Another week passed and autumn came. To pull on there was no sense, because in winter to go by sea is not the best solution. And because Eric spit on his feelings and went to the Templars to negotiate a transfer with their next ship to Greece. In a past life, he was never there, as circumstances hampered, and so here he really wanted to go there. But, alas, not everything goes according to his plans. Two days before the sailing, Antonio's half-dead came to him and, in fact, in his arms, lost consciousness. He was badly beaten and sometimes injured by something piercing and cutting. Here it was - his foreboding. The next day after his appearance, the militant sailor recovered, although he was still very weak. It was completely impossible to leave him here and leave, as new circumstances of the incident arose, and ignoring such things is very dangerous. Therefore, he immediately informed Pierre of the impossibility of sailing. The situation for the pirates was very sad, and this very sadness was the detachment accompanying Thibault III, Count Champagne. On the second day after the night storming and looting of the castle, the convoy of Antonio collided on the road, along which they retreated towards Genoa, with a detachment of knights. Something managed to figure out only their leader. I tried to collect the guys for defense, but it was too late - he ran away by a miracle. His horse was wounded and a few miles later fell. And he himself was not in the best shape. Why they attacked the convoy, which from the side looked like a trade caravan, it was unclear. They broke their heads for a while, they thought. Everything was done unclear. However, it was evening, and our hero went to visit de Chamon, for a small evening gathering. The guests arrived and he collected the nearest circle of communication. These guests were Thibaut and his company. During the meal, he proudly talked about how he chopped a huge gang of robbers into one and a half hundred people, which was carrying a baggage of stolen things. Hearing the threefold increase in the number of people Antonio, our hero was surprised - rounded his eyes and whistled. But the Earl interpreted the cause of surprise in his own way, and therefore - in detail described what a hot fight was with this mob of robbers. And when it came to that, from where our noble Tibo found out that the gangsters were in front of him, it turned out to be a completely funny thing - at first he attacked, everyone who tried to fight - interrupted, and interrogated and surrendered - he was interrogated and hung. And now, on the basis of the result of the interrogation, he concluded that he had beaten the robbers. Amazing luck - his thirst for profit completely inadvertently received a moral justification. In general, they talked for a long time, animatedly discussing the details of this event. About the attack on the family castle and its looting the baron, of course, did not mention. In general, of all those present that evening in the big hall of the farmstead, only two people understood what kind of detachment it was and whose property was captured by de Champagne. But Pierre, well aware of the situation, enjoyed the piquancy of the situation, and so the whole evening with a barely perceptible smile watched Eric, only occasionally inserting phrases. The very same young baron decided to play a little, but for the Templar it was completely unclear what kind of game and for what. The meaning of the game was that von Lenzburg encouraged the bragging of Thibaut. Pierre was particularly amused when the baron expressed his sincere admiration for his courage and skill, for the earl himself had killed a dozen. In general, it would be strange to expect a different reaction from the young nobleman, if not for one detail. The commander of the Venetian farmstead and Jean de Ra had a rather active correspondence, and therefore, in rather interesting detail, he heard about the promising young man.
When everyone began to disperse, de Chamond went to Eric and, putting his hand on his shoulder, said quietly:
"Why did not you claim property? "
" Because I do not have the resources to beat him. "Or do you think that our beloved count will give it of his own free will?
"Let's say Listen, what's the whole game for? "
Game
"I've heard a lot about you and I think that a dozen chopped commoners will not impress a man like you. " He smiled slyly and winked.
aboutPierre! You are wrong. I am completely inexperienced in this matter.
- I'm scared to think what will happen if you get experience. Yes, do not worry you, we are on the same side, if only because not only the order, but personally I am grateful to you for the elegant removal of this scoundrel de Mortel.
- The Duke tried to enlighten me. He was deeply shocked by the way you carefully and accurately arranged everything. He also had absolutely nothing to have at hand a man who leads such an unpleasant game for him. You probably still do not know, but his agents also went to secret negotiations between Baudouin and Philip II.
- And he had these investigations to what?
"So you confirm your involvement in the death of de Mortel? "
"Dear Pierre, we are all involved in the deaths of these people, by someone acting, by someone inaction," Eric's face expressed naivety, and his eyes were honest.
" Do not worry, dear baron. "Such information is known only to a limited number of people, and they do not consider you an enemy. But still, at least hint, why do you need this game with the old Tibo. After all, he sincerely believes that you are impressed with his successes.
"And you will agree - it's just wonderful," he winked wickedly.
"But be careful, you can not forgive his death. "
- By the will of the Lord we are all mortal, but not necessarily from someone's hand. Do not worry, I even had no thoughts to kill him, all the more - he is the leader of the crusade.
"Then what are you up to? "
Yes. . Nothing, I was just amused by his reaction.
- Eric, I'm speaking seriously - be careful and weigh your decisions. You are being watched.
- Observe? Who could need my humble person?
" Baron, do not be modest, quite respectable people have already noticed you, and they agree that you are not so simple. "I'm sorry, but I can not tell you more. So think about my words before you act. And that you will act - I am completely sure.
Ok. Good night, my dear Pierre.
- Goodnight.
Waking up the next morning, Eric took on the fact that he began to deploy an agent network, using the services of brothers, sent to the subordination of Antonio, and already worked out the scheme with the children that Morrigan took up. In parallel, he loaded Rudolph with the collection of information through his acquaintances, many of whom were associated with noble families and knew quite often very naughty details. Having finished giving orders, he lay down on the bench, and began to analyze the situation, at the same time remembering all the information known to him. The most unpleasant news for him was that he was interested in one of the influential people who look at him with a completely unclear goal. Such things were not at all part of his plans, for he had not wanted to advertise the fact of his existence for at least a couple of years. Less unpleasant, but very curious was that of his trick with Baudouin was aware. In this case, it turns out a curious layout - either he has a spy in the team, or he is constantly watched, or the result turned out to be the fruit of calculation. The first option is excluded, since Morrigan is not only devoted to him, but also loves him so much that he can give life without hesitation. Such people serve very faithfully, especially if you keep them for a short distance, but do not allow it quite close. A Drevlyanin is too direct a man, he will not deliberately do any information sinks, but he will not blurt out on drunkness, for he does not drink. That is, does not drink at all. The second variant with constant external supervision too is extremely improbable. Who is interested in a young nobleman who runs away from his uncle who cut off all his family during the struggle for flax? After Vienna - perhaps before it - is very unlikely. Yes, and he did not see the outside surveillance, although he has been walking cautiously since the time they were grazed during the incident with the knights. There remains only the third option. And this leads to completely sad thoughts about the existence of some kind of analytical center and an implicit level of the political game. Why on earth did they pay attention to him in this center? He is an ordinary petty nobleman. True, if you think about it, there is a very substantial package of oddities in behavior. I wanted to become a knight in glittering armor and made myself a completely unsuitable armor kit for this time. Bonehead He would have started all sorts of things like gunpowder and lead azide to invent and use to demand their ambitions. Or his completely incomprehensible decision to go to the pupils to the blacksmith? He - a noble nobleman and learns from some commoner? Well, they can still close their eyes, saying that the tailgate got under the tail, so he decided to do the dirty work himself. However, if he was observed during his studies, they would obviously be surprised that he was not so much learning to forge as he was learning to forge an unsuitable instrument for him. A very surprising thing, especially in light of his age and a strange order for a blacksmith's tool, much of which was done by his personal drawings and the same Gottfried in the blacksmith was absent. And money. A whole pile of money, which quite unexpectedly arose from him. How does a gentleman without a lap accidentally receive a lot of money? The options are few and almost all of them are associated with looting and robbery. Simply charming! If there are no problems with robberies and robbery, as this is absolutely normal behavior for the nobles of the present, and only the ease, accuracy and age are alarming, then the rest is a problem. He had already allocated time for a conversation about a past life, and Rudolph told him everything he had been doing before the assassination. The most lousy thing is that neither Latin nor any other languages he studied. From Latin he knew only Signum Crucis and then, stammering. And here - freely and without difficulty expresses, and, sometimes quite unusually - ornate and elegant. In the style of ancient, pre-Christian inscriptions, which can sometimes be found in Rome. He did not know other things and did not study other things. He was not taught to read, he could not read. I studied military affairs without much zeal. Most of the time he spent first in the stables, he loved riding very much, and then ran after the young servants. Yes, yes, gentlemen. You will be surprised - he knew the female body at the age of 13. And all the following year was celebrated as scheduled according to the schedule for almost all young girls. He developed physically well, which is now noticeable, and after surviving a dozen years, he looked like he was all 16-18, he had a very strong body since childhood. And this quality remained for him. Now he rarely gave less than 20, but he was only seventeen. In general - strong, cheerful, mischievous, but absolutely impenetrable dense. Rudolph suggested that this was a divine intervention, for the changes were simply terrific. It turns out that he was, by all appearances, a completely different person, just a superficially poured copy. Well, he screwed up! Erika shivered from the pungent smell of the glued flippers.