Chapter 8: Ceasefire

Three weeks went by, and the crusader army was almost done being assembled. Orders from everywhere, from Jerusalem to Russia, came to aid Baldwin in his conquest of Middle Tahl. Maxis and Heinrich were sent with a force of four hundred men five days into the crusaders' occupation, but they were far outnumbered, and they withdrew. King Skinner decided to let the crusaders come to them and ordered that the city of Middle Tahl be fortified and prepared for siege. The huge Christian army surrounded most of the huge city now. They stayed in the woods surrounding the city, and every day, the leaders met and discussed what to do.

Maxis was placed in charge of the southern wall of the city. He, Tos-Que, and Sir Hetfield conversed on what to do if the christians attacked.

"We need to stay behind the walls, let them try to get in and kill them as they come through the gates." Maxis said.

"We should guard the entrance and fight outside. We should only go behind the walls as a last resort." Tos-Que suggested.

"No, we would lose too many men that way. It's not smart." Maxis replied.

"I agree. We stay within the walls when they come." Hetfield said.

The three of them stood on top of the city walls, the cold wind blowing against them. It was getting closer to winter. The men went down to the gate where a large garrison of two hundred men were positioned. They had dug trenches outside the walls and made breastworks from dirt, rocks, and trees.

Maxis sat on a big rock and wrote in his journal while Hetfield and Tos-Que talked.

"Hey, Maxis. Why didn't the Kiowas come helps us?" Hetfield asked.

"They fight on horseback, and riding a horse is hard in a city. They also lost many warriors, and they need to recover from the losses of the last few battles." Maxis replied.

"What about other tribes?" Hetfield inquired.

"The Tonkawas are too few to help us. The Pawnee probably wouldn't care enough, and the Osage have been fighting the Kiowa. That's another reason they left." Maxis responded.

"What about the civilized tribes? The ones expelled from Greater France?"

"They might help. They live here, too. Those Cherokee mercenaries did a good job on the wagon train raid. Maybe they'll help us again."

As Maxis finished his sentence, a soldier called out to him. He got up and rushed over to see what it was. Out of the forest, Baldwin and many of the other leaders rode out on horseback, their weapons sheathed.

"We come peacefully. We wish to speak to the King, who is the commander here?" Baldwin announced.

"I am." Maxis said, approaching the Templar. Baldwin looked down at Maxis from his horse in disgust upon realizing the commander was an indian.

"What do you want?" Maxis asked, crossing his arms and looking Baldwin in the eyes.

"Peace. We want to negotiate with King Skinner." Baldwin said.

"Why?"

"Our men grow weary, and there has been no progress for us, as you may know."

"I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." Baldwin said cordially and rode away into the forest with the other leaders.

"Big change of plans." Monterrey said.

"Yeah, I thought we were gonna sack the city?" Leopold replied.

"It's all part of the plan." Baldwin said.

Maxis watched the leaders ride away and made his way through the city to the palace. After walking for such a long time, his feet became sore, but he kept going. He finally got to the court of the palace, where the King sat on an elegantly decorated throne.

"Hello Maxis, is there trouble?" King Skinner asked.

"No, not yet, I don't think. While we were standing guard, a bunch of guys, leaders of christian military orders, came riding out of the forest, and they said they wanted peace."

"Peace? That's good! Tell them that I'll plan a party and they can all come and we'll negotiate peace. Tell them to come in four days."

"You and your parties." Maxis said with a little laugh as he walked away.

"Parties are what make life worth living!" The King said happily as Maxis left the palace.

When he got back to the gate, Maxis informed Hetfield and Tos-Que of the kings plan.

"Mount up, lets go find their camp and talk to them." Maxis said as he mounted his speckled appaloosa. The three men trotted through the forest with one hundred soldiers in case of an attack. They came upon a lone knight leaning against a tree. He had a light blue tunic and a gold cross on his chest.

"Are you looking for Baldwin?" The soldier asked.

"Is he the leader of the Templars?" Maxis asked.

"Yes. I'll take you to the camp, but only two of you, if they see all those soldiers they'll think something is wrong." The knight responded.

Maxis nodded and urged Hetfield to follow him. The knight led Maxis and Hetfield to the camp and brought them to a huge tent where all the leaders of the religious orders were gathered around a large rectangular table. Maxis looked around, surveying the tent. His eyes met Baldwin's. The two exchanged looks, and Maxis approached the table.

"Gentlemen, this is the commander of Middle Tahls army. The half-breed knight, Maxis Adelwulf himself." Baldwin said with a sarcastic tone. The other leaders looked at Maxis and some chortled and made quiet remarks to each other.

Maxis and Hetfield stood there, unfazed by the ridicule, their tattered and dirty uniforms and their tall, muscular builds a stark contrast to the weak and lazy looking crusader Grandmasters. Maxis glared at them and their smiles faded after a while.

"King Skinner wishes for me to inform you of a party he will be throwing in four days. You are invited. Peace will be negotiated there." Maxis said cordially but dryly.

"Very well. Tell him we will all be there." Baldwin responded pleasantly, drinking from a chalice filled with wine.

Maxis nodded and left the tent with Hetfield. The two rode back to their detachment of a hundred soldiers and they went back to the southern gate of Middle Tahl.

Four days passed by quickly and on the night of November 15th, the Grandmasters rode out of the forest on their best mounts and donning their most elaborate armor and clothes. They were escorted through the city streets by Owaine and the faithful vigils. People came out of their homes to watch as the christian leaders were escorted through the streets. Some citizens tried to attack the Grandmasters but were pushed back by the rangers.

The rangers led the Grandmasters into the palace and they were taken to the party room where plenty of food was prepared for the attendees.

The Grandmasters sat down in groups of four or five around the small, round tables. Servants gave them drinks and small finger foods as they all conversed with one another. King Skinner emerged, walking down the grand staircase, followed by Maxis, Heinrich, Edelweiss and General Leonidas. Maxis was once again wearing his long, dark green dinner jacket with brass earrings and gorgets. The king wore a red and gold clothing set as well as a dark red cap with a huge white plume in it.

"Welcome, esteemed guests. Make yourselves comfortable. A feast is prepared tonight so don't get full!" The king said pleasantly, smiling widely and brightly at the Christian Grandmasters.

The Grandmasters took their seats and began to drink and converse with one another. Maxis stood at the top of the grand staircase with Edelweiss and looked down at all the leaders.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we just killed em right here?" Maxis said with a smirk. "Oh stop it. They're trying to make peace, don't be like that." Edelweiss responded, frowning and gently hitting Maxis' arm.

"I know, I know, but some of these men here are real bastards. I heard on their way here they wiped out a patrol of Faithful Vigils." Maxis responded.

"Well you can bring that up when negotiations begin. You should get to know some of the Grandmasters, it might help you in the future." Edelweiss suggested, heading down the stairs to mingle with the visitors, and Maxis hesitantly followed.

As he walked by different leaders they gave him strange and unwelcome glances. He spotted Boscogne sitting alone with Aldonva at a table and approached them.

"Hello." Maxis said politely. "I can't help but notice you two aren't uhm… white." Maxis said with a nervous laugh. Aldonva chuckled and Boscogne nodded. "Yes, somehow a black man and a Mexican are religious leaders in this region's climate. I find it strange myself." Aldonva said with a laugh.

"I'm Maxis Adelwulf, this is Edelweiss." Edelweiss waved shyly and stood close to Maxis.

"I am Aldonva Escarra."

"And I am Boscogne Lasalle."

"Pleased to meet you two." Maxis said with a smile, sitting at the table with the two Grandmasters. Edelweiss leaned over to Maxis and spoke quietly.

"I'm gonna go look around for someone important to talk to, maybe secure a potential ally, you keep talking to these guys."

Maxis nodded and his partner walked away without further ceremony. Edelweiss walked around for a while. He was disgusted by the christian Grandmasters. "They're all fat and gluttonous or weak and frail." He thought to himself. He couldn't see himself talking to any of these awful specimens of the male sex. Just as he was about to head back to Maxis, he saw him.

A tall, mature looking man. His hair was a graying black and he had a neatly trimmed beard. His uniform was clean and impressive looking. He wasn't frail looking or bloated, instead he looked rather healthy. The man Edelweiss was so drawn to in that moment was Baldwin Achard, the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar.