Читать книгу Theopolda's Quest - Linda Wisely - Страница 10

While they waited for the ship to dock, they discussed what they planned to do when they got to shore.

"I don't want to spend too much time sightseeing as I am anxious to buy some horses and ride inland to the La Luna Blu Inn and see my long time friend, Phidolphulis. If we get started quickly, we can be at the inn by nightfall," Brother Justus told them.

"That's all right with me, I saw enough of city life during the short time we spent in Palermo," Will agreed.

Sagan, a little disappointed, said, "I guess we can see some of the great buildings as we ride through. Do you think we will go past the Arch of Triumph at the Castle Nuovo?"

"Yes, you will be able to see the Castle Nuovo from most places in the city, as it is one of Italy's largest castles. We can make sure we go by the Arch of Triumph," Brother Justus assured Sagan.

"I just want to get to some place safe and quiet for a few days. I've had enough adventure for a while," Theo added.

The Naples' harbor was full of ships at anchor. It was a beautiful sight with the blue cloudless sky reflecting in the deeper blue of the Mediterranean Sea. They went to their quarters and packed their belongings. Theo made sure her small crossbow was safely tucked in on the side of her satchel. Her rapier hung from her belt, hidden in the folds of her skirt as usual. She patted her chest, checking to see if her gold compass still hung between her breasts. She had not taken it off since receiving it on her birthday and had become so used to wearing it that she had to make sure it was still there. With a sigh of relief, she carried her bag up to the deck to await the docking.

The other three were waiting for her at the ship's rail as the Pinta slowly drifted into the harbor.

Finally the sails were let down, the anchor weighed, and the gangplank lowered and secured onto the wharf. Sailors, noblemen, and peasants were waving to loved ones and calling out their names as they came forward to claim those they were anxious to see as they began to disembark off of the ships.

Several soldiers dressed in red and yellow uniforms, the official colors of Naples, were also on the dock. They were intently studying the faces of the each person as he or she came down the gangplank.

"Who do you suppose is their unlucky customer?" Will asked anyone who was listening.

"I sure wouldn't want to be in their shoes," Theo said uneasily.

"It looks like they're coming this way. Do you suppose they are after Captain Columbus?" Sagan asked in jest.

"It would serve him right," Brother Justus said, as they began to disembark down the gangplank with their bags in their hands.

Just as Theo stepped off the gangplank, a tall guard grabbed her by the arm.

As she tried to jerk away, he said, "Is your name Theopolda?"

"Why yes," Theo said hesitantly and looked anxiously at Brother Justus.

"I have orders here to arrest you in the name of Ferdinand I, King of Naples, on charges of theft, assault, and battery," he said. He motioned to the soldier closest to them to present the official looking document he was waving in the air.

"What is the meaning of this? There must be some mistake. This is Signorina Theopolda of the Monastery of Literary Wisdom. As you can see, we only just arrived. How could she have committed any crime?" Brother Justus stepped close to the soldiers.

"It says this crime was committed two days ago in Palermo. I have orders to arrest this signorina and her two accomplices, a William Crispo, and a Norseman, Sagan Hapsburg," the guard said.

As two other soldiers moved to arrest Will and Sagan, the boys drew their swords. The soldier nearest Will also drew his sword. Will lunged forward, his sword hitting his opponents swift and hard. The soldier quickly responded but wasn't used to Will's aggressive type of sword fighting. Will knocked the sword out of the soldier's hand and turned just in time to stop the blade of another soldier before it plunged into his side. His hair was falling into his eyes, sweat dripping from his forehead, as he matched blades with first one and then another of their assailants.

The guard holding Theo had quickly pulled her to the side out of the way of the fighting. When she began to struggle, his fingers dug into the soft skin of her forearm, making her cry out in pain. Brother Justus, aghast, was shouting, "Stop this, there has to be some mistake!"

One of soldiers, who was fighting Sagan, got knocked sideways into Brother Justus. He went sprawling, knocking him out as he hit his head on one of the posts holding up the dock.

Will had beat two other guards and was fighting valiantly with a third. Sagan was kicking and punching with one arm and wielding his sword in the other. Some of the soldiers were just standing aside nursing their wounds and watching Will and Sagan as they continued to fight, their breaths coming in loud gasps from the unaccustomed exertion.

The sword fighters were beginning to tire on both sides. It wasn't clear who would win until another group of soldiers, who had been further down the dock, decided to join the fight. They came from behind and subdued first Will and then Sagan. With their hands tied tightly behind their backs and Theo firmly in the grasp of her guard, they were marched away from the dock in humiliation.

Brother Justus managed to get back up unsteadily on his feet and ran behind them. "Where are you taking them? Isn't there anything I can do to correct this mistake?"

"They will be put in the dungeons at Castle Nuovo and stand trial before King Ferdinand when he holds court tomorrow afternoon. There they will be allowed to plead their case. You can present any evidence you may have at that time," the soldier holding Sagan informed him.

Theo was so scared, she just walked along docilely beside the guard who still had a steel grip on her arm. When they reached the castle, she was led inside and taken up steep stone steps to a round tower room. She wasn't able to see where Will and Sagan were taken.

"Where are you taking us?" Will asked his guard. "Surely this isn't legal."

"Anything the King orders is legal. Just shut up and quit struggling for your own good, or I'll have to knock you out and drag you to the dungeon." The tall brute of a soldier jerked him along roughly.

Sagan tried talking quietly to his guard, as was his way. "Signor, this is a mistake. Can you just tell me to whom we are supposed to have done this wrong?"

"They don't tell us much, but I heard it was Gustapo Borgia, who is the nephew of Rodrigo Borgia, the Minister of Foreign Commerce."

Sagan's guard seemed like a decent fellow. He had a nice open face, a short dark beard, and heavy eyebrows.

"But as you yourself saw, we only just arrived. How could we have assaulted anyone?"

"It was supposed to have happened in the Palermo, Sicily, market a couple of days ago. I was standing guard at court when the courier rode in with the complaint from the officials in Palermo yesterday. Of course, I didn't know who they were talking about. It's too bad about the signorina. The king will probably sell her to the highest bidder among the wealthy foreign noblemen as a concubine. That's really what the Cabinet of Foreign Commerce is all about, I've heard," the guard whispered.

"Can't anyone stop this atrocity?" Sagan asked, shocked. He quickly glanced at Will to make sure he hadn't heard. He had noticed how protective of Theo Will had become since they had begun this journey. Will gave no indication that he could hear what was being said.

"King Ferdinand is a very strict and cruel ruler. He enjoys having his enemies arrested and executed if they disagree even slightly with him," the talkative guard said. "If anyone crosses him, or he even thinks they have, chop, chop," he made a chopping motion with his hands.

"Antonio, quit fraternizing with the prisoners. You know Captain Erasmo doesn't allow that. Do you want to get us all put in stocks?" Will's guard said over his shoulder.

After that Antonio stopped talking, and Sagan walked silently beside him. When they reached Castle Nuovo, which was in the center of town a few blocks from the harbor, they were taken down stone steps into a tunnel that went deep into the bowels of the castle.

When the soldiers lifted their torches for light, rats squeaked and scurried into the darkness. The prisoners were led to the dungeons down the wet corridor that smelled of earth and rot.

Will peered into a large archway to one side of the hall as they passed by. Men and women in noble dress could be seen in the dim light, sitting at tables or standing in groups. As the torchlight caught their glassy eyes, it was apparent that they were not alive. Their faces were shriveled and brown. He cringed at the macabre site.

"What is that? Are those dead people?" Will asked tentatively.

"Oh si (yes), that's weird King Ferdinand's 'Museum of Mummies' or as most of us call it 'the Dark Museum'," the guard said nonchalantly. "That's where the King's enemies end up. He has an Egyptian, practiced in the art of mummification, who lives here at the castle. I hear that he is a real strange one. He takes his job very seriously. It takes months for him to get the corpses completely mummified."

Will's eyes were wide and his mouth twisted in horror at people being mummified, but continued walking. What have we gotten into?

Finally they reached the dungeons. "Brought you some customers," Antonio said to the dungeon guard, who pushed his massive body up from his seat and led them to a cell. He picked up a large key ring that hung from his leather belt and inserted one of the skeleton keys into the heavy iron gate that served as a door to the cell. When the gate swung open with a creak, Antonio untied their hands. The dungeon guard roughly pushed them in, slammed the door, and quickly locked it behind them.

It was very dark in the cell, as there were no windows this far below the castle. Straw was scattered on the floor and a couple of old wool blankets were piled in a corner. Against one wall stood a bucket of tepid water and in the corner sat another bucket, which from the smell, was being used as a urinal.

"Whoa, get a load of that smell," Will said, wrinkling his nose. "It smells like someone or something died and not recently."

"Quello puzza (that stinks)! Hopefully we will only be here one night. Surely Brother Justus will be able to get us released by tomorrow," Sagan grimaced.

Other prisoners could be heard moaning, coughing, and shuffling around, further down the hall.

"Hey Yuni, when do I get to see the king? I've been here over a week," a prisoner yelled.

"You'll get your audience when it's time. Shut up in there, or I'll have to come and shut you up!" Yuni, the guard who looked like he belonged behind bars, growled. His hair was limp and dirty. His clothes were rumpled and filthy. He had a red rash on his face with several day's whiskers. He walked with a limp as he shuffled to his chair beside a small, rough wood table. After he sat down, he began to break off bites of hard bread that had been sitting on an old tin plate. When he drank from his ale mug, he let it pour out around the cup and drip down into his matted whiskers. Slowly he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then wiped the ale off of his hand onto his dirty doublet. Watching him, Will grimaced as a wave of nausea hit him.

"What are you looking at?" Yuni growled, noticing the look on Will's face. Will turned around and sat down on the straw in the corner.

Meanwhile, Theo was receiving a different treatment.