The counts of the Wild Valley E-Book

Josef Fleiß

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 411

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Visitors to a small town are often drawn to traces of its history: Who is the "last count", who was commemorated by a statue not so long ago? And who is the mysterious woman with the wolves, who is the central figure of the village fountain? An old man in a wheelchair invites you to delve into the more than 250-year history of the valley and its inhabitants. Events with global political significance also have an impact on this remote region, requiring determination and solidarity from the inhabitants to preserve the unique character of their valley and their independence.

Leseprobe

CHAPTER I

The doctor's appointment

I was once again plagued by my lower back, or rather my intervertebral disc, a longstanding ailment, sometimes better, sometimes worse. I had been made aware of a specialist for such ailments by an acquaintance, in a private clinic, "Das Ärztezentrum Buchberg", appointment for Monday, May 6, 2008 at eight o'clock. The various examinations took almost until midday: X-rays, MRI, blood tests, discussions with various specialists. I had not yet had the pleasure of seeing the specialist. Brief interim report, the consultation with the specialist would take place on Tuesday, i.e. tomorrow at ten o'clock. The doctor had an appointment for an operation in the afternoon, which was apparently not planned, so there was no time left for me. I had actually expected to be able to do everything in one day. So I had to decide whether to drive the 80 kilometers back home and come back here tomorrow or find a room for the night, which I did in the end. The lady at the reception of the medical center recommended the "Wagenbichler" guesthouse, not far from the medical center, about a ten-minute walk, at the northern end of the market. I got a nice room with a balcony on the second floor for €85 including breakfast, dinner was not offered, as there were plenty of options in the neighborhood. As it was only early afternoon and the spring weather was pleasantly warm, I decided to explore the surrounding area, the school center, the leisure center and the fire station, which was just across the road from the medical center, having been in the fire department myself for almost 40 years. A tranquil building, probably not too old, nine large garage doors, two slightly smaller ones, all but one space was full. You could get a little envious: There were three of them in our community, which was also a somewhat smaller community, and the vehicles were getting on a bit, oh yes, one was only twelve years old. I heard voices from the courtyard, youthful voices, and became curious. Look here: young firefighters in training, a considerable number of young people, boys and girls, roughly around 22, plus three slightly older ones who were trying to teach them about firefighting and the work involved. Some would certainly stay with the fire department, some would certainly go other ways, it was no different with us, four out of ten had stayed with the fire department. But perhaps it was different here, perhaps more interesting, it was also a larger community, there were a few school options, compulsory school, grammar school, I had also seen a technical college, and there was also supposed to be a private vocational college just outside. I also found out that there were plenty of vocational training opportunities in the town.

The police, Red Cross and mountain rescue services were also located slightly to the side of the fire station, and adjacent to the fire department's backyard was the Buchberg market town's spacious service yard. In general, a remarkable building for the various blue light organizations and municipal services, just looking at the fire station: garages and ancillary facilities on the first floor, training facilities and service rooms on the upper floor, with a few apartments above, all in a good architectural style, as far as I could see.

My next destination was the town center with its church and cemetery. The way there led me along a generously laid out street, but no cars, it was a pedestrian zone, lots of green, well-kept green spaces, copper beeches, chestnut trees, all in all a very elaborate layout, led directly to the market square, a large square, certainly around 100 x 100 meters, so around one hectare, in the middle a stone fountain made of granite or it was feldspar. I had to take a closer look at this fountain, a huge piece on a large square. A closer look revealed an oval-shaped block of stone measuring around 4 x 3 meters, with two dogs' heads on the church side - or were they wolves' heads, also possible - and behind them a person, probably a woman, with a long coat and hat. Water flowed from the mouths of the dog heads into two hands, which were folded in the shape of a bowl. The oval-shaped bowl was probably 1.5 x 2.5 meters in size. The monument behind it, i.e. the woman and the dogs' heads, was around three meters high. A huge stone carving, with a brass plaque under the dogs' heads that read: "The Wolf Woman - from 1701 to 1767, Buchberg in 1995". So wolves after all. The square was also covered with heavy stone slabs, a slightly lighter color than the fountain, the material was probably the same, granite or feldspar, I couldn't say for sure, they look almost the same, only the feldspar was a little softer. The slabs were of different sizes, not a bad choice, it broke up the large square a bit. At the edge of the square were wooden benches, also on stone bases. Access to the church, at the northern end of the square, was via five large steps made of the same material as the square. Memorial stones for the fallen and missing citizens of both world wars were erected at both ends of the approximately ten to twelve meter wide steps. A considerable number of names were listed on both memorial stones, so it must have been a larger community. For me, this place was rather unimportant to unknown until now, I had only noticed the name several times before. Or was there another place with this name somewhere else? Could also be. A little away from the memorial stone on the right, World War II, there was a smaller granite block with numerous names and the words "The fallen and missing SS soldiers from 1939 to 1945" above it. Why these names were not together on the large memorial stone was still a mystery to me at the time, but there would be a reason, and it shouldn't concern me. When I looked at the names, I noticed that a lot of people with the name Holanders had died and gone missing in both the First and Second World Wars, and that more than half of the 16 names on the memorial for the SS men were missing.

The cemetery with its gravestones, mainly made of granite, but also some iron crosses, was in a very well-kept condition. The church, which resembled a cathedral, had two towers of different heights, which was also unusual. The masonry was made of conglomerate stone, a type of stone that was rather rare in this part of the country. To the left of the church, at the level of the entrance, which looked like a small village square, there was another monument of a tranquil size, a monument in the shape of a head, under which was written "THE LAST COUNT - Alexander Wedego Holanders, from 1919 to 2005". This family of counts made a significant contribution to the development and prosperity of our municipality. And again the name "Holanders". Perhaps I could find out more about this name, as I still had plenty of time, possibly over dinner. On the way to the back of the cemetery, I noticed a person in a wheelchair under a large beech tree, he looked as if he was sleeping, but no, he gave me a sign with his hand: Come to me. I thought maybe he needed help. As I got closer, I realized he only had one leg, a beautiful full beard and must be around 60 to 70 years old, hard to tell. "Hello," I said, "do you need help?" "No, no, everything's fine. I've been watching you for a while now as you've been to the memorials, shaking your head from time to time. Maybe I can help you - or maybe not. You're not from here, I've never seen you here before. You spent a long time at the memorials. People who are from here don't stay long in the cemetery, visit one grave, maybe a second and then disappear again. But you didn't do that. Are you looking for something specific, a particular name? Maybe I can help you - or maybe not. You can never tell what's going on inside a person." "Yes," I said, "I'm not from here, I was over at the medical center for a check-up, I have to wait for tomorrow, the specialist didn't have time for me today." I had rarely met a person who spoke such clear, plain language as this man in a wheelchair. "Yes," I said, "if you don't mind, I have a few questions, I'm a curious person." I remembered that when I was at the last count's memorial, I had often taken a look around, but I hadn't seen this man under the beech tree. Maybe he was further back in the shadows, just a thought. "The last count. Who was this person? Then this name, 'Holanders'. Not a common name in our area, but must be a big family, I've read a lot of these names on gravestones, even at the memorials. But I don't want to keep you too long, just have to say when it's enough." "Oh, I've got time. Yes, who was the last count. He and my father were born on the same day, mine on the morning of November 11, 1919 and he in the afternoon, exactly one year after the end of the war. He grew up in Buchenwald Castle, a beautiful estate. After his baptism, my father, the unmarried son of a dairymaid, went to live with a family near Buchenwald Castle, the Buchenwald estate. Alexander, the last count, grew up well looked after in the castle, while my father, like so many others at the time, grew up in rather miserable circumstances, although he was not doing badly on the Buchenwald estate either. The two of them were quite good friends as children, although they grew up in different wealth classes. The Buchenwald estate is only about 500 meters away from the castle. Alexander, the last count, was sent to a school in Salzburg at the age of 16, my father was sent to the Buchenwaldalm in the summer as a herdsman and later as a dairyman, and then as a woodcutter in the fall, winter and spring. After successfully completing school, Alexander became a career officer and had to go to the Western Front in 1940, while my father was drafted or volunteered in 1941. My father and Alexander were wounded several times, my father came home for the last time in the summer of 1944, I was born on May 6, 1945, exactly 63 years ago today. I never saw my father, he was reported missing in action on April 29, 1945. Alexander was taken prisoner in Russia and only came home in 1949, both Alexander and my father were in the SS, as were three of Alexander's brothers, they never came home either, the older one was missing, the two younger ones were killed in action in Russia. But now to the story, why the last count? Alexander wasn't really a count either, but he was called a count. But do you have the time and interest? It's a long story. If so, come with me, we'll have to turn back the clock by about 250 years. Come and sit here on the bench, in the sun."

CHAPTER II

The arrival

Sunday, November 19, 1758, late afternoon. The four horses and carriage struggled along the snow-covered path to the top of the pass, almost half a meter of snow and an icy wind. Not usual for November, you might think, but at that time of year it could happen as early as October, just as it could be that there was no snow in December or January. You couldn't tell whether the coachman was a snowman or a human being. The woman and the little boy in the carriage weren't much better off, they were just as frozen. The coachman and the three male passengers had to mark the way in front of the horses, as far as it was possible. Straying from the path would have serious consequences; the left embankment was around 50 meters above a ditch. The horses were almost at the end of their tether, as were the four men in front of the carriage, but they were freezing less. The woman in the carriage was in very poor health and was also heavily pregnant. After a good hour, the path became flatter, but the snow depth increased to well over 50 centimetres. The rest stop and the inn came into view, and the stable crew were amazed when the white pile arrived at the farm gate. As this was a private journey, the coach was not expected at all. The normal public stagecoach only came here four times a week, on Monday mornings heading south and on Tuesday afternoons heading north to Buchberg. The same again on Thursdays and Fridays. During snowfall in winter, it only ran as required. Freight vehicles could be on the road at any time, but today was Sunday. "What are you doing here in this awful weather? You're lucky no avalanche has buried the road yet. Are you staying here or are you going further into the village?" "Can we stay here tonight?" asked the tall, slim man. "My wife is very unwell and desperately needs warmth, and the horses are at the end of their tether too." "I wouldn't send you any further in this bad weather. Put the carriage in the courtyard, the horses in the stable and the people in the house. We'll take care of the horses." In the meantime, the innkeepers had also noticed the new arrivals and brought the frozen people into the inn. The coachman and his companion stayed with the stable staff and helped to look after the horses. "We'll catch up with you later." Said the coachman to the tall, slim man. It was pleasantly warm in the large dining room, with the large iron stove in the middle providing sufficient warmth. "Come and sit by the stove. Have you brought dry clothes? What about the young lady? She doesn't look well. Is she ill? Take her to the next room, there's a stove and a bed there too. I'll take care of her. The little one should come too, he almost falls asleep standing up. Why did you come up here in this awful weather? Where are you going anyway, who are you?" The landlady seemed quite concerned about the new arrivals and made an effort to ensure their well-being. "Make some hot tea," she called into the kitchen. "Get the suitcase of dry clothes out of the carriage," said the tall man to one of his two companions. "We have to change, otherwise we'll all be sick tomorrow. Including my wife's suitcase. Is there a doctor nearby?" he asked the innkeeper. "Or something like that. I think my wife is getting worse and has a fever. It's been getting worse over the last five days. I was hoping we could make it to her uncle, the count, today." "What, the count is the young lady's uncle? Did you hear that woman? The young lady is our count's niece, so make an effort. Where's the hot tea? And add enough rum. Or do we still have schnapps? But only tea for the young lady. The nearest doctor, if you can call him that, is in the village. But we can't go today anyway, it's already dark and in this weather, no, we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Besides, there's a real doctor at the Count's, but that's further away. But woman, what about the wolf woman? She's been sneaking around the house all day. Where is she? She probably didn't take the long way home. Johann, look in the stable, maybe she's found a place to sleep there, but be careful, she's got the big black wolf with her." Johann, the houseboy, was just about to go to the door when it was pushed open from the outside and a medium-sized woman with an old hat and black fur coat stood in front of it, next to the woman a large wolfhound - or was it a real wolf? A gust of wind blew through the open door, the makeshift candlelight on the large table flickered and almost went out. It had become remarkably quiet, only the crackling of the wood in the iron stove could be heard. The innkeeper was the first to regain his composure and called to the woman dressed in black: "Come in and close the door, but you'd better leave the wolf, ah, dog outside." "Either we both come in or I can leave again. I've noticed that someone needs help. So what is it?" Without waiting for an answer, she walked through the door, a short, inconspicuous hand movement and the large dog stopped outside next to the door. Without closing the door, the black woman went into the next room, where the landlady had disappeared with the young lady and the boy. "Go out and look after the guests. Bring some hot chicken soup for the woman here. Bring me some schnapps too, but a high-proof one, no, no, not for me, I need it for the boy, he's half frozen through. You didn't come up with the idea of taking off his wet clothes. You'll be lucky if he doesn't catch pneumonia and die. The count would probably resent that very much. And why is the woman still wearing her wet clothes? Bring dry clothes for her too and close the door." The black woman stayed in the room with the young lady and the boy. In the meantime, people in the restaurant had recovered from their fright and the man had also returned with the two suitcases. "There was a big wolf outside the door, but it disappeared behind the house. My heart almost stopped" was the man's report. The coachman and his companion had also come into the house in the meantime and were warming themselves by the stove.

"What about this woman?" the tall, slim man asked the innkeeper. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Christoph Holanders. These are my companions, the coachman Stefan, the other gentlemen are Peter, Simon and Bruno. My wife's name is Katharina and our five-year-old son is Alexander. We come from Silesia, I'm originally from Norway. We've been on the road for about six weeks now. Who is this woman? Is she something like a doctor? She looks quite neglected and the big dog, tell me, she's now alone with my wife and the boy." "Don't worry," said the landlord. "We call her the Wolfsfrau or Wolfsweib, some also call her 'the Wolfsberg Hex'." He said the last three words behind his back. "She's a kind of miracle healer, a fortune teller. In the summer she said that there would be lots of snow on St. Elizabeth's Day and lots of water afterwards, and today is St. Elizabeth's Day. Yes, and the dog, that's a real wolf, he accompanies this woman everywhere, I've never seen her without the wolf. She lives up at Wöferlehengut in a modest hut with her mother. But is she still alive? I haven't seen her for ages. If you're in need or ill, you don't have to look for her, she'll find you. You saw how suddenly she appeared. This black wolf isn't the only one, there's a whole pack up there on the mountain, around 15 to 20 of them. Everyone gives the Wöferlehengut a wide berth. Nobody really knows what they live on. There are rumors that our priest asks them for advice, but that's just a rumor. But this woman has helped many inhabitants of our valley, even the count's doctor has asked her for advice, at least according to the stable boy at Buchenwald Castle. The doctor would never admit to such a thing."

The landlady had just come out of the next room and disappeared into the kitchen. A short time later, she returned to the next room with a large bowl of hot water. Inside, there was a tense silence. The parlor had also become quiet. The coachman and his three companions had fallen asleep at the table after the meal - no wonder after the exhausting journey here. The innkeeper was also slouched in his armchair, snoring. The tall, slender man called Holanders paced back and forth in the restaurant, outwardly he seemed quite calm, but inside he was rumbling until tiredness forced him to rest on a bench. Johann, the houseboy, made sure that the fire in the oven didn't go out all night and that the guests didn't get cold, even though the beds weren't very comfortable. Nobody noticed that the black woman left the inn around midnight and disappeared outside into the darkness and snowstorm. The landlady in the next room was also asleep in her armchair.

A brief flash of lightning and heavy thunder startled the sleeping people in the early hours of the morning. A thunderstorm at this time of day, something unusual - or not, with such capricious weather, a thunderstorm at this time of day was nothing out of the ordinary. The innkeeper was startled and fell off his chair. "What's going on?" he called out, distraught. "Has something happened? Oh, that was a thunderstorm. What time is it? Where is Johann? Turn on the light, oh, my bones are aching. Why didn't I go to bed? Oh yes, the excitement last night." "What are you moaning about?" shouted his wife. "You usually sit around the table all night playing cards with your friends. Has anyone seen the wolf woman? I didn't hear when she left. I'll make sure there's breakfast. Let some fresh air in before we suffocate in this stale air. But not for too long, otherwise we'll have snow in the dining room too. Or is it no longer snowing anyway? It's already getting a bit light. How is the young woman? Oh, her husband has just gone to see her. Leave the two of them alone."

It had actually stopped snowing, but it was raining cats and dogs and the wind was still blowing. So once again the wolf woman was right with her prediction. The men disappeared one after the other in different directions and it became quiet again in the restaurant. Only voices and the clattering of dishes could be heard from the kitchen. Nobody noticed when the woman dressed in black came in and went into the next room. She walked so quietly that Katharina's husband only noticed when she stood in front of him. He looked up at her and said, "Thank you." "You don't need to thank me, listen to me carefully first. You slept well last night, I didn't want to wake you up. Your wife gave birth to another child yesterday, a boy, but it was already dead. The landlady didn't notice, so I was alone with your wife. But now to your wife, you shouldn't have made this journey at this time, at least not to this area. Southern warmth would have done her good, but it's too late now and even good advice won't help. As far as I can tell, your wife won't survive either, she's lost too much blood. I know it sounds harsh, but I could have lied to you. You heard yesterday, they call me the Wolfsberg Hex too, yes, I hear well, however softly spoken." "How long will she live?" Christoph asked quietly. She pressed her index finger to her mouth. "She's waking up." "Good morning, Katharina," said Christoph. "Yes, I already know, but please stay with me and Alexander." And again the black woman pressed her index finger to her mouth. Shortly afterwards, the door to the room was opened and the landlady came into the room with hot tea and a pastry and was almost startled when she saw the black woman. "You're here again. I didn't hear you when you left tonight." "Yes, you were all asleep, including Katharina, so I just left, couldn't have done anything anyway. Is the tea for Katharina? Yes, it will do her good. I could do with an oatmeal, I haven't slept all night. I was still in the castle, spoke to the castle captain about the count's niece, sent a rider to the castle during the night, will probably have arrived there in the morning. We'll see what the Count has to say. In any case, he'll send his doctor, but it will take him until the afternoon to get here, provided he's not drunk again." "Did you hear that, Katharina?" said her husband. "Your uncle's doctor is on his way here." "Yes," she said quietly. "Everything will probably be fine. I'm feeling a bit better too. The bed and the warmth tonight did me good." She turned her head towards the wall so that no one could see her tears. The black woman wiped her forehead and eyes with her hand. "Yes, the fever has gone down a bit, but you're not out of the woods yet. Until the doctor arrives, you should get plenty of sleep. But first drink your tea and try to eat something, you'll be fine." In the meantime, Alexander had also woken up. "Mom," he called, "where are we? Hello Dad, I dreamt that we were attacked by wolves. They took my little brother with them." "No, no, son," said Christoph. "It's all right, it was just a bad dream. Nothing happened to your mom and your little brother. How are you? You look quite fresh today. Are you hungry? Here, eat something, but then you should go back to sleep." "Yes," said the black woman, "we should leave the two of them alone again. The doctor from the castle is coming in the afternoon." Christoph squeezed his wife's hands and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "See you later, you have to go back to sleep." He also kissed his son on the forehead and left the room. The black woman also left the room and the parlor. Christoph looked after the inconspicuous woman and thought to himself. Yesterday in the dark, he had thought that she had looked very unkempt, but today she looked completely different. She must be a strange woman. He had also seen the tears in her eyes when she wiped Katharina's forehead and eyes with her hand.

The wait for the doctor to arrive increased the tension for everyone in the Gasthof zur Burg, as the property was called, and the sign above the entrance also bore this name. "Where is the castle?" Christoph asked the innkeeper. "The castle, yes, we can't see it from here, it's the only access to the valley, the Buchberg Valley, it's also called the Wild Valley. The castle is right above the road. If the castle guard doesn't want it, you can't get into the valley except on foot over the mountains, but you have to know your way around and be lucky that the black wolves don't intercept you. By the way, the black wolves are not animals, but a kind of police force of the count, they are stationed in the castle, but you never know where they are. The troop consists of around 75 men in total, 30 of them on horseback and the rest on foot. The group is led by the castle captain, who is fully loyal to the count. A small part of the troop is also stationed in the village of Buchberg. You'll get to know them, or you won't be staying there anyway."

Shortly before midday, three men wearing uniform clothing came into the guest room. "Greetings, Captain," the innkeeper greeted them. "What gives me the honor of welcoming these gentlemen here with me?" The three men in leather clothing nodded to the innkeeper. "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Arthur Hendrik, you've heard I'm the castle captain," said the tall man in the middle with a full beard. "I've already heard that strangers have arrived. Who are you, where do you come from? The sick woman is said to be the Count's niece. Didn't tell me he was getting a visit from his niece. Or he didn't know it himself." "Hello, I'm Christoph, the husband of the count's niece, Katharina is her name. He must have known we were coming, but not when we were coming. I don't know exactly how his sister wrote to him and whether he even received the letter. When I look at the circumstances here, it's possible." "It's possible, but the conditions here in the mountains are no worse than anywhere else, wherever you come from," replied the castle captain. "And bad weather can happen anywhere. It can just be more extreme here in the mountains. We've quickly learned to deal with it, to live with it and cope with it well. But now to the point: the doctor from the castle won't be coming today, nor tomorrow. Yesterday's snowfall and now the rain has turned the gorge after the castle towards the village into a lake, a landslide has probably moved the exit and there is no other way to get here. The path over the mountain is also not possible at the moment, there is one and a half meters of snow up there and it is still snowing. So we can only wait here. Going back south is also no longer possible: the Wolfsberg avalanche has buried the road several meters deep and it could be weeks before it is clear again. When it stops raining, we'll try to get the road to the village clear again. I can't say now when that will be. Make sure that the sick woman is looked after as well as possible, you have the best doctor here anyway, even if some people don't want to admit it." Without waiting for an answer, the castle captain left the guest room with his two companions. The room had fallen silent. "Well, now we know," said the innkeeper first. "Good that we at least have enough supplies here. But do you have enough money to pay for everything?" "But woman, don't you have any other worries? Always your greed. You've heard that the woman is the Count's niece, and he'll make sure you get your damn money." "Don't worry, I've got money, the main thing is that I'm well provided for. But the most important thing is Katharina, she should get everything she needs," Christoph replied and went into the next room to Katharina. The landlady seemed a little uncomfortable with the money issue and had left the parlor in a hurry towards the kitchen. She could be heard shouting indignantly at someone from there. As it would apparently take a little longer, rooms were prepared for the people.

Time passed slowly. The coachman and Christoph's three companions played cards. Christoph spent most of his time in the adjoining room with his wife and son, only coming into the parlor to eat. Very little was said, and when it was, it was in a harsh tone. Everyone was tense. The landlady rarely came out of the kitchen, the food was usually brought by the landlady's sister or Johann. Towards evening, the rain eased a little, but only for a short time, only to start up again all the more heavily. The wolf woman hadn't been seen since the morning either, she disappeared again as suddenly as she had appeared. Katharina wasn't any better, but she wasn't any worse either; she lay in bed silent and rarely opened her eyes. But the boy was feeling better again. In any case, he was hungry again and slept peacefully afterwards. The night was quieter than the previous one. Early the next morning, the black woman appeared again, looking very tired and soaked. Without saying a word, she went into the next room. This time she had a large leather bag slung over her shoulder. A short time later, she opened the door again and went into the kitchen, returning with a small bowl of warm water. She signaled Christoph to follow her. "Close the door. No one has to hear what I'm saying to you now, and the boy seems to be sleeping well. I went up to my hut yesterday morning after all, sometimes I almost gave up, there's almost two meters of snow up there and it was still snowing until the evening. Without Hasso I wouldn't have found the way anyway. It started raining up there that night too, but by then I was already on my way back. I made a herbal porridge with my mother. I can't say yet whether it will help, I only tried it once on one of the Count's horses and it certainly helped. But humans are not horses. All you have to do now is tell me whether I should give it to your wife or not. Otherwise I don't see any way of helping her. She probably won't make it through the day like this, she's lost a lot of blood through internal bleeding, her body is freezing cold and I can't perform any miracles either." "Yes, give her the porridge. If it doesn't help, I won't blame you either. I'm a man of my word." "Good, then wake her up. She has to sit up in bed. You'll have to hold her down, the stuff doesn't taste very good." Some time later, she left the inn again in the direction of the castle, where one of the men had allegedly suffered an open leg fracture. Christoph didn't leave the chamber until after midday and Katharina hadn't woken up since the morning. It was not yet possible to say whether the herbal porridge had helped. The rain had largely stopped during the morning and the sun had even come out briefly in the afternoon. Christoph ate a snack and set off for the castle with Johann, the houseboy. "You just have to show me how to get there, otherwise I'll get lost." Just before the large castle gate, which was half open, Johan turned back. "You can't get lost from there, I don't know where you're going." "Thanks, I'll find my way there." As Christoph tried to go through the gate, two bearded men in leather clothing stood in his way. "Stop! What do you want here? Who are you going to see?" "I'm looking for the castle captain, I have something to discuss with him. Where can I find him?" "So, who are you? I've never seen you here before." "My name is Christoph Holanders. I arrived here by coach on Sunday. The captain already knows me, we met yesterday down at the inn." "Aha, so you're the clever gentleman from the noble world, yes, come along then, I'll take you to our captain." Must not have made a good impression yesterday, Christoph thought to himself. He followed the man across the large square to a smaller building with a tower-like roof. "Wait here, I'll sign you in." The man disappeared into the building, but returned after a short time, followed by the castle captain. "I've already seen you through the window. What's on your mind?" "I'd like to speak to her, if it's possible." "All right, then, come in." The captain went to the door, but let Christoph enter in front of him and then closed the door behind him. "Can I offer you something? I don't have much choice though, just a homemade schnapps. You'll probably be used to something better, but unfortunately I don't have anything like that, it's only available from the Count." He poured a crystal-clear liquid into two small pewter cups, handed one of them to Christoph - "Well then, cheers!" - and emptied his cup in one go. Christoph also emptied his cup. "Oh, that's quite something! What is the firewater made from?" "We call it rowanberry. Never heard of it before?" "No, it's the first time I've heard of it. So, why am I here? Can anyone say when the road to the castle will be passable again, or is it still too early?" "As I suspected yesterday, a landslide from the castle hill has buried the gorge exit about ten meters high. I don't yet know how we can loosen this pile of logs, stones and earth. We already tried to loosen something yesterday, but it's pressed tight, so we'll have to come up with something else. One of the men also broke his leg in the process." "Can I have a look at this spot?" Christoph asked the captain. "Yes, if you think I won't stop you. I'll give you Anton, he knows the way across the gorge." He called the man called Anton. "Show this gentleman the gorge at the end of the ravine, but be careful, the wet snow on the slope should not be underestimated." Christoph and Anton left the castle and disappeared into the forest above the gorge. Even though it had rained a lot, there were still 30 to 40 centimetres of snow - or rather slush - in the forest. After around 15 minutes, the two men stood on a rock face and looked down into the gorge. The blockage was right at the exit of the gorge, around 50 meters below the rock face. "Where do I get down there?" Christoph asked Anton. "Yes, there's a path further to the right, you can try there. But be careful, someone broke his leg there yesterday and we had to carry him back. Ow, he was moaning!" Christoph had the place shown to him. "You wait here, see if I can get down there. If I'm not back by dark, go back to the castle." And he descended the path. After about an hour, Anton was already heading back to the castle when Christoph returned to the rock. "What took you so long? I've already given up on you. "It'll be dark soon, so back to the castle. So, have you found a way?" Anton asked curiously. "It's possible, says Christoph, do you actually have any black powder in the castle?" "As far as I know, there should still be some left. Or did the miners pick it up? You'll have to ask the captain, he has the key to the powder room, nobody else can get in there." Back in the castle, we went straight back to the building or the captain's office. "Have you found a solution?" "Yes, maybe, says Christoph, Anton told me that there should still be some black powder left." "Yes, we still have plenty of it, we only got supplies a month ago. There's a lot needed in the mines. Why do you need black powder? Do you want to blow away the water or what are you planning to do with it?" "I need at least twelve barrels of black powder and around 150 meters of fuse. I think we can clear the blockage with that and the water will do the rest. Is the village actually in the catchment area of the stream? If it is, we can scrap the plan right away, because a huge mudslide is going to start towards the valley and I don't want people and property to be in danger." "No, not really. The village is on the opposite side of the slope. The water can only reach as far as the Buchbergache, which is a lot lower. I didn't think of the black powder thing. Are you a blaster or something like that, or even a soldier? So, when do you want to tackle this? How many people do you need?" "Yes, tomorrow at dawn, I'd need about 15 to 20 people. Is that possible? Ropes too, if there are any. I can tell you later what I am or what I've done. Right now I want to get back to the inn, I need dry clothes and I have to see how my wife is doing. So I'll see you tomorrow!" The captain and Anton looked after the tall man until he disappeared at the castle gate. "I think I underestimated this gentleman a little," said the captain to Anton. "But we'll see what happens tomorrow."

When Christoph returned to the inn, it was already dark and his four men were already at dinner. "What took you so long?" he was asked straight away. "Oh, I had something to discuss with the castle captain, but I'll tell you about it later. I have to see how Katharina is first." More than an hour passed before he returned from the chamber. "So, about tomorrow: Simon and Bruno will accompany me to the castle tomorrow at the start of the day and will try to clear the road with a blast. You, Bruno, are a specialist in such things. There's enough black powder in the castle, I've already arranged everything with the castle captain. Go to bed now, it's going to be a tough day."

The next day did not start well. Katharina had died during the night. When Christoph woke up after midnight, the black woman was sitting next to Katharina's bed. When she realized that Christoph was awake, she shook her head slightly. "She didn't make it, I'm sorry." She got up and left the room. Christoph also left the room after a good hour. It was not the time for a long period of mourning, there was a busy day ahead: everything depended on whether the blasting could clear the way. The four men were already at breakfast. Christoph sat down with them without saying a word. The four men looked at each other and were also silent. They suspected that something had happened. They had known Christoph for ages and knew when it was better to keep quiet. Christoph was the first to speak. "Katharina, yes, she didn't make it, she fell asleep for good tonight. She gave birth to the child in the night from Sunday to Monday. It was already dead. She probably bled to death inside. But that doesn't change anything, life goes on, yes, it has to go on, we've already experienced it several times. As I said yesterday, Bruno and Simon will accompany me into the gorge, you, Stefan, stay here and look after Alexander. He's still asleep and doesn't yet know that his mother has died. Take him to another room. I'll have a word with the landlady." "I've already heard," the landlady could be heard under the door to the kitchen. "I'll take care of it, you just go about your business. I also know what to do when someone dies. We buried my mother a month ago. What will the count say?" "Thank you," said Christoph. "Stefan and Peter will stay here in any case, something unexpected might happen. You, Peter, are like an uncle to Alexander and have always been present at our meetings. So let's go, let's not keep the men in the castle waiting." It wasn't quite light yet when they got to the castle. The gate was still closed, but a sentry had already seen the three men. "Open the gate," he shouted into the courtyard. The two gates were opened with a loud creak. "Could do with a bit of grease," muttered Bruno. "Or is that the alarm clock for the team?" The castle courtyard was already bustling with activity, a gruff male voice was giving orders and instructions and seemed to be the platoon leader in charge. There must have been around 40 men on their feet, and the castle captain had just come out of his building, accompanied by two men. They were the same men who had been at the inn on Monday. "My deputy and my adjutant," the captain introduced them. "This is Bruno, he was my gunner on the ship, this is Simon, he's good with gunpowder," Christoph also introduced his men. "Well, let's get started then," said the captain. "We'll certainly need more men later, assuming the blasting works. The road has to be made passable again. I've also sent two people in the direction of the village. I've heard that the count has rounded up a considerable number of men and they're on their way towards the castle. They need to be warned, not to be swept away by the masses of water. Oh, one more thing, the Wöferlehen castle told me that your wife died tonight. I'm sorry." "Yes, unfortunately, but that doesn't matter now. Let's get the stuff to the gorge and get the men warm. Have we got everything? Twelve barrels of powder, two rolls of fuse, yes, and don't forget the flints and the hemp ropes. So let's get going!" We walked single file towards the gorge exit. Every now and then you could hear men cursing, one of them started to slip and just managed to cling to a shrub, but the powder keg fell 50 meters down into the water. "Damn it, can't you watch out? Now you can run back and get another one," shouted the train driver. "No, wait a minute. The barrels are a bit bigger than the ones I know. So we have a bit of a reserve," said Bruno. After about half an hour, everyone had arrived at the upper rock face with the required material, everything was complete except for the one powder keg. The castle captain gave his men another brief order: "Bruno will tell you what happens next, that's the little fat man, so just listen to him." Bruno felt very comfortable in his job. "Well," he said, "I'm going to take a look at things from below first. Five men will abseil down to the first plateau or you can climb down. The powder kegs will be lowered down on the ropes. But make sure you don't lose another one. The two rolls of ignition fuse also come down there. You wait there for further instructions." Christoph and Simon had already descended to the first plateau on the ropes. The castle captain had been amazed at how easily the two men had climbed down to the plateau on the ropes. "It's not the first time they've done something like this," he said to his deputy. "Yes, it seems so. You heard: the little fat man was the gunner on my ship," he replied.