by Guy Antibes
“At least of their broomball sticks,” Ricky said. “I’m not sorry I did it.”
“The arrow, though, was headed right towards me. You deflected it with sorcery,” Saganet said.
“That’s when I knew I had to do something else. I practiced that spell last night in the stableyard.”
Saganet took another swallow. “I’m damn glad you did. We could have all been peppered with arrows.” Saganet closed his eyes. “Thank you doesn’t cover it.”
“Thanks aren’t needed, my guardian. We protect each other in our own way.”
“Here, here,” Sippa said, holding up his ale. “You can protect me any day. Will anyone believe the flying part?”
“Those ex-soldiers remembered,” Saganet said. “I was there. It was an awesome sight.”
“No more,” Ricky said. “I’m back to being a teammate, then?”
“Go,” Sippa said. “Mingle. Collect your accolades. Leave us to drink.”
“You two aren’t alone. There are two other chaperones and the drivers you can drink with,” Ricky said before returning to the team, who had commandeered two long tables in the room.
“Did you receive your medal?” one of the players asked.
Ricky shook his head. “I barely avoided a major reprimand. Sorcery isn’t supposed to be used for such things in Paranty.”
“There is that,” the player said. “Have another drink. I for one am glad for sorcery!”
~
Applia looked much better in the spring. The trees were just greening up, and Ricky wasn’t headed for the Applia Juvenile Home. Instead, they stayed at the same inn where he had met up with Saganet, Effie, and Merry in the winter. After getting settled in, Ricky, Ubbo, Jac, and Benno took off to explore Applia. Sippa discouraged the boys from walking around the city in one big group.
They found a street vendor and compared the fare with Tossa’s offerings. Their opinions were split. Their exploration was somewhat aimless, but Ricky spotted the squat towers of the Home and decided to confront his fears.
“I’ll see you back at the inn. I’m going to revisit some places from last fall.”
“Do you want us to join you?” Benno asked.
Ricky shook his head. “It is better that I go by myself.” He took off towards the Home and soon turned a corner, out of the view of his friends. He stopped and took a deep breath before plunging forward. The Home was a little farther than he thought.
He stood at the gate and looked at the old ducal castle remade into a home for delinquent children. Ricky didn’t recognize the guard, but the man didn’t leave Ricky alone to gawk at the grounds.
“Do you want to join in on the fun?” the guard said.
“No. I was in there last fall. Is Nania Sarini still warden?” Ricky knew she wasn’t, but he had to establish some reason for standing at the entrance.
“No. She is missed. Nice lady.”
“You worked with her last fall?”
“On the younger children’s side.”
“Did you know Hendrico?” Ricky asked.
“The library guard? Yeah, it was awful what Pacci did when he ran the place. Hey, are you the kid he befriended?”
Ricky nodded. “We shared the first name. I’m Hendrico Valian.”
The guard’s demeanor softened up. “You made our lives a bit easier. A lot of boys got pardoned because of you. You and Henni were good friends, I understand.”
“Yes, he helped me when I needed it. So did Warden Sarini.”
“There are so many stories about that time, one doesn’t know what to believe, but all of them tell of your bravery. I’m glad you popped by to say hello. I can’t let you in, though. Duke Noacci has his own man as warden. It’s not as bad as it was before, but the new management still makes a turn at the Home one to remember.”
Ricky nodded. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“Not much else to do. Take care of yourself, young Valian. You look presentable enough.”
“I’m here for a broomball game. Doubli Academy against Briar Preparatory.”
“You play or just watch?”
“I’m on the team.”
“Be careful. Applia hasn’t lost all its teeth since Duke Noacci took over.”
“Thanks,” Ricky said as he took one last look and turned away.
There was one last destination on Ricky’s very short list. He took the direct route to the Royal Barracks. He gazed over the same square, now filled with market tents rather than soldiers. That certainly was a good thing, he thought.
He walked over to the Barracks.
“Is General Farlotti in?” Ricky asked.
“And you are?”
“The boy in red from last winter. He’ll know who I am.”
“The sorcerer?”
Ricky nodded.
“Go right in. The general is in the fanciest building to your right.”
“I know,” Ricky said with a smile.
He looked at all the soldiers exercising in the yard.
“Ricky!” One of the soldiers broke ranks and ran to him.
“Gil! You are in the Royal Army.”
“A royal pain in my behind, if you ask me,” Gil said. “It’s much better than the alternative. What brings you to Applia?”
“Broomball. I’m on the Doubli Academy team. We are playing a school here.”
“Broomball, eh? Are you any good?”
“I’m not the best player on the team, but I contribute from time to time.”
Gil looked at Ricky sideways. “Always humble.”
“How did everyone fare after I left?”
“Most of us were pardoned. A few weren’t quite ready to leave the Home, shall we say? I’m doing what I like. There are more of us in here,” Gil looked at the exercising soldiers. Ricky noticed a few familiar faces, but even those were fading from his mind. “Warden got fired less than a month after. I heard she and Mattia went to Sealio.”
“That’s what I heard,” Ricky said.
Gil looked around, not appearing to have any more to say.
“Is General Farlotti in?” Ricky asked.
Gil brightened. “I saw him enter his office building not long ago. I’m sure he’s still there.”
Ricky thanked him and let Gil get back to his training. It seemed once they were out of the Home, they didn’t have much in common. That was fine with Ricky. It was good to see him free. He walked up the steps and into the general’s office.
“Is General Farlotti in? I don’t have an appointment.”
The general walked out of his office. “Valian? Come in, come in.”
“Is Crabacci with you?”
Ricky nodded. “He came with us. I’m on the Doubli Academy broomball team. We are here—”
“To play the Briar School. I heard. I follow professional broomball in Applia.” The general didn’t look very enthusiastic to Ricky.
“I thought I’d report running into bandits between our first night and the second night on the way here. I’m afraid I used a bit of sorcery to protect my teammates.” Ricky described the event in every detail, including deflecting the arrow meant for Saganet.
“Didn’t want some rumor heading my way about your doing more?”
Ricky nodded. “That and to say hello. Saganet will probably visit later, but I was roaming around Applia, and I thought I’d visit the Home and the Barracks.”
The general’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t go in?”
Ricky shook his head. “I had a nice talk with the guard at the gate. That was enough.”
“It’s not the same as when Warden Sarini ran the place, but it’s not the hole it was before, especially with that Pisan fellow gone. I took a few of the boys into my unit, and I learned more than I wanted to know. Now about your game, I’ve heard some rumors that the match is going to be rigged. I don’t know how, but be prepared. That is all the advice I can give you.”
They chatted about troop levels, and that Duke Noacci’s rule wasn’t as bad
as rumors had predicted. Ricky found the inn after taking a few wrong turns. He sought Insippa, who was in the stable yard inspecting broomball sticks.
“Go get yours, too,” Insippa said when he spotted Ricky.
When Ricky returned, the broomball coach was about done.
“I’ve been talking to an Applian acquaintance,” Ricky said. “He told me there is a rumor our opponents are rigging the game.”
“Saganet told me the same thing. I wonder what they could do?”
“I don’t know. Thorough preparation is a good defense for tricks. Could it be similar to the referee situation in our last game?” Ricky asked.
“Maybe. A coach can do a lot of things, given the latitude to cheat. Practice in the morning, Valian.”
~~~
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
~
R ICKY LOOKED UP INTO THE STANDS. The stadium could seat thousands of people, but the place was empty now.
“Intimidation,” Insippa Baldico said. “Pure intimidation.” He gazed up at the emptiness. “Why do I feel this is only the start?”
Despite the strange, uncomfortable surroundings, the practice seemed to go well. Most of the team took to the idea of playing in a ‘big boy’s’ arena. Ricky really should have taken the time to watch a professional broomball game before now. Tossa had a stadium this size, Saganet said. Thinking of it as a place to shine seemed as good an attitude as any.
Ricky spent a lot of time practicing as a defensive player. Sippa didn’t want the other team to see how they operated during an actual game. Sippa pointed out that the stands weren’t as empty as they felt. Saganet walked up to Ricky.
“See the man in red and blue?”
There were three men in a row. The one in the middle was the man Saganet pointed out. He had dark curly hair that sprouted up after a high forehead.
“That is Duke Noacci.”
“He doesn’t look so mean,” Ricky said.
“You don’t look particularly menacing, right? It probably runs in the family.” His guardian patted Ricky on the shoulder right after Sippa called for Ricky.
~
After a light lunch, the team assembled at the inn wearing their new uniforms.
“I won’t try to mince words. Be prepared for a very tough game. The Briar coach is obviously pulling out every trick he can to intimidate us,” Sippa said. “We play hard, we play tough, and we play smart. If the game gets out of hand, we will pull out and head back to Tossa.”
When they entered the stadium, Ricky had expected it to be full, but he saw plenty of empty seats. Still, the crowd was much, much larger than any that attended the academy’s games in Tossa. They proceeded to warm up before the Briar Preparatory School team showed up.
“Hello, soldier,” Effie said as she walked up to Ricky and Saganet.
“When did you get here?” Saganet said, his arm around Effie’s waist.
“This morning. I took a post coach. No stops. They were armed to the teeth. Did you have any trouble?”
“Oh, the usual,” Saganet said. “Brigands stopped us, but Ricky flew around them, threatening their lives. He even got them to clear the road for us.”
Effie laughed, but Ricky didn’t.
“It really happened?” she said looking at him.
“I didn’t exactly fly around, but I did rise about four or five paces.”
“He even deflected an arrow aimed at his guardian.”
Effie hugged Ricky. “I would have been disappointed if Saganet wasn’t here after the sleepless night I spent being bounced around in a carriage.”
“I’ll join you in the stands,” Saganet said to her. “I see General Farlotti. I’ll just have a word with him first.”
They left Ricky standing by himself, but that didn’t last long. The referee blew his whistle, signaling the meeting at midfield. Cheers rose in the crowd as the home team jogged out into the middle of the field.
Ricky’s jaw dropped when he saw that virtually all their opponents weren’t clean-shaven, but rather they all had full beards. These were no boys attending a preparatory school.
Sippa objected to the team, but the opposing coach, a tall, sturdy man, waved a set of papers at him. “Everyone is a registered student of Briar. You can check it out any way you wish.”
Sippa looked around at the stands. Ricky did the same and spotted Duke Noacci surrounded by well-dressed nobles. He wondered if the duke had put Briar up to this trick.
“Well, we’ll play the best way we can,” Sippa said. He waved to the referees. “Let’s get this travesty started.”
Ricky thought his coach would have pulled the team, but that didn’t happen.
“I don’t expect a win today, but play your best. Think of it as a good experience. I’m sure some of the dreadful teams we’ve played this year thought the same of us,” Sippa said, pointing to the other team. “Ricky, by my side to start.”
The game began. The Briars scored an easy first goal against the intimidated Doubli team.
“Spine, Spine,” Sippa yelled out.
Jac led the front line down the field and shot on goal, but a large player was able to deflect the ball at the end. After another goal, Sippa asked Ricky what he thought.
“They are slower than we are, bigger and slower.”
“I agree.” Sippa winced at a collision on the field.
Ubbo struggled to his feet but waved to the coach. “My fault, no foul,” he yelled out.
Ricky saw more of the same. The Briars just took up too much space. The game continued to proceed, and at the half, the Briars led six to three. Ricky considered it a moral victory that they had scored at all.
“Ricky will go in for the second half,” Sippa said. “Ricky, what should we do?”
“Let’s run them into the ground,” Ricky said. “They are bigger, slower, and a few of them were dragging at the end of the half. I suspect they will be substituted out for the second half. Their coach doesn’t substitute as freely as we do.”
“I should have thought of that,” Sippa said. “In professional rules, when a substitution is made, the player coming out can’t go back in. These players are playing professional rules, of course.”
“Then let’s take advantage of that,” Ricky said. “I’m not suggesting that we cheat, but let’s get a bit more aggressive and get players out of the game early by wearing them down. Even if we don’t score, let’s move the ball up and down the field.”
“Keep-away?” Benno said.
“Exactly,” Sippa said, grinning. “Let’s get some goals back.”
The team trotted back out to the field. Being behind, they started with the ball. Ricky passed the wooden orb back to Benno, who struck the ball nearly to the opposing goal. Ricky took off chasing the ball, forcing the Briar front line to follow. He passed the ball from the edge of the field to Ubbo, who passed it backward.
The Briars followed the ball like a pack of hounds. Ricky was a bit disappointed they played so stupidly. The ball came his way, and he saw the path clear. He ran harder and beat an opponent to the last few paces and driving the broomball into the goal.
He raised a fist in the air and saw Duke Noacci’s eyes on him. He quickly turned and ran towards the center line.
The rest of the game played out as Ricky intended. Once the Briars had substituted out, the same team stayed on the field. The Doubli team ran them ragged. When the final whistle sounded, the final score was seven to six. They had outscored the professionals in the second half. Even though they lost the game, the team knew they had made a good showing.
Ricky led the team out to the center to congratulate the Briars. All the men, for they were true men and not boys, grinned and shook their hands with enthusiasm and goodwill. The opposing coach refused to come out, so Sippa waved and gave the man an exaggerated bow from the middle of the field. Ricky heard laughter coming from the crowd.
Duke Noacci stood and clapped. He still had a smile on his face, probably from Sippa’s antics. He turned
, and his retinue followed him out of the stadium.
The boys returned to the inn and washed up. Ricky was packing his equipment for the coach ride home early the next morning when he heard a knock on the door to the room he shared with Benno.
“We have plans for dinner tonight,” Sippa said. “Duke Noacci has invited our team to dine with him.” The coach gave Ricky a wink.
Ricky went weak in the knees. “Can you tell him I’m sick?” he said.
Sippa shook his head and whispered in Ricky’s ear. “Duke Bariani would want you to attend and report back. Noacci wouldn’t do anything in public. I know you’re braver than that.”
Ricky nodded dejectedly, as Sippa left to spread the news.
“What did Sippa say?” Benno asked.
“He told me I couldn’t back out; he’d be disappointed.”
“Oh.” Benno smiled. “The food should be great! We didn’t eat very much for lunch.”
Ricky had barely touched his food before the game. He would have to show his teammates that he could overcome his fears. They didn’t know Noacci and he were cousins, however far removed.
“Are our clothes good enough?”
Benno made a face. “As long as we don’t stink, we’ll be fine. We are athletes, not courtiers.”
Ricky guessed that Benno’s noble upbringing gave him insight into the rules of such events. He didn’t say a word during the carriage ride to the ducal palace. The place looked the same except for the absence of the barricades the former duke had put up during the rebellion.
He looked up at the cupola in the palace and gazed at the spot where he had killed the former duke. No one would know a rebellion had been put down in this hall just months ago, he thought.
“This way, young Valian,” Sippa said. Perhaps the majesty of the palace put Sippa on a more formal footing.
Ricky walked into a small hall. He had expected a vast dining room, but there were perhaps twenty places set. This would be a more intimate dinner than Ricky had expected. The duke was sure to notice him.
The boys were urged to take seats as Duke Noacci walked in.
“Coach Insippa on my left, and Cousin Hendrico,” the duke looked directly into Ricky’s eyes, “you sit on my right.”
