Текст книги "Eric (СИ)"

Автор книги: Марина Шпак

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Chapter 3

In the market they were waited with a surprise – on a small round patch between the rows the arriving troupe of stray actors arranged a small performance. Of course, a crowd gathered around them. After all, life in those days was pretty boring and the entertainment was rare and not very diverse, so the new stream that the guys brought was very useful. They sang, danced in a rather bizarre way, juggled with knives and played musical instruments. Nothing particularly surprising, but for Eric, who spent two years in the new world, such a view was enjoyable and not least. It was too gray here. Oddly enough, even clergymen, who officially condemned such things, rejoiced as children. But the performance came to an end and everyone dispersed. Our couple also went further on their own affairs, throwing around the actors. The mood was elevated, and the weather was good. Konya Ostrown found immediately, it was quite expensive, but they had an idyll – they liked each other right away. So much so that the horse did not need to lead the bridle, he himself followed our Slav. Walking past the Templar courtyard, Eric heard a noise and decided to go there, find out what had happened. In the courtyard there were twenty people crowding around the corpse, which lay face down. It was de Re. Noticing the baron, the knights turned and greeted him. Comrade Jean, knowing about the friendly relations between the deceased and the guest, decided to tell about what happened. It turns out that someone Gaspard, appearing as the commissioner of the doge himself, signed with the commander of the farmstead about an interesting deal related to transport for the Templars between Europe and Cyprus. Today this man's messenger came and said that Monsieur Gaspar had arrived incognito in Vienna and was waiting for Jean at Edwin's inn. Mr. Commodore went out the gate of the courtyard and literally a minute later returned with a pale face. Here he fell, and in his back stuck out a dagger.

Coming out of the Templars, Eric was sad – a man who saved his life, was killed in broad daylight by some kind of brazen killer. And the worst thing was that there was no one to take revenge – the killer is unknown. Monsieur Baudouin de Morel – in the past, assistant and associate de Re, and now – commander of the courtyard, was not at all inclined to talk. Our hero was obsessed with the obsession that he was told the official version, and not how it really was.

"Listen, Ostroneg, I've been meaning to ask how old are you? "

"About thirty, I can not say for sure, since he himself is from the peasants, and we do not exactly think of anyone. "

"Tell me from the height of your years, what do you think about what happened at the farmstead? "

"They lie, but I do not know what. "

That's what I think too. Okay, let's go home, think about it and figure out what's what in this matter, or else someone else will overhear on the street.

Drevlyanin nodded, and they went on in silence. In the house they closed the door, shutters and sat down with the girl to discuss the event. They decided to watch Baudouin and wait, but watching himself was very dangerous – he knew them very well. Therefore, mindful of the old films about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Eric decided to take advantage of the kids. Morrigan was instructed to find street children of small age and hire them for espionage. Everyone who brings useful information, relied denarius. The children were delighted, and therefore there were always a lot of them around the compound, so our suspect was under round-the-clock surveillance. I did not have to wait long. Literally a week later, DeMorel's connection was established with some strange gentleman. They met in the already mentioned tavern Edwin. It is necessary to shock the acquaintance, otherwise he too often began to figure in this matter. So early in the morning of the next day a young baron entered the door of his establishment, accompanied by a strong peasant. In the general hall it was completely empty, as the guests and visitors were mostly asleep. Therefore, it was decided to talk to him here, and the guy with a happy smile approached and, putting his hand on his shoulder, said:

"Remember, you promised never to deceive me again? "

"Yes, my lord, and I keep my word honestly. "

Well done,What I'm asking you now will be a test of my trust.

"Please, my lord, I am always honest before you. "

"Tell me, do you know the new Commander, Mr. de Morel? "

Yes, I do know

"Does he come to your place? "

– Occasionally.

"And why does he come? "

– Usually he meets with one person, they sit, talk about something, drink a little.

" How often? "Has it started for a long time? When was the last time? Do you know this second?

– About once a week. It all began a long time ago, probably five years already, as they have their meetings with me. Who is this last one, I do not know, but he usually stops by me when he comes.

"Edwin, be clever when he comes next time-send a boy to inform me. "

" Very well, my lord, I will do it. "And if you are not at home, then who will say?

"Or here it is," the baron nodded at Ostrogneg, "or the girl who lives with me. "

Ok. All will be fulfilled.

It did not take long to wait for them, because the next day a boy ran up to inform us of the arrival of a strange gentleman. Morrigan was immediately given the task of additional instructing the guys, which she ran hastily to perform. Actions began to unfold in an accelerated version. Closer to the evening came the information that the meeting took place and a mysterious stranger going to depart in the morning on his business. Eric decided to act quickly, nagging. Taking the Drevlyanin and a loaded crossbow, he headed straight for Edwin. When he saw the guests, he turned slightly white and slightly nodded at the staircase leading to a large and spacious room. The most expensive in the tavern. The door opened with the impact of Ostronega's foot, which, leaning in, immediately left aside from the line of fire. Next to him was a baron with weapons in preparation. The desired character was lying on a bench and completely not expecting an invasion. Eric stepped forward three steps and let his companion behind him, so that he closed the door. Then he began to slowly approach the frightened stranger, until he came close to him and sharply pierced the man in the face with a shovel of the butt. A came up the peasant added his fist, sending in oblivion. While he peacefully dozed, they stripped him naked, tied to a bench, they put a bench against the wall. To be able to interrogate, but he could not yell, they shook his mouth with a rag tape, cutting a small hole in the center. Much can articulate arrogantly, but it will not work. Then they started to do personal things. Nothing particularly interesting was found except for the encrypted letter, and therefore their ward was brought to life by a light blow to the crotch. The process of interrogation went quickly, productively, and when the esteemed Monsieur Gaspar had only three fingers left, and those on his leg, everything was already completely known about the incident that had occurred. It turns out that Baudouin had long been labeled for Jean's place, but he had good connections and he was confidently moving along the ranks of the order, unlike de Morel, whom he was dragging behind him. It was terribly insulting to be all the time on the sidelines, so he decided to remove his benefactor and take his place. For these purposes, links were established with the domain of Philip II Augustus, the King of France, who wished to have his people in the order. It was he who sent Gaspar to solve the existing difficulties. And then everything was easy. The fact is that Jean was looking for ways to circumvent the acute shortage of ships in the order and establish a permanent postal and transport connection with Cyprus. This is exactly what he was offered in his letters by Philip's attorney, interested and deprived of vigilance. And now, on a well-known day, he wrote that he was forced to refuse a favor, since a more interesting proposal came. De Rea, knowing where Gaspar is staying, rushed to him to swear and negotiate his personal gain in this project. But he managed to pass a little – literally next to the house, in the clothes of the beggar he was waiting for the joker himself and, as soon as he came up to him, he snatched a dagger from under the floor and put him in the back. Everything is done and the noise has subsided, so today, Baudouin brought a reward for hard work. It turned out to be rather big – a silver mark. Having learned everything that was necessary for them, they silently strangled our poor fellow, so that there would be less blood, because here it will be necessary to clean, it is not easy to wash it. It is necessary to respect the work of honest people. Then, after collecting the money and the encrypted letter, we went home. When they left, they asked Edwin to clean up, and ten denarii were put on the counter to compensate him for unpleasant troubles. He almost turned green, realizing what happened in the room, but not only did everything right, but he did not. So Monsieur Gaspard simply disappeared, along with his things. Just dissolved. With De Morel to understand it was necessary elegantly, because of his deed should learn the whole city, so much so that they would gossip without interruption. In this case, the guys who told about the small weakness of Baudouin to some Sabrina, the carpenter's daughter, helped again. The order was very strict with abstinence, but nature demands its own, so almost all its members had their own little secrets, which everyone guessed about, but kept quiet, for they did not see anything shameful about it. He attended the girl almost on schedule, so even her father knew the time when he needed to get some fresh air. Eric knew him, as well as the route. In general, the next morning, a patrol of city guards brought the body of Baudouin de Morel to the courtyard with a broken skull and a throat cut from ear to ear. To the body, with a knife, a purse and a note in Latin were attached. In the purse there were 30 silver denarii, and in the note words: "I return the damned money. Gaspar ". What has started in the city! The gates were closed, the city guards and the Templars began to search all the places where the murderer could hide. All the knights, led by the duke, constantly patrolled the streets, suppressing the discontent of the inhabitants. Our hero, as a person with a sincere sympathy for relating, and to the Templars, and personally to the accidentally deceased, even let a tear when he was informed of the death of a new commander. Of course, he ran around with everyone and looked for the hated killer, but, alas, the searches did not bring success, and therefore, a week later, turning the whole of Vienna upside down, I had to open the gate. Time heals, and after another week the events have subsided, but rumors have long been telling the story of a God-loving companion who ordered the murder of his master solely out of personal greed, and later himself died at the hands of a repentant hired killer. All affairs are over, all debts are dealt, so it's time to leave. There was a small, warm rain on the first day of August 1198, when Eric, accompanied by Ostronega and Morrigan, left for Venice.

A small caravan walked along the road to the south-west from Vienna. Only three riders and four clockwork horses with luggage. The first was Eric in a black Gothic armor, over which was a cornflower-blue cat with a silver cross on his chest, followed by Morrigan in a neat, discreet velvety-green woolen dress with small accessories of scarlet silk, such as the belt and edging of the edges. Closed the whole procession of Ostroneg in full chain armor – a haubek, on top of which was wearing a cat of the same color as the lady's dress. At the woman and the closing warrior two horses were tied to the saddle. In addition to the armor, there was also a weapon. The leader of the column was with an elegant blade and crossbow, and the warrior in his mail carried a spear, a round shield, put on his back, and an ax on his belt. Even a woman had a small knife attached to the saddle in such a way that it could easily be snatched. From the property they drove six high-quality Haubeks and the same helmets of the "pilot's" type, a couple of hundred bolts for the crossbow, a ten-liter barrel of "Commandaria" wine, several cuts of quality woolen cloth, a stock of provisions for a week, blacksmith tools, some of which were of jade, and still a lot of small things. In cash, they had 18 brands of the Vienna standard, six of which were in denarii and obol. But this rich prey did not deceive the robbers at all. A couple of times they even met openly on the road, but did not attack, but politely greeted them, they wanted a good journey and went further. The forest brothers were completely embarrassed and frightened of the armor that was worn on Eric, and the Baron himself seemed to them an animated statue, causing fear to interspersed with respect. The trip was quiet, calm, I would even say – peacefully. But such an idyll can not be eternal, and therefore, on the third day of the journey, they reached a strange village, where our heroes were waiting for new adventures.

They were noticed from afar, and therefore at the gate they were already waiting for the elder, the priest of the local church and a dozen men. Have communicated. It turned out that the village has been here for a week now as in an open confrontation between the smith and all the others. It all started with the fact that Valentino was shod by the headman's horse, and the latter, a few days later, broke his leg due to the fact that some of the nails in the horseshoe jumped off. Of course, they began to run into the horseshoe, demanding compensation for the damage. And that in refusal goes. They collected a world gathering, decided to keep the fugitive. So he openly declared at the meeting that the headman, they say, was to blame, because he hurried him and stood over his soul, and that's it, he auknulos. The debate began, as it should be. But, alas, Valentino did not like the people and was afraid, since he was an alien man, he lived on the outskirts, he did not talk to people much. I did not even want to take my wife for myself. So, little by little, the scales bowed in favor of the elders. Only his brother, Vincento, spoke for him. Realizing that they will not wait for justice – they sent the whole world to unprinted distances and went to the smithy, where they have been holding the defense for a week already. At first, the peasants decided to take them by storm, and beat them, for admonishment. But the blacksmith's brother was a hunter, and not a bad one, and therefore, seeing that the peasants go to the smithy in a crowd, without waiting for a conversation, he shot many from the bow. Who wounded, and whom he killed. They became fond of them. Vincento's wife and children were dragged out, on the hillock, in front of the smithy, their heads were chopped. For his family no one intervened, since his wife came to the village with him. So, not being afraid of revenge, their bodies were thrown in the same place, on a hillock. They decided to wait, to lure them to bury relatives, but nothing happened. Already, and became stinky in the neighborhood, and these two are sitting – holding on. Then they decided to come up at night and burn the smithy with their brothers. But here they were also set for failure, twenty men were killed, those from the arrows of the younger brother, who were from the elder's spear. Now they do not surrender to the village, they only overlaid on all sides, they wait when they die from hunger.

Eric looked at the elder's running eyes, thought for a minute and, without a word speaking, went on without calling in the village. But after driving a couple of miles to hide from the eyes of the villagers, he stopped and turned to the companions, looked at their faces. Ostroneg and Morrigan were angry to the extreme. Their faces were completely gray, and the pupils were so small that it seemed as if they were absent altogether! But they did not dare to contradict him – both were silent.

" What's quiet? "Or say there is nothing?

"Sir, our fate is in your hands, decide for yourself," Ostrogneg said.

" Do not frown. "We will pull out the guys. I want to help them myself, and take them to the team, because they do not live here. And I need such strong will people. And that they left – do not worry. At night we will return and quietly discuss everything with the brothers.

– It is necessary to take revenge on this dog, but not to talk.

" It's true, you need revenge. "But it is necessary to decide how. Or have you gathered all the people in the village under the knife?

"I would have killed all of them, but it's up to you. "

– Let's ask those to whom this chilled dish is eaten.

" ? "

" Do not make such a clever face. "Everything Is Simple. Let's ask Valentino from Vincento. We're with you to chop up these reptiles – just warm up. But there's too much blood to spill there. Especially peasants. It's the same massacre. How to cut a chicken with a knife.

– Let the slaughter! Let A child and his wife to cut is not slaughter?

"Morrigan, what do you think? "

" I do not think, but I long for their blood. "With all my soul I wish. To no one alive.

Ok. I understood you. So, at night we go to the brothers with Ostrognem, and if they are not against the slaughter, then the four of us are going to take revenge. And you, my darling, will remain in the camp with horses and carts. So dismount, guys, we're breaking up the camp and waiting for the evening. Is everyone clear?

All was clear, so, as soon as it got dark, our armored couple stepped out in the direction of the smithy. Go about two miles, so do not hurry and go secretly, hiding in the forest thickets. Absolutely in the darkness we went out into a small clearing, from which the smiths of the smithy could be seen. In the district they found a dozen campfires, in which the cordon camped. Carefully bypassing the sleeping guards, they quietly walked to the smithy. There they were already waiting, somehow miraculously noticing from afar.

" Do not come any closer! "Shoot! – There was a rolling bass.

– Hush! You start yelling louder to wake everyone up.

– Who are you? Why did you come in secret?

"I'm Baron Eric von Lenzburg, and secretly I came because I wanted to talk to you. "

"Why do you need to get involved in all this, noble man? "

" I need you and your service. "In return, I will help you with revenge.

"Really, sir, are two half-living peasants worth your efforts? " – The same bass smiled bitterly.

– You are strong in spirit, went against all and were able to withstand, withstand. I need your oath of allegiance, even in life, even in death, and in return I pay for it by helping you in your righteous vengeance. Even if you want everyone here to start a knife.

" And what, Vincento, is a sensible proposal. "Anyway, nothing else but death awaits us. Said another bass from behind the wall.

"Very well, sir, come in. "

The door to the smithy was opened neatly, and the boys slipped in there. There the brothers took turns, swearing by their immortal souls, swore allegiance to Eric. After briefly discussed what they want from revenge, and the plan of action. Valentino, in the smithy, had no armor except two quilted aketones, so I had to put them on. What – no, but protection.

It's already morning At the gate of the village Morrigan drove in with Ostrognem, leading a convoy. Eric was sitting on a bench at the well, and the brothers buried the dead Vincento family. Not a single inhabitant of this village saw the dawn, they were all dead. The brothers broke up so much that there was practically no need to interfere. The coming morning brought heavy thoughts. Our hero was thinking about how many more lives he would have to take away on his hard life path. At night, he watched the brothers who had fallen into a fighting fury. They ran from house to house and carried death to those with whom they had lived hand in hand for many years. Together with them Ostroveg was very enthusiastically engaged in this business. Poor, remembering the fate of his wife, terribly broke. Eric only had to insure them, sitting on a horse with a crossbow. A couple of times I had to shoot, pummeling the most agile inhabitants, that could escape from those who were almost mad with rage and fury. Their consciousness was completely engulfed by the thirst for blood, which literally obscured their eyes. Blood So much blood and death began to swirl around him. She was literally attracted to them, like a magnet. Of course, he was aware of where he was, and was ready for the fact that he would have to kill, perhaps even many, since this era with its cruel customs would not bypass him. But now this filth was becoming too much. He wanted to go away from this slaughterhouse, throw everything, huddled in some shell. To not see and hear everything that happens around. But it was an impossible dream, and the reality was that throughout the village in pools of blood and own feces lay bodies, and around them – chopped pieces, bowls and other things that had fallen out. One and a half hundred people did not meet the dawn – all of them that night were overtaken by death. Let not his hands, but at his will. And he is aware of this. Is this really the payment for true fidelity? A kind of blood seal that binds people's souls. Yes, all these people are guilty, but how heavy is the burden of responsibility for the death of another, especially when there are a lot of them, these deaths. How she burns youth, chills sparkles in the eyes, filling it with heaviness and sadness. Heavy. But it will still be! Behind these sad thoughts he was caught by the brothers who returned, having completed the burial. Along with them came Ostreneg and Morrigan, who had already removed the luggage from the horses and refueled the forage. The time of sighs has passed, and the rough reality has again surrounded Eric, looking at it with enthusiastic and devoted eyes. So he got up from the bench, stroked the horse around his neck, smiled and began to give orders to his small team. They sincerely believe in him and follow him to the end, to the last breath. So, to the point, gentlemen, to the point! No matter how heavy it may be.

– Close the gate to the village. Do not let anyone. You, you and you – stand in the queue in turn. Ostroleg takes over first. Take my crossbow. But first take off the cat and give it to Morrigan to wash the blood. You will be replaced by Vincento, then Valentino enters and then on a circle. The crossbow remains with the one who stands on the post. Ostroneg, your task at the show is to show the guys how to use it. Here is the hourglass, every three turns – changing the guard, they will be at Morrigan, and she watches the order when changing the guard. All come to say that there is no sea in the village and no progress in it. You and you – take from the load in the chain mail and run to the smithy to customize it for yourself. To guard on the guard already. And on you, my darling, lunch, supper and camp preparation. We move out at midnight. Is everyone clear? Any questions?

There were no questions, and Eric nodded, releasing them to follow orders. After quietly observing their vanity, he slowly took the horse back to the rest, raszdlal, tidied his food and went to do a dirty part of the job – marauding. Having removed his armor and most of his clothes, he went to climb houses. Why is that? Because there it was possible to get very dirty in the blood and so on, and from the body the blood is washed away much more easily than from the clothes. The task he set for himself was to quickly walk through all 24 houses and collect everything that could be sold on the market in Venice. Well, do not leave all the rot with the unlucky masters? According to the brothers, the village spent the third year hoarding woolen cloth of its own production, so that after the end of the field work send a caravan to Venice for sale. These words were very quickly confirmed. The fabric was about 60 cm wide, but it was really a lot. Each house has 20-30 lengths of two dozen meters in length. The fabric was painted in green the same shade. In total there were 602 cuts. But some of them were stained or damaged during the last night, so you could take only 514 cuts. From them a small hill grew near the broken Morrigan camp, right in the wasteland, in the middle of the village. With the money in the village was quite meager, since they lived, mainly, subsistence farming. So a dozen Denarii and forty-two obols are all that Eric could find, and even then, almost all the cash was in the hands of the priest and the elder. In the church itself, there was absolutely nothing to take, since it was poor – old wiped icons and several copper, silvered ritual attributes. It was quite dangerous to drive sheep and cows to Venice, too many questions would be asked. The horses were few and all rather seedy, his horses were practically gods compared to these nags. Still extensive stocks of dried herbs and berries, from which Morrigan has typed the whole heap, having declared, that it can be driven to the pharmacists.

It was getting dark. The bonfire turned into a quiet embers, next to which were 24 torches, according to the number of houses. Eric made everyone wash. By the way, the brothers, not accustomed to his orders, were a little stunned when the girl, completely unconcerned, took off all her clothes and began to wash herself. The Slav wavered and, putting his hands on his shoulders, calmly explained that this is a useful and useful thing for health. Wherever he comes from, such things are not embarrassed. And there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's a shame to show ugliness, not beauty. In general, all washed, dressed, equipped and checked for the last time, whether everything is normal in the baggage, which is a little overgrown. It included two carts about one horse and a couple of spare horses, which were tied to carts. For the coachmen, Valentino and Vincento were planted, Eric rode freely on horseback, and Morrigan and Ostroni had two clockwork horses, which, however, were eased by shifting the entire luggage to carts. In the head of the column, the baron and the Irish moved, which followed him in the wake. The closest one was, as before, our Slavic friend. We left in the thick darkness. After a couple of miles, stopped at the old camp, but did not dismount. Eric took two clockwork horses from the Drevlyanin and sent him to the village to finish the job. Half an hour later he returned, and in the distance a huge fire of a great fire was raging, which in the morning will leave behind him only a wild in its sweep of the ashes.

Because of the supply, the movement speed of the detachment has seriously decreased. So the next week they spent on the road, until finally, because of the horizon did not appear Mestre. Briefly explaining the security at the gate, they paid the entrance fee, because they went with the goods, and drove into the streets of the city. And from there they crossed to Venice itself, where they traditionally stayed in a small and cozy inn, with a small number of visitors. Our hero, along with Morrigan, took up the construction of the territory. Valentino was left to guard the goods in the courtyard, and Ostro?eg and Vincento went to the market to pick up and pay for the place in the trading rows, since the fabric had to be disposed of as quickly as possible. But as soon as everyone dispersed and they were alone with the girl, she decided to distract herself from cleaning and talk to him on a rather delicate topic.

"I want to talk to you," she said, blushing.

Ok.

"You see, it's a little inconvenient for me to ask all this "

"Do not be shy, come on, I'm not biting. " He smiled.

– Do you like me? – and her cheeks became completely red.

– Of course, I like you. Why should I leave you with me, otherwise? You in itself are quite a clever girl, you know a good deal about herbs and a loyal person. And the situation will turn out – you will become a wonderful doctor, as our French lover came out.

" Stop it. "I'm not asking this. You yourself understand this. Tell me, do you like me as a woman?

– Hmm And why suddenly such questions?

EricAnswer. Do not mock me.

Ok. Yes, I like you. You are a beautiful, intelligent and faithful woman – this is just an excellent combination.

" Stop, stop, stop. " He took her by the shoulders and slightly pressed on them, seating them on the bench. – Sit down. Let me explain something to you. Are you ready to listen to me and hear me?

I: Yes, of course. I'm all in the spotlight.

– Great! – Our hero went to the open window and stood there, pondering where to start. – Love. Family. All this is certainly beautiful. And my body grows absolutely decisively. So much that every day, more and more loudly declares his desire to women. What am I saying? Remember, because so many times, during the ablutions Even hang a weight on it, so as not to embarrass you. But if I surrender and yield, then both of us are in trouble. I hope you clearly understand that we will not sigh, but we will immediately begin to work. On the one hand, all this will be very pleasant. On the other hand, given the circumstances and prospects – absolutely unacceptable. First of all, you are a man who needs me for a cause, not for fun. – He turned around, took a stool and sat down on him, two steps in front of her, so as to look straight in the eyes. – And secondly hmm Remember, Morrigan, how did you decide to kill you for refusing to become a litter of village peasants? I especially remind you – with the whole world and with the blessing of the priest. And if at least once, at least one, but lost, then you would use all the peasants in the village. And for free and at any time. Or have you forgotten?