The Siege

The First Crusade drew people from all walks of life Eastward—from noble idealists to genuine robbers. Among this motley army there was also a Russian master of war machines, Timofey Cherny. The battle machines he created earned the crusaders a well-deserved fame, but his true recognition came from his ability to uncover crimes. It all began in a small fortress right on the border of the county of Tripoli, from the day the fortress was attacked by the Saracens. The crusaders easily repelled the first assault, but immediately after the battle it turned out that inside the fortress someone had killed the leader of the Knights Hospitaller, Sir Gerard of Boulogne. At first it looked like one of the attackers had slain the knight, but not a single Saracen managed to break into the fortress. So the murderer must be “one of their own.”