Temple Sword

Chapter 5 Umberto

As growing darkness enveloped the village, Umberto and William sat at the humble kitchen table, enjoying a jug of good wine.Umberto had returned from his last tour of the kingdom the day before, and William hadn't had time to ask the young Italian minstrel what he had seen and heard.

"How was your trip?" he asked as he poured his drink. "Is there any gain?"

"My journey was smooth, thank you," Umberto gratefully took the wooden wine glass and held up his thirsty drink. "It's just that it's so hot that I'm sometimes afraid I'm going to fall out of the saddle."

"You look grown up," William said, pointing to Umberto's bushy beard from his journey, "no one would think you're a little apprentice now."

"But my chin is almost as hot as a roast!" Umberto laughed. "If I didn't water it every day to cool it down, it would have caught fire!"

Umberto was a very cheerful person. Whenever he left, the manor always became quieter and duller. Whenever he came back, everyone was curious to hear what stories he brought back.

He is from Bologna, his father wanted him to be a master carpenter, yet he aspired to be a court singer, and nothing could stop his determination, neither his father's pleas nor the numerous whips on his back print.

At the age of 16, while wandering in the forest, he found a lute in good condition. The instrument was lying under a tree. Umberto felt that it was God's will for him.So he took it up, and hurried home with it, and set out that night to travel the world, earning his daily bread by his songs.

He can't play, but he feels that during this long journey, one day he will tame the lute and play more and more beautiful sounds.He is still young, as long as he has time and enthusiasm, he believes that dreams will come true.

Three years later, when William returned home from the siege of Orbasque, he found a man who had been almost beaten to death on the side of the road.His left hand was badly broken and his only possession, his lute, was taken from him.William takes him back to his estate, nurses him back to health, and decides to give new meaning to life for this hopeless man.

Although Umberto never picked up the instrument again, he still told the story.Thanks to his new surroundings, he learned Hungarian and also learned to tell better and richer stories in their way.His tales of knights, love, wizards, and monsters captivated listeners.

Sometimes, just to amuse the audience, he joked that he was Sir Umberto of Bologna, a knight who traveled the world and told his adventures. No one does not like this lively man.

"Have you discovered anything new, Umberto?" William asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"The king decided to take part of his army to support Adolf of Nassau against the king of Germany."

"A bold decision..."

"They had met four weeks ago. The armies met and fought at Gelheim am Rhein. Adolf won."

"I wonder if the Templars in the monastery knew about it," William scratched his chin, he felt that the news had not reached Dubica, thanks to Umberto, he was able to go faster than the locals know everything. "As if things weren't bad enough in our kingdom, we now have to fight the King of Germany?"

"But we won, my lord."

William angrily pressed the wooden wine glass on the table.

"We won, yes," he shook his head, "thank God."

"What's the matter, Lord William?"

"Five battles in six years, Umberto! Five wars in six years!" William raised his voice. "If a ruler oppresses his people like this, how can he protect his kingdom from external aggression?"

Umberto was silent. He knew Cavalier William well enough to know that he had better keep his mouth shut and listen patiently to the lion in front of him unleash his anger.

William poured another round of wine for the two of them, drank the red wine in his glass, and continued to complain quietly.

"Andrei used one nobleman to defeat another nobleman, and then turned against the nobleman who had worked for him. He was tearing down the walls of the kingdom instead of rebuilding it, and he even meddled in the affairs of neighboring countries. His ancestors With law and order at his core, he only sees chaos! Now, look, he doesn't have a single ally!"

"The Pope also does not support his accession to the throne."

"But he's not even sitting on that throne, Umberto!"

"His uncle Albertino Mosironi has just arrived in Hungary," Umberto said, taking a sip of his wine, looking at William's flushed face with interest. "The King has decided to entrust him with the administration of the entire Principality of Slavonia."

"Is it the king's decision," William said with a wry smile, "or his mother's decision? We all know, my dear friend, who is really wearing the crown."

"This kingdom will grow stronger and stronger, just watch." Umberto tried to reassure him.

"You know," William raised his glass again, "sometimes I don't regret the years I spent in the East, at least I was there, I don't need to participate in these shit..."

Umberto took another sip of his drink, not wanting to start a fruitless argument, he decided to change the subject.

"Esztergom has a new archbishop," he reported, "Gregory Bisquet, who faithfully follows the policy of Pope Boniface VIII."

"Yes, I think so." William stared at his glass. "Rome still wants the Anjou family on the throne of our country, doesn't it?"

Umberto nodded, "What do you think, my lord?"

"Me?" William raised his head, "I just want a king, a real king! A ruler who can shake the foundation of this kingdom, a ruler who can control these nobles and warlords! Those piggies The power is increasing, the wealth is increasing, and their hearts are becoming more and more unscrupulous. They dig mines in the countryside without any scruples, and then... well, forget it! There is no need for me to have a headache for this kind of thing..."

"I have good news, my lord," said Umberto, smiling. "The painter you are looking for..."

"Have you found him?" William suddenly raised his head, "Tell me you have found him!"

"I have found it, my lord."

William jumped up from his chair and began to walk around Umberto, as if looking at an ill-fitting garment.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe it!" he stammered excitedly. "You were sent by the Lord himself, Umberto!"

"Please don't exaggerate, my lord!" Umberto rolled his eyes. "I was just lucky, that's all..."

"I never thought it would work, I swear I didn't..." William still had a look of disbelief.

"He might arrive tomorrow and I've arranged for a musician to be with him."

"You solved a problem and I don't know how to thank you for everything, my dear friend..."

Just when Umberto was about to decline, there was a sound of soft and hasty footsteps in the corridor, and a black figure flashed past the door.The two started to follow at once, but when they saw Antal's door was wide open, they knew what was going on.

"It doesn't matter, my lord," said Umberto, "I'll go after him and go back to sleep, it will be all right."

Singer knew exactly where to look for this little thing. Before, he would have looked for it in the wine cellar first, but this time he went straight to the stables.And just as he expected, Antar was sitting next to Sarecher on a large sheaf of licorice, stroking the horse's shiny black neck.

"Congratulations, Antal," said Umberto. "Your horse is beautiful. I heard you tamed it by magic."

"Sometimes a good word is more useful than a good punch," the boy shrugged. "I learned this from my uncle. I wanted to see if it was true."

Umberto approaches Antal and sits down beside the boy.The black horse seemed a little disturbed by the stranger's influence, but Antal continued to stroke it as if talking to an old friend, explaining to it that Umberto was his friend.

"You know what, I know a horse." Umberto's eyes shone with a unique light that can only be emitted when telling a story. "It was like the Sarecher, a thoroughbred Arabian horse that never let anyone ride, and God created it. It existed centuries before any other horse, and it was a king, the king of other animals. god."

"What happened to it?" the boy asked.

"One day, he screamed so loudly that the whole world trembled, and then he turned into a prince and drove the bloodthirsty Christians out of his house!" the man laughed, throwing his hands to Antares Tickle him all over his body until the boy laughed out his tears.

"Sometimes the stories you tell are dangerous," Antar told him after a while, "and if the priests heard your stories, they would burn you alive at the stake."

"Don't worry about me, I always know how to choose my audience carefully." Umberto said while putting his hand into his bag as if he just remembered something. "I also know how to reward a good audience."

He pulled his hand out of the bag, clutching a wooden knight as big as his palm.The knight sits on a finely carved war horse, holding a spear in one hand and a buckler in the other.

"Do you think I forgot your tenth name day?" Umberto said with a smile, "I know this gift may not be as good as Lord William's, but it should satisfy you."

"It's so beautiful, Umberto!" Antal turned the wooden knight in his hand, he was moved by this strange gift, "Thank you!"

"This is you, knighted," said Umberto, pointing to the wooden knight. "You are sitting on Sareche, getting ready for battle. This is the best wood carving I have ever made in Buda Master did it."

Umberto jumped down from the sack and held out his hand to Antal.

"Come on, it's time to go to bed. Otherwise, your uncle will be even angrier. He's not in a good mood today."

"Let me stay a little longer!" the boy begged, "I still want to talk to Sare Chedo."

"Okay," Umberto yawned, turned around and walked out of the stable, but he suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at Antal in front of the door.

"Can you tell me a secret?"

"What secret?"

"What did you whisper in your horse's ear to make him so obedient?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Antal asked shyly.

"You can trust me." Umberto nodded.

The little one hesitated a little, but finally decided to share the secret with Umberto.

"."

He was afraid that the wall would whisper softly, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

Umberto giggled and shook his index finger at the boy.

"We'll be burned at the stake together, Antares!"

(End of this chapter)