is to claim the souls of those who bear the curse. While laying siege to Biron Castle under Boniface de Montferrat and his commander Baudouin de Flandre, Denz befriends the older and roguish Spaniard Estaban Noviembre, who is also pursued by Death. Martin is mortally wounded defending the castle. Denz later competes in a tournament to gain passage with the Fourth Crusade, taking Estaban as his squire. They defeat Flandre and his men, getting to join Geoffrey de Villehardouin's army en route to the Holy Land where Denz hopes to find Jean in hopes of taking back their castle together. In 1202, the army falls under the command of Montferrat and Flandre but is unable to pay for Venician ships for transport to the Holy Land, so the Doge Enrico Donaldo makes a deal with the Crusaders to conquer Zara, a Croatian harbor city. Denz and Estaban disable a massive chain blocking the fleet from attacking the city and breach its walls, allowing the city to be sacked and they defeat Ladislaus, Zara's governor gone mad trying to control his curse. Montferrat then finds what he was looking for: a piece of the True Cross; Drenz and Estaban then realize that Montferrat does not seek redemption for his soul via this crusade, but rather is using it as a cover to hunt for relics towards an unknown goal. In 1204 the Crusaders agree to help Alexius IV retake Constantinople from his uncle Alexius III and rescue his father, King Issac II, in exchange for paying the Venetians. During the siege, Denz and Estaban encounter Tatikios Lente, the powerful Grecian captain of the guard. Alexius III flees and the city is retaken, but months later a coupe lead by Murzuphle, murdering Alexius and Issac, leads the Crusaders to storm the city again and sack it. Murzuphle is defeated but Denz spares him for revealing that two holy artifacts remained in the city: the Crown of Thorns (or rather its petrified thorns set in a crucifix) and the Spear of Longinus. The two turn against Montferrat and ally with Lentes and Princess Theodora, but Montferrat manages to take both relics and uses them to summon several massive demons from Hell. His plan is revealed to use the relics to leverage the forces of Hell in a brutal conquest of the world. Lentes and the princess are killed and Montferrat leaves for the