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– Is there anyone else alive with you, and how long ago did it start? – Richard asked again.
– The sickness and the passing of people began a year ago, but in just the last two weeks the plague has taken the lives of one hundred and eighty people. There are only twenty-nine left alive, and all are already old people who have one foot in the grave. They now spend most of their time in church, and it is very strange that the deadly disease has bypassed them, including me.
– How does this disease spread? – Adelaide asked. – Isn’t it dangerous that we are here now?
– I don’t know how it started,» the priest said. – But one thing I can be sure of is that it is not transmitted from the dead, you should fear the living, whose first signs are a cough, sometimes even with blood, yellow eyes and a grayish tint to the skin. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my work,» he answered and went on burning the bodies of the dead.
Without a word or delay, the brothers began to help the holy father in his plight, and in just a couple of hours all the plague-stricken bodies committed to the fire were destroyed.
– Thank you, my children, for your kind hearts and for your invaluable help,» he told them as he left. – You will be rewarded in heaven for your noble deeds. And may your guardian angel protect you all from evil, and may Christ the Savior Himself send good things to you! – Once again he thanked them and hugged them tightly as if they were his children.
– Thank you, Father! – said Richard.
– Thank you, I hope the Lord will indeed forgive us,» Jeffrey said.
– Surely he will forgive, he loves all his sons, the main thing – have sincere faith and live in goodness and in conscience, – the priest answered affirmatively, and then they went on their way.
Stalking
– А-а-а-а-а-а-а-а! – страшный рёв раздался из леса. It was the cry of a Viking warrior who had found with his foot one of the traps Geoffrey had left especially for uninvited guests when he had made his rounds the previous night. The traps in question were quite simple, a rake-like instrument made of pointed, thick, short twigs. They were deliberately covered with mud to infect the enemy through the cuts if he did not die immediately. Such a wound could lead to excruciating, fatal results from prolonged suffering. The entire mechanism was easily set in motion: as soon as the victim stepped on the hidden, taut rope, the weapon was released to engage the target. In this case, the trap worked perfectly, jamming into the victim’s right thigh.
– Get it out of me! Help me! – Trying to pull the sharp rods out of his leg on his own, the victim screamed so hard that even the birds scattered in fright.
– Shh… Calm down, now we’ll help you… – The leader said softly, and at the same moment he struck him with an axe straight in the head, and blood spurted in all directions. – Watch your feet before you lose them,» he said in a commanding tone. – Byron, get over here and take a good look, and find the direction the two men and the girl went,» he continued.
– Yes, my lord! – replied a tall, lean, but sturdy warrior with a sitting hawk on his arm. When he removed the small helmet from the bird’s head, which covered its eyes, he threw it up sharply so that it could look out over the area. The hawk immediately soared above the trees, waving its wings widely, and its master began searching the ground for traces of the men who had left. The rest of the warriors remained where they were, peering more cautiously and carefully into the thicket to avoid falling into another trap, but staying far away and not touching anything, lest they confuse the seeker.
– My lord, I’ve found them, or rather the direction,» Byron finally spoke after a while, having found the hoofprints. – They’ve gone northwest, and the tracks are still fresh, so we can catch up with them!
– Did you hear him?! – A chief Viking named William the Conqueror spoke. – Go after them! Whoever finds them can be the first to taste the woman, after me, of course! – he added, whereupon everyone jumped on their horses with a wild shout of approval and set off in search of their brothers and their reward.
After a few hours, the Vikings made their way out of the forest and came upon a village, one that looked like a ghost town. It was still empty and silent. Only one black raven sat on the roof of the tallest building, watching the new arrivals.
– Search everything! Find something to please me! – The leader with the red beard gave the order to the others. Everyone immediately began to carry out the order and scattered around the village, running into houses, kicking in doors.
The Viking himself, surrounded by Byron and several other warriors, drove in the direction of the church, from which the priest soon emerged.
– How can I help you, my children? – he spoke.
– Perhaps you can help us by telling us if the two horsemen and the girl with them have not passed or stopped here?
– Unfortunately, there are no visitors to our city, because a terrible disease has overtaken it and killed almost all of its inhabitants. Therefore, is there anything else I can do for you? – the priest asked the question again.
– What do you mean «more»? – The Viking asked him rudely and grudgingly. – You haven’t helped us yet to ask such a question! I guess since things are so bad here, we’ll put you out of your misery now, father!
– My suffering is my highest reward, my son,» the priest spoke. – And only at their expense, as well as in laboring and helping others, will we all find true rest, eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven.
– How ironic! – laughing, the Viking continued, getting off his horse. – A black priest with a light soul! – he reasoned, and laughter already erupted from everyone else. – And what beautiful words! But our lives are more important than such nonsense, and death will take us to a nicer place than paradise for wretched, worthless, cowardly men! I suppose you have heard of Valhalla?! – Already he spoke sneeringly. – We shall live forever! – he added, and after these words he turned and signaled to his subordinate to destroy his irritant.
And he promptly fired a crossbow straight into the priest’s chest. The priest fell to his knees, but was still alive. His face twisted in pain, and he began to pray and ask God’s forgiveness.
– Well, go to your God now! – The chief Viking, William the Conqueror, spoke again, and with a sharp blow he cut off his head, which rolled off his shoulders and rolled on the ground for several meters. – Check all the houses and kill everyone you find! – he gave a new order, and at the same moment an old man ran out of the church, who immediately threw himself at his feet and begged for mercy.
– Nice man… – he spoke. – Please let me go, there are only a few old people living here, and almost all of them are in the temple. We have very little provisions left. You can have it, as well as all the wine and water, and all the gold and silver coins that are also in the temple near the cross of the Savior. – He gave away everyone and everything with ease.
– Thank you for saving my time. But I am not a nice man and I do not like sycophants, but I forgive you, and therefore you will die quickly! – said Wilhelm and stabbed him in the chest with a small dagger and then twisted it, looking the victim straight in the eye. – You heard him, find the gold as well as the food and then burn everything here to the ground!
And once again the robbers and looters rushed to carry out the orders without question. Once inside the church, they found the promised gold and took food and wine from the old people there, then they bolted all the doors in the church where the people were and set it on fire. In half an hour all the buildings and the church were ablaze. The villains, somewhat satisfied with their booty, moved on, not wasting another minute.
The Road Home
The gray clouds gradually turned black, and a heavy downpour began. Jeff, Richard, and Adelaide raced as fast as they could toward the castle, as far as their already tired horses would allow.
All soaked to the skin, they waded through rocky places, through muddy bogs, in which the horses’ legs got tangled and tangled, clinging to the roots of ancient trees, causing pain to the animals, which slowed down the course. The brothers hardly spoke all the way, only occasionally glancing at each other to make sure they were on the right track and that one of them had not fallen behind.
After another hour or so, the completely exhausted riders emerged from the dense forest into an open field where they could clearly see the Allied fortress city, a castle on a huge piece of land surrounded by walls with towers on which flags flew, with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of France, depicting three lilies on a blue shield and a golden crown at the top, fixed in the center.
– At last,» Richard said with relief in his voice. – I was beginning to think we’d never get out of this wild forest, and, to tell you a secret, I almost despaired,» he added with a weary grin, and he called the wild forest, which he had found very attractive because he was exhausted from the fighting and the journey.
– Oh, my God, I’m so glad to see this castle! – Adelaide also said.
– It’s certainly to my liking to see him, too,» Geoffrey said in a fairly calm, even voice, though he, too, was very tired. – So I understand exactly how you feel now,» he added, glancing at his brother and Adelaide with smiling eyes.
– It’s been a long and grueling ride, but we have one last push to make, which I hope the horses will hold up,» Richard spoke again.
– The only way to check it is to try,» Jeff answered, and they went on, and even much faster than before, because the field was flat and without obstacles, besides, it appeared as if the horses wanted to arrive at their destination even stronger than the riders, so they gave their best on the last stage of the route.
As they approached the castle, the heroes breathed a sigh of relief. But suddenly dozens of knights on horseback appeared from the other side of the forest.
– Geoffrey! – Adelaide, almost shouting, said in an alarmed voice when she saw this picture, and hugged him tightly from behind.
He turned around.
– It’s all right,» he put his hand over hers, and then squeezed firmly. – These are our brothers in arms.
After these words she instantly calmed down, loosening her embrace a little, but still she did not let him go, and, on the contrary, she reciprocated and squeezed his hand, too. Jeff was unable to hold back a smile, and it spread across his face in pleasure, giving him a powerful burst of energy that relieved him of his discomfort and allowed him to forget his experiences and fatigue.
– Jeff! – Richard’s voice was heard, but there was no response, so he repeated, but again to no avail, and it was not until the third attempt that Jeffrey came down from heaven to earth and responded.
– Yes, Rich,» he said a little incomprehensively, as if he’d just woken up from a dream.
– Where are you, brother? – smiling, Richard asked a question. – I could hardly get through to you!
– I’m sorry, I was thinking,» Jeff replied sharply with embarrassment.
– You and Adelaide go on and rest, and I’ll meet the knights and come back afterwards.
– All right, dear brother,» Jeff replied without hesitation and galloped to the gate, while Richard descended from his horse to the ground, on the still partly green grass, covered with frost after the first frost, and walked leisurely toward his companions.
Castle of Philip II
– Welcome back, Your Highness! – one of the guards spoke, lowering his head, half-covered by his helmet, as he raised the gate and let in Geoffrey and his companion who had just arrived, and the other guard followed his example and did the same, also lowering his head and looking down.
– We are very glad to see you safe and sound, for your father was very worried and restless because of your long absence, so he sent a search party last night.
– I thank you for your concern, but we’re all right, it’s just that the hunt took a little longer, so it took a lot longer to get back than we thought it would,» Jeff replied. – But our guest and I are very tired from our journey, so with your permission we will go to our chambers and have a good rest,» Jeff added, turning slightly toward Adelaide.
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