Текст книги "Eric (СИ)"

Автор книги: Марина Шпак

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" The murderer! "Assassin!

To which the Baron replied, in the most affectionate tone:

– Sleep calmly dear friend, – and squeezed the throat of the poor fellow, speeding up the process. Tom sufficed enough crumbs, and, twitching for a few seconds, he fell silent forever.

Mindful of what happened last time, the embarrassment, Eric ordered the Irish to follow the horsemen's horseshit steeds, and he himself began to study the prey. At the same time, she had to follow the terrain and, in case of danger, to warn ahead of time. This time he immediately began to look for a place to accommodate bodies and excess property. I did not want to drown corpses in the lake, as this would spoil the water in the district for a long time, so I had to walk seventy steps along the coastal thickets before the ravine of the correct size turned up. Having squealed and pohav from anticipated happiness of rough labor activity, the baron began to undress the guys who had laid down their wild head for the glory of his purse. And now, when there were already twelve bare corpses lying on the beach, the idea dawned on him. The difficulty in implementing the idea was that it was difficult to load a horse on a horse, so it was necessary to build a kind of flimsy semblance of harness with a leg loop from the belt belts. Ten minutes of trouble with straps were fully paid for by the ease with which the bodies went to rest in the ravine. Having dealt with the company of the commercial emissary, Eric took charge of the property. Ten full Haubeks of riveted rings and a short mail made half chopped, half of riveted rings. Next came the lamellar armor of the emissary, ten late spangelhelms, one helmet of the "pilot" type and one Phrygian cap with a sinker and a barmaid. All armor is well-groomed and in excellent condition. Then there were ten Hungarian recursive bows, ten copies, twelve excellent swords, which Mr. Oakshot in his time would define as type XII. In addition to this, twelve round shields, a pair of sets of bracers of a "board" type, eight knives and a whole bunch of excellent arrows. Traditionally, I decided not to take clothes. With cash, too, everything was in order, even more so. In addition to ninety-eight denarii and one hundred and thirty-two obolov, which was shoved across belts, pads and purses, travelers found a bag containing fifteen stamps of silver and a pair of handfuls of quality river pearls, the total cost of the same number of stamps. All the property was difficult to fit on six horses. The entire small herd of twenty-four heads will not be able to lead them, so only the best horses were selected, which can then be sold. In general, and in general, if they do not themselves befriend good people, then you can live, there is little of it, now you can live well. They were able to pull out only towards evening. They did not stop for the night, and, having skirted the old town along the outer radius, set off towards Vienna. The two remaining days they quietly drove their own way. A couple of times they were harassed by the patrol, but unsuccessfully, because several denarii and a small speech about the local rulers, whose assignments they no doubt fulfilled, were very convincing. Although not for everyone. Already not far from the purpose of his journey, a small detour of four completely uncultured commoners so consumed with a desire to take away the stolen property that Eric had to put a bolt in the face of their leader and a sword to kill the horse under his brazen helper. Why he fell and broke his leg in his thigh. This very tonifying effect on the remaining rascals. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, these gallant extortionists decided to flee from him in the most insolent way. The horse of the first such turn of events could not digest and stumbled, just a few steps away, throwing the poor fellow out of the saddle, and the second himself fell out of the saddle when he tried to turn around quickly, for some reason he took his feet out of the stirrups. Only out of pity he finished off the woeful, so that they would not suffer. They did not take their horses, just like the ragged, old coats of mail, so as not to arouse suspicion. The axes and spears removed from the shaft added loads to the horses of the improvised convoy. Well, and bought a little coins, only three denarii in obol. Here the main thing is not to choke snatched piece of pie, and then the guys and so his too fatty took.

" Morrigan, why did you go with me? "I offered to continue on my own, and for a reason – you would have a horse and some money for the first time.

"I owe you my life and do not want to look in your eyes like an ungrateful bastard. "

– Come on, I told you myself. My path will be very dangerous and literally flooded with blood to the last extreme.

" Eric, do not you understand? "You are the only person in this world, a man who treated me kindly. Few of this, did not solicit. After all, you, Mr. Baron, perfectly understand that I could hardly resist your interest for a long time.

– Oh, what are you talking about? I'm only fourteen years old, what kind of interest?

– Little boys on girls do not run at night, and all the more in the hay after cute cooing does not return.

– Here's another. At least I am poor in exile, but of noble birth.

" But does that change the fact that you're a woman? "Admit it, you went with me, including because I liked you.

"I'm older than you. "

So what? Does it affect sexual desire so much?

– Eric, stop, please. I am ashamed to discuss such topics. You, in the first place, a person who can protect their people, and very decisively. And I'm tired of running and hiding all my life, because I want a little peace of mind and confidence in my future. You give confidence.

And what kind of brother is running after you? You're sort of like the throne Desmond can not claim.

– I – yes, but the one who will take me as a wife, through marriage will have all rights to the throne. That is, after the death of his brother, by our right, the crown will pass to him. And Donald wants to retain power for his children. Therefore, in order to eliminate misunderstandings, he decided to kill all relatives, which can create problems.

" How very nice of him. "And let's do him nice?

"InMeaning".

" Well, he's asleep and dreaming about dismembering you on the block. "Am I right?

– Let's admit.

– Therefore, you need to make sure that his dreams become more saturated and beautiful, but extremely short. On the nearest farmstead, I must send him a letter on my behalf, in which I will inform you that I, the baron von Lenzburg, is engaged to his sister. Well, what's with your eyes widened? Calmly, it will just be written in a letter, it's a joke that he can not test. A little such a dirty trick that will deprive him of sleep and appetite.

" Yes, my poor brother. You know, I even feel sorry for him.

– Morrigan, such a kindness is not to face a woman with such a name.

"Do you think she I ? "

– Yes, do not fret yourself. He laughed. "You see, the name devotes us to this or that um, a supernatural being. Astrologers and other mystics call it an egregor, it is engendered by our thoughts and emotions about it. Initiation establishes a connection between this being and man. As a result, a person begins to acquire the positive and negative properties of the one to whom it is dedicated. Of course, in a weakened form. And here there is some cunning – the stronger the egregor, that is, the more people think about it and experience emotions in this regard, the stronger the influence on the initiated. However, the more initiated, the weaker the influence, since the forces of this being are not unlimited. Understood what I mean?

Yes! It turns out that I was dedicated to the goddess of war and death on the battlefields?

"She was not a goddess. "

– Why?

– Morrigan became a goddess only with the advent of Christianity, which her so christened. Before that, she was a bath, that is, an ancient, wise being. Who she really was and whether it was at all, no one knows. Perhaps she was a strong and wise woman, perhaps a creation of the imagination of excited scribes. It does not matter, it's important that now it is what we think about and feel about it, because the material shell of this being, if it was, is now completely destroyed, which means that the opinion about it is exclusively in the hands of people.

– A strong and wise woman do you mean the tales of ancient, wise ancestors?

Yes! Which throughout the world acted as teachers and judges. But these are all trifles. If you talk about the case, then you are devoted to a very unmerciful egregor. And, apparently, very weak, since I do not think that many women in this world, bear a similar name. Why your parents did this, I do not understand, because if he was strong, then you would only bring death and battles to those around you.

" Eric, but that's it. "All my close people are dead, everyone who tried to protect me, died, and now those who hurt me also began to die.

" Hmm that's right. "So, we will assume that you are into the taste. The main thing now do not crash your own, try to focus on your enemies. I'll cover you with a shield, and you'll kill them with the eyes of your beautiful gray eyes. Or no, better than screaming that the Morrigan orders them to die, so you will not even have to look out for the shield.

"Mister Baron, stop talking nonsense. "

" Why are you so tense? "Remember – the influence of the egregor is very weak and can not kill people. It can not even cause diarrhea. And it affects only the character of a person. Okay, drove, and then with your sense of humor, not long and from a heart attack die.

Because of what?

" Hmmm heart stops. " – Erik made a clever face, rightly perplexed by her ignorance, then turned away, and they drove on. Well, do not tell my companion in real fact that nobody uses such word, because the phenomenon that it describes is not yet known to medicine.

And now, after so much toil in front of our travelers, a view of the glorious city of Vienna opened. When entering the city, the cat with the cross, which was worn on Erica, had a very great advantage. He just politely greeted him, was asked to introduce himself and quietly passed on. It turns out that there were decent institutions here, serving as a base for the crusaders, both moving to the Holy Land, and vice versa. Plus, in the city there was a large farmstead of the Templars. So the city guard was already accustomed to a large number of guests and was not surprised even by such strange caravans. Moreover, the young baron had everything neatly packed, tied up, there were no traces of blood on the property, and he himself, with his companion, inspired confidence with his neatness.

To begin with, we settled down in a small inn in the depths of the city. Discharged, ate. After that, leaving the Morrigan to guard things, the young von Lenzburg went to look for the famous smith master, of whom he had heard so much. Masters Gottfried could not be found right away, had to stray. There was a very bad knowledge of the ancient version of the German language that surrounded him in the last few months. He has already learned to understand more or less what he is told and even tolerated to explain (albeit with a notable accent), as being in the language environment is the most effective language teacher. But it concerned a simple language, but all sorts of jokes, built on the game context, and word games, in the spirit of the ancient skalds, he was completely incomprehensible. Alas, but they liked to joke like that, it was even considered to be quite fashionable, so regularly he just did not understand what they were talking about. Spending two hours on wandering and having accumulated a barely restrained desire to give a pumpkin to anyone who once again tries to flash a beautiful allegorical speech, our hero, has reached the required farmstead. There he found two guys behind the process of drawing wire for chain mail from small strips of iron. More precisely one forged these strips, and the second stretched out a wire. They were glad to take a break and enjoyed talking to a curious guest. The result of the conversation was encouraging – the Honorable Gottfried could easily take a student, by itself for a fee, and acted this way more than once. Moreover, one of the apprentices, who now spoke to him, was his disciple. True, the prices for studies were palpable. For example, working in favor of the farmstead, Ulrich paid a silver denomination every third Sunday, which allowed him to study for another three weeks. The young baron, conversing with the boys, walked around the smithy, examining and evaluating it. Nothing special could not be found, more precisely to say a lot of things, from the usual equipment, he did not find. In comparison with the university, the workshop of the extreme economy class, there was nothing at all. A hike, only having looked with own eyes on that in what conditions, experts worked in former years it is possible to start to appreciate modern conveniences. For an hour Erik spent at the farmstead, but, since the venerable Gottfried arrives only tomorrow, then it's time for him to move on. It's not good, you know, to tear off honest people from hard and tedious work for a long time.

The next few hours our traveler had a self-guided tour of the city. Once, even in that life, he was in Vienna, but they are incomparable. The ancient version looked somehow incredibly flawed, and only very remotely resembling that well-groomed pearl of German culture that he remembered. Dimensions, of course, he did not take into account, but he estimated the qualitative component. Visited earlier cities told him that here he was waiting for the same cesspool behind the fence, but he, nevertheless, cherished the hope in the soul for something more neat and stone. Yes yes " You are not mistaken. Except for a few public and ritual buildings, everything was wooden, though it was densely built up and often two-storyed. Stone-stoned streets were not everywhere, often there was an ordinary primer. The streets themselves are flooded with slops and heaps of rotting debris, especially closer to the city walls. There are very few trees. And the smell! Everything mixed here – from the fragrance of fresh stools and decaying remains to the smoke and the killer ambergris of horse sweat in the heat. It remains only to add a touch on public toilets, or rather their complete absence. Now our hero finally realized what exactly modern Moscow is trying to imitate the European metropolises. So, the people recovered right on the street did not bother him. Only occasionally do some of them retreat into the gateway, and even then, not out of shame, but that some joker of the kick does not hang out during the mystery of defecation. In general – there is something to see, impressions will be unforgettable. Sorry for the camera at hand there.

It was getting dark. Eric went to the inn. There were so many impressions that sometimes he even smeared in them. Therefore, he firmly decided not to drop to the level of what surrounded him. And he did not wash well. To realize these thoughts, it took more than a spacious room in an inn, you need a small house. Information about the houses and prices for their rent was bought from the owner of the yard for one obol. At first the Baron was even surprised at such talkativeness and activity, but everything became clear when a proposal was made to show one interesting proposal right from the morning. It turns out that our little informant, inherited a small two-story house. The exit from the leased building was to a paved cobblestone road, there was a basement, an attic and a balcony. In general – the guy of our guy was intrigued and in the morning, a little light, they were already inspecting the room in question. It was somewhat damp, a lot of garbage and it is obvious that the stove has not been heated for a long time, as part of the wall was slightly moldy. It should be put in order by washing, cleaning and drying, but in general – it is quite accurate and strong. Particularly pleased with the massive oak door on the bolt and metal hinges that opened outward. When they started talking about payment, it turned out that this pleasure is very cheap, only a week's obol. Everything was very strange. Therefore, when Edwin left the door, the baron snatched the knife and put it to the throat of the innkeeper.

– Tell me! The guy said softly and coldly.

What? What to tell? – frightened the man, looking around frightened.

" Tell me, why does not anyone live here long? "What happened here? Why are you selling for this price?

" Nothing has happened here, my lord. "And I sell so cheap only because of the kindness to you.

" Dear Edwin, look into my honest eyes of a nobleman. " – the poor man looked there and was warped – he had not yet met such a cold and malicious glance that sees him through and through. "Now I'll ask you one more time, and if, again, you decide to lie to me, I'll cut your tender, fat throat. "Few of this – I will say that it was so. You understood me?

The poor man nodded quickly, clapping his frightened eyes, and large drops of sweat appeared on his temples.

"Edwin, tell me, are you so kind, why does not anyone live in this house? "

"It's all her, she's " Pale as chalk, he swallowed a lump that rolled to his throat.

– Who is she?

" My niece. She lived here with her husband. And when he went into the crusade and disappeared there, she could not stand the grief and hung herself.

" Did she hang herself here? "In this house?

Yes! Here on this beam – he stretched out his hand, pointing to the crossbar across the entire ceiling of the second floor. Eric removed the knife from his throat and he hastily grabbed for it, checking the integrity.

"What did not you say at once? "

" So you refuse to rent it. "Everyone refuses, as they learn.

" Listen, good man, my promise is in force-if you lie to me again, even in trifles, I'll cut your throat. "I was clear and convincing?

Of course. My lord, you have a divine gift to convince people!

– Here's a fine fellow. And do not worry about the niece of the deceased, the noble should be ashamed to be afraid of something or someone. And even more so the spirits of bad girls. I'll take this house for rent, not for a day, but for a couple of years. So rejoice. And for trying to deceive me, I'll pay you half as much – on the basis of every second Sunday, for two weeks ahead. Does this condition suit you?

Sir! Sure! It suits me completely! I will immediately send people here, that they cleaned everything up and washed it.

All right then. That's agreed. Here, take it, it's a deposit for a month.

Having said this, he threw two obols so that flying overhead, they fell into his hands, but the man could not catch them. Playing in an inept clown and still dropping both coins on the floor. And then fell to his knees in order to pick them up. The floor was covered with small debris and a thick layer of dust, so the chance of loss was really great. The guy looked at the behavior of the owner of the tavern, silently grinned and, slowly, went to the exit. Out on the street they both came out more than pleased. Eric was pleased with the unexpected benefit in the form of very cheap housing, and Edwin to what he could, at last, at least to someone to pass this accursed house, moreover for such a long time. In the tavern, our hero was not returning from his hand, and so he went to the city square where the bargaining was located. There, a local guard was quickly found, who, after giving a denarius, drank sharply from the late Bert and Henry von Lenzburg. Seeing the interest in commercial affairs, with such a virtuous person, the guards showed the most running places in the iron ranks and led him to the village elder, which followed the market. The chosen place cost a denarius a day and Erik, paying three days in advance, went on a visit to Gottfried, in the hope that he had already returned to the farmstead.

Eric was pleased and in his head there were tunes of various funny and cheerful songs, heard by him in a past life. He would have walked up to the blacksmith himself, had it not been for the selective mate, that he was so loud that he would rumble through the streets with a melodious echo. Stopping and listening, it became obvious that the master had already returned home. Which, however, he has a gentle temper and a gentle voice! A little later it became clear that Ulrich is the one who, by stretching wire, managed to make all the blanks of smaller diameter, so now all eight kilograms of iron blanks need to be reworked. Having made the poor pupil happy with his trembling participation, Gottfried glanced at his guest. He chuckled and, apparently realizing who had come to him and why, silently pointed to the door of the house and went there first. Language found immediately, because the baron almost from the threshold said the price of training – for a denarius a week. Study conditions are free and very free. In general, everything was developing as well as possible. Too everything and too good, even somehow strange. The next month passed fairly calmly. Odd days of the week, except Sundays, there were classes in the smithy, and even then not from dawn. Even days passed in training, horseback riding, domestic chores and language practice. The fact is that in the evenings he was engaged with his companion by the language she was carrying, and practiced in writing with the help of a goose feather. In the market, things went well, and therefore by the end of the month all the trophies were sold, even beads and it turned out to be sold. So, after all the spending, by the end of the month they had just a huge fortune – a total of about 35 Viennese silver marks. This is 10 kilograms of silver! With this money, he could live to a very old age in peace and contentment. But alas, peace is not his destiny. By the end of the month Eric began to notice strange people who regularly pass near his house, watching him and in general – showing an interest. This alarmed and one evening Eric shared with the girl his observations. It turned out that she also noticed them, and even on the market – all the familiar faces who often approached and asked, asked the price and generally tried to talk heart to heart. Thinking about what, what, Morrigan and they came to the conclusion – they were lost in the armor. The fact is that the armor was expensive, and their owners were completely not numerous and never ferocious. If we combine these two facts into a single whole, it becomes quite obvious that they want to be robbed, but they are being watched to find out where the money is hidden. Yeah, it's called – finish the game. After all, only fifteen people are observers! In the morning he left Morrigan to stay at home, under the bar, and let him in only by the sound signal – he had to knock in a special way. And he walked calmly to the smithy. Where I discussed the situation with the master, I started to work, but not one, but all together. Before lunch they worked, making so-called siblings – spatial constructions of four thorns, assembled in such a way that no matter how one puts it – one will always hang up. It turned out about a hundred. After taking away the crafts, he went to the market to buy two more simple crossbows, bolts, unloading with a hook and a light spear. At the very end of his promenade he walked to his house, demonstratively rattling his equipment, passing by one of the observers. And in the jocular question of where he put it so, he said that he was leaving the Templars tomorrow for the Holy Land, and now he was preparing. Having come home, he began active preparations to repel the assault. All the windows were blocked with shutters on the bolts, the door was securely closed, a barricade was installed at the entrance to the second floor, the entire first floor was neatly packed with drifters, next to the window sills, too, they put a little. In general, all the preparations lasted until dusk, so when there was a rustle near the door at midnight, they and Morrigan, already at the barricade, had three charged crossbows and a hope for success. Strange as it may seem, these waggons were able to open a massive bolt on the door rather quietly, like the creaking door itself. Stepping through the threshold, the first shadow clenched in confusion and jumped back, apparently stepping on the drone. The people who followed her were already smarter – they moved their legs, not taking them off the floor, than they simply moved the saber to the side. There were seven of them. Eric touched the girl by the shoulder and they took a crossbow aimed. They aimed at the neck area in such a way that the bolt that pierced it through such a distance would damage the person following. After the first volley, four moons fell, moaning and moaning, and the three men sat down in fright. Then they knocked over. Stumbling into the darkness on the barricade, and shlopotav a couple of times with a spear in the stomach, they quickly cooled down and began to fire the positions of the guys from the doorway. The besieged had to fire back in the same way – Morrigan charged, and Eric fired. After the seventh shot, he felt a strong blow to his right collarbone – there hit a bandit arrow. Weakening, he began to give orders to the girl about how to shoot at fast-looking figures and so on. After about five minutes, he lost consciousness. For him, the battle was over today – eleven to one, a good result.

Transparent tape, wriggling in the most bizarre ways, ran forward, and its edges pulsed with poisonous green. Around her was a vast darkness, and silence filled her ears. He, as ghostly as this tape was walking along it unhurried gait. He was filled with emptiness and tranquility. How much did he spend here? According to his feelings – for ages! He always walked this road and will always go. The realization of tranquility and harmony lulled him and absorbed him so that there was nothing more to be desired. Suddenly a dark beam was torn by a beam of bright light and struck a transparent cloth, or it shuddered and set in waves. The state of equilibrium was violated with a wild, irresistible speed and filled with rage. He ran forward, his whole being dispersed and filled with energy as a locomotive. Under his pressure, the road quickly straightened, issuing a terrible screeching sounds, almost groaning. Each step literally tormented her, brought unbearable pain and made the darkness brighter. And there, in the distance is already visible a small ball of bright white color. Feeling the approach of an angry man, the ball, as if frightened, and began to fly away from him. But that unthinkable speed with which our shimmering ghost ran forward, did its job – he caught up and flew into it so that the balloon shattered, filling everything around with light, cold, pain and some kind of voice:

"Mister de Ree, tell me, will he survive? " Asked a familiar female voice.

– I think so. The fever falls, he is young and strong.

Eric slightly opens his eyes, but the picture is very blurry. A little further away are two some silhouette.

– Who you are? – in a quiet, weakened voice, the Baron tries to take the initiative.

Here it is a bad accident. Who would have thought that the enemy arrow would fall into a small loophole in the dark. One successful shot and our hero spent unconscious for six days, and only on the seventh came to himself. So I want to joke about the resurrection. If we return to that ill-fated day, after the loss of consciousness by her master Morrigan not only continued to shoot back from the bandits and was able to lay three more, so even the Templars did not let her into the house, making more than one hole in their shields. You ask, where did the Templars come from? But here there is no mysticism, everything is very simple. The city is small, but because when the night post of the courtyard heard nearby battle noise, then immediately woke the commander. Jean de RИ, without thinking twice, took a dozen sergeants, out of security, and led them to the sound of battle. Literally two blocks later, they found an enchanting picture of the storming of a small house by a mob of bandits. In a couple of minutes it was over. But help until dawn could not enter the house. The girl so perenervnichala that she shot, not wanting to listen to anything and no one, in everything that moved. When it finally dawned, we understood that the gang of Guillaume the Red had attacked the house, which had long been sought for by Friedrich I of Bamberg, the Duke of Austria. For him, even a silver reward was awarded to anyone who could capture or kill him. The gang of this scoundrel terrorized the district and robbed passers-by merchants. They were not ashamed to attack even the Crusaders when they were in a vulnerable position. When Jean broke the remaining bandits, their leader was still alive, but badly wounded, the bolt hit him in the right side of his chest. Therefore Friedrich did not become particularly embarrassed and ordered the wounded Guillaume to be hung on the gates of Vienna already at noon on the same day, and transferred the stamp of silver to the Templar who took over the protection of Erik's girl and property, as well as his treatment. Moreover, the duke was so impressed with the courage of this couple that he had seen the patient a couple of times, and his Morrigan, as a token of attention and respect, presented a cut of beautiful, dark green silk.

Alas, but a wounded hand for a few months completely knocked out the baron from the rut – he could not, nor work in the smithy, nor train, even on horseback riding and those, at first, it was impossible to leave. The only thing he could afford was conversations with Jean de Rais, politics in Byzantium and the Crusader states, exercises in languages, walks and visits to two libraries: the courtyard and the duke. The libraries were, alas, completely wretched, since they contained almost exclusively religious texts and were suitable only for studying the graphics of the letter. Only on the second week there was an interesting event – Arab merchants from Vienna returned to Constantinople, returning from the lower German lands. Seeing the situation in terms of the level of technology and the total inability to weld good steel with the condition of preserving the secret, Eric decided to negotiate and buy a few damask bullions. They cost, of course, exorbitant, but there was no choice, so in 8 months he waited for guests who were supposed to bring 30 kg of Syrian bulat in bars. Here it is worth mentioning that his interest in blacksmithing was due to a completely pragmatic goal – he needed a normal set of armor. But the problem was not only in the complexity of manufacturing due to the almost complete lack of equipment and at least some adequate tools. The main problem was in the material – it was not. It so happened that the development of technology of those times in Europe was directly related to the formation of the institute of shops, the specialization of labor and the general development of cities as craft centers. By the 12th century in the Germanic countries, this process is just beginning to make its first, timid steps. In the countryside, of course, there used to be intelligent blacksmiths and other artisans, but the overall level of their craftsmanship and scope of work was very low, since they could not only specialize in some kind of profile of their craft, but also in the craft in general. The natural economy forced them to engage in, say, blacksmithing, exclusively in their spare time from field work. Miracles do not happen, and the quality of products was very low, and the production itself is very primitive. If to make comparisons, the production of iron by the end of the 12th century in Europe did not exceed 200-250 grams per person, and not in a year, but in general – for his whole life, while during the heyday of the Roman Empire this figure was about 3 kg in year. You understand, the iron was very small, and it was in price. Specialists in its processing, too, was few, and experts were only conditional, since they often lacked experience. This information is particularly vividly included in the dissonance with most historians who described the Crusades. In their understanding, these were some invasions of many thousands armies, encased in armor, which went to the East in a fit of religious fanaticism with high regularity, on average once every 10-20 years. I want to clarify – given the volume of iron mining, chain mail in those days, could afford only one person per thousand, and even not every one. In this vein, tales of forty-thousand crusader corps, skipping sometimes, then historians, writers, then directors, seem absolutely fantastic. The fact is that by the 12th century the institution of the militia in Western and Central Europe was completely eliminated, that is, the bet was made solely on the professional army, which, you understand, needs to be equipped and equipped better than a half-naked herd of peasants with wooden slingshots. And the militia, at that level of technological development, would not be better equipped. Just imagine the cost of equipping such armies! Yes, with such frequency! Where in Europe in general could take in those days such titanic means? Oh well, volume by volume, but in terms of quality everything was not well. At the time described, steel as such in Europe was not manufactured and not used, only occasionally were imported damask products from the East. That is, almost all the products were made from either iron or steel iron (which was obtained, for example, by aging in the ground). Alas, but until the time when the European armourers will start making the best armor in the world for more than two centuries. But what to say about armor, in much simpler things and then specialization was practically not there. In the same Russia, already a century later, there were on average no more than 40 different craft trades, and this is at the junction of cultures. That is, almost all that was needed on the farm, the peasants themselves did. In Europe, the situation was even worse. About science, you can not even stutter at all – theology and philosophy, that's the whole science that was engaged only in the fact that it was debating about how space ships plow large and small theaters. Well, the maximum is still the study of languages, which went, as a rule, optional and unsystematic. There are practically no measuring instruments, the records are kept by units and not extensively. Alas, and ah, in such a wonderful and colorful time, our hero had to solve the problem of tools and materials, in order to acquire intelligent equipment. Needless to say, that still situation – the desired armor has nothing and nothing to do. Lepota!