Through the mountain pass the warriors moved in a long, straggling line that stretched far into the distance. In the vanguard a mounted column of heavily armoured men, helms crammed down on mailed coifs, spears held upright, kite shields slung over backs. To the rear, two-hundred foot soldiers sweating under hauberks, ahead and to the flanks, scouts on wiry ponies combed the area for any pickets that may have been set out by the nearby encampment.
The reports came back.
Nothing.
Gerald de Brie allowed himself a smile when he received the news. These damned Byzantines were arrogant and complacent in their approach to war. How they managed to maintain such an enormous Empire, and for so long was a mystery to him. Like the Romans before them, they had allowed their guard to drop, their vas
