In the middle of October, something completely unforeseen happened-the Iconian Sultanate, after analyzing the information about the serious decline in Edessa and the weakness of the successor Salah ad-Din, decided to take the city to himself, and therefore put forward troops to solve this problem. In addition, it was reported that the Emir of the Mosul Emirate was going to help Atabek, as his financial interests would be greatly affected if the latter fell. Fortunately, information about such movements has arrived on time, and the squad of Eric did not have to suddenly encounter solid enemy formations. Now the region had only to conduct active reconnaissance operations and wait. The Sultan led a detachment of about three and a half thousand sabers, which on October 21, 1200 besieged the city of Edessa, which had no more than two hundred fighters, not counting a small, practically incapable militia. The Emir did not manage to enter the city before the siege, and therefore with his detachment of three hundred horsemen settled some distance and waited. The situation was absolutely unpleasant. Give the city and strengthen the already very dangerous sultanate Eric did not want at all, as he remembered perfectly well that it was from him that the Ottoman Empire subsequently grew. Especially on this city he had his own plans, and he was very much annoyed when the plans changed drastically. Hence - it was necessary to remove the siege and continue to bend your line. As you understand - with the strength of 25 soldiers and 45 armed servants, this operation can not be crushed. Templars, it is completely useless, so they will not put forth their forces. Of the available strength was only the ruler of Mosul, who, in general, led the militia, and not the army - in his three hundred was only 24 sipah. So even the baron himself could break it, not to mention the sultan. But the emir was very useful, since, without real forces for a head-on collision, he possessed enough people to disrupt the supply of the besieging army. Therefore, taking away from the base of the crossbowmen, our hero advanced "at full parade" to meet with a potential ally. A detachment of seven dozen is not particularly large against the background of the Sultan's army, and the weight of the word from his leader will be insignificant. To avoid such an effect, one had to throw dust in the eyes. To do this, you need not only look appropriate, but also move effectively. Preparation took a couple of days, but when on October 23 to the camp of the emir his column left - the soldiers of the ruler Mosul were amazed, and he was impressed. Eric was riding ahead in a polished black armor. Behind him went an improvised escort from Rudolph with Antonio. Next came the trio from Morrigan, who was carrying out the role of standard-bearer, and the brothers Valentino and Vincento, who accompanied her on each side. After them, in a column of four, there were five ranks of soldiers, followed in the same order by crossbowmen - all riding and in clean, embroidered cats. The horses of all the fighters were of the same breed - an Arab thoroughbred horse, such as cohaylan. At soldiers of bay suits, at crossbowmen - red, at Morrigan - gray, and Eric sat on a black stallion. We drove light trot and made a very impressive impression. This is not counting the fact that the soldiers were equipped fairly uniformly, which created an additional effect of a certain election. Although the Emir was surprised by the visit, he did not lose his head and immediately switched to pressing matters. Accepting the Baron's proposal for an allied campaign against the Sultan, he proposed to address the emir of Homs-al-Mujahid, who not only had his financial interests in Edessa, but was also its suzerain, and therefore could provide military assistance. By force of Mosul, by common agreement, it was decided to obstruct the supply of the besieging army. So, without delay, the baron, enlisting the letter of the emir, went trotting in the direction of Homs, on the way glancing in Aleppo. In the key role of the Templars in the Middle East, his behavior was not surprising, since they repeatedly participated in joint campaigns with Muslims against certain common enemies. The capital of Syria met Eric calmly. They were already aware of the situation in Edessa and were waiting for the guest, whom the atabek politely accepted, listened and immediately, with him, ordered the collection of the militia of the nobility around the city. After a couple of days, a hundred and fifty sipahs were ready for the exit, they decided not to take the servants, since it was impossible to leave the city completely without protection. The trade companies also contributed their share, which promptly exposed two hundred horsemen. In Aleppo, the corps was reinforced with three dozen Sipahs and fifty servicemen. Commanded by the troops of the Council of the three most experienced commanders, among whom was our baron, because of his exploits among Muslims have already gone to legends. November 2, 1200, ten miles south of Edessa, there was a connection to the emir's corps. Now the forces of the Sultan were opposed to eight hundred sabers, which is about four times less than he had. So nothing disturbed him in the process of preparing for the assault.