Chapter 5:
After over a week of traveling, the group finally made it to Venice. The heart of the Venetian Republic, Venice was a city of traders and merchants. As the city was situated on an island, the group was forced to abandon their horses on the shore, and travel by ferry.
"Wow," said Christine, as she observed her surroundings, "C'est magique! It's even more beautiful in person than in artwork!"
"Enjoy it while you can," said Kyria, "We won't be here for much longer. Once we speak to my contact, we will have our boat out of here."
"Is there no way we can rest here for the night?" asked Thomas.
"Thomas," began Kyria, "For someone whose wife is affixed with a cursed object, I would imagine there be a greater sense of urgency."
"It's not that," said Thomas, "Evening is fast approaching, and I'd rather we not sail by night."
"We don't have much choice," explained Pallene, "The Fygul Cestemus are tracking our movements. If we remain in one place for too long, we risk being captured."
"Agreed," said Sarpedon, "Besides, sailing by night is ideal. We will have the cover of darkness."
"Fine," said Thomas, "If you insist."
The group boarded separate gondolas, with Thomas and Christine taking one and the Greeks taking the other. The gondolas made their way east across the northern section of the Grand Canal. Thomas and Christine took in the sights during their voyage, but their perception quickly changed as they neared their destination.
"Oh my," said Thomas, "This area has certainly seen better days."
The buildings lining the canal in this sector of the city were all in a dilapidated state, with crumbling walls and chipping paint. Many of the storefronts were vandalized, bearing broken windows and graffiti. Beggars and prostitutes lined the walkways, all trying to earn a living.
"This is the side of Venice they leave out in literature," said Kyria.
In the distance, an explosion could be heard, followed by screaming.
"My word!" exclaimed Thomas.
"A riot," noted Sarpedon, "Happens all too often in slums like this."
"There's nothing we can do about it," said Kyria, "We must focus on the task at hand."
The gondoliers parked just outside of a dilapidated building. The words Dampierre Co. were written crudely on a wooden plank that hung loosely over the front entrance. The group disembarked the gondolas and stepped onto the walkway.
"This is where your contact's office is?" asked Christine.
"I'm afraid so," said Kyria, "He's upstairs. Let's go."
The main floor consisted of a lounge occupied by several gloomy-looking people, many of whom were consuming opiates or enjoying the company of women. Thomas and Christine tried hard to ignore the patrons they made their way to a staircase at the back of the room.
Upon reaching the second floor, Kyria knocked on the first door to their left.
"If you're with the police," said a voice from the other side of the door, "Then I've already told you, I have no idea how that bakery got set on fire! You hear me? NO IDEA!"
"It's me," said Kyria, "Open this door!"
"Oh," the voice said, flatly, "One minuuuuute…"
The door swung open, revealing a man standing near the entrance. He ushered two scantily-clad women of out the room.
"GET OUT!" yelled the man, "Get out! NOW!"
Upon seeing Kyria and her companions, he immediately regained composure.
"Ahem," he said, "Come right on in."
The man sported a comically long moustache and wore a black-and-white striped leotard with a green cropped jacket over it. A top hat and an assortment of jewelry completed his attire.
"Welcome," he proclaimed, "To the offices of Lord Geo Dampierre! Please, have a seat!"
Dampierre approached his desk near the window and violently cleared it of all junk before taking a seat. The only other place to sit in the tiny room was a dingy old couch, which Kyria and the others declined to sit on.
"You know why we are here," said Kyria.
"Hmmm," said Dampierre, rubbing his chin, "You're here to collect 'tribute', I presume? No, no, no, I already paid up this month…No, you're here with an urgent message from her majesty, right? Ho, ho, don't be ridiculous, Dampierre! Or, perhaps…You're here to KILL ME!"
Dampierre leapt onto his desk and began kicking the air.
"I should warn you," he said, "I'm quite proficient in over 13 styles of Kung…Wooooaaaah!"
Dampierre slipped and fell back onto his chair. Without saying a word, Sarpedon approached the desk and slammed both of his hands down on it, frightening Dampierre.
"Enough games!" he spat, "We came for your boat, now where is it?"
"Eeeek!" squealed Dampierre, "Alright, alright! No need to get physical. Le Bello is more than happy to surrender his vessel to you, but some, er, 'complications' have arisen."
"Complications?" demanded Pallene.
"Yes," began Dampierre, "You see, I am positively swimming in debt, and now the authorities have seized the very ship you need to cross the Adriatic."
"Ugh," moaned Kyria, "You can't be serious!"
"Your Uncle Dampierre recently sold some items to a friend named Cepheus," Dampierre explained, "Nothing much, just an old shield and some gemstones. Today was the day Cepheus was to pay me in full, but some 'unexpected' events unfolded…"
"The riots?" asked Sarpedon.
"YES!" exclaimed Dampierre, "You're quite the intelligent little baboon, aren't you? You see, his shop sits at the centre of it all and with all the looting and pillaging those mongrels are doing, I stand to lose both my stuff and the money I was promised. You must get them back!"
Kyria pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"Kyria," said Pallene, "We don't have much choice. If we don't find his items, we'll never obtain passage to Greece."
"I know," moaned Kyria, "I just hope this doesn't turn into some wild goose chase."
"Apologies, Kyria," said Dampierre, "But without Cepheus, Le Bello can't help you here."
As Dampierre spoke, Thomas examined an ornate sword, which hung from the side wall on a plaque. He reached out to feel the hilt.
"DON'T TOUCH!" snapped Dampierre, waving his arms frantically, "Do you have any idea how valuable that is? The notorious child-killer, Sir James Tyrell, personally entrusted it to me after his knighting!"
"Tyrell?" asked Thomas, "Wasn't he executed sixty years ago? With all due respect, you can't possibly be that old…"
"Ah," said Dampierre, wagging his finger, "A true gentleman never reveals his age. Though Le Bello is more than willing to divulge his secret to staying youthful in exchange for this lovely lady!"
Dampierre extended his hand to Christine.
"M-Me?" said Christine, pointing to herself.
"Yes, you!" said Dampierre, "I know quite a few men who'd pay handsomely for your, er, 'services'…"
Thomas, red with rage, opened his mouth to speak, but Christine stopped him. With a smile on her face, she calmly approached Dampierre, then, without warning, slapped him across the face, causing him to comically spin around.
"I'm his wife!" she snapped, "Maudit cochon!"
"Heh," chuckled Kyria, "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that. Come, we've wasted enough time already."
As the group left the office, Dampierre rubbed his cheek and glared at them through his window.
"Go ahead," he said, menacingly, "Joke at my expense! But in the end, Le Bello always gets the last laugh. Always…"
The group made their way deeper into the district, where Cepheus' shop was located. More explosions and gunshots could be heard as the gang navigated the chaos. Civilians looted stores and clashed with soldiers sent to contain the riot.
"It's escalating," noted Kyria, as she and the others took cover.
"I know," said Thomas, "This could easily spread to the entire city!"
"Something doesn't feel right about this," noted Christine.
"What do you mean, Christine?" asked Kyria.
"I don't know," replied Christine, "The timing, the location; it's too…"
All of a sudden, an armed civilian came charging towards the gang.
"RAAAAGH!" he belted.
Kyria used her shield to deflect his attack before following up with a blow to the head that knocked him out.
"Jesus!" said Thomas.
"Let's avoid civilian bloodshed if possible," ordered Kyria, "Engage only if there are no other options!"
The group moved deeper into the riot zone. The central plaza was in ruins as a result of civilians firebombing the stores.
"There!" exclaimed Thomas, "Is that it?"
A store, labeled Antiquariato was visible at the other end of the plaza. However, their passage was blocked by the sudden appearance of a large group of rioters. Thomas and the others drew their weapons in preparation.
"Not my idea of a holiday to Venice," remarked Thomas.
"Not now, Thomas!" snapped Christine.
Thomas successfully disarmed the man he was fighting, forcing him to flee. With all of her strength, Kyria used her shield to lift a man over her head and toss him to the floor. Suddenly, a number of gunshots rang, forcing the group to duck in cover.
"Is anyone hit?" asked Sarpedon.
"No," replied Thomas, "All good!"
The group looked down an alley and saw the two shooters. They dropped their rifles and charged the group with swords. Kyria tossed her shield at one of them, knocking him out. The other man continued charging, but Pallene hurled her spear at him, impaling through his shoulder and into a wall. She then calmly approached him.
"Run," she warned, "Or you will receive no mercy from me…"
The man sobbed in pain as she removed the weapon from his shoulder. Now free, the man ran for his life.
"Damnit, Pallene!" snapped Kyria, "That was excessive!"
"That man was coming to kill you," said Pallene, "I did what I had to! Besides, he is alive, is he not?"
"Indeed," Kyria said, coldly.
Just then, more rioters entered the fray, along with soldiers. The scene quickly degraded into a three-way battle between civilians, law enforcement, and the main group. Amidst the chaos, Thomas heard a little girl's voice coming from inside Cepheus' pawn shop.
"Dove è Cefeo?" she cried.
Her cries were accompanied by the grunts of two older men.
"Ragazza Stupida!" said one of the men, "Vieni con noi!"
Thomas bolted into the shop, which was partially ablaze. Most of the items on display were either stolen or damaged. Thomas followed the noise all the way to the storage room in the back.
"Vieni…Con…Noi!" the voice repeated.
Upon entering, Thomas saw two Italian soldiers struggling to apprehend a little girl. She appeared to be around 8 or 9 with red hair and a blue dress.
Thomas leapt onto one of the soldier's back and tried to wrestle him to the floor. The other soldier let go of the girl and drew a pistol, which he aimed at Thomas, though he was unable to get a clear shot.
"Fretta!" demanded the other soldier, while struggling to get Thomas off of him, "Sparare!"
With the little girl now free from the soldiers' grasp, she bit the gunman in the leg just as he was about to pull the trigger. A small bloodstain appeared through his white leggings.
"AAAARGH!" yelled the man, firing off his gun.
The distraction caused him to miss Thomas and hit the other man, killing him instantly. Thomas fell to the floor along with the soldier's corpse.
"Puttana!" yelled the gunman, as he pistol-whipped the child.
Enraged, Thomas stood up and tackled the man into a supply crate. He punched him twice in the face, causing his helmet to fly off. He then slammed the back of his head into the crate, knocking him out.
"Are you alright, child?" asked Thomas.
The little girl had a small cut above her eye and was filthy, but was otherwise in good health. She said nothing and slowly backed away from Thomas in fear. At that moment, the rest of the group entered the shop.
"Jesus, Thomas," said Christine, placing her hands over her mouth.
"That was careless," scolded Kyria, "You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"I know," said Thomas, "But they were hurting the poor child! I had to…"
Kyria looked over and saw the child, who was still frightened.
"Allow me," said Christine, "After my experiences in Sorrento, I studied some Italian."
Christine approached the child and knelt down so she was eye-level with her.
"Are you okay?" she asked the child, "Stai bene?"
"My master, Cefeo, is gone," said the girl, "The soldiers took him!"
"Shhh," said Christine, "It's okay. We will find him. But first, we must take you to a safe place. Come with us, miss…"
"Valeria," said the girl, "My name is Valeria."
"Okay. Do you have any family we can bring you to in the mean time?"
"No. My mother is gone and my father hasn't come home in two years. Cefeo is all I have. Please, find him!"
The two conversed in Italian for a short while. Thomas, unable to understand their discussion, approached Christine and tapped her on the shoulder.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It seems Cepheus has been arrested," said Christine, "The soldiers are making no effort to discriminate between rioters and civilians caught in the crossfire. What's worse, he had Dampierre's treasures on him when he was taken."
"Well," began Kyria, "That's rather inconvenient."
"Why would he even have the treasures with him?" asked Pallene, "Why aren't they in the shop?"
"It matters not," began Thomas, "We have no choice but to break him out. We need those treasures and I sure as hell am not leaving this child alone! Where is Cepheus now?"
"If I had to guess," said Kyria, "He's at the Doge's Palace."
"Where the Doge of Venice conducts his business," elaborated Sarpedon, "It is also home to the city's prison."
"What are we waiting for, then?" asked Thomas, "Let's go!"
As soon as the group left the store, they were greeted by a line of rifles pointed at their faces. The men holding the rifles were not Italian soldiers; they wore steel armor, like knights, but without any flag or emblem. Their leader stepped out from behind the others.
"Kyria," he said, removing his helmet, "It's been a while…"