Lorenzo got downhearted by unpleasant thoughts after the brief argument he had with the rest, he was alone sitting on a rock near the exit of the tunnel.
He thought "Severus can now barely be called a slave, he wouldn't in his right mind go back to Venice with him, he could reside in Bologna, Turin or Ancona, and afterward come and sneak his wife and child out of Venice.
I have lost all, what would I tell Bianchi when I go back to Venice, that I lost the Gladiator, he would slit my throat before I could come up with an explanation,
I know how cruel Bianchi is, I have only one choice, to find a way to put Severus back into his shackles, if not, am not returning home to Venice." He thought.
Lorenzo let out a heavy breath, his worries had overwhelmed him, he joined his two palms like a petal, and wiped them on his face, feeling a bit desponded.
"Sir we have reached the ends!." A deep voice echoed out of the tunnels.
Which brought a wave of fear that ran through Lorenzo in a beat, he looked seriously into the tunnels, it was already dawn, so things were a tad clear to see.
"Faster, stomp those feet harder on the ground!" Another word echoed out of the tunnel, it was deeper and scarier than the first voice.
Lorenzo needed no more evidence to tell him that, Massimiliano men were those coming forth from the tunnel, he ran off like a mad man after he had become overwhelmed with fear.
"We need to move there are here!" Lorenzo screamed upon arriving where everyone was resting.
"Who are here?" Asked Berardi.
Lorena took heavy breaths to not get choked while answering Berardi "Massimiliano's men, they are real close now, we need to move, I heard them talking in the tunnel." He cautioned, adjuring all to get up their feet and get going.
Everyone hustled up to their feet and took to their heels.
But it was too late for them, Massimiliano men had already come out of the tunnels and seen them "Sir there they are!." A soldier shouted.
"After them!" Alberto Ferrari yelled a command at his soldiers.
Their legs wheeled immediately, running heavily, and with a quick pace after Severus and the rest who had given them a big gap.
A race began.
Minutes later...
Heels wheeling, people panting, sand rising and falling, the ground rumbled by stomps from muscular feet, strength, stamina, and speed were the needful in the occasion, which Berardi didn't have.
He lagged behind others, Massimilliano's men were almost catching up with him, he had strayed away from the rest with a huge margin and nobody knew about that, everyone was all about ensuring his or her safety before caring for another person's safety.
One of Massimiliano's men strayed away from the rest of the soldiers and came to be closely behind Berardi, tailing on him.
Berardi heard the heels of the soldier stomping hard behind him, he wept, he was losing hope, and he felt his strength draining drastically, which was slowing his speed down every second.
"Help me!" He screamed at the rest after he felt he wouldn't be able to outrun the soldier who was closely behind him, nobody looked back at him, all focused on what was ahead, running to escape.
A few Moments later strength deserted Berardi, his feet became wobbly, it took another while, and he fell to the ground.
Two soldiers pounced at him like wild pumas, grabbed him, pinned him to the ground, and chained his hands and heels.
"Take him home, while we go after the rest." Alberto Ferrari ordered the soldiers that caught Berardi.
Severus and the rest made it out of the forest and came into the docks.
On their left was a wrecked ship, with workers assembling planks to seal the wreckages, before them was a ship just near the sea, it had old weak planks, looked very old and like it would fall apart anytime soon.
Workers, as well as travelers, we're arriving at the docks and it was becoming crowdy each second.
"We have to get into this ship before us, I know the captain of that ship very well, I can beg the shipman to help us hide there for a while" Chiara suggested.
"Anyone has any better ideas," Lorenzo said.
"We haven't time to make suggestions, let's move," Chiara yelled and went ahead, Severus followed suit, before Marchisio and Lorenzo went ahead too, no time to contemplate, no time to even talk of Berardi, they all went up into the ship.
In the ship, workers were carrying planks out of the cabin and throwing them down into the sea.
"Get to work, everybody!" Yelled the captain of the ship, Fabrizio, he was short and chubby, old looking with wild beards and mustache, a scary and crude man, he had his workers working tirelessly and energetically, a reconstruction of his ship was going on.
Captain Fabrizio looked around, searching for who wasn't doing his job well enough, he wouldn't whip his workers, but the strong abusive words he uses on them, pains more than a whip, he pays them, they can't retaliate.
Fabrizio's eyes met Severus, Lorenzo, and Marchisio standing idle, Chiara was behind them, looking around to find the captain of the ship who was Fabrizio, Fabrizio never saw Chiara because she was behind the men.
"Hey!" Fabrizio yelled at them.
"What are you buffoons doing,"
Everyone looked at him, Chiara finally saw him too.
"Get work you useless piece of things." He added.
No one reacted to his orders, they were all mopping at him, he started approaching them, no one has ever refused his orders, he now sees them as trouble, which he was coming to put an end to.
"Am in charge here, I tell you, buffoons, to get to work-"
Chiara wriggled herself to the front of the men, "there aren't buffoons cousin they are with me." She said.
The angry-looking man had his face changed to a smiling face when he caught sight of his cousin Chiara.
"Chiara!" He exclaimed, with nimbly steps a cause of his agile nature, he came to Chiara, hugged her firm with his short huge arms, he lifted her feet, twirled around, and dropped her back on the floor.
"What brings you here?, and who are these savages with you?," He asked, and his mean face returned.
"We are in trouble, my father is after us," Chiara replied.
"What did you do?" Fabrizio asked with worry on his mean face.
"I broke his trust, I helped his prisoners escape, it's complicated Fabrizio, I need you to hide us in here for a while." She pleaded, on everyone's behalf.
"I need you to know that here is an illegal wrestling ground." Said Fabrizio
"What!" Everyone exclaimed, except Severus, he is a man hardly Marveled or surprised by any news or event.
"We bring two wrestlers who are famous together, in this old ship, and people pay to watch at midnight, who doesn't love vulgarism," he said and smirked while glancing around.
"I do not" Marchisio reproved.
"And who are you, baby boy?." Fabrizio asked Marchisio, staring in his face with disdain.
"But I thought this reconstruction was for rebuilding the ship and having it sail on the water once more?" Chiara inquired, she was unable to believe what Fabrizio had told them about the ship.
"It's still hard for you to believe, actually here is the wrestling arena, while the cabin is a harlot home." Fabrizio revealed furthermore.
Chiara looked around, the surrounding came to look like a wrestling arena, Fabrizio had brought in the idea in her and now she could see it,
Planks were placed in square form in the middle of the ship before the cabin, those planks were barricades, protecting people from coming into a certain area in the ship.
"It is truly an arena," Chiara testified.
"Am glad you have realized that," said Fabrizio. " come on let me take you to my chambers, it will be safe there."
He took them into the cabin, down to his Chambers, which looked more like a cellar.