Daoud watched the stout Bulgarian woman Ana speak John's words in Italian, still expressionless, still standing motionless. But to his surprise he saw rivulets of tears on her round cheeks.
She had been in Bulgaria when the Tartars came, he thought. She had seen what Christians called "the fury of the Tartars." She must have been among the survivors who submitted to their rule, but she had not forgotten. Perhaps translating John's and Philip's words exactly as they spoke them was her way of taking revenge.
John held out his goblet, and Ana refilled it. He laughed softly at nothing in particular and drank more.
"But why do this to city after city?" Daoud asked.
"When we invade a kingdom, the rulers and people are determined to resist us," said John. "To fight them might cost us the lives of thousands of our warriors. But when we wipe out one or two whole cities, they become terrified. They lose their will to fight and surrender quickly. It saves many lives on both sides."
Philip grinned broadly. "It shows that we have power like no other people on earth." He shook both fists. "We can level whole cities. This teaches all men that Eternal Heaven has given us dominion over the whole earth."
Daoud heard whispers from the people around him, and Pope Urban coughed softly.
Daoud could hardly believe his luck. Not luck, he thought. God had delivered the Tartars into his hands.
"The whole earth?" said Daoud. "Even Europe? Even the Christian lands?"
Philip threw out his arms expansively. "The whole earth. All there is. Every corner."