COMMANDER GALLO INTRODUCES HIS SQUAD

Midday on the road leading out of Jaffa.

The sound of galloping horses was heard. Dust was rising on the road in the wake of thirteen mounted horsemen riding by in an orderly manner. There were four riders upfront, five in the middle, and four riders at the back. 

Commander Gallo Francis was in the middle with Knight Yosef Gideon as they galloped past the lowlands of Jaffa climbing inland to the mainland of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Scattered palm trees, stubborn weeds, and cactus plants littered the desolate windswept landscape.

"By the way Commander Gallo, we were in rush to depart so I did not get to know your squad members," Yosef shouted to be heard over the wind.

"Oh, where are my manners, I also forgot," Commander Gallo responded.

He gestured for the squad to slow down their horses. Now it was easier to talk while riding.

"Let me begin with the four knights in front. You have not seen their complete faces since they are still putting on their helmets, but you will be able to distinguish them from their other features.

The one to the right, with red hair flowing out of his helmet, is knight John Conte from Lombardy. John Conte is the oldest member of this squad, aged forty-seven years. He is very good at scouting no matter the terrain, it is why he is among the leadership team. The lads have nicknamed father John because of the sage-like advice he always offers.

On his right is Knight Marino Yosef, your namesake from Venice. A son of a Medici banker but he chose the life of a warrior. Marino Yosef is very good in arithmetic besides being a deadly warrior with the sword and bow. Sometimes the lads make fun of him, that he should have been a monk. Marino is only two years younger than John so they are like brothers, always doing the tracking together. 

He also happens to be our interpreter in Arabic. When we asked what prompted him to learn Arabic in the first place, you will never believe what his response was." Commander Gallo said. Making Yosef more curious to know what the answer was.

Yosef Gideon was intrigued so he asked, "what was his answer?" 

"Yosef Marino said, he learned to read and write Arabic so that he can read the original manuscripts of the Islamic scientists such as Ibn Al Hay or Hatham am not so sure about the exact name and the others like Al Kindi. He chorused a long list that I can't remember. If he was not born to be a Templar, that boy could have been an Arab scholar."

"I hear you," Yosef said. He found this Marino character truly intriguing. Not many knights had a scholarly fascination. 'I shall have to interact with him.'

"Next to Marino is Manuel Jordan. Forty-five years old, the same age as Marino. Hailing from Spain, in a small town called Cordoba. I tell you, that lad never gets tired of talking about how beautiful it is."

"He is a fine knight with the sword and battle-axe if you look properly. It is saddled on the right side of his horse where he can easily pick it up. He thirsts for battle and fighting, when you get to interact with him all his talks will be about his exploits in the crusades."

"Get ready to be asked endless questions about your role in the capture of Jaffa. All the tiny details you have never told anyone, Manuel will pick them from you. I have to say, Manuel Jordan is also a decent writer. He dreams of writing a biography of the crusade battles he participated in." Commander Gallo informed him.

Yosef was enjoying the detailed descriptions coming from Commander Gallo Francis about each of his team members.

He proceeded to the next person. "On the extreme right at the front is, Kahn Otto forty-two years old. A native of Vienna. An ambitious lad, he will accept any dangerous mission as long it elevates him or grants him glory. Very good with the sword and knives but he loves torturing enemy prisoners a lot so it makes me worried to leave him alone with any prisoner. My advice to you is, don't cross him."

"Thanks for the warning. Have no desire to cross him." Yosef replied.

"Then on our row, I will start with one on your extreme right. He is Moses Potter, forty years old. The only Englishman in our squad, he comes from Cardiff. Never been there, I wonder what kind of town could qualify to be called such a name."

"Hahaha, you have not heard of funny names if you think Cardiff is funny," Yosef told him.

"Anyway, Moses Potter is one of my most trusted lads. He handles the letters, and all those written things am too bored to do. He is very good at wrestling as if he was born to it. There's a time during a skirmish with some Muslim gang in Acre, he put aside his sword and wrestled a fatty Turkish warrior barehand, wrestling the sword out of the opponent's arms before throwing it to the ground and strangling the poor fellow to death." He explained about Moses Potter.

He went on to say, "after Moses Potter, is his bosom buddy. Thirty-six-year-old Pierre Jean or Jean Pierre as we sometimes call him. The order is confusing so we start with whatever name comes first."

"Jean Pierre or the other way round is a son of a butcher from Paris. True to his heritage, he carries a broad axe that can cleave shields. He also loves using swords when fighting on horseback. I Am told he is a good lancer, even if I have never seen him use it owing to the mobile nature of our squad. A lance is cumbersome to carry along on long journeys." Commander Gallo Francis introduced the seventh member of his squad.

"Pair up with him when you want a partner to cleave your enemies' shields." He added.

"Well, good as it sounds cleaving enemies' shields. I prefer to take down my enemies swiftly without breaking much sweat." Yosef told the Commander.

"I forgot, he is very good in hand-to-hand combat. I have to say he got his training from the best fighters that Order has ever had. You can spur against him when we get the time to train." Commander Gallo Francis added in about Jean Pierre.

"Next to you, is thirty-five-year-old Ambrose Henri. A bastard son of a French nobleman who escaped the shame back home to join the Templars. Fights like a real bastard on foot and horseback. I love his straightforward nature." Commander Gallo Francis said casually.

"Ambrose, what are your favorite weapons?" Yosef decided to ask since Commander Gallo had not mentioned them.

"I, I am competent in using the sword but prefer the mace, it strikes the fear of God in whoever it hits and also never misses." Ambrose hesitantly said.

"I get it," Yosef responded as they rode in silence. Seems Commander Gallo was tired of introducing his team

The suspense of knowing some of the squad and not knowing the last four riders behind got Knight Yosef to ask, "Commander Gallo, what about the four behind us?"

"Those four are part of a long story. I will tell you at dinner time when we camp." Commander Gallo Francis promised.

They continued riding on in silence.

Yosef began looking forward to dinner time when the story for the remaining four squad members behind them could be unraveled to him.

At the end of the first day of riding out from Jaffa.

Knight Yosef and Commander Gallo Francis's squad were halfway to Casal Maen. They stopped and camped for the night since it was not safe to travel in darkness with torches. 

They began resting as well as waiting for their dinner. Commander Gallo had chosen this particular campsite area for the night. It was a shady area behind a large boulder on top of a small hill with a good view of the surrounding areas. So that no enemy can sneak upon them, without their prior knowledge. The area was also not affected by the wind or dust should a dust storm come up accidentally.

A campfire had been lit by Kahn Otto having collected a few dry pieces of wood. 

On top of the fire, he had placed a moderate-sized iron pot. He was focused on stirring the pottage therein. This was a combination of dried meat pieces, and bread chunks, with a few vegetables thrown in to make a thick soup. A meal fit for a knight on the road.

Having spent a greater part of the day in the saddle without eating anything. The aroma of meat and vegetables coming out of the pottage was tantalizing to all the knights. When it was ready, Commander Gallo went ahead to take the pot from Kahn Otto and began distributing it on plates for all thirteen knights.

Some two knights took watch duty, as the rest ate. Yosef sat on a large rock with Commander Gallo to eat their share of the meal.

"So Commander Gallo, you promised me an introduction to the last four knights of yours during our ride here. I have all the time in the world for a long story." He reminded the Commander. 

"Let me first finish my pottage, can't let a good meal go cold," Commander Gallo responded while eating up his plate of pottage with joy.

After a while, he cleared his plate and handed it over to Ambrose who was collecting empty plates. He took a deep breath and stretched his neck before narrating, "It is like this. Those four knights are Leo Augustin, Alexandre Hugo, Daniel Cyrus, and Samson Cyrus."

"On the extreme right of the campfire is Leo Augustin, twenty-nine years old. Then the one next to him licking his lips as if he wants a second helping of the pottage is Alexandre Hugo, thirty years old. Lastly, those two knights who resemble each other are twins Daniel Cyrus and Samson Cyrus. All four are Slavs from a tiny Polish village called Poznan. They trained in ballet and gymnastics while children, enabling them to be so flexible and sometimes they make moves on the field that defy logic, we have nicknamed them the four cats."

"Six months ago, in Acre, we were escorting a team of four stubborn cardinals from the Vatican on a guided tour of the coast. When we were ambushed by two gangs of bandits, they must have been investigating us and knew which routes we could end up using." Commander Gallo Francis started the narration.

"We were passing through a ravine when they surrounded us from the front and behind. We were in the same riding order as we were today afternoon. The four cats were at the back because they were the youngest and least experienced."

"The bandits behind us numbered close to thirty men strong, well-armed with bows, lances, and those long curved Islamic swords. I am told are called scimitars. At the front was a team of about twenty other bandits."

"Oh my God! That was a big number for such a small squad." Yosef said in surprise.

"Yes, and we could not outrun them. They were on horseback just like us." He continued in his narration.

"As a commander, when I saw this, I was deeply worried for the safety of my young knights. I offered to reinforce them with two more experienced and mature knights but they adamantly refused, telling me they could hold the line and finish up these thirty-men strong team."

"I was pessimistic about their boasts, but I had no time to dwell on my doubts, in a battle against overwhelming numbers, every second and decision counts towards victory or death of you and your team." He said while he remembered the event.

Yosef was so eager to hear more. Commander Gallo Francis first kept quiet as if he was relieving the moment in his head.