Nicolo dies when he's still a priest, before he ever joins the First Crusade and meets Joe. The others around him decide that he's been given to them by God to use him to excise their base and immoral thoughts.

If one of them feels anger, they beat him. If they feel lust, they use his body, and so on.

Nicolo thinks this is his punishment from God for questioning his faith, so he doesn't fight it.

He's then taken to Jerusalem so he can serve the warriors fighting for God, and that's when his dreams start including a dark-eyed man who seems to be fighting his way to him.