ALTDORF (The Forest Knights: Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

return to Salzburg?”
    “Salzburg? I suppose you could, but keep in mind you are still Wolf’s head in Austria and like the beast, your skin can be traded for coin.”
    “What do you mean? You said I had to but wait for the princes to assemble and vote. Surely they see what a madman the King had become. I have served the German Empire and yet I hide in these hills cowering like a common criminal! You swore to me—”
    Leopold cut him off by grabbing the front of his robe and pulling him close. “You are far worse than a common criminal,” he said, and then disgusted by the stench of the man, pushed him stumbling back into the cheese hut’s wall. “The Pope has placed you under the Holy Ban.”
    The effect of the words was instantaneous. Horrified, John’s legs went slack and he slid down the wall to sit on the ground. Leopold rubbed his hands together and then wiped them on one of Klaus’s legs. The veteran soldier kept his eyes locked on the horizon.
    “Apparently I underestimated how much the Pope respected my father.”
    John sat on the ground hugging his knees. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally found his voice. “No, it cannot be. I will flee to Spain. No Italia. I must go to Rome and buy indulgence…”
    “Fool. How far do you think you will get when every man, child, and woman has the right to beat, rob, and kill you on sight? Under threat of excommunication, no one is allowed to aid you. I have wasted the past few months of my life building discreet relations with your connections at court. And for what? Nothing. You are useless to me now.”
    John shook his head slowly from side to side. “No—this is not what you promised. You said I would be granted lands and titles when Frederick became King.” He pointed his finger up at Leopold. “You gave your word!”
    Leopold rolled his eyes and walked over to his horse. “My word was it?”
    He pulled himself up into the saddle and said, “Sorry cousin. I can deal with princes and kings, but a Papal Ban is beyond even me.”
    John stood on shaky legs and stumbled over to the two mounted men. Klaus grabbed the pommel of his sword, but Leo held up a restraining hand as John wrapped himself around the young Duke’s boot and pleaded.
    “No, do not go Leo. Please, I am sorry I accused you. I have been alone too long…my mind is not right. Surely there is something we can do. I will stay in hiding and when Frederick becomes king he can beseech the Pope…”
    Leopold gently placed his hand on John’s head and leaned over him. “My dear cousin, can you not see I have no choice?” One corner of his thin lips turned up in a smirk. “And besides…you did kill my father. Why would I assist the likes of you?”
    Leopold pushed John away by his head, turned his horse, and jammed his heels into its side. He held up a hand in parting and called out, “Good luck on the road cousin. Beware old ladies and children trying to kill you in your sleep.”
    He left John the Parricide, slack-legged and hunched in front of the age-blackened shack, a man with no country and no god.

Chapter 3

    W HEN THEY CAME to Altdorf, a town near the southern end of the Great Lake, Ruedi abruptly announced he would separate from the party.
    Altdorf was a thriving town for these parts. Almost a city, Thomas thought. Easily the largest settlement they had seen since coming over the Gotthard Pass. On a rise in the distance he could even see new construction under way. It appeared to be a large stone keep beginning to take shape.
    “Heard a rumor about five years back I have a sister in these parts,” Ruedi said. “Course it came from a drunken Norseman, and he was not sure if he was in Burglen or Altdorf at the time. Still, nothing better to do. Might as well check it out.”
    “Best of luck finding her. I swear, this town has tripled in size since I saw it last. It was nothing more than a few farmer’s huts clustered together from what I remember,” Anton