There is a narrow pass there which must be negotiated somehow, and it cannot be avoided by anyone wishing to take this road unless they go through
Annonay. The ambush of the
lord of La Voulte was lying in wait there, and he had a good two hundred lance.
Louis Roubaud did not suspect anything when he came among them. The
lord of La Voulte and his men, who had all been briefed ahead of their task, lowered their lances and crying "
La Voulte!" charged at the companions who were riding along in disorderly fashion. The first charge brought most of the party to the ground by lance blows, and
Louis Roubaud was struck and unhorsed by a squire from the
Auvergne named
Amblardon de Villerague. He was set upon and captured and the rest were either killed or captured, not one escaped. In some leather bags they found the sum of three thousand francs which
Louis Roubaud had received in
Anse for the protection of the villages in the surrounding area. The companions were jubilant as each had his share of the money. When
Limousin saw
Roubaud caught like this, he showed himself to him and said with mocking reproach,
"
Louis,
Louis, this is the parting of the ways for you and I. Do you remember the shame and humiliation you subjected me to at
Brioude on account of your mistress? I would never have imagined that for the sake of a woman, if I was willing and she was willing, you would have made me suffer what I did. If you had done the same thing to me, I would not have been so angry, for two brothers-in-arms such as we were then could surely have overlooked a woman."
On hearing this, the lords began to laugh, but
Louis was not in the mood for laughter. The capture of
Louis Roubaud led to the garrison of
Brioude surrendering the town to the
seneschal of the Auvergne, for once they had lost their captain and their best men, there was no sense in holding out. The garrison of
Anse and the other fortresses they held in
Velay and
Forez followed suit, and those who were confined within were happy to be permitted to escape with their lives. Then
Louis Roubaud was taken off to
Annonay and imprisoned there. A written report of this was sent to the
king of France, who was delighted to learn of his capture. Quite soon afterwards he was sentenced. It would seem to me from what I heard that he was beheaded at
Villeneuve near
Avignon. That is what became of
Louis Roubaud, and may God have mercy on his soul.'
'So, my dear sir,' said the
Bascot de Mauléon, 'I have done a good deal of talking to pass the evening, and, I might add, every word of it is true.'
'Yes indeed, by my faith,' I replied, 'and my deepest thanks. I have enjoyed hearing your accounts as much as any others, and they will not be wasted, for if God allows me to return to my country and the place of my birth, I will chronicle and record the things I have heard you tell and recount, and everything that I have seen and discovered on my journey, in the illustrious work of history which the noble
count Guy of Blois has commissioned me to write, so that with the other events of which I have spoken in this same history - and by the grace of God will speak of and record in the future - they will always be remembered.'
With that the
Bourc de Caupenne, who was called
Arnauton, began to talk and would very gladly, from what I could gather, have recited his life story and that of his brother the
Bourc Anglais, and how they had borne arms in the
Auvergne and elsewhere, but he did not have time to tell his tale for the castle sentry rang the bell to summon the people from down in the town of
Orthez who were expected to be present at the
count of Foix's supper.
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