Chapter 35 Chapter One

As soon as Jurand entered the castle courtyard, he did not know where to go at first, because the servant who had led him in had gone away to the stables.It is true that the soldiers stood by the fence, one by one or in small groups, but they all looked at him mockingly from their sideways faces, and the old knight saw at a glance that they would never point him out. Lou, even if they would answer his questions, it would be rough or aggressive. Some soldiers pointed at him and laughed loudly, and some threw snowballs at him just like yesterday.But he found a very large door with a stone statue of Christ crucified on the door, and he went in, thinking that if "Commuter" and the high wizards lived at the other end of the castle or some other place. If there is a room, someone will definitely lead him there.

Things worked out as expected.As soon as Jurand approached the door, two doors opened suddenly, and in front of them stood a young man, shaved like a priest, dressed in secular clothes, and asked him: "Are you Lord Jurand of Spychof?" "I am." "The pious 'comto' commands me to come and lead you. Follow me." So he led him through a vaulted hall and up to the stairs.But when he reached the stairs, the man stopped, glanced at Jurand, and asked again: "You are not armed, are you? I have orders to search you." Jurand raised his hands so that his guide could see his whole body, and replied:

"All my stuff was handed over yesterday." The guide lowered his voice and said almost in a whisper: "Be careful, then, and don't lose your temper, for you have fallen into the hands of might and superiority." "But also under the will of God," replied Jurand. He looked more closely at the guide, and seeing a look of pity and sympathy in his face, he said: "There is integrity in your eyes, young man! Can you answer me with sincerity?" "Tell me, my lord," said the guide. "Will they give me my daughter back?" The young man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Is your daughter here?" "Yes, my daughter." "Is that the lady in the tower next to the city gate?" "Yes. They promised to release her if I surrendered to them." The guide shook his hand to show that he didn't know anything, but his face showed bewilderment and doubt. Jurand asked again: "I heard Xiaombe and Makeway are guarding her, aren't they?" "The two mages are not in the castle. Your lord, take 'Comto' Dunwiert away before she recovers." Hearing this, Jurand shuddered.But he didn't have time to ask any more questions, because they had already reached the upper hall, where Jurand was about to see Südtno's "Commuter".The young man opened the door and retreated to the stairs.

No sooner had the knight of Spyhof entered than he realized that he was in a spacious suite, which was very dark, for the leaden oval panes let in little light; besides, it was a cold and cloudy day. .It is true that there was a large fireplace at the other end of the room, but the damp wood that had just been cut did not burn very well. Behind a table sat some knights, and behind them a host of armed squires and servants with arms, and among them the jester of the castle leading a bear on a chain. Jurand had often seen Dunwiert before, and had seen him twice at the court of the Duke of Masovia, when Dunwierth was envoy, and it was now many years ago; Lund recognized him immediately, partly because he was fat, partly because he looked familiar, and partly because he was sitting in an armchair in the middle behind the desk, one glove on a splint resting on the on the armrest of the chair.On his side sat the old man Siegfried de Laue of Jansbauke, the sworn enemy of the whole Polish race, and especially of Jurand of Spychof; The lighter mages, Godfried and Rotji love.Dunwiert purposely invited them to come and see him subdue a heinous enemy, and at the same time share in the fruits of the conspiracy they had conceived and brought about together.They were dressed in soft black clothes, with swords hanging from their waists, and they sat there comfortably.They looked at Jurand with great joy, with great self-confidence, with pride, with the utmost contempt.This is the air with which they have always treated the weak and the defeated.

① Dunwiert's hand was wrenched by Zbyszko's squire Hlava. There was a long silence, for they would have a good look at the man they had always dreaded, who now stood before them with his head drawn to his breast, clad in sackcloth like a penitent, and with a stick around his neck. On the rope, his scabbard was hanging on the rope. It was evidently their intention that as many persons as possible should witness his humiliation, for the side doors to the other rooms were left open for anyone who pleased, and almost half the hall was crowded with armed men.They all looked at Jurand with great curiosity, talked loudly, and judged him.

But when he saw these people, he was full of confidence, because he thought to himself: "If Dunwiert hadn't intended to keep his word, he wouldn't have called so many people to testify." At this moment Dunwiert silenced the uproar with a gesture of his hand; then he made a sign to a warrior, who came up to Jurand, seized him by the rope around his neck, and drew him closer to the table. Take a few steps. Dunwiert looked triumphantly at the people present and said: "See how the power of religion overwhelms anger and pride." "God bless, it will always be like this!" The people present replied in unison.

There was another silence, and after a while Dunwiert addressed the prisoner: "You used to bite the Knights like a mad dog, so God made you stand before us like a mad dog, with a rope around your neck, to beg for mercy and mercy." "Don't compare me to a dog, Komto," replied Jurand, "for then you will be discrediting those who fought and died by me. " The Germans in arms murmured at this; whether they were indignant at this bold answer, or moved by its justice. However, "Komto" was very dissatisfied with his words, and shouted: "Look, at this point, he is still so arrogant and conceited, spitting in our eyes!"

Jurand raised his hands, as if appealing to heaven, shook his head, and answered: "God knows that my arrogance has been left outside the gates of your castle; God sees it clearly, and judges whether you insult yourselves by dishonoring my chivalry in this way. Whoever wears the girdle of a knight, All should respect the honor of a nobleman." Dunwiert frowned, but at that moment the castle jester rattled the chain that held the bear, and cried out: "The sermon! The sermon! Here comes the Masovia missionary! Listen! Listen to the sermon!" Then he turned to Dunwiert and said:

"My lord! The Duke of Rosenham made his servant eat the bell rope knot by knot when he woke him prematurely and invited him to a sermon. The preacher's neck There's a rope too—let him eat the rope before he preaches." Having said this, he looked at Comto with some apprehension, for he wondered whether Comto would laugh, or whip him at his inappropriate remark.But those pious mages, when they knew they were powerless, they were gentle, courteous, even humble and courteous, but they were unscrupulous in the face of a loser; Nodded in approbation of his taunts, and suddenly burst into a swearing of his own with unheard-of rudeness, which brought amazement to the faces of the young squires.

"Don't complain that you are insulted," he said. "What if I send you to the kennels, the dog-watchers of the Order are better than you, the knight!" Then the encouraged clown cried out again: "Bring me the horse-brush, and brush me the bear's fur, and he will use his paws to comb your shaggy hair too." As soon as he said this, there was a roar of laughter, and a voice shouted behind the mages: "In summer, you can cut reeds on the lake!" "You can still use your dead body to catch crabs!" shouted another. Then the third said, "Go now and drive the crows off the hanged thief! You have enough work to do." Thus they laughed at Jurand, whom they had once dreaded.The group gradually cheered up.Some of them left the table, went up to the prisoner, looked at him carefully, and said: "So this is the wild boar of Spychoff, whose tusks have been knocked out by our Komto; his snout must be foaming; he would like to tear somebody to pieces. , unfortunately it can’t be done.” Dunwiert and the rest of the mages, who had intended to make the interrogation a solemn courtroom scene, now saw the development of the situation completely changed, so they got up from their stools and followed those who came to You. Lund got mixed up with the people in front of him. Old Siegfried of Jansbauker was not pleased with the situation, but "Commuter" himself said: "Let's be happy, there will be more happy things!" At the same time they also began to look at Jurand. This was a rare opportunity: before, no knight or servant who looked at him so close would never be able to open his eyes.Some people say: "His shoulders are broad, though he wears furs under his sackcloth; wrap him in pea-stalks, and show him in a country coin-collection." The rest shouted for ale again, to brighten the day. It didn't take long for the flagon jugs to clank non-stop, and the dark hall was full of foam overflowing from under the lids.The enthusiastic "comto" said: "That's right, let him not think that his embarrassment is anything special!" They came up to him again, touched his chin with tin goblets, and said: "Drink it, Majur's pig's mouth!" Some people poured wine into their palms and spilled it into his eyes.Jurand stood among them, dumbfounded, and allowed himself to be insulted until at last it was evident that he could bear it no longer.He walked towards the old man Siegfried and shouted loudly, covering all the noisy voices in the hall: "By the Passion of the Savior and the salvation of souls, give me back the child! This is what you promised." He wanted to grab the old "Komto" right hand, but "Komto" immediately withdrew his hand and said: "Fuck you, prisoner! What are you doing?" "I released Begov and came here myself because you promised to return me the children who stayed here." "Who promised you?" asked Dunwiert. "You promised, 'comto'! As long as you have a conscience!" "You can't find witnesses; but if it's just a matter of credibility, no witnesses are necessary." "Then rely on your own reputation, the reputation of the Knights of the Crusader!" Jurand shouted. "Then I will give you back your daughter!" replied Dunwiert, turning to those present, "what has happened to him here is not at all a punishment for his violence and crimes, but Just joking with him without malice. Since we promised to give back his daughter if he came himself to yield to us, you know, a crusader speaks as God speaks, saying That's it, so the girl we rescued from the robbers is set free; and as for him, we'll let him go as soon as he's fully repented of all his past crimes against the Knights." This remark surprised some people, because they knew Dunwiert's character and his deep hatred for Jurand, but they did not expect him to be so lenient.So old Siegfried, Rotkier, and Master Godfried were all looking at him, raising their eyebrows and frowning in amazement, while he pretended not to see their doubts, and said: "I will send guards to send your daughter back, but you have to stay here until our guards come back safely and you pay the ransom before letting you go back." Jurand himself was a little surprised, since he no longer expected his sacrifice to be of any use to Danusia; so he looked at Dunwiert and replied almost gratefully: "May God reward you, 'comto'!" "You know the Knights, don't you?" Dunwiert answered him. "God is merciful!" Jurand replied, "but I haven't seen my child for a long time, please allow me to meet my daughter and bless her." "Okay, but let's meet in front of all of us, so that our kind faith and compassion can be witnessed." Then he ordered the attendants who stood by him to bring Danusia, while he himself went up to De Lauve, Rotgier, and Godfried, who were standing around him, and talked hurriedly and warmly. for a while. "I have nothing against you, but that's not what you intended," said old Siegfried. The impatient Yurotgière, known for his bravery and brutality, said: "What's the matter? You're not only going to let the girl go, but you're going to let that devilish dog go too. It's not about letting him bite again." people?" "Now he doesn't bite like that!" Godfried supported him. "Hey! He has to pay the ransom!" replied Dunwiert lazily. "Even if he handed over all his wealth, within a year, he would take it back twice as much from us." "I have no objection to letting the girl go," repeated Siegfried: "but the wolf will still make the sheep of the Knights suffer." "But what about our promise?" Dunwiert asked rhetorically, laughing. "You didn't say that before..." Dunwiert shrugged. "Haven't you had enough fun?" he asked. "Want to have fun again?" The crowd gathered around Jurand again, boasting in his presence, extolling Dunwiert's upright conduct, which he said was a great honor to the Order. "Bone-sucking murderer!" said the captain of the castle's archers. "You pagans don't do that to us knights of Christ!" "Have you drank our blood?" "We repay you with kindness." Jurand paid no heed to their words for arrogance or contempt; his eyelashes moistened with delight.He thought he would soon see Danusia, whom he had indeed been able to see by their favor; so he looked almost humbly at the speakers, and finally said: "Not bad! Not bad! I treated you very badly in the past, but... there is no conspiracy." At this time, someone shouted from the other end of the hall: "They brought the girl!" The hall was immediately silent.The soldiers scattered on either side, and none of them had seen Jurand's daughter; because of the secrecy of Dunwiert's operations, most of them did not even know that she was in the castle; those who knew whispered about her to one another. Amazing beauty.All eyes looked towards the door where she was about to appear with extreme curiosity. At this moment a squire appeared first, followed by the nun whom everyone in the order knew, the woman who had ridden to the forest palace.A girl in white came in after her, her loose hair tied up with a ribbon over her forehead. Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter.For Jurand at first flung himself headlong at his daughter, then retreated a few steps, and stood there, with a face as white as linen, looking in amazement at the woman who returned to him as Danusia, with her long head. , his lips were blue, and his eyes were staring again. "This is not my daughter!" he said in a frightening voice. "Isn't it your daughter?" cried Dunwiert. "By the name of St. Ribarushu of Badland! Either we saved your daughter from robbers, or some sorcerer transfigured her, because there are no other girls in Scittno. gone." Old Siegfried, Rotgier, and Godfried exchanged glances quickly, admiring Dunwiert's cunning, but before they could speak, Jurand shouted in a terrifying voice : "There she is, she is in Sztno! I have heard her sing, I have heard the voice of my daughter Danusia!" After hearing this, Dunwiert turned to the people present and said calmly and directly: "I take all of you present as witnesses, especially you, Siegfried of Jansbauker, and you two mages Rotgier and Godfried, and I, as I have promised, And oath, return this girl to Jurand of Spyhof. According to the robbers we defeated, she is his daughter. If it is not her—it is not our fault, rather it is It is God's will that he delivered Jurand into our hands in this way." Siegfried and the two young mages nodded to show that they heard, and Ye Yi testified if necessary.Then they exchanged another quick look, for it was beyond their expectation: to capture Jurand, not to release his daughter, and to keep his promise on the surface; who could do that? But Jurand fell on his knees and begged Dunwiert with all the relics of Marburg, with the relics of his ancestors, to return his daughter to him, and not to resort to treacherous liars and traitors. act.There was such desperation and sincerity in the tone of his voice that some wondered whether there had been treachery in it, and others wondered if some wizard had transfigured the girl. "God sees your treachery!" cried Jurand. "For the wounds of the Savior, for the hour of your death, give me back my child!" Immediately he stood up, and stooped towards Dunwiert, as if to embrace his knees; his eyes flashed madly, his voice was alternately pained and terrified, alternately At one point there was despair, at the other there was threat.Dunwiert sniffed his nose, blushed, and finally lost his temper when he heard him publicly scold him for treachery; he took a step forward, bent over the unfortunate father, and clenched his teeth, in order to trample his enemy to death. Whispered into his ear: "If I give her back to you, unless I tell her to go with my bastard in her belly..." At that moment Jurand roared like a wild bull, seized Dunwiert with both hands, and lifted him into the air. A terrifying cry sounded in the hall just now: "Forgive me!" The body of "Komto" had been violently thrown on the stone floor, and the brains shot out from the shattered skull, splashing on Siegfried next to him. And Rotji loves it.Jurand leapt towards the wall where the weapons lay, took up a gigantic broadsword, and, like a gust of wind, charged at the stupefied German.These people have always been used to fighting, massacres and bloodshed, but they were all frightened and frightened, and then they began to flee, like a herd of sheep encountering a wolf that pounces on people.The hall resounded with horrific cries, footsteps, the clang of overturned vessels, the howling of servants, the growl of the bear (the bear broke loose from its tamer and climbed a a high window), and trembling with terror, clamoring for spears and shields.The cry of arms and crossbows.At last the weapons shone brightly, and many sharp blades were stabbed at Jurand, but he didn't care about anything, but rushed towards them like crazy, and this began an unprecedented scuffle, which was not so much a contest as a battle. It's more like a massacre.The young and irascible mage Godfried was the first to bar Jurand's way, but Jurand's weapon flashed like lightning and split his head, hands, and shoulders; After him Jurand felled the captain of the archers and the steward of the castle, von Bracht, and Hughes the Englishman.Hughes did not understand the reason, and pitied Jurand and his misery, and drew his weapon only after Dunwiert had been killed.Seeing the terrible strength and fury of this man, the rest huddled together to resist, but this plan only inflicted greater casualties, for Jurand was full of rage, his eyes were red, bloody, and panting. , angry and anxious, he swung his sword fiercely at the group of defeated people, stabbing, chopping, so powerful that he immediately killed them one by one on the ground, splashing pools of blood everywhere. , as if a storm had overturned both the grove and the forest.Then came a moment of dread, as if the dreaded Majur alone could have killed them all.These Germans in arms, like a pack of barking hounds, are no match for a ferocious boar without the aid of the hunter; and they were no match for the strength and ferocity of Jurand in this battle.Fighting him, even if you don't die, you will be defeated. "Scatter! Surround him! Hit him from behind!" screamed old Siegfried de Lauf. So they spread out over the hall, like a flock of starlings in a field when a hook-nosed hawk swoops down from a height, but they could not surround him, for not only did he not in the midst of the battle. Find a place to defend, and chase them along the walls instead, and whoever catches him is killed as if struck by lightning.His humiliation, his despair, his depression turned into a desire to fight bloody blood, and it seemed to increase his naturally terrible physical strength tenfold.Even the strongest knight in the Knights of the Crusaders had to use both hands to wield this sword, but he swung it as light as a feather.He has disregarded life and escape; he has no desire to win; he wants only revenge, like a fire, or like a river that has broken its bank, blindly rushing away all obstacles that block its flow.He is such a terrible, frantic destroyer, provoking, chopping, trampling, slaughtering, and destroying enemies.They couldn't hurt him from behind, because they couldn't catch him in the first place; the ordinary soldiers didn't even dare to go behind him; they knew that if he turned around, they would die.The rest of the people were terrified. They thought that an ordinary person would never be so powerful, and that the person they were fighting with must have divine power. But old Siegfried, and with him the priest Rotkier, rushed to the cloister above the large windows of the hall, and beckoned the rest to follow them and take refuge there; They walked up, and at the entrance of a narrow staircase, you jostled against each other, trying to squeeze up as soon as possible, from there to attack this mighty knight, because they felt that they would no longer be able to fight this knight hand-to-hand. At last the door to the corridor was slammed shut, leaving Jurand alone.He heard a burst of joyful and triumphant voices in the corridor, and after a while the heavy oaken bench and the iron ring with the torch fell on the knight.Something was thrown, and it hit him right on the forehead, and the blood flowed from his face.At the same moment the great front door was opened, and the servants who called from the upper windows into the courtyard crowded into the hall, all armed with spears, halberds, axes, crossbows, and stakes.clubs, ropes, and all manner of weapons that came to them in haste.Crazy Jurand wiped the blood off his face with his left hand so as not to block his sight, and rushed towards the large group of people with all his might.Again the groans, the clashing of iron, the gnashing of teeth, and the screams of the dead were heard again in the hall.