Two months had passed since the death of Adhemar as the Crusader army continued to languish inside the city. The communication between the leaders had come to a complete standstill as the various groups became more and more isolated for fear of being exposed to the plague. To make matters even worse, winter was coming, and supplies in the city were now running low. The port of St. Symeon had not been spared from the plague and was being avoided by all passing ships for fear of contamination. No ships came in and no ships were allowed to depart in order to stop the spread of the disease.
With nowhere else to turn, Count Raymond appealed to Emperor Alexios for supplies and troops to continue their quest to take Jerusalem. Months later, he finally received a reply from the emperor: a formal
