep for a bit. We will keep you warm said Susan and another robot !