Published: 22 Feb 2021

None of the boys knew quite what to expect as they all stepped through the small doorway, but the sight that met their eyes was definitely not what they envisioned. Apart from a quantity of windblown leaves, the inner area was remarkably clean, when taking into consideration the aged stone on the outside of the medieval structure.

The boys looked around as Dmitri forcibly pushed the door closed with much of the same squeaking as before. The heavy thunk of an old fashioned bolt, locking it against any intruders that may want access while the boys were looking around.

When Dmitri joined them all they began to move through the courtyard while looking around at everything. Only the piles of leaves marred the scene while it mostly looked as though the people had just gone out for the day. The inner windows were still somewhat clean and unbroken while the stone steps leading up to the narrow battlements seemed as though they had been recently swept clean. It was something of a conundrum for the boys, as they had expected the Citadel to be in ruins and what they saw was far from what they expected.

While inspecting the inner courtyard, the boys noticed the number of small doorways along the length of the two walls. There could only be one explanation for them and the boys guessed they were either troop barracks while some of the smaller ones may have been stables as some of the doors were split into an upper and lower half.

The four stone walls towered over them as they followed Dmitri towards some stone steps that led to the main keep within the walls. Dmitri led them up the steps to the large wooden double doors which were again studded with heavy metal rivets. Much to the boy’s surprise, Dmitri was able to push open one of the doors with relative ease and they all followed him inside, it was now they got the biggest surprise of all.

The entranceway inside the keep looked as though it had been cleaned only recently, the black and white squares of the floor tiles, while worn with age, still looked as though they had just been swept. While the many picture frames that hung in masses up and down the walls did have a light covering of dust but that was to be expected in an old place like this. More doors led off to the left and right and a large wide stone staircase led upwards to the next floor.

The boys had all halted near the centre of the entranceway to look around and it was Helmut who asked Dmitri in Russian why the place looked so lived in. Dmitri’s reply was translated to the others by Helmut.

“Dmitri says this place is in good condition because it was a well visited place of historical notice for the tourists and they had many tourists come from all over the world to see it and that’s why it is still in such good condition. Dmitri seems to think we should look around and if we like to stay we can.”

The rest of the boys could only stand and stare, none of them wanting to be the first to move, as the enormity of the keep and its condition still held them enthralled. It seemed that the luckiest day they’d had, since the downfall of normal society, had been the day they had come across Dmitri.

None of the boys discarded their packs but instead, followed Dmitri as he led them toward the door directly on their right hand side. On this side of the hall there were only three doors, all closed. On the opposite of the hall were six doors, again all closed.

The doors looked to be from another age, an age when the decoration of large wooden doors was almost an art form. Each panel seemed to display its own tale and the years of polishing had left them with a lustre that can only be gained by many years of rubbing and wax.

Dmitri pushed open the first doors and the boys quickly followed him inside where, once again they were awed by the immense size and dimensions of the long wide room. On the wood panelled walls were very old tapestries which once again showed scenes of ancient battles and hunting events captured, stitch by stitch, in a painstaking hope of capturing the life of those who had died so long ago, but had left this sewn record of their lives and deeds for their ancestors to see.

Huge carved sideboards stood against the stone walls under the tapestries and at the centre of the huge spacious room stood a solid table that had been laid with table settings of what appeared to be fine china and silverware for more than twenty guests.

On top of the sideboards were large silver platters and serving trays, some with what appeared to be gold inlaid in the intricate patterns etched on each piece. On the open shelves below were many stacks of crockery in various shapes and sizes along with tureens with thick lids, all were decorated with patterns in such fine workmanship and detail that they would have cost a fortune in any high end antique shop.

Even with the light covering of dust the table was a sight to behold. Five large silver candelabra with six thick candles stood along the centre of the table to light it for the dinner guests. This was a show of opulence that was no longer seen in modern society but would have given the tourists a good idea of how the rich lived in medieval times.

After counting the chairs along the table the boys knew that it had settings for twenty four guests. The centre columns supporting the huge slab of wood that made up the tabletop were intricately carved and ended with footings of lion’s heads. Each chair was identically carved and, although showing wear, the cushions on the chairs looked to be in remarkably good condition.

The boys avoided touching anything as they walked almost silently down the length of the dining-room towards the second door at the end. Before they exited back into the entranceway they had all looked up at the ceiling far above them. It must have been almost ten metres high and was made from thick hand hewn rafters which were, once again, carved with many varying scenes of the time.

Finally, leaving the huge dining-room, they all exited through the second door and turned towards the third door near the end of the entranceway. This room proved to be as sumptuous as the last and was set out as what could only be described as a men’s reception room. Heavy wooden chairs with worn leather padding where placed around the room and a large fireplace took centre stage at the far end.

Along the walls were more heavily carved sideboards but these held thick glassware along with silver mugs and what appeared to be large ceramic jugs that they presumed may have been used to hold beer, mead or other drinkables of the time. Hanging on the walls were a great variety of weapons, from small but lethal looking daggers of all shapes and sizes to massive two handed swords along with many types of bows and spears. There were also a large number of vicious looking maces, any of which would have made serious injuries to whomever they made contact with.

Standing in the two corners on each side of the fireplace stood two full sets of heavy armour, one was rather plain but the other had been engraved in the most fancy style and was even inlaid with what looked very much like gold and silver. While the plain set did not look as fancy or expensive it was easy to see these were not reproductions, the workmanship was just far too fine for what would have been produced in the modern era. Added to this was the obvious wear in the way of old dents and heavy scratches on the plain set.

Shaking their heads in wonder at the opulence of what they had so far seen, the boys left the room and walked over to the other side to see what was behind the other doors. Before they could enter the first room, Spider spoke up to mention that they had not yet eaten anything and by the position of the shadows on the floor, it was now late in the day. He also mentioned they had plenty of time to look over the great citadel at their leisure, as they now felt safe in what they had already decided would be their new home.

The boys had stopped to listen to Spider and with a nod of their heads, they all agreed. The rumbling in a few stomachs also helped to make up their minds. Helmut asked Dmitri to show them to the kitchen area so they could prepare a meal. Afterwards they would head up the huge stone stairway and find rooms for the night. Tomorrow was another day and they could continue their adventure in the citadel then.

Helmut asked Dmitri to take them to the kitchen, but before Dmitri could lead them there, Helmut also asked him how he knew so much about the citadel. Dmitri’s reply answered all their questions. Dmitri had worked in the citadel for over a year before the disaster struck. He helped with ticket collecting and was just starting to lead some of the school tours for children, when everything stopped. Even now, he was not sure how he came to be so far away when the boys found him, he had no recollection of actually going in that direction.

Dmitri led the boys behind the huge stone staircase, and showed them where the door was for the kitchens, which were situated on a lower level so the noise and smells of its work did not pervade into the upper citadel, a common set up in medieval times.

Dmitri led them through the plain wooden door, down a short flight of stone steps before pushing open another plain looking door, where the boys saw a huge open room with thick but worn wooden tables lined along the middle of the vast room. There was no sign of modern stainless steel or fancy electronic equipment in this old fashioned kitchen. There were not even electric lights above them.

Against what they assumed was the back wall was a line of three large open fireplaces with what appeared to be a single oven, almost in the style of a modern pizza oven, but it had a thick iron door fixed to the front of it.

The three fireplaces had strange iron fittings set into the huge stones that they were made from. In the first fireplace was what looked to a be wrought iron spit with a thick handle on one end for turning it. The second fireplace had a number of long iron arms with flat rings at the end. These, the boys assumed were to place pots and pans on for cooking over the open fires. The third fireplace held two very large, iron cauldrons that could only have been for heating water or perhaps making vast quantities of soup or stew, they were not sure which.

Along most of the walls were heavy iron hooks set into the very stone itself, from these hung all manner of pots and pans, some even appeared to be so large they would take two people to carry them around. On the double shelves under the long main table at the centre of the room were so many forms of cooking utensils the boys did not even try to count them. Many of them the boys would not even be able to guess what they were to be used for.

Most noticeable of all was the lack of modern steel and electrical equipment. Everything was made from rough wrought iron and was made to last. In that day and age hygiene was not a common worry and so shiny pots and pans were not a requirement.

The boys stepped up to the table and relieved themselves of their packs. It was good to put them down and now they could all go through them to find the makings for a solid meal. It had already been a day filled with wonder and adventure and the boys’ stomachs were now demanding attention.

As the dimness in the kitchen was making it difficult to see well, Dmitri hunted around until he found a number of thick heavy candles. Using matches, he melted the base of the candles and stood them on the bare wood of the table, so the boys had enough light to cook and eat by. They would also probably need them after the meal to go upstairs and find a room to sleep in and in the morning they could continue on their search of what they now hoped would be their new home.

It was a simple matter to get a fire started as there were ample stacks of wood in large niches along one wall and all of it looked to have been there for quite some time and so it was very dry and caught quickly. Half an hour later and the boys stood around the table eating what had been prepared. There was a light hearted feeling as they ate. They all knew they had found their new home and with the winter not far away it would offer them all the protection they would need.

With their meal finished and the tin plates and cutlery washed in water they had put on the dying fire to heat, they returned everything to their packs, shrugged them onto their shoulders and each took up one of the burning candles to light their way up the stone stairway to find a room for the night.

It had been decided that they would all just bunk down in the first bedroom they came to. Tomorrow they could look around and find separate rooms for each couple for a little privacy, but for now, it had been a long and exciting day and they now just wanted a good night’s sleep, to be fresh for the next day’s adventure.

At the top of the stairway, they saw that there was a hallway going both left and right. To the right there were about ten closed doors but to the left there were only five and they were spread more widely apart, to the boys this indicated that the larger rooms would be to the left and so turned that way.

The first door they opened proved them right, for a bedroom this one was large by any standards. There were small pieces of handmade furniture around the room but the centre piece was a huge, four poster bed that was, again, heavily carved and the canopy above it was covered once again in thick tapestry curtains. On the bed itself there seemed to be more than one mattress as it was very thick looking and had to be more than one.

The bed coverings looked also to be old but must have been very expensive when new. None of the boys wanted to make use of the bed at this stage and so all dropped their packs and got their sleeping bags ready. The candle light gave the room an eerie feeling as though they were going to be interrupted by medieval knights at any time.

Once the sleeping bags were placed as the boys wanted them, they all took a last look around the room while trying to ignore the many portraits of strangely dressed men that looked down on them with what could be misconstrued as unsavoury looks. More than one of the boys had to shake off the feeling of being watched by those old and ancient disapproving looks.

With a final sigh most of the boys began to get into their sleeping bags. It had been a long day and tomorrow was a new time and much had to be seen but for now it was time to put out the candles and snuggle up close for warmth. As the final darkness descended on the citadel a last sigh came from one of the boys and the quietness of their new home settled around them. While outside the world seemed to be holding its breath, not even the faintest of breezes stirred as night settled over the land.

As the night wore on, the silence in the citadel seemed to close in. Although the now sleeping boys did not feel it, their soft snores or grunts could only be heard in the bedroom where they had settled down.

In the early hours of the morning, it was Alberto who was the first to stir in his sleep. Slowly he cracked his eyes open and then noticed how cold it had gotten, even the closeness of his special friend Helmut could not keep the shiver out of his body as the cold increased dramatically.

It was only a few minutes later when the others were awoken from their sleep by the bitter cold that now invaded their new room. What happened next caught the boys by total surprise. It started as a light rumble and then increased quickly until the whole room suddenly shook violently which made the boys jump to their feet in a state of almost terror. Even Dmitri knew this country was not subject to violent earthquakes, but this was no earthquake, as the boys were about to find out.

After the last heavy shudder, the air around them began to visibly warp into something resembling a mass of ripples in a pond. Now the boys were really concerned, were there more disasters to come over them after what they had already been through?

As fast as it had started everything stopped and the citadel returned to its quiet state once again. Each boy let out a nervous sigh as everything settled down, had it just been one of those rare things that can happen at any time for no reason whatsoever. It was the only thing the boys could understand. As the night settled down again the boys relaxed and returned to their warm sleeping bags, there would be plenty of time in the morning to find out if any damage had been done or if they were in any more danger.

It was the first glimmer of the sunrise that brought the boys out of their sleep while the coldness of the night before had seemed to disappear. At this hour, the early morning was still temperate and they had little thought of leaving the warmth and comfort of their sleeping bags.

However there was something wrong as the now awake boys gathered together to dress, something was not right and the air around them seemed strange and different from when they first went to their beds.

It took only a few seconds for the boys to finally realize what was wrong. There were new sounds coming from outside the keep, their new home had now been invaded while they slept and by the sounds from outside it was not just one or two extra people.

Suddenly, from outside the closed door of the room they had taken for the night, the sounds of heavy steps could be heard on the stone floor of the corridor as they moved closer to where the boys were dressing. Not wanting to take any chances, all of them stopped what they were doing and grasped for their weapons. They were not going to just give up and walk away, but had determined to defend what they had found.

The heavy steps moved closer until they stopped right outside the closed door. The boys tensed up and got ready to fight. The sound of the heavy strikes on the wooden door almost made the boys jump as the pounding grew in strength. Suddenly it stopped and a stern voice could be heard through the door but the language used meant nothing to the boys, that is all except Dmitri.

The shocked look on their new friend’s face made them grasp their weapons just a little tighter as they saw the surprise on his face. The voice spoke again through the door and a glance from Helmut to his friends told them it was not one that even he knew.

Dmitri got over his shock and called out a single word, as he signalled for his new friends to lower their weapons and not do anything but watch, all of them obeyed his request but still did not let go of the weapons just in case Dmitri had misjudged the man outside the door.

There was a loud clacking noise as the thick handle on the door turned downward and the door began to open. The man who stepped inside took the boys by surprise. What they saw was the last thing they could have ever expected. These latest events also began to sow doubts in their minds as to what was going on, or better yet, what had happened while they all slept the night away.

TBC

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