Temple Sword

Chapter 187

1323, Month of St. John (June)
Eger, Hungary
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Sepke and Corta set up the old rickety tent in the dim twilight, and glanced anxiously at the cart in front of them.

This time, the two-wheeled cart, which is always full of various goods, has almost no goods on it. The few items inside are carefully stacked on the sides to make Lubbock the Bell Man lying in the middle more comfortable. a little.

The whistling and bell-ringing jolly businessman hadn't laughed much lately, his healthy brown skin tanned by the sun, a deathly pallor hanging over his rattling bones.

Lubbock has been suffering from this mysterious illness for months, and the twin brothers camped out on the outskirts of Eger this evening, they have decided that no matter what the stubborn old man says, they will not continue on the road the next day .

"He needs a healer," Corta said, pulling out a tent pole, "and herbs. We don't know anything about making herbs."

"Tomorrow we will find a healer," Sepke agreed, "if there is no one, we will find a monk."

"Or a shaman, or a pagan priest, or a witch," Corta continued, "anyone who can help."

"We shouldn't have put it off now," another shook his head. "We should have told him in St. George's month (April) that we weren't going anywhere until he was cured."

"Hopefully we're not too late, now no matter what he says or what threats he makes, we can't listen to him!"

"We can't listen to him," Sepke nodded resolutely. "Either we take the recovered Lubbock on the road, or we don't go anywhere."

"What are you muttering about over there, little bastards?" came the feeble question from the cart, followed by the familiar coughing and spitting sounds, and things had been getting worse in Lubbock lately.

"I'm just saying we've got to pitch our tent as soon as possible," said Sepke. "It's getting dark, and you need a place to sleep, old man!"

"I know you're lying, you little slug," Lubbock whimpered.Every time he tried to laugh, his lungs let out a bloodcurdling noise, "You want to throw me at someone else, don't you?"

The twins finished setting up the tent, then sighed heavily and walked back to the cart.

"I didn't throw it at them, old man, but to treat your illness." Sepke corrected, he was used to this rude address, and the three of them knew that it was an expression of intimacy between them.

"Cure? What the hell are you doing!" said the pale old man, "I don't want those damned doctors to treat me!"

"Why?" Corta asked.

Lubbock looked at the twins with a look of desperation on his face. "I'm not going to let them stuff things up my ass." There was a flash of real horror in his eyes. "I've heard those stories..."

"Stupid old fool! Are you so gullible?" Sepke yelled angrily, having had enough of stubborn Lubbock and all the hardships they had been through the past few months. "Is that why we had to drag on until now?
Just because of that bullshit story you heard from some ignorant drunk?We will find someone to help you at dawn tomorrow morning, if you don't like it, you can try to resist, but now you can't even sit up..."

"You...you worthless little thing," the old man muttered, but he seemed to have stopped objecting, "Come on, help me old man, I need to pee, help me up!"

"I'm not going to hold that crumpled thing for you," Sepke teased.

"If you touch it, I'll cut off your hand," Lubbock coughed, laughing. "Hold me until I'm done peeing, you two little bastards! Then in the woods Go to sleep before the ghost appears!"

The twins rolled their eyes and reached out to help the old man lying in the stroller up. Although they tried their best to appear happy, the boys stayed up all night worried and lay outside the tent until dawn, listening with heavy hearts Lubbock's hideous cough came from inside.

"Tell me, do you think prayer really works?" Corta asked his brother as the sun began to climb. "Is prayer really as powerful as the priests and monks say it is?"

"Why do you ask that?" Sepke turned to him with a sleepy expression.

"Because I hope I haven't been babbling Latin nonsense to myself for nothing."

"I just know that a good night's sleep will help us." Sepke yawned, sat up and stretched. "I don't know if prayers will help Lubbock, but today we can go around Eger, I hope our trip is not in vain..."
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"We made it through the winter just fine."

"The trouble started in Ramadan when our Mr. Lubbock started coughing."

"He said don't worry, it's just a common cold..."

"...but then he coughed more and more!"

"His physical strength is also getting worse..."

"...and then he couldn't even walk."

"And he's breathing like he's drowning!"

The abbot of the Knights Hospitaller kept turning his head, listening to the two identical boys interrupting each other to explain the patient's condition, and frowned after the twins finished speaking.

"So you're saying he's been coughing like this for months?" the abbot asked in disbelief, glancing at the old man in the cart, "but you're just choosing to bring him here now?"

"We tried to get him to come earlier," Sepke argued, "but as long as he has the strength, he will fight desperately. He doesn't want to hear anything about monks, shamans or witches... "

"Shamans and witches, huh?" the abbot stared at them even more sternly, "I can only say that you were right to bring him to us, if you let him go to those pagan liars, They would just feed him cats fried in wild boar fat to make him sicker."

"So you can cure him?" Corta's eyes lit up, but the abbot just shook his head.

"God only knows what will happen," he replied cautiously, "we will do what we can, but your master's illness is too serious, and it has dragged on for too long.

He had the foolishness to think that his illness would get better on its own, and from what you have described he clearly did not pray enough. "

Sepke and Corta glanced at each other, and nodded meaningfully to each other.

"I must go now, and my brethren and I will see what we can do for your Master," said the Abbess. "Stay here till then, and pray for Lubbock's recovery!"

After saying that, they carried the old man inside, leaving the twin brothers in the corridor, and then the two sat down in the corner with relief.

It's not even noon yet, and they're already exhausted.After having a simple breakfast, they put Lubbock firmly into the cart and headed for a strange city, but no matter where they went, it was as difficult as going uphill.

Lubbock seemed to change his mind again, and he kept trying to fall out of the car, or knock Sepke feebly on the head to make him stop, and when they dragged the stubborn old man to the door of the monastery, They are as tired as mules that have pulled goods for three days and three nights.

"Pray," Corta said grimly, seeing the abbot walk away, "as if we hadn't tried it."

"Don't worry!" Sepke patted his thigh, "They know what they're doing, and the bell man will be cured."

"Do you still remember the handful of herbs I secretly bought a few weeks ago?" Another boy smiled lightly, "They say that smoke can cure diseases..."

"How could I forget?" Sepke grinned, "Just as you threw it on the fire, that stubborn old man found out and pissed on it."

"Then the fire was put out..."

"And then we didn't have a campfire all night."

"We've wasted so many silver coins!"

"But at least you tried, didn't you?"

The boys were silent for a long time, the cool silence in the corridors of the monastery comforting, and they sat in a corner by the bridge, sleep slowly falling on their eyes.

After an all-night vigil and a whole morning's hard work, they fell asleep in the sound of soft snoring inadvertently.

It took them an unknown amount of time to wake up, and the sound of a nearby bell woke them up from their sweet dreams. A door at the end of the corridor opened, and at least a dozen monks came out of it.

Dressed in identical clothes, they passed the twins silently before disappearing behind a far corner, and Sepke looked ahead to see that they had forgotten to close the door they had come from.

The boy stood up slowly and began to tiptoe towards the open door.

"Wait!" Corta yelled in a low voice, "Wait, what are you doing?"

"I don't want to wait anymore," Sepke said excitedly, "I'm getting bored to death! Don't you wonder what's in there?"

Corta shook his head, his brother just shrugged nonchalantly and continued walking towards the door.

"Well, what the hell," Corta muttered, running after Sepke, and immediately added: "But what if they find us?"

"So what if they find out?" Sepke rolled his eyes. "We're just looking around to pass the time. Is this a crime?"

Corta preferred not to answer the question.

Two curious boys walked through the open door into a strange spacious room.

(End of this chapter)