Three: Of the Tower and the Looted Church

Approaching Fleur-de-Roche, Thomas eyes an old tower as a vantage but avoids entering after seeing two crow-pecked scullery women by the gate. He leaves the girl by the road, helmets up, and watches for followers, recalling how he tied Jacquot to a tree with his crossbow hidden nearby and a warning sign the girl mischievously reworded.

Descending into town, Thomas drags the girl away from a plague-sick woman’s house and toward the church. She recounts Père Raoul’s fondness for playing devils in mystery plays. Fresh graves and a yawning pit mark the churchyard; inside, the altar is stripped. Concluding Père Raoul is dead, Thomas plans to sleep there.

That night, the girl murmurs Latin—Thomas hears "Avignon." Outside, he studies a comet and reflects on omens, the plague’s spread, and his path from betrayal to joining Godefroy’s brigands, most of whom died of pestilence. Returning, he finds the girl awake; she insists they must go to Paris, then Avignon, guided by Père Raoul’s message.

Thomas rejects talk of visions, warns of witchcraft accusations, and the girl returns to sleep. He quietly prepares to abandon her, reasoning she endangers him. Then a crude horned devil mask—like one a priest would wear in plays—appears at his feet. Startled, he crosses himself, throws it outside, and, heart pounding, decides not to leave.