Magnus, aka Madz,
A very Special Student 

By: Ruwen Rouhs
(© 2022 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

RRouhs@tickiestories.us

Chapter 5
Anders and the Legend of the Robber's Treasure

After early mass, Carlo greeted the few parishioners who had attended the service on the 1th of May in the old castle chapel, mostly elderly women but even some students. Most people of Hallberg were probably still sleeping late because of the exhausting May Day celebration. Naturally not one of the soccer players or their girls where among the church-goers.

Paul also had been cutting the mass and instead was enjoying the sun in the garden in front of the chapel and had waited for Carlo. While they strolled along the small trail from the chapel to Carlo's apartment, a familiar face emerged under the archway of the partially preserved castle wall. Alies, the Cupid from last night, was completely out of breath from the steep climb up to the castle. In his wake was a tall, lanky boy, He was a dead ringer for him, except that he was skinny as a rail.

"Did you oversleep, Alies? The mass is just over, but if your black soul needs salvation, I could still......" Carlo greeted his new friend, "How long have you been celebrating after we left? You don't look like you slept in! I guess you left the feast rather late!"

"It still wasn't over by five!" Alies shrugged, "s'Babettle and s'Bärbelle were disappointed that you left so early. I couldn't comfort them enough. They would have loved to have had you. A couple of soccer players even bet this could has taken place."

The vicar's face turned red, as it always did when he was embarrassed, "Oh, I think there's been a misunderstanding. s'Bärbelle is pretty, but I've taken solemn vows, and there's nothing in them about getting laid." Alies now turned to Paul, "But you're a teacher! Have you also taken a vow of chastity? No one will believe you."

In the meantime, Paul had taken a closer look at Alies’ company. The was nervously tripping from one leg to the other and as a teacher he knew from experience that the boy urgently needed to go to the bathroom. "I think we'll go in quickly before another mishap happens." With that he grabbed the spitting image of Alies by the arm, "I'll show you where you can take a leak without poisoning the flowers here!" and took him inside.

Carlo was glad for the distraction, "That's your younger brother isn't it? He's almost taller than you and skinny as a fence rail. Are you letting him starve?” When Alies laughed out loud and assured “He downs three time more food than I do, but doesn’t increase I weight!” Now Carlo asked back, “Does he attend the boarding school?" as Alies nodded, "That's why I know him!"

"Andreas, is my half-brother. But everybody calls him Anders. Anders is five years younger, but he already needs bigger shoes." "Well then, he will certainly soon be bigger than you." "Sure, then I can no longer bequeath him my pants, but he bequeaths me his!"

A little later, the three of them were already sitting around the low coffee table in the huge room on the ground floor of the castle. When Anders came in, he shyly stood behind his half-brother's armchair. "Andreas, that’s him I'm here for. Come on, little brother, tell us what you want from the chaplain, he won't tear your head off."

When Anders remained silent, Paul smiled, "I have a student just like you. He's probably half a head shorter than you, though, otherwise you look a hell of a lot alike. But he's the complete opposite of you. Once Magnus is turned on, he asks question after question! I promise you, I'll help you if the chaplain doesn't want to fulfill your wish." "It's because of Veit! I've come because of Veit Scharpf, Mr. Vicar."

"I don't know Veit Scharpf, is he an altar boy or does he go to boarding school with you. There's no one by that name in my classes either!" The boy shook his head, because he could not understand the chaplain did not know Veit Scharpf, "No! It's because of Veit Scharpf, the robber baron, that I'm here. He was locked up here in the tower!" "Sorry, I don't know the story, can you let me in on it, Anders?"

Paul got up, went to Anders and pulled him to the sofa. "Come sit down and tell it. It's better to tell it sitting down!"

"Veit Scharpf was a robber baron here in the castle.” Anders began the legend, “He made the country unsafe, from here to Würzburg. He attacked merchants who brought their goods to Nuremberg or Mainz on the road; he took goods from them. He also robbed them of money, gold and precious stone. He attacked monasteries and churches and took the priests hostage. They were allowed to go free only for money. Veit Scharpf was no Robin Hood. He robbed not only the rich but also the poor and the peasants. He stole their last cow and they had to give him their pigs and sheep. Even worse was what he did to the girls his robber band caught. When the robbers came, the girls tried to hide in the barn in the straw or in the deep forest.  When the robbers found them and they took them to the castle. In the castle they had to serve Veit and his men. They had to serve them in the kitchen or in the stable but also in bed. They were kept until they had a big belly only. Then they were sent away, for Veit hated children." Anders got a whole red head at the bubbling forth of the narration. Now he took a short breath, "Soon everyone hated him and his gang, not only the merchants, traders and peasants, but also the Prince Bishops of Mainz and the one from Würzburg!"

"And what did he do with the looted goods?" asked Paul. "The looted goods he sold to other merchants or returned them for ransom. He kept the gold and the precious stones. People tell that most of the precious goods are hidden. But where? No one knows, not even the ones who had helped him hide them. Veit killed them all."

Anders took a sip of lemonade that Carlo handed him and closed his eyes for a moment. "But the Prince-Bishop of Mainz and the Magistracy of the towns wouldn't put up with him forever. They recruited lansquenets and began to hunt down Veit and his robbers. First, they besieged and occupied the castle. When the robbers retreated into the woods, the lansquenets went on a hunt for them. Soon they had him and many of his men hunted down. The right hands of the common robbers were chopped off, but Veit Scharpf himself was put in the dungeon, because he would not reveal the hiding place of the loot, not even on the rack."

Anders looked around the large room and then pointed to an old oil painting. "That's the Prince-Bishop, the one with the round cap, next to him that's the profost. He was very strict, Father Mayer told us."

"In the castle, the profost was in charge." Anders pointed to the picture again, "He put Veit on trial. Since he did not reveal where he had hidden the stolen gold and gems, he was thrown into the dark dungeon under the keep. There he was to remain until he revealed the hiding place of his loot or until he died of hunger and thirst." Anders took another loud breath. "Every week the profost had Veit brought up from the dungeon with a basket and questioned him in a wracking inquisition. But Veit remained obdurate and did not reveal the hiding place. After four weeks he was already weak from hunger and torture. About a week later Veit was already very weak. After a further inquisition the profost assumed that after another seven days he would be dead or would betray the hiding place. When the beadles wanted to get Veit out of the dungeon with the basket after the seventh week and called for him, they received no answer. They therefore fetched a ladder and climbed down. He was not there! The dungeon was empty. There was neither a living Veit found, nor his dead body, nor were there any bones to be found!"

Paul looked at Anders curiously, "Well, he couldn't have disappeared without a trace. Did anyone help him out?" "No, the keep was always tightly locked and was also guarded day and night. Veit had disappeared. The servants illuminated the dungeon with torches and tapped the walls for an escape tunnel. All in vain, nothing, they found no secret exit. When they dug the floor deep enough, they found a crawl space leading to the crypt of the chapel, but no further. They searched the crypt but found nothing, neither Veit, nor an escape tunnel, not even a hole through which a mouse could have slipped out. Since the entrance to the crypt was closed with a heavy iron door, neither could have escaped."

"How do you know all this?" Carlo asked Anders, "From school and from my grandfather! He firmly asserted that there was a second passage, a secret passage, leading out of the dungeon under the keep. It should lead into the valley and end in a cave, in which a spring is rising."

"And did anyone find the cave?" asked Carlo. "No, but neither was Veit found! He had disappeared off the face of the earth, no one who knew him ever saw him again."

Now Alies continued, "But in Nuremberg, they say, a beggar appeared soon after, who always paid with gold pieces, although he went around all ragged. Whether that was the Veit? Nobody knows. There is also an engraving by the painter Dürer that depicts an old man. When the robbed merchants saw the engraving, they were of the opinion, that is the Veit all over, but only older!"

After everyone had sat there quietly for a while, Paul turned to Anders, "Andreas, that's quite a story. Am I right, you want to find the treasure hidden somewhere between the keep and the spring."

"Sure, but first I have to find the secret passage and to do that I have to get into the dungeon. Maybe from there a passage leads to the spring and the gold. I am sure, a passage leads there!"

"If what you have told us is only half true, then we should definitely look for the treasure." Carlo agreed with him, "But we can't today, Andreas. The keep is locked and the key is with the Father Mayer. Come on Friday after school, I'll have it for you by then. Then we can look at the dungeon together. Maybe we'll find the entrance to the secret passage."

Anders' eyes lit up with joy, and he was about to throw his arms around the chaplain's neck when his brother stopped him, "Don't get your hopes up too much, little brother. So far no one has found the passage. However, if it's all true about the treasure, who knows?"

"You just have to believe in it very strongly, Andreas." Paul encouraged him, "But you know what, I think I know someone who likes to look for treasures just as much as you do. Maybe I can bring him along next time I come to visit Carlo."

"You think of Magnus, don't you?" smirked Carlo, "I didn't know he not only collects everything, but is also a treasure hunter.” After a moment he added, “You also didn't tell me you wanted to bring him as early as Friday. But that’s your choice, Paul, because you've always been a treasure hunter too!"

"Sure, Carlo. I told you Magnus is interested in everything mysterious. He collects everything, fossils, old bones, feathers, anything old, and he's especially interested in what's mysterious.  If I tell him about the treasure, I'm sure he'll come along."

Carlo looked at Anders again, "Paul, from what you've told me about Magnus, I think the two of them will be a good match. Why don't you bring Magnus with you? "

*******

At the parting, when Paul was already sitting on Maxi and the engine was rumbling, Carlo addressed again Magnus' visit. "You absolutely have to bring your Ganymede along, Pollux. I'm sure Andreas and he will get along well. Besides, my gut tells me that the two of them have more in common than just their looks."

"I'll try, but I can't promise. It's not as easy as you think Castor. Although? Well! First!" Pollux emphasized that extra, "Magnus is guarded by three women, actually by eight women. First there are his mother, his grandmother, his sister, then there are four Benedictine nuns who live in the same house, and last not least by the parish cook, that is, Father Angler's sister. The latter takes care of her brother, our Village Pastor, so that he doesn't neglect his little sheep, well, his little rams. He has taken Magnus into his heart! He definitely is the only one who doesn’t mind, if I take Magnus on a trip to his confrère Carlo Carstens." Tightening his helmet, "Secondly, Magnus's mother is friend to the School Principal. She's probably asking him if she can entrust Magnus to me." Carlo rolled his eyes! "Does he know about us two? If so, you've got a bad hand." "He only knows that I have a school friend who's a chaplain, nothing else." "Hm, that's not suspicious, especially since I live here in the Hallberg. But back to Magnus. Doesn't he have a father?"

"Magnus certainly was not the result of a virgin production. But a father? He is dead, as far I know. There is a small complication also with the school principal. As I told already, his mother is friend of him and I know definitively he would like to play substitute father to Magnus. Therefore, Magnus dislikes him!”

"Gee Pollux! Your Ganymede is being crushed by eight women! Haven't you been moaning that your mother and your two sisters don't let you breathe, even though your father was around? Poor Magnus, he really needs to get out of this house and breathe some manly air. He can do that here. Then he'll learn how harmonious it can be in an all-male household."

*******

To be continued...

Posted 07/29/2022