In The Lion's Sign

CHAPTER 4-2

«As you can see, my dear Franciolino, this is one of the best ships in the fleet of the Serenissima Republic», the ship Captain began to explain to him, surrounding his shoulder with an arm. «It’s a very large ship and therefore it is very stable. But at the same time it’s also agile and easy to manoeuvre. In addition to the wind it can be propelled, if necessary, by two orders of rowers. Among the crew, servants, rowers and soldiers, there are more than five hundred men on board. Almost an army. And that’s not all. It’s a very safe ship. I noticed, a little while ago, how you were looking at the metal bulkheads on the sides. They protect the hull from the enemy’s incendiary balls. When needed, they can be lifted, creating a barrier even higher than the walls of the ship itself, and between one bulkhead and another, fire vents can be inserted, bombards capable of throwing explosive projectiles at opponents. But there is even more. On board we have as many as one hundred harquebusiers, men capable of using in an excellent way the new deadly firearm invented by the French. I can’t wait to show you this war machine at work.»

Continuing to speak, the Captain had led Andrea to the bridge, where he had taken the helm, explaining how in marine jargon the front part of the ship was called the bow and the rear stern, the left side port and the right side starboard. Then he began to shout orders to the sailors in order to prepare the ship to sail. The orders, pronounced in strict marine jargon, were completely incomprehensible to Andrea.

Drop anchor - Retract the tires - Lower the mainsail - Drop the pimp - Hoist the foresails, they were all commands whose meaning he did not fully understand. In any case, he could observe how, at each Captain’s command, the crew moved in a fast and precise way, without any uncertainty. In short, the galleon detached itself from the dock and set sail, starting sailing north, with a nice sirocco wind that inflated the sails to the maximum. Foscari held the rudder firmly in his hand and continued to explain to Andrea what he was doing.

«The Adriatic Sea is a closed and also rather narrow sea between the Italian and Dalmatian shores. And therefore it is quite safe. It is unlikely that sudden storms break out, as they do when you cross the ocean to reach the New World. However, we have not to underestimate the fact sometimes the wind turns and becomes dangerous. The “Garbino”6 , the wind that blows from the land, can lift the sea and cause even massive swells. In addition it makes it difficult to steer the ship, as it pushes the boats out to sea. As you can see, we always try to sail rather offshore to avoid the shallows, but always in view of the coast, so that we never lose course. The “Garbino” can fool you, making you lose sight of the coastline and therefore disorienting navigators, especially when the sky is cloudy and you can’t get oriented thanks to the sun and the stars. We sailors fear another wind, the “bura”, the “Buriàn”7 , which brings snow and frost, and blows especially in the winter season. The “bura” is sometimes so strong to sweep away everything it finds, including the sailors on deck who, if they end up in the icy waters, have little hope of surviving.»

«My dear Tommaso», Andrea interrupted him, by now having become familiar with his new friend. «I must confess that I am very afraid of the sea. I don’t even know how to swim and I had a very bad experience last year off the coast of Senigallia. So, I would prefer you to avoid telling me certain details. You already gave me the creeps. If you go on like this, I will be nauseous and then I will be in pain for the rest of the navigation. Today instead I can see a beautiful day, the wind that is caressing us is warm and pleasant, and this ship is so stable that I do not feel any discomfort. Therefore, let me enjoy this voyage, and maybe tell me about your exploits as a warrior. I know that you fought against the Turks on Dalmatian soil... But, what I see there towards the shore is the outline of the Rocca Roveresca? Have we already reached Senigallia?»

«The ship is fast and the wind is favourable. Yes, we have already reached Senigallia. And since you talked about Turks, be ready to meet them, because these waters are infested by Sultan Sèlim’s pirates.»

«I know this very well. Ah, if I could make them pay for what they made me lose a year ago! Two of my best friends lost their lives in the clash with those unfaithful bastards. And I got away with it by a whisker.»

«Excellent, my dear Franciolino. So, if we are going to have to fight them, while I will govern the ship, I’ll leave you to give the orders to gunners and harquebusiers. Now I will explain how.»

The navigation continued quietly until late afternoon. Captain Foscari was about to prepare the galleon to dock at the port of Rimini to spend the night, when a lookout, from his position at the top of the highest mast, shouted: «Pirate ship to starboard! Galleon flying the Turkish flag, in battle trim.»

«It’s Selim!», Andrea whispered to Captain Foscari, already beginning to feel a certain excitement at the idea of the fight.

The Sea Captain shouted some orders in seafaring jargon. Andrea didn’t understand anything, but he could admire again how, at each command, the crew of the ship was moving in perfect synchrony to comply with the will of the captain. In a few moments, the protective metal panels of the right side of the ship were lifted, the fire mouths were loaded and the bomb squad set themselves in combat position. The harquebusiers, instead, loaded their weapons, moved to the left side of the galleon, near the port wall.

«It’ll be yours the honour to order to fire», Foscari said, addressed to Andrea. «But not before the enemy made the first move!»

«Shall we let the pirates attack us? Isn’t that imprudent?»

«You’ll see!»

The conversation between the two was abruptly interrupted by the enemy attack. A little bit of arson balls were set off from the Turkish vessel. Many of them rained in water, extinguishing themselves in a cloud of steam and salt water splashes, several feet away from the Venetian ship. Some balls hit the metal panels, and even these fell into the sea, without causing any damage to the hull. Andrea felt at some point hit by a gush of lukewarm water, lifted by one of the incendiary balls that fell very close to the bridge. Wet as a chick he prepared to order to respond to the fire. The bomb squad had loaded the cannons with explosive balls. Andrea ordered to light the fuses, while his friend Tommaso prepared the next manoeuvre.

«Fire at will! Let’s not give them a chance to adjust the shot», and looked for a solid foothold to hold on tight, foreseeing the recoil due to the simultaneous explosions of at least forty cannons.

But, to his amazement, he saw the blows go off, accompanied by clouds of smoke in correspondence of the fire mouths, without the stability of the galleon being affected more than much. Sure, a little bit the ship began to swing and the fast manoeuvre ordered by the Captain immediately afterwards worsened not a little the condition of Andrea’s stomach. But he had to resist. He could not get seasick. The ship was now pointing fast the bow towards the Turkish galleon. The sails had been lowered, and it was moving only by oars. In fact the manoeuvre had to be precise, one could not rely on the whims of the wind. Two orders of rowers on each side could push the ship at the speed desired at every moment by the captain, through the master of oarsmen, called “subcommittee”. The explosive bullets had done their duty. They had hit the Turkish ship in several places, causing serious damage. The mast had been felled and several leaks had been opened on the hull, which was now leaning on the right side. The pirates were lowering the small boarding boats on the opposite side, towards the open sea, both to abandon the ship that was about to sink, and because they never gave up and would have prepared to assault the Venetian ship. Both Andrea and Tommaso De’ Foscari knew well that the religion of those bastards taught them that to die in battle meant to be assumed in glory by their God. None of them would ever surrender. They would have fought until they all died, but if a single handful of those ruthless pirates had managed to get on board, several men would have lost their lives. Of course, soon the Turks would have been overwhelmed, but they would still have succeeded in claiming numerous victims. And Tommaso would not have wanted to lose even one of his men. Therefore the manoeuvre had to be precise. He drove the ship around the Turkish galleon, so as to be between it and the pirate boats. Andrea could at this point realize how deadly was the new weapon called blunderbuss. The fifty harquebusiers fired in unison against the small boats to the order shouted by Captain Franciolini, just in the moment in which the Sea Captain made him the agreed nod. The men hit by the blunderbusses’ balls were decimated like flies: heads that were pulverized, bodies that were thrown into the water like rag dummies, legs and arms that were torn from logs that were still dying for a short time and then bled to death. While the harquebusiers loaded their weapons again, the surviving pirates threw themselves into the water to try to escape the shot. But the second volley was no less destructive than the first. They were also ordered to fire some explosive balls with cannons, in order to sink the Turkish lifeboats. A few arrows hissed above the heads of Andrea and Tommaso, but none went to score. The harquebusiers and the bomb squad were well protected by the ship’s walls and mobile panels. In the sea they started to outline a reddish blotch, a kind of island of blood, whose inhabitants were fragments of burnt wood and corpses flushed. Luckily Andrea’s attention was turned instead to a single boat that was moving away from the place of the battle. It was a little bigger than the others, it had a small mast with a square sail, above which waved a red flag with a half moon and a white star.

«It’s the Sultan! He is running away with his trusted men», Andrea exclaimed, excited. «Let’s chase him. We could capture him and make him a prisoner. The Duke Della Rovere will certainly be grateful!»

Captain De’ Foscari put an arm around his friend’s shoulder, in an attempt to calm his soul.

«Let’s leave him. It’s not worth the risk. He’s still a dangerous man. We have won the battle. We can continue our journey, now without any more hindrances.»

«But... In a short time he’ll reorganize himself, and return to haunt our seas and terrorize our coastal cities!»

So saying, Andrea lowered his head, a bit mortified. And he saw what he never wanted to see. The blood, the corpses, the pieces of the boats destroyed. This time he couldn’t hold back his stomach. The gagging of vomit rose strongly. The movements of the ship, however slight, were now unbearable. He felt his legs give way. He fell on his knees.

Tommaso called a couple of armigers, who were immediately beside him.

«Take him below deck, to my cabin, and have him lie down in my bunk. He led the assault on the pirates very well, but he is a land fighter. And the blood, in the sea, has a completely different effect. Watch over his rest. I will spend the night here, on the bridge.»