"Do you have a human name?" Gilbert asked. "Or can I just call you Templar?" There had been very little for them to do since the adult Templar knights were off busy running about and preparing to leave on their journey to the Levant, leaving the two boys to aimlessly wander the grounds.

"Hmm… you can call me Salomon or just Sal if you like. That's what the other Templars do. How about you? What do you call yourself?"

"Me? Uh, I'm just Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt." Names were a strange beast, and although he still had a couple good hundred years of having it, he still wasn't completely sure it fit him. Yet, anyway. "So, I heard you and your order have been up to some pretty sweet stuff lately! When's the last time you guys got to ride into battle? It's like all of Christendom's been talking about what's going down in the holy lands these days, heh."

"Hm? You must be mistaken," said Sal. "I'm not a combatant these days, not usually. I travel with some of the groups and help raise money for the cause."

"What? But you must have at least been to Jerusalem! That's literally your home base! What you're named after! What have you been doing all this time then?"

"There are other ways to serve God besides fighting," said Sal. "I mean, there are plenty of Templars who are amazingly skilled! That's their calling. But we do lots of other things besides fight, you know. How about you? The Order of St. Maria isn't just an army, I know that much."

"Yeah," said Gil. "I mean, sometimes I work with the Hospitallers or at the other services… they're all super boring though! I'd rather be out with the soldiers charging out into the infidel landscape, conquering land and souls! You get so much more done that way."

"I'm not saying what they're doing isn't important. But swords and shields and horses cost money, and if we are to keep up our noble endeavors, we must reach deep into the hearts of the souls already living in Christendom so they in turn may reach deep into their embroidered purses and pockets and give us our due."

Sal always had a calm and strangely meditative look about him, as if he had just come out of a prayer session or something. Probably the type that would talk all day, half to other people and the other half on his knees, and despite Gil's deliberate attempts to rile him up with his usual brash comments, Sal never seemed to mind. That didn't mean that Gil never stopped trying.

"You seem to really be rolling in the dough these days," said Gil. "Whatever happened to being the Poor-Fellow Soldiers of Christ and all that? I'd say you'd better watch yourself, since 'ye cannot serve both God and mammon,' after all."

Sal kept his serene composure, but Gil could see a slight glint in his eye indicating that he was paying attention now.

"You quote correctly," said Sal with a friendly smile, which Gil silently translated as oh yes, I can play this game too. "Though you mustn't forget that serving money and being smart with it are two different things. After all, don't you remember what came earlier in that passage? 'Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.' If I am wise with how I gain and handle my money, that just proves that I can also be shrewd in spiritual matters as well."

"Well I just think it makes you a sissy."

"Resorting to name calling so early in the day?" said Sal, feigning surprise by clutching his chest dramatically. " I can't believe I never expected it from you. But ah well. 'the tongue is but a small member that boasteth great things.'"

"It's not just a boast," said Gilbert. "I'm just speaking the truth. That's what I've always done. That's what we tell the folks we encounter, up in the north. It's the truth, hastened at the edge of the sword. And if they can't accept it, then too bad for them! They'll have to deal with it at some point in their lives. All we do is hasten the process a bit."

"A bit, hm? 'Those who live by the sword shall die by it.' "

"Don't hurl that verse at me! You might not be the one personally charging up against the infidels with a spear or whatever, but you guys are doing pretty much the exact same thing as I am. Touring the continent singing and begging for coins doesn't make you less of a soldier than I am."

"We don't beg," said Sal, who was starting to get an edge in his voice. "We explain to people our holy purpose, and they in turn support us, both financially and with their prayers! Besides, at this point, we are quite stable, thanks to finding some rather influential supporters in the Vatican. It's a great blessing." he finished.

Gil was still irritated, but too tired bring himself to come up with a suitable comeback. "Whatever," he ended up saying.

"Gil." Sal tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but Gil scooted away. "Look, I know you're frustrated that you didn't get to go travel with the Grand Masters this time. But look at this as an opportunity! Now you have the leisure to study, or practice your skills, or just do some more praying. It's a lot easier to pray when you don't have distractions going on, you know? Besides, we can get to know each other a bit better too. "

"I guess you're right, Mr. ever-so-holy Salomon. As usual." Gil walked over to a wall and hoisted himself up to sit on the edge, and Sal did the same. Farther away, they could see a group of horses and soldiers getting ready to depart the next morning.

"I know how you feel, though, Gil," said Sal. "I really–I wish I could go with them too, you know. "

Gil looked at him with surprise. "Wait–what?" he said. "But I thought you were just the money guy!"

"Yeah, I am. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I can do my part to help the soldiers themselves. But I hear so many stories from the returning knights, and they always bring back such interesting things!" He slid down from the wall and leaned against it. "There are so many strange foods and plants and clothes from the East! And the people write with strange letters and numbers. I'd love to see the place for myself, if just to visit and see how people live there, even if they are pagans. It's so curious!"

"Yeah, great chance of that," said Gil. "You might literally be the symbollic embodiment of your own order, but I feel like the masters would want fighters and warriors alongside them, not just tourists."

"I know. It's only a wish, really." said Sal. "But still… it would be so interesting..."

"You're not missing out on too much, really!" said Gilbert quickly. It wouldn't do for the blissfully Holy Sal to be sad; it would throw the whole mood off. "I mean, I haven't been to Jerusalem yet either, I've gone on campaigns to the East and North, and that's more of my thing. I'd rather deal with the devils I'm already familiar with. Although it is warm and always sunny down there, isn't it? That'd be more fun. It gets ridiculously cold up in the Slav lands." He shivered, remembering the times he'd spent trudging through thick snow after being caught in northern winter storms. "Plus I mean… fighting is a lot of work too. We always do our best to be good strategists, but those pagans sure don't give up easily, and there's always a lot of casualties in the end." He slid off the wall too. "I guess you're right–those who live by the sword do die by it. I mean, I can't actually die, but you know what I mean." He still wasn't entirely sure what he was or why this was so, but thought it better not to dwell on it too much. God acts in strange ways, the masters would say, the phrase they used whenever something came up that they couldn't quite explain using the Bible or any other kind of knowledge, and that was never quite the satisfying answer they intended it to be. He'd long stopped trying to question it and had decided to find other things to keep him busy in the meantime.

Gil yawned. "I'm starving! If we can't go crusading together why don't we wage our own raid on the pantry?"

"Sounds like a good idea." said Sal. "Right after you, O Teutonic Order."

"And you," said Gil, mimicking a serious tone. "Tell me, Ordre du Temple,

Master Salomon, would it be too much of a sin to convert those loaves sitting on the shelves into sustenance for our bodily temples?"

"Man does not live on bread alone," said Sal. "But, if King David could do it, so could we," he concluded, laughing heartily. "Come on, let's go claim our share."

a/n: I know Crusades were no laughing matter at all, but as young kids from Europe, I'm sure both Gil and Knights Templar would have a kind of romanticized and idealized view of their Holy wars. Anyways, I just wanted to write a fic with Knights Templar in it since he really is interesting and there's so little fanworks on him!

This was also basically an excuse for me to write corny banter with Bible verses XD As a Christian myself it's all in good fun with no mockery intended towards the actual texts of course, with more jabs towards the kinds of people who used religion as the tool to recruit people into supporting military and economic exploits.

List of allusions for anyone actually interested:

Biblical:

-"Ye cannot serve both God and Mammon" - in modern times, usually translated as "You cannot serve both God and money." 'mammon' was a word referring to wealth, riches, which was often personified in Medieval times as a corrupting force.

-'Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.' (Luke 6:10) Taken from the curious and somewhat confusing parable of the "Unrighteous Steward" which details how a steward, about to be fired from his position, curries favor with his master's debtors by remitting some of their debts. It's been interpreted as "since money doesn't last forever, do good with it while you can," although its exact moral and meaning has always been up for debate.

-"The tongue is a small member that boasteth great things" (James 3:5) the whole passage compares the tongue to small but significant tools–a boat's rudder, a horse's bit, and a small spark that set a forest alight.

-"Those who live by the sword shall die by it." Before Jesus' arrest, the Disciple Peter tries to defend Jesus by drawing a sword and cutting off the ear of one of his attackers. Jesusheals the man's ear, but not before rebuking Peter for resorting to violence in the first place.

-"Man Does not live on bread alone" - refers to one of the Temptations of Jesus, in which the devil tried to tempt him while he was fasting by telling him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded with this quote from earlier scripture.

-"But if King David could do it, so could we." - When the future King David was on the run from king Saul, he sought sanctuary in the temple with his men. To sate their hunger, they ate the consecrated temple bread which was usually off limits to regular people . While technically unlawful, Jesus later defended the action.

Historical:

-The Crusades were a great time of cultural influence between the middle east and Europe, and while the European crusaders failed to gain control over Jerusalem, they did receive the benefit of a lot of Islamic inventions and science, which came of great use during the Renaissance.

-This fic itself is purposefully vague on time/region, but generally speaking the Teutonic knights focused more on the northern Baltic regions, while the Knights Templar were more in the Levant. :0