Red City on the Ocean

Chapter 4. The Pyramid

Early in the morning, a column of horsemen, infantrymen, archers, and their commanders, numbering more than a hundred and fifty, left the fortress of Leiria and headed for the seashore. The soldiers shivered from the morning chill, which was intensified by their iron helmets and armor. At the head of the company rode the castellan himself with his deputy. Don Daniel was to command the exercises, which he regularly conducted in the fields, then in the woods, and finally on the seashore. The castellan was gloomy. Although his wife cooked him breakfast and made the sign of the cross to protect him on the road, Estela, despite her mother's urging, did not want to get up at such an early hour and kiss her father, and that saddened him greatly.

The column had to traverse the five leagues separating the fortress from the sea and settle down on the shore. On the second day, the soldiers had to repel an imaginary landing of the Moors from ten ships at once. The distance to the sea was short. Moving at an average pace, according to Daniel's calculations, they should have reached the shore in half a day. However, delays immediately began along the way. One of the soldiers had a cold, and six horses limped and had to be reshod right away. And where there was work, of course, there must be time set aside for lunch, which also required gathering firewood for a fire and cooking.

It was already evening when the company, having finished with half of a small supply of provisions, felt the sea wind. A sprawling but low hillock appeared ahead. It was the hill of the Big Turtle. The hill got its name from the volcanic rock along the shore. The black stones approaching the water were licked by the sea, carving crevices and contours resembling a turtle shell. To the right of the hill was a dark forest. A road crawled out of it, that went along the shore and then followed the entire coast of Portugal. This was one of the main land routes between the cities of the kingdom.

"Ricardo!" Daniel shouted to the orderly.

"I'm here, Senor Castellan."

"Send a messenger to the fortress that we are camping at the Big Turtle, on the lands of Don Leandro of the Sinta estate. Have them send provisions here for three days."

Half an hour later, Daniel was already giving orders to his sergeants, and they were running away to command the soldiers. Infantrymen, cavalrymen, and archers were setting up tents while cook chiefs were making fires. Chains of soldiers with buckets created a line to a barely noticeable small river that came out of the forest and then was lost into the fields.

Pairs of guards were assigned to two shifts. The first guard was to guard the camp, and the second was to patrol the road. Sergeants checked the soldiers' weapons and armor until dark. Someone was ordered to sharpen arrows, swords, and spears again, and check the serviceability of halberds, crossbows, and arquebuses. Someone had to sew up torn clothes and mend boots. The cavalrymen fed the horses and checked their equipment. Some cut grass, which was then left for the hobbled horses. Since an attack had to be expected at any moment, it was impossible to let the horses graze freely.

Don Daniel sat in the tent playing dice with his deputy, whose eyes blinked shut with fatigue. There were mugs and a jug of wine on the camp table. Don Daniel strictly ensured that only sergeants drank wine, and even they did not drink more than one mug.

Finally, the camp quieted down. Soon, two soldiers in armor and semicircular helmets with wide brims came out on the Big Turtle Hill. They stopped at the edge of the cliff to relieve themselves. "Well, Pedro," said one to the other, "they say Cristiano of the cavalry was killed on this hill, and Jose, who was with him, either escaped, or drowned, or something. Have you heard?"

"Who hasn't heard?" Pedro replied," And they also say that the Red Ghost showed up. Cristiano is dead, and Jose, apparently, is so scared that he still hasn't stopped running. He's probably already reached Castile. The cavalry are always cowards compared to the infantry. All their courage is in their horses, and even those limp, heh-heh-heh ..."