Thomas

A massive, armored man with a broken nose and a scarred cheek, Thomas wore a straw hat over his mail. When his fellow soldiers threatened the girl and her donkey at her farm, he first commanded them to stop, then killed Godefroy and the fat soldier when they refused. He spared the third, Jacquot, at the girl's plea. After spending the night in the barn, he displayed a harsh, volatile temper, punching the bound Jacquot unconscious for talking and destroying the man's crossbow crank because he considered killing from a distance dishonorable. He was persuaded to bury the girl's father, forcing Jacquot to do the grim work, and agreed to escort the girl to the next town under strict conditions. Sorting her belongings, he tasted her honey, mocked her book of Thomas Aquinas, nearly broke her bird whistle, and deliberately shattered her lead cross, promising to find a lighter one. He revealed he could read a little, owned a sword taken from his lord killed at Crécy, and planned to travel south or east. His journey gained an unwanted companion when the girl, whom he called a witch, claimed she could see his soul and that a devil was always near him.

A physically imposing man with a broken nose, a scarred cheek, and the beginnings of white in his beard, Thomas wore more armor than his fellows. His nature was pragmatic and violent, yet capable of unexpected mercy. When his comrade Godefroy threatened a young girl, Thomas intervened, first with commands and then with his sword, killing Godefroy and another soldier. He spared the fourth, Jacquot, at the girl's plea.

After the killings, he oversaw the burial of the girl's father, forcing Jacquot to do the labor. He agreed to take the girl along for a time, imposing a stern condition against crying or complaint. On the road, he asserted control, rifling through her possessions, discarding a heavy cross and mocking her book of Aquinas, but relenting when he nearly broke a small bird whistle that brought her happiness. He revealed he was a fighting man by nature, gifted for hunting boar but inept with ranged weapons, and that he owned the sword of his former lord, killed at Crécy. He believed it ignoble to kill from afar.

Their journey brought them to the town of Fleur-de-Roche, where Thomas left the girl to scout from an old tower. He found and beat Jacquot for looting the dead, then tied him to a tree with a warning sign. Leading the girl past a plague pit into a looted church for shelter, he was troubled by her dreams of a dead priest instructing her to go to Paris and Avignon. He argued the cities were tombs and the plan was stupid. Resolving to abandon her as a liability, he was stopped by the sudden, inexplicable appearance of a red devil mask at his feet. Crossing himself and throwing it outside, he put his gear down again, his heart pounding.

He was the oldest and largest of four soldiers, wearing more armor than the others beneath a peasant's straw hat. When his companions threatened a girl whose father had died of plague, he first commanded them to leave her be, then killed two when they refused. He spared the last, Jacquot, at the girl's plea, and agreed to take her to the next town. He proved a harsh protector, discarding her possessions for weight, forcing Jacquot to bury her father, and beating the man for stealing. He revealed he had no skill with ranged weapons, believing it ignoble, and that his sword had belonged to his lord, killed by the English.

Leaving the plague-stricken town of Fleur-de-Roche, he discovered an abandoned monastery where the girl taught him to forage. Later, at St. Martin-le-Preux, a priest shared his last wine and warned of a monster in the river. The priest, recognizing him as a knight, urged him to kill the creature to regain his honor. This prompted Thomas to growl an oath to do so, and the priest revealed his deeper past: he had been a lord near Givras, cheated by Le Comte d'Évreux. In his despair, he had sought out worse men on the road, and he confessed to the girl that he had killed his own wife and children.

A massive, scarred man with white in his dark beard, Thomas wore more armor than his companions and carried a sword that once belonged to his seigneur. At a plague-stricken farm, he intervened when soldiers turned violent, first commanding Godefroy to leave a orphaned girl alone and then, when challenged, killing Godefroy and another soldier. He spared the third, Jacquot, at the girl's plea. Though he initially told the girl to forget about help, he agreed to bury her father and, with gruff reluctance, to take her to the next town. He proved a harsh guardian, beating the treacherous Jacquot, discarding the girl's heavy possessions, and warning her against tears and talk of devils. He admitted he had no skill with bows, a gift only for hunting boar that turned to fight.

Traveling with the girl, he left Jacquot tied to a tree with a sign denouncing him and led the way through a plague-ravaged landscape. He remembered deliberately seeking out the men he killed, having paid a whore to introduce him to ambushers on the road after being cheated by Le Comte d'Évreux. He confessed to the girl he had once had a wife and children, whom he claimed to have killed. At a monastery, he foraged for greens and later, in the town of St. Martin-le-Preux, learned from a priest of a monster blocking the river. After drinking the priest's wine, he growled an oath to kill the creature.

The next morning, he led a party to the seigneur's keep for aid and was refused. At the river, he probed the water and tripped, falling in. In the brutal fight that followed, he impaled the monster with a spear, saved the girl from drowning, and shoved a farmer out of harm's way. He was punctured in the groin by one of the creature's spines through a break in his mail. Grappling in the water, he finally drove his sword into the monster's neck and pushed toward its heart. The creature bit him and took him underwater before vomiting him out along with its other victims. Thomas crawled from the river until his face cleared the water, then lost consciousness.

A trained knight who lost his holdings to Le Comte d'Évreux after Crécy, Thomas fell into despair and took to the road, deliberately seeking out worse men like Godefroy. At a remote farm, his simmering violence erupted when he killed Godefroy and another soldier to stop them from harming a girl whose father had died of plague. He spared the cowardly Jacquot only at the girl's plea. Pragmatic and grim, he forced Jacquot to bury the dead, then abandoned him tied to a tree after catching him stealing. He agreed to take the girl to the next town, but his protection was harsh, born of a belief that tears and talk of devils were dangerous liabilities. He lightened her pack by discarding sentimental items, mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas and destroying her cross, though he returned a bone whistle that made her happy.

His journey with the girl was a tense guardianship. He warned her away from plague victims, slept fitfully in abandoned churches, and argued against her desire to reach the great cities, which he called tombs. He was haunted by the comet in the sky, which he saw as a plague token, and by the girl's uncanny dreams, which made him fear she would be called a witch. A memory surfaced of how he had sought out Godefroy's band, a conscious step into brutality. At a monastery, he briefly found respite, eating from the herb garden and sleeping covered in flowers, but his violence was never far; he carried his sword naked across his shoulders when approaching new settlements.

In the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, he learned of a monster in the river. After drinking the priest's wine, he growled an oath to kill it. The next day, he led a procession to the river, armed himself with a boar spear, and waded in. The fight was brutal. He impaled the creature, was punctured in the groin by one of its spines, and finally slew it by driving his sword through its neck, but was bitten and nearly drowned. He crawled from the river unconscious. Later, a plague-stricken woman found him and, in her delirium, 'married' him on the bank before dying. He awoke feverish in the priest's bed. Half-delirious that night, he saw a mysterious, spined figure limping toward the stables where the girl slept; later, the same arrow-riddled man helped him back to bed, leaving Thomas to mutter a prayer to Saint Sebastian before sleep took him.

A knight from Picardy, Thomas wore more armor than his fellows and carried a sword that had belonged to his seigneur, slain at Crécy. When Godefroy threatened a girl whose father they had buried, Thomas stood up to him, breathing like a bellows, and killed him and another soldier, sparing only Jacquot at the girl's plea. Cheated of his holdings near Givras by Le Comte d'Évreux, he had despaired of justice, taken to the road, and deliberately sought out men like Godefroy. He claimed to have killed his own wife and children.

He agreed to take the girl along, warning her against tears and talk of devils. He was brutally pragmatic, destroying a crossbow, discarding her heavy cross, and mocking her book of Aquinas, though he returned a bone whistle that gave her joy. He left Jacquot tied to a tree after catching him looting the dead. Guiding the girl through plague lands, he once nearly abandoned her as a liability but stayed after a red devil mask unnerved him at a looted church.

At St. Martin-le-Preux, he swore to a priest to kill a monster in the river. In the fight, he impaled the creature, saved a farmer, and was punctured in the groin by its spine. He slew the monster but was bitten and nearly drowned. Carried back feverish and wounded, he sickened with plague. The girl insisted on a journey to a shrine, and as he lay dying in a cart, she pressed the Virgin's stone hand to his forehead, driving out a foul presence. He awoke, recovered, and left with her and the priest for Paris and Avignon.

A dispossessed knight cheated of his holdings by Le Comte d'Évreux, Thomas had taken to the road in despair, seeking out worse men. His journey with the girl began in violence when he killed his companions Godefroy and the fat soldier to stop their predation, sparing only the cowardly Jacquot. He was a man of immense physical strength and few words, armored in mail and cynicism, who believed it ignoble to kill from afar and saw himself as a fighting man made by God. He initially planned to abandon the girl, but a series of encounters—including leaving Jacquot tied to a tree and passing through a plague-ravaged town—bound them together.

His path led to the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, where a priest told of a monster in the river. True to his growled oath, Thomas fought the creature, was grievously wounded by its spine, and nearly drowned. He later contracted the plague and lay dying until the girl's intervention mysteriously cured him. Recovering, he agreed to travel with her and the priest. On the road, they came upon a pristine castle where Thomas was invited to a feast and night tourney. There, he was mocked by a knight named Théobald de Barentin, whom he remembered had died years before at Sluys. In a drunken, deadly melee, Thomas fought and killed Théobald, only to see the castle's seigneur transform into a lion-devil. At sunrise, the illusion vanished, leaving Thomas in a cow field beside an abandoned tower and a common grave. With the phantom revel gone, he finally agreed to the girl's long-standing request and committed to going to Paris.

He was the biggest of the four soldiers who came upon a plague-stricken farmhouse, wearing more armor than the others and marked by a broken nose and a pitted scar. When one of his companions, Godefroy, threatened a young girl there, Thomas first commanded him to stop, then killed him and another soldier when they refused, sparing only the cowering Jacquot. He agreed to bury the girl's father and, reluctantly, to take her along until the next town, though he warned her against crying or complaining. He was harsh and practical, lightening her pack by discarding a heavy cross and a book of Thomas Aquinas, but returned a small bird whistle when she said it made her happy. He revealed he had been trained as a knight, that his sword had belonged to his seigneur until the English killed him at Crécy, and that he believed it ignoble to kill from far away.

On the road, he discovered Jacquot stealing from the dead and left him tied to a tree with a sign around his neck. He and the girl took shelter in a looted church, where he argued against her desire to go to Paris or Avignon, calling big cities tombs. He privately remembered that he had sought out Godefroy's band of ambushers deliberately, in his despair after being robbed of his lands. He confessed to the girl that he had killed his own wife and children. When they found a monastery, he learned from the girl how to identify edible plants in the herb garden, and they were later joined by a priest from a nearby village. From this priest, Thomas learned of a monster in the river and, after drinking the priest's wine, growled an oath to kill it.

To fulfill that oath, he led a procession to the river, probed the water, and tripped, falling in. He impaled the creature with a spear and, after a brutal struggle in which he was badly wounded in the groin by one of its spines, he finally killed it, nearly drowning in the process. He crawled from the river and passed out. He was carried to the priest's home, where he fell gravely ill with what seemed to be the plague. As he lay dying, the girl pressed a small carved hand of the Virgin to his forehead, and he gasped back to life, beginning a slow but miraculous recovery.

Once well enough to travel, they set out in a cart. They came to a castle where a night tourney was being held. Thomas, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, competed. He became enraged at the revelers' disrespect and fought a knight named Théobald de Barentin in a brutal joust and melee. He broke the knight's arm and scapula, then killed him as the man began to transform into something monstrous. Thomas woke at dawn in a cow field beside a common grave and agreed to continue toward Paris with his companions.

On the approach to the plague-ravaged city, he saw evidence of fresh violence and felt a pang of shame, remembering his own past crimes with Godefroy's band. In Paris, after being cheated by an old woman selling a filthy room, they found shelter with a Norman woodcarver named Jehan de Rouen and his wife. There, Thomas confessed to the priest that he was excommunicated—formally for heresy, sodomy, and blasphemy, but in truth to dispossess him of his land—and he spoke of leaving the group, believing he did better alone.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, with fierce loyalty. He was a formidable fighting man, built like a bullock, who believed it ignoble to kill from afar and had a gift for hunting boar because they turned to fight. His world shattered at the Battle of Crécy. Charging in the first line of knights, he took an English arrow full in the face, the wound puncturing his cheek and piercing his tongue. Grabbing his dying lord’s reins, he retreated from the field. His squire, André, rescued him and took him to convalesce in Amiens.

From there, the betrayals cascaded. His squire returned with news that his lands near Givras had been seized by Le Comte d’Évreux, a Norman who had treated with the English. His wife had let the count into his keep and into her bed. The bishop of Laon, complicit in the theft, excommunicated Thomas for heresy, sodomy, and blasphemy, stripping him of his spurs. Despairing of justice, Thomas went west to Normandy. He sold his soul, sought out the worst men, and found the brigand Godefroy, swearing a dark oath that Évreux would die in the mud at a brigand’s hands.

His life as a robber began in winter near Gisors, robbing a farmhouse with Godefroy and the cowardly Jacquot. Yet even in brutality, a contradictory honor flickered. When the group later came upon a girl whose father had died of plague, Thomas prevented the others from harming her and her donkey. He killed Godefroy and another brigand when they threatened her, spared Jacquot at her plea, and, though he grumbled and insulted her, agreed to take her to the next town. He was a man of violent contradictions: he chucked the girl’s wooden cross into a muddy field yet promised to find her a lighter one; he mocked her book of Thomas Aquinas yet returned her deer-bone whistle; he called her a small, weird witch for claiming to see his soul, yet he became her protector.

Their journey led them to the plague-ravaged village of St. Martin-le-Preux, where a priest begged for help against a monster in the river. True to his word, Thomas fought the creature. He impaled it with a boar spear, sawed at its tail-hand with a knife when it grabbed his face, and was finally punctured in the groin by one of its spines. He drove his sword through the monster’s neck and was bitten and taken underwater in its death throes, crawling out half-drowned. The wound festered, and he fell ill with the plague, seemingly dying until the girl’s intervention mysteriously pulled him back from the brink.

Recovering, he traveled with the girl and the priest. At a castle holding a macabre night tourney, he was goaded into competing. In a brutal joust and melee, he fought and killed a knight named Théobald de Barentin—a man he remembered had died years before at the battle of Sluys—as the knight began to transform into something monstrous. Later, reaching Paris, he was haunted by his past, recalling his excommunication and feeling shame that he might have been among the archers burning fields and carving a stolen calf. He was a man adrift, telling the priest he did better alone, his path forward defined only by a cold, unfulfilled vow of revenge.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served faithfully under the Comte de Givras. At the Battle of Crécy, he was grievously wounded by an arrow to the face while leading a charge. After convalescing, he discovered his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux, a Norman lord who had treated with the English. Excommunicated and stripped of his spurs on false charges designed to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He took to the road, sought out worse men, and sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, swearing his enemy would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His journey with the brigands was marked by brutality, including robbing a farmhouse near Gisors. His nature, however, contained a contradictory honor. He was the oldest and most formidable of the group, a massive man trained for close combat who disdained killing from afar. When his companions threatened a girl whose father had died of plague, Thomas first commanded them to leave her alone, then killed Godefroy and another soldier when they refused. He spared the cowardly Jacquot and, reluctantly, agreed to let the girl, Delphine, travel with him.

His relationship with Delphine was a harsh, protective custody. He limited her belongings, mocked her faith, and called her a witch for her strange visions, yet he also buried her father and promised to keep her safe. After beating Jacquot for stealing and leaving him tied to a tree, Thomas and Delphine traveled on. He was haunted by a comet he saw as a plague token but found a moment of peace in a deserted monastery's herb garden. Later, in the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, he swore an oath to a priest to kill a monster in the river. In a ferocious battle, he was gravely wounded by a spine through his mail and nearly drowned, but succeeded.

He contracted the plague from the wound and lay dying until Delphine's intervention mysteriously saved him. Recovering, they traveled with the priest. At a castle, he competed in a night tourney, drunkenly dishonored the feast, and in the joust killed a knight named Théobald de Barentin, who transformed into something monstrous as he died. Later, in Paris, he told his full story to Delphine and the priest in the workshop of Jehan de Rouen, recounting his betrayal and fall. At the market on rue Mont-Fetard, he was cynical and sarcastic with a relic seller, dismissing the holy artifacts as frauds. When a mob accused the seller of being a Jew and pilloried him, Thomas carried a protesting Delphine away to safety.

At dinner, when Delphine suddenly ran back to the market, he chased after her. He followed, though he threatened to leave her, and found her trying to free the pilloried men. He refused to break the locks, but when she produced a useless key given by an old woman, he tried it in frustration. To his surprise, it worked. After Delphine freed the Jew, who gave her a small wooden tube on a rope, Thomas hefted her up and ran with her as knocking sounds approached in the dark.

Thomas was born in Picardy and trained as a knight, serving faithfully under the Comte de Givras. At the Battle of Crécy, an arrow struck him in the face, but he survived and retreated with his lord. His loyalty was repaid with betrayal; while he convalesced, his wife let his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, into his keep and his bed. His lands were forfeit, and he was excommunicated under false pretenses. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, swearing his enemy would die in the mud.

His path crossed with three other soldiers and a young girl at a plague-stricken farm. When Godefroy threatened the girl, Thomas killed him and the fat soldier, sparing only the cowardly Jacquot. He then buried the girl's father and, with great reluctance, agreed to take her along, warning her he would leave if she cried or complained. He proved a harsh guardian, discarding her possessions and mocking her visions, yet he also showed flickers of care, returning her bird whistle and promising to find her a lighter cross.

They traveled through a devastated landscape, leaving Jacquot tied to a tree after another beating for stealing. Thomas revealed he had sought out Godefroy's band deliberately. In a looted church, he nearly abandoned the girl, deeming her a liability, but stayed after a frightening omen. At a monastery, he foraged with her and later, in the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, he swore to a priest he would kill a monster in the river. In a brutal fight, he was grievously wounded by a spine through his mail but succeeded, nearly drowning in the process.

He contracted the plague from the wound and lay dying until the girl, Delphine, pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, miraculously pulling him back. Convalescing, he asked the priest if she was a witch or a saint. They traveled on together, joined by the priest. At a castle, Thomas competed in a night tourney, drunkenly defended a dead man's honor, and killed a knight who transformed into a monstrous creature. Later, in Paris, he confessed his past crimes to Jehan de Rouen, the woodcarver whose workshop gave them shelter.

In the city, he escorted Delphine and the others to the market, where he scoffed at a relic seller's wares, including a spearhead claimed to be the Holy Lance. His sarcasm drew a dangerous crowd, forcing a frantic escape. That night, Delphine fled to free two men from the pillory, and Thomas, after much protest, followed and helped her, even fitting the key into the lock. He carried her away as a mob closed in. Back at the workshop, when stone creatures attacked, Thomas armored himself and stood guard. He fought valiantly against a stone statue of the Virgin, breaking its scepter and its nose, but could not stop it from killing Jehan and his wife. He helped the survivors flee the burning house, taking the reins as they escaped the quarter, passing animated stone saints that hurled curses until dawn.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served the Comte de Givras. He fought at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck him in the face. His squire helped him retreat, but upon convalescing in Amiens, he learned his lands were forfeit and his wife had betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, into his keep. Despairing of justice, he went west, sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy, and swore a bitter oath that the Comte would die in the mud. He was formally excommunicated by the bishop of Laon, stripped of his spurs, and declared a heretic and blasphemer.

As a brigand, he traveled with Godefroy and two others. At a plague-stricken farmhouse, he killed Godefroy and another soldier when they threatened a young girl, Delphine. He spared a third, Jacquot, on the girl's plea, then forced the man to help bury her father. Deciding to take Delphine to the next town, he proved a harsh guardian, discarding her heavy possessions and mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas, though he returned a small bird whistle that made her happy. He revealed he had no skill with bow or crossbow, believing it ignoble to kill from afar, and that his gift was for hunting boar because they turned to fight. He planned to go south or east, away from the broken lands.

In the town of Fleur-de-Roche, he discovered Jacquot trying to steal from the dead and beat him again, leaving him tied to a tree. He and Delphine took shelter in a looted church, where he argued against her desire to go to Paris or Avignon, calling big cities tombs. He nearly abandoned her there, but stayed after a frightening encounter with a red devil mask. Later, at an abandoned monastery, he met a priest from St. Martin-le-Preux. After drinking the priest's wine, he gruffly swore an oath to kill a monster plaguing the river. In the fight, he was grievously wounded in the groin by one of the creature's spines and nearly drowned.

He survived, but fell ill with the plague. Delphine, using a small wooden hand of the Virgin, seemingly cured him, and he recovered with startling speed. Leaving the village with her and the priest, they came upon a castle holding a macabre night tourney. He competed, was announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, and in a drunken rage at the feast, injured the memory of a dead comrade. In the joust, he fought and killed a knight named Théobald de Barentin, who transformed into a monstrous creature in death. Waking in a cow field near a common grave, he agreed to go to Paris.

In the city, staying with a woodcarver named Jehan, his past weighed on him. At a market, he scorned a relic seller's wares, triggering a riot. When Delphine later fled to free two men from the pillory, he reluctantly helped her, then carried her to safety as a mob formed. That night, stone statues of the Virgin and Child came to life and attacked the workshop. He fought the stone Virgin fiercely, breaking its scepter and its nose, but was badly bruised on the leg. He rescued their belongings from the burning building and they fled Paris in the cart.

Traveling in the rain, they took shelter in a stone barn, where a wild, naked man threatened them with a scythe before fleeing. Around a fire, he criticized the priest's incomplete werewolf story. He woke from a dream of his legless brother and went outside into the cold night, where he asked the priest why he had chosen the cloth over the sword like his father.

He was born in Picardy and served faithfully as a knight to the Comte de Givras. At the Battle of Crécy, he was struck in the face by an arrow and, after convalescing, learned his lands were forfeit and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux. Excommunicated under false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, and joined a band of worse men, swearing his betrayer would die in the mud at a brigand's hand.

His life on the road began near a plague-struck farmhouse where he and his companions encountered a girl whose father had died. When Godefroy and another soldier threatened the girl, Thomas stood up to them, breathing like a bellows, and killed both men with his sword. He spared the cowardly Jacquot, forced him to bury the girl's father, and then, after discovering Jacquot stealing from the dead, tied him to a tree with a sign and left him. He agreed to take the girl, Delphine, along until the next town, imposing harsh conditions but carrying her heavy sack himself. He was a practical, violent man who believed it ignoble to kill from afar, had no skill with bow or crossbow, and could read only a little.

Their journey led them to the monastery of St. Martin-le-Preux, where a priest told them of a monster in the river. Thomas, having drunk the priest's wine, growled an oath to kill it. The next day, he led a procession to the river, probed the water, and tripped, falling in. He impaled the creature with a boar spear and, with the help of a farmer, fought it in the shallows. He was punctured in the groin by one of its spines through a break in his mail and was bitten and taken underwater, but he drove his sword through its neck before being vomited out, nearly drowned. He crawled from the river and passed out.

He awoke in the priest's bed, sick with plague, and lay dying until Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, after which he recovered with surprising speed. They left for Paris, stopping at a castle where Thomas, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, competed in a night tourney. He jousted and then fought on foot against Théobald de Barentin, a man he remembered drowning at Sluys, breaking his arm and killing him as he transformed into something monstrous. He woke in a cow field at sunrise.

In Paris, staying with a woodcarver, he was haunted by memories of his betrayal and his past crimes with Godefroy. At a market, he confronted a relic seller, calling his wares bewitchments, which incited a mob. Later that night, he reluctantly helped Delphine free two men from a pillory after she stole a key, then carried her away as a stone statue of the Virgin came to life and attacked their lodgings. He fought the animated statue with his sword, chipping and breaking it, but could not stop it before the house was set ablaze. He rescued their goods and led their escape from the city, his hands shaking as he took the reins.

On the road, they took shelter in a barn where a naked man fled at Thomas's approach. That night, he had a feverish dream of a burning landscape and a tempting pear. He awoke to find he had been sleepwalking and had nearly raped Delphine, his hands bleeding from thorn wounds. He let her go, pulled up his breeches, and awkwardly comforted her. In the morning, he scraped mud from the mule's shoe, defying the pain from the ugly bruise on his leg given by the stone Virgin.

He was the largest of four soldiers who came upon a plague-stricken farmhouse, wearing more armor than the others and marked by a broken nose and a pitted scar. When his companions, Godefroy and the fat soldier, threatened a girl and her donkey, Thomas first commanded them to stop, then killed them both when they refused. He spared the fourth man, Jacquot, at the girl's plea. He agreed to take the orphaned girl, Delphine, to the next town, imposing harsh conditions against crying or complaint. He lightened her sack by discarding heavy items, including her book of Thomas Aquinas and a large cross, but returned a bone whistle that made her happy. He called her a witch when she claimed to see a devil near him.

At the next town, he discovered Jacquot stealing from the dead and beat him, leaving him tied to a tree. He prevented Delphine from approaching a plague victim and led her through the abandoned settlement. That night, disturbed by her Latin dreams, he argued against her plan to go to Paris, calling cities tombs. He resolved to abandon her as a liability, but a red devil mask at his foot made him cross himself and stay. He later remembered he had sought out Godefroy's band of brigands deliberately, wanting revenge on the Norman count who had ruined him.

On the road, he discovered an empty monastery where he and Delphine foraged in the herb garden. They met a cloth merchant and then a priest from St. Martin-le-Preux, who told of a monster in the river. Thomas drank the priest's wine and, though refusing confession, swore an oath to kill the creature. He revealed he was from Picardy and had lost a wife and children, whom he claimed to have killed. In the morning, armored and holding his sword like a cross, he led a procession to the river. After insulting the local seigneur's herald, he waded in, tripped, and was attacked. He fought the monstrous thing with spear, sword, and billhook, saving a farmer but being grievously wounded in the groin by a spine. He finally killed it by driving his sword through its neck, but was bitten and nearly drowned.

He was pulled from the river and lay feverish in the priest's bed, believed to be dying of plague. Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, and he recovered miraculously. Once well enough to travel, they left for Rochelle-la-Blanche. Along the way, they came upon a castle holding a night tourney. Ashamed of arriving in a cart, Thomas accepted the invitation to compete. At the feast, he was announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy and drunkenly raged against the revelers' disrespect. He jousted and then fought on foot against Théobald de Barentin, breaking the knight's arm and killing him as he transformed into something bestial. The next morning, he awoke in a cow field near a common grave and agreed to go to Paris with his companions.

In Paris, they stayed with the woodcarver Jehan de Rouen. At a market, Thomas grew sarcastic and angry with a relic seller, causing a disturbance. When a mob approached, he carried Delphine away over his shoulder. That night, he chased her when she ran back to the market and, despite his protests, helped her free two men from the pillory. Back at the workshop, stone statues came to life and attacked. Thomas fought a stone Virgin, breaking its scepter and its nose, but was bruised badly on the leg. He rescued their belongings from the burning house and drove the cart out of the city.

On the road, his manner softened. He joked with the priest and listened to stories, though he interrupted Delphine's. He awoke from a terrible dream to find he had been undressing the sleeping girl, his hands bleeding from thorns; he fought off the impulse and comforted her. Days later, traveling and foraging, he teased Delphine playfully, laughed when she threw mud at him, and shared a found walnut. He had grown kinder to her since the incident in the barn.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, faithfully. At the Battle of Crécy, he rode in the first line of knights, was struck in the face by an English arrow, and was rescued by his squire. While he convalesced in Amiens, he learned his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, into his keep and her bed. Excommunicated by the bishop of Laon on false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy, and took to the road with worse men, swearing his enemy would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His life as a brigand was short-lived. Traveling with Godefroy and two others, he stopped at a plague-stricken farmhouse where they encountered a young girl. When Godefroy threatened the girl, Thomas intervened, killed Godefroy and another soldier, and spared a cowardly archer named Jacquot. He reluctantly agreed to take the girl, Delphine, with them until the next town, imposing a harsh, no-nonsense protection. He was a man of immense physical strength and martial skill, believing it ignoble to kill from afar and considering himself a fighting man made by God, but he had no skill with a bow. His sword had belonged to his seigneur until the English killed him at Crécy.

Their journey led them to a monastery emptied by plague and then to the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, where a priest told them of a monster in the river. Thomas, gruffly refusing confession, nonetheless swore an oath to kill the creature. In a brutal fight in the river, he impaled the monster with a spear and finally killed it with his sword, but was grievously wounded in the groin by one of its spines and nearly drowned. He was pulled from the water and fell deathly ill with plague. As he lay dying, Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead in a mysterious act that brought him back from the brink, and he recovered more quickly than any survivor the priest had seen.

After recovering, the trio continued south. They came upon a castle where Thomas, shamed to be traveling in a cart, accepted an invitation to a night tourney. He was announced at a feast as Sir Thomas of Picardy, but drunkenly raged at the revelers for insulting the memory of a worthy man. In the tournament, he jousted and then fought on foot against a knight named Théobald de Barentin, breaking his arm and scapula before killing him as the man underwent a monstrous transformation. Thomas later remembered that the real Théobald had died years earlier at the battle of Sluys. He woke in a cow field at sunrise, found a common grave, and agreed to go to Paris with Delphine and the priest.

In Paris, they stayed with a woodcarver named Jehan de Rouen. At a market, Thomas sarcastically confronted a relic seller, causing a disturbance that forced a frantic escape. Later that night, he reluctantly helped Delphine free two men from the pillory after she stole a key. Returning to the workshop, they were attacked by a stone statue of the Virgin come to life. Thomas fought the animated statue with his sword, chipping and breaking it, but could not stop it before the house was set ablaze. He rescued their belongings from the fire, knowing he would die before letting harm come to Delphine. They fled Paris in the cart.

On the road, Thomas began to show a slightly kinder side to Delphine, though he remained rough and pragmatic. He suffered a troubling dream in which a dark presence in his mind tried to make him assault her in his sleep; he awoke to find his hands on her and bleeding from thorn wounds, and fought the impulse off. Later, they encountered a troop of knights bound for Avignon. One knight recognized Thomas from Crécy, recalling he fought bravely beside the Comte de Givras and bore arms of a red chevron and a silver griffin. The knight offered Thomas a horse to join them for a new crusade, but Thomas refused, saying, "Go your ways, and I will go mine." Barred from entering Nemours, the trio instead found a survivor encampment called St. Lazarus, where Thomas helped build a fence in exchange for food.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur faithfully. He fought at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow pierced his face; he saved his lord by turning their horses from the English advance. Afterward, he learned his wife had betrayed him, letting Le Comte d'Évreux into his keep and his bed. His lands were forfeit, and he was excommunicated under false charges. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, seeking revenge on the count.

His life as an outlaw began with two other soldiers, Jacquot and a fat companion. At a plague-stricken farmhouse, he killed Godefroy and the fat soldier when they threatened a young girl, sparing Jacquot at her plea. He buried her father and, reluctantly, agreed to take the girl—Delphine—with him. He proved a harsh guardian, mocking her piety, destroying her cross, and warning her against speaking of devils. He abandoned her once, in a looted church, but a red devil mask at his foot made his heart pound, and he stayed.

They traveled with a priest they met at St. Martin-le-Preux. There, Thomas swore an oath to kill a monster in the river. In the fight, he was grievously wounded by a spine through his mail and nearly drowned. Delphine, using a relic, pulled him back from death as he lay dying of the plague. He recovered, though he remained haunted by dark dreams and a sense of his own damnation.

In Paris, he protected Delphine from a mob after she freed prisoners from the stocks, and later fought a stone Virgin statue come to life, which set their shelter ablaze. On the road south, he was tormented by a dream in which a black, crab-like thing in his mind tried to make him assault Delphine; he awoke with his hands on her, bleeding from thorn wounds, and fought the compulsion off. Since that night, he has been gentler with her.

Recently, near Ponchelvert, they encountered a dwarf crucified by a band called the Penitents. The dwarf begged to be re-crucified, and after a struggle where the dwarf kicked over the ladder, Thomas, swearing, hauled him back up and tied him fast. They continued toward Auxerre. When they stopped to camp, Thomas covered the sleeping Delphine with a blanket and went to gather firewood with the priest. Returning, he found the cart empty, with the words 'STAY HERE' scrawled on its side, and called the priest over in alarm.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, with loyalty. He fought bravely at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck him in the face, but his world shattered in the aftermath. His lands were forfeited, and he learned his wife had betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d’Évreux, into his keep and her bed. Excommunicated under false pretenses to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy, and took to the road with worse men, swearing his enemy would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His path as a robber was interrupted near a plague-stricken farmhouse. He was the oldest and largest of four soldiers, a man with a broken nose and a bullock's strength. When Godefroy threatened a peasant girl, Thomas stood up to him, breathing like a bellows, and killed both Godefroy and another soldier. He spared the cowardly Jacquot only at the girl's plea. This girl, Delphine, a small, peculiar child who claimed to see devils, attached herself to him. Though he called her a witch and tried to abandon her, he ultimately agreed to take her to the next town, imposing a harsh bargain: no tears, no complaints. He destroyed her heavy cross, mocked her book of Thomas Aquinas, but returned a bone whistle that made her happy.

Their journey led them to a monastery emptied by plague, where he ate from the herb garden and slept covered in flowers. At the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, he learned of a monster in the river. Despite his own cynicism, he growled an oath to a local priest to kill it. In a brutal fight, he impaled the creature with a spear and drove his sword into its neck, but was grievously wounded in the groin by one of its spines and nearly drowned. He was pulled from the river and fell deathly ill with plague. As he lay dying, Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, and he miraculously recovered, healing faster than any survivor the priest had seen.

Leaving the village with Delphine and the priest, they came upon a castle holding a macabre night tourney. Thomas, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, drank heavily, roared at the revelers for mocking the dead, and fought in the lists. His opponent, a knight named Théobald de Barentin—a man Thomas knew had died years before at Sluys—transformed into a monstrous thing during their duel. Thomas broke his arm and killed him. He awoke in a cow field near a common grave, his memory hazy, and agreed to go to Paris.

In the city, staying with a woodcarver, he was forced to confront a mob stirred by a relic seller. When Delphine freed two prisoners from the pillory, including a Jew she kissed, Thomas carried her to safety. Later that night, a stone statue of the Virgin Mary came to murderous life. Thomas fought it with his sword, breaking its scepter and its nose, but could not stop it until the workshop was set ablaze. He rescued their belongings from the fire, coughing and soot-blackened, and knew then he would die before letting harm come to Delphine.

Traveling onward, a dark compulsion entered his dreams. He awoke once to find he had been undressing the sleeping Delphine, his hands bleeding from thorn wounds, but he fought off the inner corruption and let her go. Since that incident, he had been kinder to her. On the road, starving, he encountered a troop of knights heading for a new crusade. One recognized him from Crécy and offered him a horse and purpose, but Thomas refused, choosing his own path with the girl and the priest.

Their journey grew increasingly surreal. He untied a dwarf who was being crucified as a penitent, only to retie him after hearing the man's twisted reasoning. Soon after, he discovered Delphine had vanished from their cart, leaving a message. He and the priest rushed toward Auxerre, where a cataclysmic storm broke. A supernatural battle erupted between an angel and two winged devils that darkened the sky. Thomas was struck by debris and crawled into a gully, hiding under branches. From there, he watched in horror as the angel was overpowered and killed. A warm, bloody rain fell, and he shouted uncontrollably before losing consciousness.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was trained as a knight and served his seigneur faithfully. He fought at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow pierced his face and tongue. After convalescing, he returned home to find his lands forfeit and his wife in the bed of Le Comte d'Évreux, the Norman who had betrayed him. Excommunicated on false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy, and took to the road with worse men, swearing his betrayer would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His path changed near a plague-stricken farmhouse. He was the oldest of four brigands, and when Godefroy threatened a young girl whose father had died, Thomas intervened. He killed Godefroy and another soldier, spared a third named Jacquot, and, despite his harsh nature, agreed to take the girl along for a time. He called her stupid for approaching soldiers and threatened to leave her if she cried, but he also carried her heavy sack and protected her. He was unnerved when she claimed to see his soul and said a devil was always near him. After discovering Jacquot trying to steal, Thomas beat him and left him tied to a tree.

The girl, Delphine, wanted to go to Avignon. Thomas argued that cities were tombs and called the plan stupid, but he found himself traveling with her anyway. They encountered a priest in a besieged village, and Thomas, after drinking the man's fine wine, swore an oath to kill a monster in the river. In the fight, he was grievously wounded in the groin by a spine and nearly drowned. He later contracted the plague and lay dying until Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, after which he miraculously recovered.

On the road, they attended a macabre tournament at a castle where Thomas, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, fought and killed a knight who transformed into a monstrous creature. Later, in Paris, he protected Delphine from a mob and helped her free two prisoners from the stocks, carrying her away as a riot began. That night, he fought a moving stone statue of the Virgin Mary that attacked their shelter, breaking its scepter and its foot before escaping the burning building. He knew then he would die before letting harm come to Delphine.

Traveling south, a dark impulse from a dream caused him to nearly assault Delphine in his sleep, but he fought it off. Afterwards, he was gentler with her. They met a troop of knights heading for a crusade; their leader recognized Thomas from Crécy and offered him a place, but Thomas refused, choosing to stay with the girl and the priest. When Delphine was later taken by a fallen angel near Auxerre, Thomas and the priest gave chase. He was struck by a flying cart wheel and hid in a gully, where he witnessed a terrifying aerial battle between supernatural beings before passing out.

He reunited with Delphine and the drunken priest afterwards. Now traveling southeast, he took the reins when the priest could not, and agreed to Delphine's plan to build a raft to speed their journey to Avignon via the rivers.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, faithfully. At the Battle of Crécy, he rode in the first charge and took an English arrow in the face, but survived to lead his wounded lord from the field. His loyalty was repaid with betrayal: while he convalesced, his wife let Le Comte d'Évreux into their keep and their bed. His lands were forfeited, and he was excommunicated on false charges to facilitate the theft. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, swearing his betrayer would die in the mud.

His life as a robber was brutal. Near Normanville, he and his companions—Godefroy and the cowardly Jacquot—came upon a plague-stricken farm where a girl begged for help burying her father. When Godefroy moved to assault her, Thomas intervened, killed both brigands, and spared Jacquot. He reluctantly agreed to take the girl, Delphine, to the next town, imposing a harsh, no-tears compact. He proved a merciless guardian, destroying her heavy possessions and beating Jacquot for theft, yet he also protected her, pulling her from a plague-ridden window and deciding they would sleep in a looted church. There, he nearly abandoned her as a liability, but a found red devil mask frightened him into staying.

Their path led to a monastery emptied by plague, where he ate from the herb garden and slept among statues, waking covered in flowers. At the next village, St. Martin-le-Preux, a priest told of a monster in the river. Thomas, after drinking the priest's fine wine, growled an oath to kill it. The next day, he led a procession to the river, probed the water, and fell in. In a vicious struggle, he was punctured in the groin by a spine and nearly drowned, but he managed to drive his sword into the creature, killing it. He crawled from the water more dead than alive.

He awoke in the priest's bed, feverish with plague. As he lay dying, Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, and he miraculously recovered. Grateful but unchanged, he left the village with her and the priest, now a trio. At a castle, he was drawn into a night tourney, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy. He drank, brawled, and jousted a knight named Théobald de Barentin—a man he remembered drowning at Sluys. In the fight, Théobald transformed into something monstrous, and Thomas broke his arm and killed him. He later awoke in a field, agreeing to go to Paris.

In the city, they stayed with a woodcarver. At a market, Thomas scoffed at a relic seller's wares, triggering a riot. That night, stone statues came to life and attacked the workshop. Thomas fought a stone Virgin, breaking its foot and scepter, before escaping with the others as the house burned. He knew then he would die before letting harm come to Delphine. On the road south, a dark dream forced him to fight a compulsion to assault her in his sleep; he awoke with bloody hands and afterward showed her more kindness.

Their journey grew stranger. He refused an offer from a knight from Crécy to join a new crusade, laughing when Delphine warned the knight his anger fed shades. He freed, then re-crucified, a penitent dwarf after hearing the man's reasoning. Later, near Auxerre, he was separated from Delphine. A celestial battle erupted between an angel and devils; a bloody rain fell, and he passed out. Reunited, they traveled on. At an inn run by a former Franciscan, he met a Tuscan merchant named Rinaldo. Stripping off his armor, he went hunting with the man. When a boar charged, Thomas smiled like a boy and cocked his sword for the kill.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served the Comte de Givras faithfully. He fought bravely at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck him in the face. After convalescing, he learned his wife had betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, seize his keep near Givras. Excommunicated and stripped of his lands on false charges, he despaired of justice. He sought out worse men on the road, swearing revenge on the Comte, and sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy.

His life as a brigand was interrupted when he and his companions—Godefroy, Jacquot, and a fat soldier—came upon a plague-stricken farmhouse. There, he killed Godefroy and the soldier to protect a young girl, Delphine, from rape. He spared Jacquot but later beat him and left him tied to a tree after catching him stealing. Though he initially intended to abandon Delphine as a liability, he reluctantly agreed to take her to the next town, imposing harsh conditions against crying or complaining. He was a practical, often cruel guardian, discarding her heavy possessions, mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas, and destroying a cross she cherished, though he returned a small bird whistle that made her happy.

Their journey south was fraught with the plague and strange visions. In the town of St. Martin-le-Preux, Thomas, at a priest’s urging, swore an oath to kill a monstrous creature in the river. In a brutal fight, he was grievously wounded in the groin by one of the monster’s spines and nearly drowned. He later contracted the plague and lay dying until Delphine’s mysterious intervention saved him. After recovering, they traveled on, joined by the priest, Père Matthieu. At a castle, Thomas competed in a night tourney, jousting and killing a knight named Théobald de Barentin, who transformed into something monstrous during their duel.

In Paris, Thomas confessed his past to the priest in Jehan de Rouen’s workshop. He revealed the depth of his betrayal and his fall into brigandage. In the city, he protected Delphine from a fanatical mob and later fought a terrifying, animated stone statue of the Virgin Mary, which attacked their shelter. He escaped the burning building with the others, coughing from the smoke, his leg badly bruised from the statue’s blows. On the road again, he was haunted by dreams; in one, a dark force in his mind tried to make him assault Delphine in his sleep, but he fought it off. Since that incident, he had been kinder to her.

Starving, he and his companions encountered a troop of knights heading to Avignon. Their leader, a knight Thomas recognized from Crécy, offered him a horse and a place in a potential new crusade, but Thomas refused, choosing to continue with Delphine and the priest. Their path led them to witness a celestial battle between an angel and devils, during which Thomas hid in a gully, was struck by a flying cart wheel, and passed out under a bloody rain. Afterward, they decided to travel by river. They secured passage on a raft crewed by the piratical Guild of Simon Peter. Thomas adapted to the crew, gambling and dancing with them, allowing himself hope that they might reach Avignon. However, the captain plotted to murder the passengers for their gold. The first mate, Guillaume, a Crécy veteran loyal to Thomas, betrayed the captain by shooting an oarsman. In the ensuing fight, Thomas killed the captain, cutting his throat after severing his arm. He then tended to the wounded Guillaume through the night, stitching his head wound at dawn. The raft drifted on down the river with the survivors.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur faithfully. At the Battle of Crécy, an arrow pierced his face and tongue, yet he managed to retreat with his wounded lord. While he convalesced, his lands were forfeited and his wife betrayed him with Le Comte d’Évreux, the Norman who had cheated him of his holdings. Excommunicated under false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He sought out worse men, deliberately finding the brigand Godefroy on the road from Normanville, and sold his soul for a chance at revenge, swearing the count would die in the mud.

His life as a brigand began near Fleur-de-Roche, where he was the oldest and largest of four men, wearing more armor than the others. When Godefroy threatened a local girl, Thomas stood up to him, breathing like a bellows, and killed both Godefroy and another soldier. He spared the cowardly Jacquot on the girl’s plea. That girl, Delphine, attached herself to him. He agreed to take her to the next town, imposing harsh conditions against crying or complaining, and took charge of her heavy sack. He was baffled by her piety and her claim to see a devil near him, calling her a small, weird witch. He destroyed her large cross to lighten her load and mocked her book of Thomas Aquinas, yet returned her deer-bone whistle when she said it made her happy.

Their journey led them to a plague-stricken monastery and then to the village of St. Martin-le-Preux. There, a priest told of a monster in the river. Thomas, though refusing confession, growled an oath to kill it. In a brutal fight, he impaled the creature with a spear and was bitten and dragged underwater after slitting its throat, finally driving his sword into where he hoped its heart was. He crawled ashore, gravely wounded in the groin by one of its spines. He fell ill with the plague and lay dying until Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin’s hand to his forehead; he then recovered more quickly than any survivor the priest had seen.

Leaving the village with Delphine and the priest, Père Matthieu, they entered Paris. There, Thomas confessed his past to the priest in a moment of anguish, recounting his betrayal and fall. In the city’s markets, his skepticism flared at a relic seller’s claims, and he had to carry Delphine away when she became entranced by a cart wheel. Later, in a woodcarver’s workshop, he fought a moving stone statue of the Virgin, which flung a dead infant at him. He broke its scepter and its nose before escaping with the others as the house burned. He knew then he would die before letting harm come to Delphine.

On the road south, a dark impulse surfaced in a dream where a black, crab-like thing in his mind tried to make him assault Delphine as she slept. He awoke to find his hands on her, bleeding from thorn wounds, and fought the compulsion off. Ashamed, he was gentler with her afterwards. The journey grew desperate with starvation; he proposed eating their mule and later encountered a knight from Crécy who recognized him and offered him a horse to join a new crusade to Avignon. Thomas refused, choosing his own path with the girl and the priest.

Their company grew when they were joined by Guillaume, a cheerful man-at-arms, and they took a raft down the Saône toward Avignon. Thomas gambled with the raftsmen and joined their dance, allowing himself a flicker of hope. When the raft’s captain betrayed them, Thomas killed him in a swift, violent fight and then sat through the night tending to a wounded Guillaume. On the Rhône, they encountered a horrific dam of dead bodies inhabited by gelatinous, stinging creatures. As the raft was attacked and pulled under, Thomas fought in the water, hurling sacks of salt to kill the monsters. He helped Guillaume keep his head above water and, after Guillaume was stung to death, bulled his way to shore with the priest and Delphine. They collapsed in a fallow field wild with lavender, almost in Provence, as the great abomination from the dam moved south down the river behind them.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, with fidelity. He fought at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck him in the face. After convalescing, he learned his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d’Évreux, the Norman who had cheated him of his holdings. Excommunicated under false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy, and took to the road with worse men, seeking a base revenge.

His path changed near a plague-stricken village when he and his fellow brigands encountered a girl whose father had died. When Godefroy moved to assault her, Thomas intervened, killed Godefroy and another soldier, and spared the youngest, Jacquot. He buried the girl’s father and, reluctantly, agreed to take her to the next town. She was Delphine, a peculiar child who claimed to see his soul and said a devil was always near him. He was a practical, brutal man, discarding her heavy possessions and mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas, but he also returned a small bird whistle that made her happy.

Their journey south became a series of trials. In a monastery, they found only death. In the town of St. Martin-le-Preux, a priest told them of a monster in the river. True to a growled oath, Thomas fought the creature, was grievously wounded by a spine through his mail, and nearly drowned. He contracted the plague and lay dying until Delphine’s strange intervention saved him. Recovering, they traveled with the priest, Père Matthieu. In Paris, they witnessed a relic seller’s madness and were attacked by a stone statue of the Virgin that Thomas fought with his sword, escaping a burning workshop. He knew then he would die before letting harm come to Delphine.

On the road, his relationship with the girl softened, though a dark dream in a barn nearly made him violate her in his sleep; he fought off the impulse, his hands bleeding from thorns. They faced starvation, refused an offer to join knights heading for a crusade, and witnessed a celestial battle between an angel and devils that showered the earth with bloody rain. Fleeing that horror, they took to the rivers, where Thomas gambled and danced with raftsmen before thwarting a mutiny, killing a captain to protect their party. On the Rhône, they encountered a dam of corpses and a jelly-like monster; Thomas hurled sacks of salt to kill the creature attacking Delphine before the raft was pulled under.

He carried Delphine and the dying priest from the river to a cottage, where an old man sick with the plague let them in. After Delphine played a lute song that stirred memories, Père Matthieu died, calling Thomas by the name Robert, his brother. Thomas buried the priest and the old man, then set out with Delphine once more, the priest having become dear to him. His destination was now Avignon, the girl’s goal, and he moved forward through the broken land, a fighting man bound to a child’s fate.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served the Comte de Givras. He fought bravely at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow pierced his face and broke his leg. While he convalesced, his lands were forfeited and his wife betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, into his keep and her bed. Excommunicated on false charges to seize his property, he despaired of justice. He went west, sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, and took to the road with worse men, swearing his enemy would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His path changed in a plague-stricken village where he and his band encountered a girl burying her father. When Godefroy threatened her, Thomas stood up to his captain, breathing like a bellows, and killed both Godefroy and another soldier. He spared the cowering Jacquot and, reluctantly, agreed to take the girl, Delphine, along until the next town. He was a brutal guardian, beating Jacquot, mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas, and chucking her wooden cross into a field. He believed cities were tombs and argued fiercely against her goal of reaching Avignon, once quietly gathering his things to abandon her as a liability. Yet he also protected her, pulling her from a plague-house window and, after she was haunted by dreams, warning her that speaking of devils calls their attention.

His journey with Delphine and a priest they met became a series of monstrous trials. In the village of St. Martin-le-Preux, he swore an oath to kill a creature in the river. In a brutal fight, he was punctured in the groin by one of its spines and nearly drowned, later contracting the plague. Delphine’s intervention saved him, and he recovered. At a strange castle, he competed in a night tourney, killing a knight who transformed into a monster. In Paris, he fought a stone statue of the Virgin that came to life, barely escaping a burning house. His protectiveness deepened; he knew he would die before letting harm come to Delphine. This was tested in a barn where a dark impulse from a dream made him try to undress her in his sleep; he fought it off and was thereafter kinder to her.

Traveling south, they faced starvation, encounters with other knights, and celestial battles between angels and devils. On the rivers, he helped commandeer a raft, killed its treacherous captain, and befriended a wounded raftsman named Guillaume. When a dam of corpses in the Rhône released gelatinous monsters, he hurled sacks of salt to save Delphine from one and was pulled under when the raft sank. He bulled his way to shore, hauling the priest to safety. The priest, who had become dear to him, soon died of his wounds in a riverside cottage. Thomas buried him and the cottage’s owner, then continued toward Avignon with Delphine, selling a goat for supplies. He intended to steal a horse, but found none unattended. The last he was seen, he was sleeping in a shallow cave, unaware that Delphine had left him to travel to Avignon alone.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur faithfully. At the Battle of Crécy, an arrow pierced his face, and his squire helped him retreat. He returned to find his keep seized by Le Comte d'Évreux, who had also taken his wife. Excommunicated under false charges to strip his land, he despaired and sought out worse men, joining the brigand Godefroy to plot revenge.

His path changed at a plague-stricken farmhouse where he killed his cruel companions to protect a young girl. He agreed to take her to the next town, but her stubbornness and his own grudging sense of duty bound them together. He revealed a capacity for unexpected kindness, returning her treasured bird whistle and, later, swearing an oath to a priest to kill a monster in a river, which he did at great cost, nearly dying from the wound.

Recovering from the plague after her intervention, he traveled with her and a priest they had met. In Paris, he fought a stone statue come to life to defend them, and later confessed a dark secret: he had sworn on a cross that his enemy would die in the mud. His past as a brigand haunted him, but he knew he would die before letting harm come to the girl, Delphine. After a terrifying incident where he fought off a dark urge to hurt her in his sleep, he grew gentler with her.

Their journey south was harrowing. They survived an angelic battle, fought river pirates, and faced a monstrous dam of corpses in the Rhône. After the priest died, Thomas buried him, feeling the loss deeply. He then discovered Delphine had left their camp. Setting off to find her, he was mistaken for an English routier by a village mob mourning men killed by long arrows. Cleansed after swearing oaths in church that he was a loyal French knight, he was fed and continued toward Orange with a renewed, knightly bearing, believing she blamed him for the priest's death because he had broken her commandment not to kill.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur faithfully until the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow to the face began his ruin. While he convalesced, his wife betrayed him, letting his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux, into his keep and his bed. His lands were forfeited, and he was excommunicated under false charges. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy and took to the road, seeking only revenge.

His path changed at a plague-stricken farmhouse where he and his fellow brigands encountered a young girl. When Godefroy moved to assault her, Thomas killed him and another man, sparing only a coward named Jacquot because the girl asked him not to kill. Compelled by her, he agreed to take her to the next town. The girl, Delphine, was strange and perceptive, claiming to see a devil near him. Though he mocked her faith, destroying her cross and book, he was unsettled by her. He abandoned her in a looted church but stayed after a frightening omen, and they continued south together.

Their journey was marked by monstrous encounters. In a village called St. Martin-le-Preux, he swore an oath to a priest to kill a creature in the river, a fight that left him grievously wounded and infected with the plague. Delphine nursed him back with a touch he believed miraculous. Later, at a corrupt lord's castle, he fought and killed a knight who transformed into a beast. In Paris, he protected Delphine from a mob and fought a living stone statue of the Virgin that attacked them, fleeing the city as it burned. Through these trials, a fierce, protective bond grew; he knew he would die before letting harm come to her.

This bond was tested by a darkness within him. He suffered a dream where a black, crab-like thing in his mind tried to make him rape Delphine as she slept; he fought it off, waking with his hands bloody. Shamed, he became gentler with her afterward. Their company grew to include a kind priest from St. Martin, and they traveled by cart. After a celestial battle between angels and devils scattered them, Thomas searched desperately for Delphine, believing she blamed him for the priest's death because he had killed again. He swore an oath to a village priest to bring God's justice to English routiers.

Outside Orange, he found his quarry carousing in a bathhouse. He killed their drunk sentinel and entered, sword ready to slaughter them all. But he stopped, hearing voices and remembering the girl's commandment. He sheathed his weapon, saying "Not tonight," and spared them. He slept in a church belfry, wrestling with the newfound belief that Delphine was something like a saint. The next day, on the crowded road to Avignon, he saw a military procession led by Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of his hated enemy. The sight rekindled all his old hatred and his thirst for revenge.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served his seigneur faithfully. At the Battle of Crécy, an arrow pierced his face, but he survived, only to learn his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him with Chrétien d'Évreux. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to a brigand named Godefroy and took to the road, swearing the comte would die in the mud. His life of banditry was interrupted when he killed Godefroy and a fat soldier to protect a peasant girl, then found himself burdened with the girl, Delphine, and her unsettling visions.

Traveling with her and a priest they later met, Thomas was a man of brutal pragmatism and simmering rage. He killed a river monster at a village called St. Martin-le-Preux, nearly dying from the wound and a subsequent bout of plague, from which Delphine mysteriously helped him recover. He fought and killed a knight who transformed into a beast during a night tourney, and in Paris, he battled a walking stone statue of the Virgin to protect Delphine. His journey was marked by hunger, strange encounters with angels and devils, and a growing, grudging protectiveness for the girl, though a dark impulse in a barn nearly made him violate her.

His past haunted him. He confessed to the priest how his wife’s betrayal and the comte’s theft had driven him to heresy and brigandage. On the road to Avignon, he was recognized by a fellow knight from Crécy and offered a place in a new crusade, but he refused. After a harrowing river journey where their raft was attacked by a gelatinous monster and the dear priest died, Thomas was left alone with Delphine, believing she blamed him for the priest's death because he had broken her commandment not to kill.

When he lost her on the road, he searched desperately, even being captured by a village mob who thought him an English routier. Cleared by an oath, he continued south, his hate rekindled when he spotted Chrétien d'Évreux’s party near Orange. He tracked them, challenged the comte to an affair of honor, and fought him fiercely by a stream. Gaining the upper hand, he was knocked unconscious just as English routiers ambushed the clearing, slaughtering most of the men.

He awoke with Delphine tending him. She had found an invitation to dine with the pope on the dead comte’s body. In a strange ritual, she had him look into the comte’s polished helmet, where he saw a reflection that was not his own face. She asked if he forgave the dead comte; he said yes. But when she asked if he forgave his wife, he refused. With that refusal, the miracle ended, and his own scarred face returned to the reflection.

Thomas was born in Picardy, the bastard son of a Spanish knight and a kitchen worker. He was taken on as a page and later knighted by the Comte de Givras, whom he came to believe was his true father. He served his seigneur faithfully, marrying Marguerite de Péronne in 1341 and fathering three children. His life shattered at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow to the face left him scarred. While he convalesced, his wife betrayed him, allowing the Comte d'Évreux—a Norman who had treated with the English—into their keep and her bed. Thomas was excommunicated under false charges, his lands were forfeit, and in his despair, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, swearing the comte would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His path as a robber and killer was interrupted in a plague-ravaged village when he killed his own brigand companions to protect a young girl. This girl, Delphine, a strange and perceptive child, attached herself to him. Reluctantly, he agreed to escort her to the next town, but their journey continued south. Along the way, they were joined by a kind-hearted priest. Thomas fought and killed a river monster at a town called St. Martin-le-Preux, where he later contracted the plague. Against all odds, he survived after Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, an act he could not explain.

His violent nature repeatedly surfaced. He killed a knight, Théobald de Barentin, in a night tourney after the man transformed into a beast. In Paris, he fought a moving stone statue of the Virgin Mary to protect Delphine. Yet, the girl's influence softened him. After a dark dream in which a malevolent force tried to make him harm her, he fought it off and became gentler. He protected her from river pirates on the Rhône, killing their captain, and later used salt to destroy a jelly-like monster that attacked their raft, an act that led to the priest's drowning. Blaming himself for breaking Delphine's commandment not to kill, he believed she had abandoned him.

Lost and alone, he was captured by villagers who mistook him for an English routier. To secure his freedom, he knelt in a church and swore oaths of loyalty to France, vowing to bring God's justice to the English. The act restored a semblance of his knightly bearing. Soon after, he finally cornered his enemy, Chrétien d'Évreux, on the road to Avignon. He challenged the comte to a duel and was battering him when the fight was interrupted by an English attack. Knocked unconscious, he awoke to find Delphine had returned, the comte dead, and a miracle at the stream where she asked if he forgave his enemy. He said yes, but when she asked if he forgave his wife, his refusal ended the miracle. She then led him to the water to wash away his anger, as he remembered his late wife once suggesting the Comte de Givras was his father—a truth he now accepted.

Born in Picardy, Thomas rose by the grace of his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, whom he served faithfully. He was knighted, married, and had three children. His world ended at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck his face. Convalescing, he learned his lands were forfeit and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux. Excommunicated under false charges, he despaired of justice, sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, and swore his betrayer would die in the mud.

His path changed near a plague-stricken farmhouse where his band threatened a girl. Thomas killed Godefroy and another soldier, spared the coward Jacquot, and reluctantly agreed to take the girl, Delphine. He was a brutal guardian, mocking her faith and destroying her cross, but he also carried her sack and protected her. He revealed he had sought out Godefroy's band deliberately.

Traveling with Delphine, he later discovered a dead monastery. At St. Martin-le-Preux, he growled an oath to kill a monster in the river. The next day, he impaled the creature, fought it ferociously, and saved a farmer and Delphine. Grievously wounded and nearly drowned, he then contracted the plague. Lying feverish in a cart, he was seemingly dying until Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead; he recovered miraculously.

His journey led to a devilish castle where he competed in a night tourney, jousting and killing a knight who transformed. Later, starving, he encountered knights from Crécy who offered him a place in a crusade to Avignon. He refused. Soon after, he and a priest traveling with them were separated from Delphine by a supernatural storm; hiding, he witnessed a bloody battle between angels and devils in the sky.

Reunited, they traveled by raft down the rivers. Thomas saved them when the crew turned treacherous, killing the captain. Later, he hurled sacks of salt to kill a monster attacking Delphine after their raft was destroyed. He hauled the priest to shore, but the old man soon died. Thomas buried him, feeling he had become dear.

When Delphine vanished, Thomas searched desperately. He was captured by a village mob; to secure freedom, he knelt in their church and swore oaths to bring justice to the English. On the road to Avignon, he saw Chrétien d'Évreux, his betrayer's son, and his hate rekindled. He challenged the comte to a duel, fought him, and was winning when knocked unconscious. He awoke with his head in Delphine's lap, saved by her from a routier attack. She showed him an invitation taken from the dead comte to dine with the pope. Kneeling by the water, Thomas forgave the comte but refused to forgive his wife, and the moment of peace ended.

Using the invitation, Thomas and Delphine entered Avignon disguised as the Comte d'Évreux and his page. At Pope Clement VI's lavish feast, he was nearly recognized by a viol player from the devilish castle but escaped notice. In a grove for a 'hunt', he was tempted by a nude woman wearing a stag mask but pulled back. He took a golden ivory comb from a tree as a gift. Later, Delphine pointed to his thigh where a maggot was moving.

Born in Picardy, Thomas rose to become a necessary part of his seigneur's retinue. He was knighted and served the Comte de Givras faithfully, a loyalty that carried him to the field at Crécy. There, an arrow struck him in the face, and though he saved his lord in the retreat, the battle broke his world. Convalescing in Amiens, he learned his lands were forfeit and his wife, Marguerite, had betrayed him, letting the Comte d'Évreux into his keep and her bed. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, swearing the comte would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His life of banditry, which included robbing a farmhouse near Gisors, was interrupted when he and his companions encountered a girl burying her father. He killed Godefroy and another soldier to protect her, then, with a mixture of rough mercy and harsh pragmatism, agreed to take the girl, Delphine, to the next town. He was a man of immense physical strength, trained for war, who disdained killing from a distance and believed it ignoble. He could read a little, but his education stopped at the tiltyard. Haunted by the comet in the sky, which he saw as a plague token, he decided to travel south or east, away from the broken lands.

Their journey was a series of grim trials. He left the brigand Jacquot tied to a tree, discovered plague-ridden towns, and fought a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, where he was grievously wounded in the groin. He nearly died of the plague afterward, but Delphine, whom he alternately called a small, weird witch and wondered if she was a saint, somehow brought him back. Recovering, they traveled on, joined by a priest. At a devilish castle holding a night tourney, he was announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, fought and killed a transforming knight, and awoke in a cow field beside a common grave. In Paris, he was recognized by a knight from Crécy who offered him a place in a troop heading to Avignon for a new crusade, but Thomas refused, choosing to stay with Delphine and the priest.

His protective duty was tested repeatedly. In Paris, he fought a moving stone statue of the Virgin to save them, escaping a burning house. Later, in a barn, he awoke from a fever dream to find he had been undressing Delphine in his sleep, his hands bleeding from thorn wounds; a black, crab-like thing in his mind had tried to make him rape her, but he fought it off. After that, he was kinder to her. They fled the city, witnessed a celestial battle between an angel and devils near Auxerre, and traveled by raft down the Saône. On the river, he helped kill treacherous raftsmen and fought a jelly-like monster with sacks of salt, saving Delphine before the raft was pulled under. Soon after, the priest died, and Thomas, believing Delphine blamed him for the death because he had broken her commandment not to kill, felt truly lost for the first time.

Separated from her, he searched the road south, was mistaken for a routier by villagers, and swore oaths to give God's justice to the English. His old hatred was rekindled when he saw Chrétien d'Évreux on the road to Avignon. He challenged the comte to a duel, fought him, and was knocking him down when he was clubbed from behind. He awoke with his head in Delphine's lap, having been saved by her. She showed him an invitation to dine with the pope, taken from the dead comte. Looking into a polished helmet, he saw a reflection that was not his own face.

In Avignon, they attended the pope's lavish feast. Thomas drank the wine despite a warning, recognized the same viol player from the devilish castle, and was led into a golden grove where nude stag women cavorted. One ground against him, and though he pulled back with effort, he took a fine ivory comb from a tree as a gift from the smiling pope. Later, disgusted, he found a maggot moving on his thigh. Back in their lodgings, he waited anxiously for Delphine to return. When she did, she revealed the pope they saw was an impostor, the devil Baal'Zebuth, who was raising the dead. Thomas, who had not slept for worry, listened, then stood and picked up the pitted spear from Jerusalem, asking what they were going to do.

Thomas was a large, powerfully built knight, marked by a broken nose and scars, who wore more armor than his companions. Trained for close combat and disdainful of ranged weapons, he believed God made him a fighting man. His loyalty was to his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, under whom he fought at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow wound to the face began his downfall. In the battle's aftermath, he discovered his wife had betrayed him, allowing Le Comte d'Évreux into their keep and their bed. His lands were forfeited, and he was excommunicated under false pretenses. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, seeking a brigand's revenge on the comte.

His life took another turn near Fleur-de-Roche when he killed Godefroy and another soldier to protect a local girl. He spared a third, Jacquot, on the girl's plea, and found himself burdened with the girl herself, Delphine, a peculiar child who claimed to see his soul and a nearby devil. Though he threatened to abandon her if she caused trouble, he agreed to escort her to the next town. He was a practical, often harsh guardian, confiscating her heavy belongings, mocking her book of Thomas Aquinas, and destroying her lead cross to lighten their load, yet he also returned her deer-bone whistle when she said it made her happy. He left Jacquot tied to a tree with a warning sign and pressed on with the girl, his past a shadow over their travel.

Their journey south was marked by violence and strange encounters. He killed a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, suffering a grievous wound to his groin. He later contracted the plague but miraculously recovered after Delphine's intervention, an event that deepened the bond between them. He competed in a sinister night tournament at a castle, killing a knight who transformed into a monster. In Paris, he fought and damaged an animated stone Virgin that attacked their sanctuary. Throughout, he was accompanied by a priest who joined their company, and Thomas slowly revealed fragments of his bitter history: his betrayal, his excommunication, and his murderous winter with Godefroy's band. He confessed to Delphine that he believed he had killed his own wife and children, a claim whose truth remained unclear.

Traveling by cart and later by raft, Thomas grew protective of Delphine, fighting off river pirates and a gelatinous monster in the Rhône. After the priest died from his wounds following that encounter, Thomas felt truly lost, believing Delphine blamed him for the death because he had broken her commandment not to kill. Separated from her, he searched the roads south, was mistaken for a routier by a village mob, and reaffirmed his knightly oaths to gain his freedom. His hatred was rekindled when he spotted Chrétien d'Évreux on the road. He challenged the comte to a duel, fought him, and was knocked unconscious just as English routiers attacked the party. He awoke with Delphine, who had used a miraculous invitation taken from the dead comte to assume his identity.

Now posing as the Comte d'Évreux with Delphine as his page, Thomas arrived in Avignon. He attended a lavish, corrupt papal feast where he was tempted by a stag-woman and received a comb from Pope Clement VI himself. Later, in their lodgings, Delphine revealed their mission was to save the pope from a devil named Baal'Zebuth, and Thomas found himself holding a pitted spear from Jerusalem. Lying low during a courtyard feast, he bantered with revelers from his window to maintain their ruse. When papal guards arrived to arrest them, Delphine, after witnessing a miraculous transformation outside, told him to let himself be taken and then escaped out the window. Thomas fought the guards but was overpowered, had his legs broken, and was taken in a cart to the papal palace.

He was a large, powerfully built man, a trained knight who had fought for his seigneur at Crécy, where an arrow to the face began his downfall. Betrayed by his wife and robbed of his holdings by the Comte d'Évreux, he despaired of justice. Excommunicated and stripped of his spurs, he took to the road, deliberately seeking out worse men like the brigand Godefroy to facilitate his revenge. His path changed when he killed Godefroy and his companion to protect a peasant girl, taking her strange daughter, Delphine, under his rough guardianship.

Traveling south with Delphine and a priest they met, Thomas was a man of violence haunted by his past. He killed a river monster, survived the plague through Delphine's intervention, and fought a transforming knight in a devilish night tourney. In Paris, he battled a stone Virgin come to life to protect the girl, an act that cemented a fierce, unspoken loyalty. His journey was a slow tempering; the constant, wearying protection of Delphine and the growing fellowship with the priest began to wear down the edges of his solitary rage, though his desire for vengeance against the Comte d'Évreux remained a burning coal.

That vengeance was achieved on the road to Avignon when he challenged and defeated Chrétien d'Évreux in single combat. In the aftermath, a profound miracle occurred: gazing into the dead comte's polished helmet, Thomas saw not his own reflection but the comte's face. Through a breath shared with Delphine, his spirit entered the comte's body, while his own original form sank into the Rhône. He continued to Avignon in this stolen body, posing as the comte to attend a papal feast with Delphine, their mission to save the Pope from a demonic power named Baal'Zebuth.

His imposture was perilous, as he lacked the comte's memories. After avoiding recognition by a sinister viol player at the feast, he was soon arrested by papal guards, tortured brutally as the Comte d'Évreux, and left broken in a dungeon. His rescue came from the pope's physician, who forged a writ and wheeled his ruined body outside. There, Delphine awaited him, and his true body emerged from the river. Through a final, breath-sharing kiss, Thomas's spirit returned to its original form, leaving the dead shell of the comte behind.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served faithfully under the Comte de Givras, whom he later believed to be his father. He married Marguerite de Péronne and had three children before the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow wound to his face began his downfall. Returning home, he found his lands forfeit to Le Comte d'Évreux and his wife unfaithful. Excommunicated under false charges, he despaired of justice, sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, and took to the road seeking revenge.

His life took a turn near Fleur-de-Roche when he killed his fellow brigands to protect a peasant girl. He reluctantly agreed to escort the strange, perceptive girl, Delphine, who claimed to see a devil near him. Their journey south was marked by violence and wonder. He slew a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, contracting the plague in the fight, and miraculously recovered after Delphine's intervention. At a sinister night tourney in a Norman castle, he killed a knight who transformed into a beast, an act that marked him for darker forces.

Traveling with Delphine and a kind priest they met, Thomas confronted his past in Paris, confessing his fall from grace. He fought a stone Virgin come to life and protected Delphine from a mob, realizing he would die before letting harm come to her. A disturbing incident in a barn, where a dark impulse tried to make him assault Delphine, was fought off, after which he grew kinder to her. Starving on the road, he refused an offer to join a crusade, and later witnessed a celestial battle between angels and devils after Delphine was taken from him.

Reunited with Delphine on the Rhône, he traveled by raft with the priest and a raftsman named Guillaume, fighting river pirates and a gelatinous monster. After the priest died, Thomas carried a deep guilt, believing Delphine blamed him for the death because he had broken her commandment against killing. Captured by a mob and falsely accused of being a routier, he swore an oath to bring God's justice to the English, a vow that stayed his hand when he later had a chance to murder English soldiers in Orange. His hatred was rekindled upon seeing Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of the man who ruined him. He challenged the comte to a duel, was knocked unconscious, and awoke to a miracle: Delphine had healed him, and he saw his own horse, Jibreel, had stayed nearby. Using an invitation taken from the dead comte, they entered Avignon for a papal feast.

At the feast, Thomas was unnerved to recognize a viol player from the devilish castle and was drawn into a golden grove where Pope Clement VI presided over debauched wonders. He took a comb as a gift, half-sure the pope watched him. Later, Delphine revealed the man in the papal robes was not the pope but the devil Baal'Zebuth, and their mission was to save the true pontiff. Posing as the Comte d'Évreux, Thomas was sequestered in the Elysium House but was arrested by papal guards when his imposture was suspected. He was tortured brutally in the dungeon, his legs broken, until Delphine secured his release with a forged writ.

Near death and shivering in a handcart, his spirit left the comte's body as his own true body, Thomas de Givras, stepped from the river and shared breath with the dying shell, restoring him to himself. Delphine then retrieved his armor and horse. They rode to a Franciscan monastery where Thomas borrowed a friar's habit for disguise. Delphine anointed his sword with her blood, and he wedged the holy spear from Jerusalem into his belt. Knowing he had died that morning, he asked her what she was and confirmed his vow: he was not to kill men. They prepared to attend the feast in the Courtyard of Honor where a new cardinal would be created.

Born in Picardy, Thomas rose by the grace of his seigneur, the Comte de Givras, whom he served faithfully. He was knighted and married Marguerite de Péronne, though he was intimidated by her learning. His life collapsed at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow wound to the face was the least of his injuries. Retreating from the field, he later learned his lands had been forfeited and his wife had taken the Comte d'Évreux into their keep and her bed. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, seeking revenge.

His path changed in a plague-ravaged barn where he killed Godefroy and a fat soldier to protect a peasant girl. That girl, Delphine, attached herself to him. Gruff and pragmatic, Thomas agreed to take her to the next town, but her destination was Avignon, and her persistence wore down his resistance. He was a man of violent contradictions: he forbade Delphine from speaking of devils yet feared she was a witch, mocked her faith yet protected her with a ferocity that surprised even him. He confessed to having killed his own wife and children, a claim shrouded in guilt and despair.

Their journey south was a gauntlet of horrors. He fought and killed a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, contracting the plague from its wound. Delphine miraculously healed him, binding him to her further. He survived a devilish night tourney at a Norman castle, killing a knight who was already dead. In Paris, he fought a stone Virgin come to life to protect Delphine, and later, in a barn, he wrestled a demonic impulse from his own mind that tried to make him violate her. Through these trials, his hardened exterior softened; he grew kinder to the girl, though he remained terse and prone to violence.

He was haunted by his past and his oath of revenge. On the road to Avignon, he finally confronted Chrétien d'Évreux, challenging him to single combat. He battered the comte, but was knocked unconscious by a squire as English routiers attacked. He awoke with his head in Delphine's lap, the comte dead, and found himself in a profound miracle: he had exchanged bodies with his enemy. Now wearing the comte's face and form, he rode into Avignon with Delphine, posing as the nobleman to gain entry to the papal court.

In Avignon, attending a lavish feast by the false Pope Clement, Thomas was recognized by a viol player from his past and narrowly avoided exposure. He and Delphine learned the pope was an imposter named Baal'Zebuth. Their plan to act was interrupted when papal guards, believing him to be the Comte d'Évreux, stormed their lodgings, broke his legs, and dragged him to the palace dungeon to be tortured for information the real comte would have possessed.

Near death from torture in the comte's ruined body, Thomas was freed by a doctor on a forged writ. As Delphine watched, his true body—Thomas de Givras—stepped from the river. The two bodies kissed, sharing breath, and Thomas's spirit returned to his original form. He had died and knew what it was. Reunited with his own strong, scarred body, he prepared for a final confrontation. He anointed his sword with Delphine's blood, took up a pitted spear from Jerusalem, and disguised himself in a friar's habit. At the public feast outside the papal palace, he waited patiently, favoring an injured side, while Delphine slipped away to resurrect the true pope from a wine cellar.

Born in Picardy, Thomas rose to become a necessary knight in the retinue of the Comte de Givras, whom he later believed to be his father. He married Marguerite de Péronne in 1341 and was faithful, planning for a family. His life shattered at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow pierced his face. He survived, but upon returning home, he discovered his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux, who had seized his lands. Excommunicated under false charges to facilitate this theft, Thomas despaired. He sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, swearing revenge on the comte.

His path changed in a plague-ridden village when he killed his brigand companions to protect a young girl, Delphine. Though gruff and pragmatic, he reluctantly agreed to escort her. He believed speaking of devils attracted them, a superstition tested when a red mask appeared beside him as he tried to abandon her. He stayed, and their journey became a pilgrimage through a broken world. He slew a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, nearly dying from its poisoned spine, and later survived the plague itself after Delphine’s mysterious intervention. He fought and killed a devil-knight at a corrupted night tourney, an event that first hinted at the supernatural war around them.

Traveling with Delphine and a priest they befriended, Thomas slowly softened, showing a protective, almost paternal care for the girl. In Paris, he battled an animated stone Virgin to save them from a fire. A dark force in his own mind once tried to make him harm Delphine, but he fought it off. His old hatreds resurfaced when he encountered a troop of knights heading to Avignon and recognized one from Crécy, but he refused their company. The group faced celestial battles, river pirates, and a dam of monstrous corpses on the Rhône. After the priest died, Thomas believed Delphine blamed him for breaking her commandment not to kill, and he continued south alone, feeling truly lost.

His quest for vengeance culminated when he tracked Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of his enemy, on the road to Avignon. He challenged the comte to a duel and was winning when attacked from behind. As English routiers slaughtered the comte’s party, Thomas lay unconscious. He awoke to a miracle: Delphine had used a holy relic to restore him, and he found himself in the comte’s own body, his true form lying nearby. In this borrowed flesh, he entered Avignon with Delphine, posing as the Comte d'Évreux to attend the papal feast. There, he witnessed the corruption of Clement VI’s court and received a warning from Delphine: the pope was the devil Baal'Zebuth.

Arrested and brutally tortured as the comte, Thomas was rescued by Delphine and a doctor. Near death in the comte’s broken body, he witnessed his spirit return to his original form. Reborn, he armed himself with the comte’s fine armor and a holy spear, then disguised himself as a friar for a final confrontation. At a feast in the Courtyard of Honor, he watched as a second, true pope arrived to unmask the impostor. Thomas leapt into action, cutting down devil-knights guarding the false pontiff. He recognized his old brigand companion Jacquot among the attackers and was shot by him, but pressed on. He cleaved the false pope’s head open, revealing Baal'Zebuth, and tried to drive in the spear. As he did, Jacquot’s bolts struck him, and a lion-faced devil ripped his arm from his body. Thomas de Givras fell dead upon the flagstones, his long journey ended at the moment of his greatest purpose.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served faithfully under the Comte de Givras, whom he later believed was his true father. He married Marguerite de Péronne, a learned woman who intimidated him, and they had three children. His life shattered at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow pierced his face. Returning home, he found his lands forfeit to Le Comte d'Évreux and his wife in the comte's bed. Excommunicated under false charges to seize his property, he despaired, spat on a cross, and swore the comte would die by a brigand's hand. He sold his soul to the outlaw Godefroy and took to the road with worse men, seeking revenge.

His path changed near Normanville when he and two brigands encountered a girl whose father they had killed. Thomas killed his companions to protect her, though he let the cowardly crossbowman Jacquot live. This girl, Delphine, a strange child who claimed to see his soul and a nearby devil, attached herself to him. Gruff and pragmatic, he agreed to take her to the next town, constantly warning her against tears and foolishness. He destroyed her heavy cross, mocked her book of Thomas Aquinas, but returned her bone whistle when she said it made her happy. He believed speaking of devils called their attention and thought her a small, weird witch.

Traveling through plague-ravaged lands, they encountered a monster in a river at St. Martin-le-Preux. Thomas, though believing it ignoble to kill from afar, swore an oath to a priest to kill the beast. In the fight, he was grievously wounded in the groin by a spine and nearly drowned. He contracted the plague and lay dying until Delphine pressed a wooden Virgin's hand to his forehead, miraculously curing him. Grateful and bewildered, he asked the priest if she was a witch or a saint.

Their journey led to a sinister castle where a night tourney was held. Thomas, announced as Sir Thomas of Picardy, got drunk at the feast, fought a knight named Théobald de Barentin—a man he remembered drowning at Sluys—and killed him as he transformed into a monstrous creature. Fleeing, he agreed to accompany Delphine to Avignon, where she insisted she had a task from God. In Paris, they stayed with a woodcarver and witnessed a relic seller's madness. Thomas fought and damaged a stone Virgin that came to life, escaping a burning house. Later, in a barn, he dreamed a black, crab-like thing in his mind tried to make him rape Delphine in his sleep; he fought it off and awoke with thorn-cut hands, afterward becoming gentler with her.

Starving on the road, he refused an offer from knights heading to a papal crusade. He freed a crucified dwarf only to re-crucify him after hearing the dwarf's twisted reasoning. Separated from Delphine during a celestial battle between an angel and devils, he was blood-rained upon and passed out. Reunited, they traveled by raft down the Saône and Rhône with a raftsman named Guillaume. Thomas killed the raft's treacherous captain and helped fight a jelly-like river monster with salt, saving Delphine. After the raft was destroyed, the priest died in a riverside cottage, a death Thomas felt deeply.

Believing Delphine blamed him for the priest's death because he had broken her commandment not to kill, he lost her on the road. Searching for her, he was captured by villagers who accused him of being a routier; he swore oaths of loyalty to France and was released. Near Orange, he found and killed a drunk English sentinel but stayed his hand against others, remembering his oath. His hate was rekindled upon seeing Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of his enemy, on the road. He challenged the comte to a duel, fought him, and was knocked unconscious by a squire just as English routiers attacked.

He awoke with his head in Delphine's lap by a stream, having been healed by a miracle after he forgave the dead comte. However, when Delphine asked if he forgave his wife, he refused, and the miracle ceased. They took the comte's invitation to a papal feast in Avignon. There, Thomas recognized a viol player from the devilish castle and feared exposure. In a golden grove, he was tempted by a nude stag-woman but pulled away. Pope Clement VI smiled at him and gave him an ivory comb. Later, Delphine revealed the pope was possessed by a devil named Baal'Zebuth and their task was to save him.

Posing as the Comte d'Évreux—whose body he now inhabited after a spiritual exchange at the river—Thomas was sequestered in a lodging. He was arrested by papal guards, tortured brutally in the comte's body, and left for dead. A doctor smuggled him out on a forged writ. As he lay dying, he saw his own true body step from the river; their spirits reconciled, and he returned to his original form. Knowing he had died that morning, he took a friar's habit, anointed his sword with Delphine's blood, and armed himself with a holy spear.

At the final feast, he leapt from concealment when the true pope appeared. He killed a lion-faced devil-knight, recognized Jacquot among the crossbowmen, and fought his way toward the false pope. He split the demon's head with his sword but was struck by crossbow bolts. As he tried to hammer down the spear, his arm was ripped off by another devil. He fell dead onto the flagstones of the courtyard.

His consciousness awoke in Hell, appearing as his very young son. He was judged and damned by a hideous, pained clerk-thing, which ate him alive innumerable times in excruciating cycles. When he eventually stopped yelling, his tormentors decided he was ready for something worse.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served faithfully under the Comte de Givras, rising in his retinue. He married Marguerite de Péronne and planned for a future of sons and honor. His life shattered at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow wound to the face was the least of his injuries. He learned his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him with his enemy, Le Comte d'Évreux. Despairing of justice, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy and took to the road, seeking revenge and sinking into brutality.

His path changed near a plague-stricken farmhouse when he killed his fellow brigands to protect a young girl, Delphine. Gruff and pragmatic, he agreed to take her south, though he constantly warned her against foolishness and what he called witchcraft. He revealed a buried code of honor, believing it ignoble to kill from afar and possessing a gift for hunting boar because they turned to fight. His journey with Delphine and a priest they met became a pilgrimage through a broken, monstrous world.

He fought and killed a river monster at St. Martin-le-Preux, a deed that left him wounded and infected with the plague. Delphine miraculously healed him, and his slow recovery marked the beginning of a profound change in him. He grew protective of her, a duty that hardened into a secret vow to die before letting harm come to her. They faced animated stone statues in a burning Paris, a fallen angel on the road to Auxerre, and a tentacled horror in the Rhône, with Thomas fighting each threat with his sword and burgeoning sense of purpose.

The death of the priest, for which Thomas blamed himself, and Delphine's subsequent disappearance left him truly lost. Searching for her, he was captured by villagers, swore oaths of justice, and felt his knightly bearing return. On the road to Avignon, he finally confronted his nemesis, Chrétien d'Évreux, challenging him to a duel. He defeated the comte but was knocked unconscious as English routiers attacked. He awoke to find Delphine had returned, the comte dead, and himself offered a terrible miracle: his spirit inhabited the comte's body.

In this stolen form, he entered Avignon with Delphine to answer a papal summons. At a devilish feast, he resisted supernatural temptations and learned their true mission was to save the real Pope from the demon Baal'Zebuth, who wore his robes. Discovered and arrested as the Comte d'Évreux, Thomas was brutally tortured in the papal dungeons. A doctor freed him, and at the river's edge, he witnessed his own true body step from the water; a shared breath returned his spirit to its original form.

Armed with a holy spear and Delphine's anointed sword, and under a commandment not to kill men, he infiltrated the demonic feast in a friar's habit. When the true pope appeared, he leapt into action, fighting lion-faced devil-knights and the monstrous Cardinal Cyriac. He reached the false pope and split its head with his sword, but as he tried to drive home the spear, he was struck by crossbow bolts from his old companion Jacquot. A final devil ripped his arm from his body, and he died on the courtyard flagstones.

In Hell, he was judged, damned, and subjected to endless, personalized torments until he forgot his own name. Found bloated and arrow-shot in an infernal Paris, he was rescued by Delphine, who arrived in a cart surrounded by a dome of protective light. She healed him, revealed he was the last soul she could save, and told him he was no longer damned. After he agreed to remember her and their love, she placed him in the cart and drove away under a harmless night sky as he slept.

Thomas was a knight, faithful to his seigneur the Comte de Givras, until he was wounded in the face at the Battle of Crécy. In the aftermath, he learned his lands were forfeit and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux. Excommunicated and dispossessed, he sold his soul to the brigand Godefroy, seeking a revenge that would see the comte die in the mud. His life on the road began near a plague-stricken farmhouse, where he killed Godefroy and another soldier to protect a young girl they had threatened. Though he initially intended to leave her, he agreed to take her to the next town, setting in motion an unexpected guardianship.

He was a man of violent capability and deep superstition, trained for close combat and disdainful of killing from a distance. Haunted by the comet in the sky, which he saw as a plague token, he believed devils were drawn by talk of them. He was cheated of his holdings by Le Comte d'Évreux, a Norman who treated with the English, and his desire for vengeance was a cold, central fire. He claimed to have killed his own wife and children, a despairing lie born of betrayal. His journey with the girl, Delphine, forced him into acts of protection that chafed against his nature, from burying her father to fighting a river monster that nearly killed him.

After Delphine miraculously pulled him back from the plague, they traveled with a kind priest, facing stone angels in a burning Paris and surviving a battle between celestial beings on the road. His hatred was rekindled upon seeing Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of his enemy, on the road to Avignon. He challenged the comte to a duel and was winning when English routiers attacked, leaving him unconscious. He awoke to find Delphine had grown and that he had, in a miracle, taken on the comte's face and body after the man's death. In this borrowed form, he attended a papal feast in Avignon, a grotesque event that revealed the corruption at the heart of the church.

Arrested and tortured as the Comte d'Évreux, he was broken and near death when Delphine, with the help of a doctor, freed him. In a mystical exchange by the river, his spirit left the comte's ruined body and returned to his own true form. Knowing he had died that morning, he prepared for a final task, anointing his sword with Delphine's blood and taking up a holy spear to confront the devil possessing the papacy. In the courtyard of the papal palace, he leapt into battle against monstrous knights, cleaving the false pope's head and attempting to drive the spear home before a crossbow bolt—fired by Jacquot, a brigand from his past—struck him, and a lion-faced devil ripped his arm from his body.

He died on the flagstones and was damned to Hell, where he was subjected to endless, personalized torments that stripped him of his identity, his capacity for laughter, and his hope. He was a bloated, arrow-pierced boy in an infernal Paris when Delphine found him, driving a cart surrounded by a dome of protective light. After initial disbelief and anger, he allowed her to heal him. She warmed him back to life, told him he was the last one she could save, and restored him to a state of grace, asking if he wanted to remember her and their love. He said yes.

He awoke in a cart of bodies after the battle in Avignon, which was remembered as an earthquake. Helped out by a laborer named Isnard, he searched desperately for Delphine but found no trace. He worked clearing rubble in the city, where he saw the true, benevolent Pope Clement blessing the dead. He threw his coat of mail into the river and labored as a common worker, eventually selling his horse and learning farming. After months, he wandered north to Normandy with three friends made in the fields. There, in a deserted barn, he saw a girl whose parents had died of the plague. He blanched pale, stared, and cried. He helped her bury her father, and in the morning, the group departed together, with Thomas walking nearest the girl as she rode her donkey. He told her his name was Thomas, from Givras, and bent close to tell her he already knew her name.

Born in Picardy, Thomas was knighted and served faithfully under the Comte de Givras, whom he later believed to be his father. He married Marguerite de Péronne and planned for a family, rising in his seigneur's retinue. His life shattered at the Battle of Crécy, where an arrow struck his face. While he convalesced in Amiens, he learned his lands had been forfeited and his wife had betrayed him with Le Comte d'Évreux, who had cheated him of his holdings. Excommunicated under false pretenses to seize his land, Thomas despaired of justice. He sought out worse men, selling his soul to the brigand Godefroy to pursue revenge, swearing the comte would die in the mud at a brigand's hands.

His path crossed with a young girl, Delphine, when he and his fellow brigands came upon her farm. He killed his cruel companions to protect her and, reluctantly, agreed to take her to the next town. A man of violent pragmatism, he was often harsh, destroying her heavy possessions and threatening to abandon her if she cried. Yet he also showed flashes of protection, saving her from dangers and, despite himself, keeping her safe. He believed in fighting honorably up close, disdaining bows, and saw the comet in the sky as a wicked but beautiful plague token.

Their journey led them to a monster in a river, which Thomas swore to kill. In the brutal fight, he was grievously wounded by a spine and nearly drowned, afterward contracting the plague. He recovered miraculously after Delphine's intervention, one of many signs of her strange power. They traveled on with a priest they met, facing starvation and supernatural horrors. In Paris, Thomas fought a stone statue of the Virgin that came to life, and later, in a moment of weakness born of a demonic dream, he almost assaulted Delphine in his sleep but fought the impulse off, afterward treating her with more kindness.

His quest for revenge was rekindled when he saw Chrétien d'Évreux, the son of his enemy, on the road to Avignon. He challenged the comte to a duel and was winning when attacked from behind. He awoke to find Delphine had performed a miracle, healing him and showing him the dead comte. Thomas kneeled and forgave the comte, but when Delphine asked if he forgave his wife, he refused, and the miracle ceased. He carried that anger with him.

In Avignon, attending a papal feast under the comte's stolen invitation, Thomas was drawn into a depraved grove of golden trees. He took a comb as a gift, and Pope Clement VI smiled at him. Later, he and Delphine were discovered in their lodgings. Thomas, now inhabiting the body of the Comte d'Évreux through some infernal exchange, was arrested by papal guards and brutally tortured as the comte. Near death, he was rescued by a doctor, and in a vision by the river, his spirit returned to his own true body.

Armed with a holy spear, he infiltrated a demonic feast in the papal palace disguised as a friar. When the true pope appeared, Thomas leapt into action, fighting lion-faced devil-knights and the monstrous Cardinal Cyriac. He cleaved the head of the false pope, Baal'Zebuth, but as he tried to drive the spear home, he was shot by a crossbow bolt from his old companion Jacquot and had his arm ripped off. He died on the courtyard flagstones.

His death led him to Hell, where he was judged, damned, and subjected to endless, excruciating torments that stripped him of laughter and hope. He was a broken, sexless shade, forgetting his name and all sense of time. Delphine eventually found him in an infernal Paris, driving a cart of protective light through the horrors. Though he initially spat at her, thinking her an illusion, he watched as she withstood the princes of Hell. She warmed him back to life, blew breath into him, and told him he was the last one she could save, that he was no longer damned. He chose to remember her and their love.

Returned to the world, he awoke in a cart among bodies. He discarded his armor, worked as a laborer, and wandered north with a few companions. He eventually came to a deserted part of Normandy and, in a rain-sheltered barn, blanched with recognition upon seeing Delphine again. He helped her bury her father and left with her and the others, walking nearest her donkey, telling her his name was Thomas from Givras and that he already knew hers.

Now an old Franciscan friar, Thomas visited the castle of Arpentel. There, he shared a coded signal of three taps with the blind Lady Marguerite, received food and kindness, and gave a warm benediction to a pregnant kitchen maid. He revealed he was a widower with a daughter who is a nun in Amiens, whom he visits monthly. Having left his violent past and damnation behind, he departed the castle to continue his journey to see her.