Hayate had kneeled before Marduk, and the dragon had no idea how to react to this. He was beside himself, ears back against his head as he struggled to fabricate a response that would be appropriate. Finally he steps back from the knight and urges him, failing to completely quell the distress in his voice. [b]“…Stop that… it’s… you’ll make a scene. Please.”[/b] He glanced over his shoulder, nervously twitching his tail. After a moment he returns his attention to Hayate. [b]“…It says in the Quran… [i]"Argue not with the People of the Scripture ..., save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which hath been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender."[/b][/i] His tone clearly indicates quotation, although he stumbles translating it. Latin is not exactly his language of choice. [b] “…It is not my place to pass judgment. You follow Allah in your own way.”[/b]

Mordecai’s reminder of the army waiting outside was not a welcome one. Marduk frowned, following the Hebrew’s gaze. The Mount of Olives was indeed visible, her slopes decorated with knights by the thousand. Or rather, the retinue that traveled with the army itself. The silhouette of the siege tower was just visible, outlined by the rising sun. If one looked very closely, it could be seen to roll forward – inching toward the walls. 

Marduk did not immediately register the movement of the tower to be anything of significance. This section of the wall was sparsely defended, her guards only now rousing themselves for the day ahead. The alarm went up then and spread through the city like a wildfire. Jerusalem came alive all at once, soldiers swarming up the guard towers and peasants pouring into the streets to confirm their fears. With a resounding boom, the tower’s bridge struck the outer wall – a furious battle cry rising from the crusading army that could be heard all through the city. The invaders struck up torches, bathing the besieged portion of the wall with flickering light that needed only to last as long as it took the sun to properly rise. It would not take long.
The few soldiers on that section of the wall scattered, those that stayed falling swiftly beneath the crush of bodies. It only took seconds for reinforcements to arrive, men pouring in from both sides of the breach. But the crusaders’ foothold had been established – they would not have to fight from the tower. Man after man swarmed up the siege engine until not a single soul more could fit on the walls, and they who dared not try to squeeze into the fray instead picked up their crossbows and opened fire over the heads of their comrades into the back lines of the Fatimid garrison. Visibility might have been poor, but it was hard to miss a whole platoon. 

Looking on, the dragon’s heart sank; it had begun. Marduk lowered his head, now more conscious than ever that he was in the presence of armed Christians. His voice is shaky when he speaks, and he cannot quite bring himself to look at them.[b] “…You had better go to the Sepulcher.” He said quietly. “...It is for you they fight. I imagine you will be safe enough.”[/b] The obvious implication being that he, of course, does not expect to receive such amnesty. The tension between their faiths was bad enough, but with the traditional European view of dragons being as negative as it was, he rather anticipated a purge should Jerusalem fall. 
And this was not a happy thought.