Everything happened as they had planned: with the first rays of the sun, the diggers moved towards Ferrara. The group moved quickly along the old road, while the sun was just rising over Fort San Antonio. After three hours of travel, it was decided to make a small halt, where Marzio finally reached the food that Aunt Margaret had saved for him. He also calculated that today the Gevalier's caravan will go to Argenta, and tomorrow it will be in Ferrara. So he would have enough time to pick up his things and cross the border of Bologna and Veneto if everything goes as it should. He had already informed his comrades that he leaves them after the last case. No one insisted Marzio stay in their team, but some unpleasant aftertaste still had taken place.
They arrived in Ferrara closer to noon. Ferrara is one of the largest cities in all of Italy. One of the most ancient strongholds of mankind. The history of the city is quite interesting: after the coming Ferrara was almost wiped off the face of the earth, only the historical centre remained. Then demon-like people and various heretics settled in the city, who lived in the ruins located around the preserved historical centre. By the grace of God, the ancient temples remained intact, but they had to be restored after the outrage of the barbarians. The city was under the rule of heresy for a very long time, until it was repulsed by the troops of the Templar Order in 1086, but the troubles had not ended there. The established fortress inside Ferrara served as a starting point in clearing the surrounding ruins of demons. This lasted for two hundred years, and during this period Ferrara was controlled by the Hospitallers, the Order of the Holy See, and the Order of Tau. Soon, the ruins were completely cleared of demons, but no one could remove the ruins themselves. Some areas were improved, levelled, began to be used for their intended purpose and, thereby, expanded the borders of the city, but the impassable wall of ancient ruins still remained. It is also worth mentioning that in some places the sources of pestilence were found, which, as far as possible, were fenced. Only in 1336, there was an organized large-scale construction of a protective wall that passed through the ruins and divided them into two parts. One of them was located outside the city walls and served as a buffer between the cultural part of the city, which was based on an ancient fortress, and the defence system. Also, the ruins in front of the walls served as a serious obstacle to the assault, but at the same time helped the besiegers to hide, which often led to serious battles just in these runes. This was proven more than once in the many vassal wars that have affected Ferrara.
There were several roads lying through this ridge of ruins that led straight to the city gates. The ruins surrounding the city made Marzio feel sad: they were so saturated with despair, old age and death. Sometimes burnt tree trunks and thick dry bushes could be seen through them. There was a straight road leading to the gate, and instead of the usual ancient pavement, there was crushed stone under the feet. Even before reaching the walls, you could see the greatness. The fortification of Ferrara was worthy and not surprising because the border with Veneto passed through the Po river, which ran nearby.
Diggers were allowed into the city without any problems. Inside, Ferrara was divided into two parts: the historical one for rich residents and the new one for the middle class and the poor. Many people built their huts in the ruins near the wall, and those who were richer lived in ordinary houses. To begin with, the diggers stopped at a tavern and then went in search of the right place.
They spent the whole day trying to find the place that Silvio was talking about. The map indicated exactly only a small area near the city. They wandered around the perimeter of the city for a long time and walked around it from all sides, and Ferrara was not small. Fortuna smiled on them only in the evening, when they found the same site to the west of Fort Pontelagoscuro. It was decided to get shovels and excavate at night. Marzio, Harry, Merino and Sherika stopped near the site, meanwhile, Amato and Luca went to get tools. An hour later they returned with three shovels. The sun had already set by this time.
Under the cover of darkness, trying to do everything quietly and quickly, limiting themselves to one candle, the diggers were doing their job, they dug. They went two meters deep and only then came across something metallic. At that moment, Marzio's device began to crackle nervously. Merino, using his gloves and strength, pulled one large silver box and various rusted scrap metals to the ground. There were still some objects deeper, but Marzio's device began to crack even more, so the diggers did not take any chances. The value was represented only by a silver box with incomprehensible contents, and it was decided to bury the other metal impregnated with pestilence. There was no pestilence coming from the box, so the diggers safely took it with them. After hiding the box in the ruins, the diggers returned to an inn, where they spent the night. Marzio was a little depressed: in just a few days he had seen and learned so much that he would never read in any book. Of course, his mother's death and difficult situation upset and depressed his state of mind, but the young man held on, trying not to express his feelings directly. And he no longer had the strength for emotions: he was so tired of the eternal transitions that he just wanted to eat and sleep. He hoped that tomorrow he would finish the last case and go to Venice with a calm soul, where he would somehow get settled and contact his father. He was only worried about his personal belongings left at Mr Gevalier's, but this slippery and slightly strange merchant, oddly enough, inspired him with confidence.
The morning turned out to be "cheerful" again: after a quick breakfast, the diggers took the box from the cache and went to Cento. The journey was going to be long again because it was about seven hours to the town. However, the road was also safe: in Ferrara, the diggers heard how the knights made a rustle throughout the neighbourhood, exorcising demons and bandits.
Again fields, meadows, farmlands and groves lay beside the road. The scorching sun tired the travellers. During the halt, Marzio practically spent all his food supplies collected by old Margaret. By noon they reached Cento – an ordinary Italian village, without hints of ruins and ancient past, a typical new building. While Marzio and the other diggers were resting in the shade, Harry went in search of Silvio's man. A quarter of an hour later, he returned, took the bag with the box and left it alone. After that, he explained that he did not trust that person, since he did not cause sympathy, but everything went well. For a strange box, they got as much as 300 gold, which was a decent amount. It got into the mood of the team, but not of Marzio. He understood that today, most likely, he would part with these people forever and go his own way of life. He got thirty gold pieces, which should have been enough to get to Venice.
They were returned for a long time as well, making a halt. The whole day was killed on one road since the deal itself in Cento took no more than an hour. When they arrived in Ferrara, the caravan with Gevalier had already settled in the market square. Marzio went in search of the Gevalier, and the diggers decided to celebrate another successful case at the tavern, where they invited Marzio to a farewell party.
Gevalier was not difficult to find: his cart stood out from the general background, and besides, the figure of the merchant in his blue caftan was very noticeable. Gustav made a fiery speech about the quality of the goods to the people around him, and they, in turn, listened attentively. Marzio did not distract the merchant and stood aside until Gevalier himself called him. The merchant called an assistant to his place, who began to sell goods to people. Gevalier and Marzio went behind the cart.
'Well, hello, young man. How do you like adult life?'
'I'm keeping up, Mr Gevalier.'
'Ha-ha! That's nice. Listen, boy, I've just heard from some people that a big purge is planned in Bologna and Lombardy. And this means that heads are going to roll – be careful. As my intuition and experience suggest: a war is being planned.'
'War!?' Marzio was excited.
'With whom?'
'With Veneto, or rather with Liechtenstein. The Pope of Corsica is extending his influence to northern Italy and will inevitably face the "Alpine Empire", which means only one thing..." he made a significant pause.'
'What should I do?'
'As I remember, you were going to Venice, which means you have no more than two days to cross the Po river. My advice to you is not to delay this and better go right now. I saw a large detachment of knights who followed the caravan here and already there is news about the search for heretics in Ferrara, so...' he paused again and looked at Marzio with a grin.
'Can I pick up my things?'
'Yes, of course! They are completely safe.'
Marzio climbed into the cart and found his abandoned belongings. He started checking their contents.
'I do not know what is there,' began Gevalier.
'I haven't opened them, but I can assure you that no hand has touched them.'
Really. Everything was in place.
'Thank you, Mr Gevalier,' said Marzio, unloading things from the cart.
'By the way, I want to return your book to you – I didn't have time to finish reading it,' he wanted to give the book to the merchant, but he took his hand away.
'It's not worth it! I have already read it, besides, we will consider it a gift for a good memory. You won't forget Monsieur Gevalier, will you?' he smiled.
'No, of course not. You've been very kind to me.'
'Oh, it's not worth it! But listen to me one last time, Marzio,' here he became unusually serious.
'This world is very harsh, as it may seem at first glance, but the reality is not like that. The world is even crueller, in fact. In addition, he is also extremely stupid, so accept the fact that you will have to communicate with idiots in the future. Remember, Marzio, you can only trust yourself and always do what's best for you! Only then you will be able to decide who to give your beneficence to, but put your interests first, understand? And one more thing: know that the main thing in this life is not faith, not duty and not principles, but money. If you have gold the size of a buckwheat grain, then you can move the mountain. Only it is difficult to get this gold,' here he paused.
'Well, well, my boy, goodbye!' they shook hands.
'Yes, God willing, see you, Mr Gevalier.'
'God grant.'
Marzio returned to the inn as agreed. He was very worried about his belongings, as the knights could stop him and if they saw what he was dragging, he could not avoid the bonfire. If it had been Marzio's will, he would have immediately gone to the bridge over the Po river and stopped at any Veneto tavern by nightfall. But he also had to say goodbye to the diggers. It would be inconvenient to leave them like that without saying anything.
The inn was full and noisy. You could even say that there was a crowd: musicians were playing by the fireplace, someone was singing songs loudly, and someone was already dancing at full speed. With great difficulty, Marzio found the diggers' table, where one empty seat was kindly reserved. By the time Marzio arrived, the diggers were already getting drunk. The young man immediately gave up hope of leaving Ferrara that day. He realized this over the third pint of beer, which Amato kindly presented to him. In the general euphoria of the holiday, Marzio forgot himself, or rather, got lost. The alcohol hit the young man's weak mind. The musty room, filled with the smells of viands, alcohol and fumes, created a fog in Marzio's perception of the world. A remarkable appetite had woken up, so he with the team ate dishes and snacks. The beer was followed by fortified wine, and if for Harry, Merino and everyone else it was a sweet continuation of the banquet, for young Marzio it was more like a conclusion. However, Luka managed to pour a whole pint into it, which almost splashed back out. During the breaks of the turbidity, Marzio tried to look around the surrounding people, who had turned into rabble by the evening and listen to the diggers' speeches. The latter he did poorly, but he was able to look at the picture of the inn completely. In addition to the raging crowd, musicians, Marzio noticed several very prominent groups of people: the first was the scarlet knights who occupied a large table not far from the diggers, they also, like everyone else, drank and sang. In total there were eight men with weapons and uniforms. Besides them, Marzio noticed another group that occupied the same large table – these were the Knights Hospitallers. He understood this by the characteristic black attire. They were quieter, but their table was also covered with viands. There were seven of them, and among them, he noticed a young girl with black hair, ponytails and a discontented, but at the same time cute face. It was strange to see a knight's girlfriend, but as Marzio read, it was quite normal. The last group that Marzio singled out were three people sitting in the farthest corner of the hall. Attracted the attention of a strange man with grey hair sticking out on the sides and on top of his head and black glasses. Marzio had already thought that this was the same digger, but he looked different, like his two companions. They were dressed in brown robes and all, except for the glasses, were wearing hoods.
Marzio tried to restrain another urge to get out of the contents of his stomach, and it happened that he stopped his gaze on the waitress serving food, which had good shapes. Marzio didn't have any lustful desire, on the contrary, he wouldn't have noticed where he was looking at all if Sherika hadn't paid attention to it.
'Marzio, you little rascal, and I forgot that you are also a man!'
Marzio was still in prostration and missed Sherika's words with a mimic of his ears, continuing an internal dispute with the body. The rest of the group had already paid attention to him.
'Yes, the guy has a taste!' Amato remarked.
'Hey, Marzio!' Harry said loudly.
At that moment, the young man woke up and stared questioningly at the diggers.
'You're drunk, my friend!' Luka said here.
'It's so clear. He's still young enough to drink with us on equal terms,' Harry confirmed it.
'Yes, our youngster has awakened adult desires,' Amato added.
'What?' asked Marzio, puzzled.
'Poor thing,' Sherika said here.
'He's so young and so inexperienced. With his character, he won't last long... Maybe we should get private together for the last time today?'
'What?' Marzio did not understand.
'Leave it, Sherika!' Harry said.
'He's drunk and doesn't understand anything.'
It was actually so. Young Marzio stood out in the crowd of drunken, greasy, wrinkled faces with his snow-white innocence and youth. The confused look of his beautiful – undoubtedly – eyes attracted the attention of a young Hospitaller knight. But not only his. The drunken knights of the Scarlet Order had been looking for someone to stick to for a long time. The drunken rabble did not interest them at all, but a strange company caught the eye of the captain of the Order of the Holy See. He was especially interested in the young man because for several days they had been looking for the runaway son of a witch in Bologna. There was no need to look for more reasons when Marzio accidentally crossed eyes with the captain of the Scarlet Order. The captain gave the go-ahead to his men and they headed for the diggers.
'Hey, you there!' the captain began.
'Who are you going to be? You have a strange company here. Who are you?'
'We are hunters,' Harry replied.
'We are engaged in catching different animals and helping kind people.'
'Aha, tell me about it!' the captain interrupted him.
'We know your kind! Hunters, trackers, yes, yes...,' he hiccupped loudly.
'You are actually hiding, but in truth, you are climbing into places forbidden to Christians! Come on!' he barked at Marzio.
'And who are you? From what city and what is your name?'
'M–mario ...,' barely uttered Marzio, trying not to throw up directly on the knight.
'What? M who?! Listen, man, what's that stuff you have there?'
'Dear knights, what business are you...,' Harry continued.'
'Screw you!' the captain shouted.
'We have orders to find diggers, heretics and bandits. You look like everyone at once! And we also have orders to find a fugitive criminal from Forli. This guy just fits all the criteria. Come on, turn out your belongings!' at this point the knight grabbed Marzio by the collar and lifted him up.
'By what right, gentlemen, do you allow this yourself?!' here Harry himself stood up. Other diggers followed.
'What!? Who are you? I am asking! I am a knight of the Order of the Holy See have every right to interrogate, examine, screw anyone who arouses my suspicions! And you provoke my suspicions completely!'
A big shout went up. Marzio didn't understand much, but because of the panic, the intoxication began to move away from the side. Here, the Knights Hospitallers, led by that girl, came up to the diggers' table to get to the argument. In the eyes of Harry and the diggers, the readiness for a fight was clearly read. Maybe in another situation, they would not have gone into conflict, but now everyone was drunk to death, including the knights.
'Hey, Captain!' The Knight Hospitaller shouted here.
'Take it easy with the guy. What are you questioning them about?' the captain of the "scarlet" appraisingly looked at the Hospitallers but did not let go Marzio.
'Leave it, Sister knight! We can handle this ourselves.'
'So what's the occasion?' she insisted.
'These are pathetic diggers! The captain replied lazily.
'And this guy is under suspicion. In Forli, the witch was burned, and this is her bastard!'
'What makes you so sure of that? Maybe the Order of the Hospitallers is also interested in catching heretics?' the knight continued.
'Who exactly are you, Sister?' Here the captain released Marzio and turned to her.
'I am a lieutenant of the Order of the Hospitallers - Faina Bianchi!' she said proudly.
'And I'm the captain!' he replied dryly.
'As a senior in rank and not only...,' Faina's rank was below the captain's.
'I order you not to interfere! This is a matter exclusively for the Scarlet Order, and the Hospitallers have nothing to do here! Besides, your order no longer has the power here. We are now guarding the order of honest Christians here. You, go to your Venice since you have lost everything here. Your concern has passed by the mouth, but this very mouth can be filled with something hot, the members of the scarlet Order burst out laughing looking at the commander. They were all dead drunk.
'What did you just say?' Faina asked rudely and ominously.
'You've heard me, Lieutenant! Get out of here before I...,' he didn't have time to finish, Faina's fist struck the left side of the captain's face with a sharp blow. From surprise and strength, he fell tangentially right on the diggers' table, breaking several plates, spilling alcohol and spoiling the food.
The rest of the knights of the Scarlet Order, who had been waiting for something like this for a long time, attacked the Hospitallers with exclamations, who were expecting the same thing. A fight ensued, in which the diggers also joined. Merino grabbed his chair and slapped one of the knights on the back. The chair shattered into splinters. In the blink of an eye, the whole inn joined the fight, as if everybody were just waiting for an excuse. The local conflict of the knights turned into a mass riot accompanied by frightened musicians. Marzio found himself in the epicentre of the massacre, while not participating in it in any way. From what was happening, his consciousness brightened up a little, making itself felt with a clear order - to run. He understood that after a fight with the knights, he would definitely not get away with it, and while there was a row here, he had a chance to disappear without a trace.
He quickly began to collect his things that were left under the table. In the confusion, a lot was scattered and he had to crawl for a long time, collecting his valuable belongings. Finally gathered everything, he found out that he was lost. Marzio found himself pressed against the wall, and the whole battle was unfolding in front of him: people were beating each other with anything and anyhow, the first victims were lying on the floor, windows were already smashed somewhere and women were screaming. The young man tried to figure out how to get out of the building but had no way to go. He was starting to panic, but then someone's hand grabbed his elbow. It was the knight Faina.
'Hey, you!' she said to him.
'Move if you want to live!'
There was firm confidence in her eyes and voice, so Marzio followed her without question.
Faina dragged Marzio by the hand to the back exit. She led him through the service rooms and out into the cold night street. The fresh air encouraged the young man, but then he realized his situation: he was being dragged by the hand by a quite pretty girl, part-time lieutenant of the Hospitallers.
'You're in big trouble, man,' she said.
'The knights of the Scarlet Order are hunting for you, so, like it or not, but you have to come with me.'
Marzio didn't resist. There was something overbearing in this girl's voice, besides, he saw how she took down a strong captain with one blow.
She led Marzio out onto the pavement, where six horsemen were waiting for them. One horse was empty.
'Where to?' Marzio squeezed out of himself.
'To Rovigo!' Faina replied.
'We're leaving Bologna.'
She walked up to the horse and mountained it briskly.
'Can you ride?' she asked. Marzio just shook his head in embarrassment.
She let out a nervous sigh, got down and helped Marzio onto the mare.
'Do you need this stuff?' she asked sternly, pointing to Marzio's things.
'Yes, it is very necessary!'
'Eh. Sergeant, take it!' She grabbed Marzio's bag and tossed it to one of the knights.
Marzio tried to object, but Faina was not listening to him, she mounted on the horse so briskly that Marzio appeared to be behind her. They started off and the young man had to grab the lieutenant tightly not to fall. He was confused, not much, but still drunk, scared and completely did not understand what was happening now. They galloped through the night Ferrara and soon left the city line. Soon, Marzio felt a breath of fresh wind and humidity - they were crossing the bridge over the Po river, lit by many torches. As soon as they got to the opposite shore, Marzio fell asleep. The fatigue that gripped him, plus intoxication, did their job. But besides, a certain relief came over him, because he finally left Bologna. In his unconsciousness, Marzio did not notice how far he was from the Po river. The riders galloped along the pavement into the depths of the Veneto, which caused the young man ambivalent feelings: on the one hand, it was good, because there were no Scarlet knights, but on the other – he was in the clutches of the Hospitallers, the same knights, in essence, who did not cause him confidence. Marzio understood the gravity of the situation and decided to trust fate since he did not have enough strength and skills to escape. No one spoke on the way, and Marzio fell asleep until Morpheus finally took possession of him.