Vartholomaios Ksiros had been assigned to the rearguard formation responsible for foraging and patrolling the outskirts of Antioch. As such he hadn't spent much time with the main sieging army outside of the city proper and had been spared the vagaries of extended siege. He made a silent prayer thanking the Lord for his continuing good health. Hopefully other members of the Order would start getting better now that the siege was finally over.

Now Vartholomaios was leading a unit consisting of his bodyguard and armed peasants to reinforce the army that was now garrisoning Antioch. The peasants were despondent for having been kept on extended campaign for so long. Soon some would begin slipping back to the coast, trying to get transport back to their homesteads on Cyprus. Entering the city and all its delights would probably help their morale quite a bit, and it would be much more difficult to desert from the city. The walls and towers would as well keep the garrisoning army in as they would keep an invading army out.

Vartholomaios chuckled at the thought just as the marching column entered the city through the main gate.

"Antioch, eh, seems a bit on the quiet side", he thought as what few local inhabitants there were visible stopped on their business and stood silently watching the columns progress to the central plaza.
"City this size should have quite a bit more merchants than...". Just then a horrible wail began to sound from above the rooftops. The soldiers of the bodyguard immediately drew their swords, preparing to fight off the ambush. "Relax!" yelled Vartholomaios "It's just the muezzin calling the muslims for prayer!". Slowly the drawn swords were sheathed. The road was now completely empty of inhabitants, those not scurrying to prayer having vacated the place very quickly at the sight of naked steel.

"It seems we need priests here even more than merchants", Vartholomaios thought glumly as the column started again.