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 Godot from Zero to Proficiency (Proficient)
First Edition

––––––––

A step-by-step guide to creating your first 3D Role-Playing Game.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the pub-
lisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting
from the use of the information contained herein.

GODOT FROM ZERO TO PROFICIENCY (PROFICIENT)

First edition. February 15, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Patrick Felicia.

ISBN: 979-8201345402

Written by Patrick Felicia.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Godot from Zero to Proficiency (Proficient)

Chapter 1: Introduction to the RPG Genre, Key Features and Design Concepts

Chapter 2: Creating and Animating the Main Character

Chapter 3: Creating a Dialogue System

Chapter 4: Creating an Inventory System

Chapter 5: Creating a Shop and a Buying System

Chapter 6: Adding Weapons and Protagonists

Chapter 7: Adding a Quest System

Chapter 8: Creating an XP Attribution System

Chapter 9: Creating The Final Level

Chapter 10: Your Next Steps

Thank you

Also By Patrick Felicia

About the Author

Patrick Felicia
 Godot from Zero to Proficiency (Proficient)
Copyright © 2022 Patrick Felicia
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval
systems, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written per-
mission of the publisher (Patrick Felicia), except in the case of brief quotations
embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accu-
racy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book
is sold without warranty, either expressed or implied. Neither the author and its
dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be
caused directly or indirectly by this book.
• First published: February 2022.
Published by Patrick Felicia

Credits
Author & Editor: Patrick Felicia

About the Author

Patrick Felicia is a lecturer and researcher at Waterford Institute of Technology,
where he teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students. He
obtained his MSc in Multimedia Technology in 2003 and Ph.D. in Computer Sci-
ence in 2009 from University College Cork, Ireland. He has published several
books and articles on the use of video games for educational purposes, including
the Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation through Educa-
tional Games: Multidisciplinary Approaches (published by IGI), and Digital Games
in Schools: A Handbook for Teachers, published by European Schoolnet. Patrick is
also the Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Game-Based Learning
(IJGBL), and the Conference Director of the Irish Symposium on Game-Based
Learning, a popular conference on games and learning organized throughout Ire-
land.
 Support and Resources for this Book
To complete the activities presented in this book you need to download the
startup pack on the companion website (if you are already a subscriber, you just
need to enter the member area - http://learntocreategames.com/member-area/); it
consists of free resources that you will need to complete your projects. To down-
load these resources, please do the following:
• Open the page http://www.learntocreategames.com/books.
• Click on your book (Godot From Zero to Proficiency (Proficient))

• On the new page, please click the link that says “Please Here Click to Down-
load Your Resource Pack”.

This book is dedicated to Mathis

 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to the RPG Genre, Key Features and Design Concepts

RPG games
RPG features in the game that you will create
The design philosophy behind this book

Chapter 2: Creating and Animating the Main Character

Creating your character

Controlling the character from a script
Modifying the Camera to follow the player
Creating the village
Creating a mini-map
Level roundup

Chapter 3: Creating a Dialogue System

Introduction
Importing the JSON file for the dialogues
Reading the dialogue file
Processing the user's answers
Building a user interface
Linking the code and the JSON file to the user interface
Triggering the dialogue when we are near the NPC
Adding a 3D character for the NPC
Animating the NPC
Level roundup

Chapter 4: Creating an Inventory System

Introduction
Creating classes to store information on the items to be collected
 Creating a user interface for the inventory system
Displaying and updating the inventory from the code
Creating objects to be collected for the inventory
Allowing the player to choose the objects to collect
Using an item from the current inventory to increase the players' health
Creating a health bar
Level roundup

Chapter 5: Creating a Shop and a Buying System

Creating a shop
Creating the interface
Creating the user interface for each item available in the shop
Creating scripts to add or remove items
Adding items to the shop
Updating the total and the amount of money left
Linking the shop to the players' gold coins
Saving the items bought to the player's inventory
Level roundup

Chapter 6: Adding Weapons and Protagonists

Adding a weapon
Performing an attack against a stationary target
Adding a flash when the target is hit
Creating intelligent NPCs
Level roundup

Chapter 7: Adding a Quest System

Creating a quest system

Saving quest information in an json file

 Creating the game manager

Displaying quest information to the user

Checking the actions performed by the player

Adding a notification system to check achievements

Displaying the XPs on screen

Checking that the player has completed all the tasks and saving data to the
game manager

Level roundup

Chapter 8: Creating an XP Attribution System

Introduction
Creating the interface for the XP attribution system
Level roundup

Chapter 9: Creating The Final Level

Setting-up the level

Level roundup

Chapter 10: Your Next Steps

Thank you
 Preface
This book will show you how you can very quickly use GDScript to implement
some advanced features that will improve your games.
Although it may not be as powerful as Unity or Unreal yet, Godot offers a wide
range of features for you to create your video games. More importantly, this game
engine is both Open Source and lightweight which means that even if you have (or
you are teaching with) computers with very low technical specifications, you
should still be able to use Godot, and teach or learn how to code while creating
video games.
This book series entitled Godot From Zero to Proficiency allows you to play
around with Godot’s core features, and essentially those that will make it possible
to create interesting 3D and 2D games rapidly. After reading this book series, you
should find it easier to use Godot and its core functionalities, including program-
ming with GDScript.
This book series assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, and it
will get you started on Godot so that you quickly master all the wonderful features
that this software provides by going through an easy learning curve.
By completing each chapter, and by following step-by-step instructions, you
will progressively improve your skills, become more proficient in Godot, and create
features that will improve your productivity and gameplay.
Throughout this book series, you will create a game that includes environments
where the player needs to find its way out of the levels, escalators, traps, and other
challenges, avoid or eliminate enemies using weapons (i.e., guns or grenades), and
drive a car or pilot an aircraft.
You will learn how to create customized menus and simple user interfaces
using Godot’s UI system, and animate and give artificial intelligence to Non-Player
Characters (NPCs) that will be able to follow the player character using pathfind-
ing.
Finally, you will also get to export your game at the different stages of the
books, so that you can share it with friends and obtain some feedback as well.
 Content Covered by this Book
• Chapter 1: Introduction to the RPG Genre, Key Features and Design
Concepts, provides general information about RPGs and the key features that
can be found in this type of game. It also explains the features that you will be
creating in this book, along with the philosophy behind the code covered.
• Chapter 2: Creating and Animating the Main Character, explains how you can
create and animate your main 3D character, add a camera that will follow this
character, as well as a mini-map. You will also create the 3D environment for
your quest.
• Chapter 3: Creating a Dialogue System, explains how to create a dialogue sys-
tem from a JSON file, and how to integrate it seamlessly into your game.
• Chapter 4: Creating an Inventory System, explains how you can create a sim-
ple inventory system and use it to collect, store, and use items that you will
find in your quest. You will also learn to create a health bar.
• Chapter 5: Creating a Shop and a Buying System, shows you how to create a
shop where the player can buy items that will then be added to the inventory.
• Chapter 6: Adding Weapons and Protagonists, explains how you can create
intelligent NPCs that will challenge the player.
• Chapter 7: Adding a Quest System, explains how you can create a quest sys-
tem based on a JSON file to manage the objectives for each of your levels.
• Chapter 8: Creating an XP Attribution System, explains how you can create a
user interface through which players can use their XPs to increase their skills.
• Chapter 9: Creating The Final Level, explains some interesting features that
you can use to increase your game play.
• Chapter 10, Your Next Steps, provides tips on how to extend your RPGs.
• Chapter 11 summarizes the topics covered in this book and also provides
useful information if you would like to progress further with this book series.
 What you Need to Use this Book
To complete the project presented in this book, you only need Godot 3.2.4 or a
more recent version and to also ensure that your computer and its operating sys-
tem comply with Godot’s requirements. Godot can be downloaded from the offi-
cial website (http://www.godotengine.org/download), and before downloading,
you can check that your computer fulfills the requirements for Godot on the same
page.
At the time of writing this book, the following operating systems are supported
by Godot for development: Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
In terms of computer skills, all knowledge introduced in this book will assume
no prior programming experience from you. This book includes programming and
all programming concepts will be taught from scratch. So for now, you only need
to be able to perform common computer tasks such as downloading files, opening
and saving files, being comfortable with dragging and dropping items, and typing.

Who this book is for

If you can answer yes to all these questions, then this book is for you:
1. Are you a total beginner in RPG games?
2. Would you like to become proficient in the core functionalities offered by
Godot?
3. Would you like to teach game programming to students or help your child to
understand how to create games and learn coding in the process?
4. Would you like to start creating great RPG games?
5. Although you may have had some prior exposure to Godot, would you like
to delve more into Godot and understand its core functionalities in more de-
tail?
 Who this book is not for
If you can answer yes to all these questions, then this book is not for you:
1. Can you already easily create a 3D RPG with Godot?
2. Are you looking for a reference book on GDScript?
3. Are you an experienced (or at least advanced) RPG developer?
If you can answer yes to all three questions, you may instead look for the next
books in the series. To see the content and topics covered by these books, you can
check the official website (www.learntocreategames.com/books/).

How you will learn from this Book

Because all students learn differently and have different expectations of a
course, this book is designed to ensure that all readers find a learning model that
suits them. Therefore, it includes the following:
• A list of the learning objectives at the start of each chapter so that readers
have a snapshot of the skills that will be covered.
• Each section includes an overview of the activities covered.
• Many of the activities are step-by-step, and learners are also allowed to en-
gage in deeper learning and problem-solving skills through the challenges of-
fered at the end of each chapter.
• Each chapter ends up with a quiz and challenges through which you can put
your skills into practice, and see how much you know.
• The book focuses on the core skills that you need. Some sections also go
into more detail. However, once the concepts have been explained, links are
provided to additional resources, if and where necessary.

Format of each Chapter and Writing Conventions

Throughout this book, and to make reading and learning easier, text formatting
and icons will be used to highlight parts of the information provided, and to make
it more readable.
 Special Notes
Each chapter includes resource sections so that you can further your under-
standing and mastery of Godot. These include:
• A quiz for each chapter: these quizzes usually include 10 questions that test
your knowledge of the topics covered throughout the chapter. The solutions
are provided on the companion website.
• A checklist: it consists of between 5 and 10 key concepts and skills that you
need to be comfortable with before progressing to the next chapter.
• Challenges: each chapter includes a challenge section where you are asked to
combine your skills to solve a particular problem.

The author’s notes appear as described below:

The author’s suggestions appear in this box.
Checklists that include the important points covered in the chapter appear as
described below:
• Item1 for a checklist
• Item2 for a checklist
• Item3 for a checklist
 How Can You Learn Best from this Book
• Talk to your friends about what you are doing.
We often think that we understand a topic until we have to explain it to friends
and answer their questions. By explaining your different projects, what you
just learned will become clearer to you.
• Do the exercises.
All chapters include exercises that will help you to learn by doing. In other
words, by completing these exercises, you will be able to better understand
the topic and you will gain practical skills (i.e., rather than just reading).
• Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
I usually tell my students that making mistakes is part of the learning process.
The more mistakes you make, the more opportunities you have for learning.
At the start, you may find the errors disconcerting, or that the engine does not
work as expected until you understand what went wrong.
• Export your games early.
It is always great to build and export your first game. Even if it is rather simple,
it is always good to see it in a browser and to be able to share it with your
friends.
• Learn in chunks.
It may be disconcerting to go through five or six chapters straight, as it may
lower your motivation. Instead, give yourself enough time to learn, go at your
own pace, and learn in small chunks (e.g., between 15 and 20 minutes per
day). This will do at least two things for you: it will give your brain the time to
“digest” the information that you have just learned so that you can start fresh
the following day. It will also make sure that you don’t “burn out” and that you

keep your motivation levels high.

 Feedback
While I have done everything possible to produce a book of high quality and
value, I always appreciate feedback from readers so that the book can be improved
accordingly. If you would like to give feedback, you can email me at:
[email protected].
 Downloading the Solutions for the Book
To download the solutions for this book (e.g., code) you need to download the
startup pack on the companion website (if you are already a subscriber, you just
need to enter the member area - http://learntocreategames.com/member-area/); it
consists of free resources that you will need to complete your projects and code
solutions. To download these resources, please do the following:
• Open the page http://www.learntocreategames.com/books.
• Click on your book (Godot From Zero to Proficiency – Proficient -)

• On the new page, please click the link that says “Please Here Click to Down-
load Your Resource Pack”
 Improving the Book
Although great care was taken in checking the content of this book, I am
human, and some errors could remain in the book. As a result, it would be great if
you could let me know of any issue or error you may have come across in this
book, so that it can be solved and the book updated accordingly. To report an
error, you can email me ([email protected]) with the following infor-
mation:
• Name of the book.
• The page where the error was detected.
• Describe the error and also what you think the correction should be.
Once your email is received, the error will be checked, and, in the case of a
valid error, it will be corrected and the book page will be updated to reflect the
changes accordingly.

Supporting the Author

A lot of work has gone into this book and it is the fruit of long hours of prepa-
ration, brainstorming, and finally writing. As a result, I would ask that you do not
distribute any illegal copies of this book.
This means that if a friend wants a copy of this book, s/he will have to buy it
through the official channels (i.e., your e-store), or the book’s official website:
www.learntocreategames.com/books).
If some of your friends are interested in the book, you can refer them to the
book’s official website (http://www.learntocreategames.com/books) where they
can either buy the book, enter a monthly draw to be in for a chance of receiving a
free copy of the book or to be notified of future promotional offers.

- -
 Chapter 1: Introduction to the RPG Genre, Key Features and
Design Concepts

In this section, more information will be provided on the RPG genre, in terms of:
• Features.
• Gameplay.
• Format.
You will also be able to see how you will progressively create these features
throughout this book.
So, after completing this chapter, you will be able to:
• Understand the RPG genre and its key characteristics.
• Understand the features that you will be creating.
• Understand some interesting design concepts that will be used in this book.

RPG games
Role-Playing games often derive from Dungeon and Dragons (tm) table top
games whereby one or several players are required to complete one of several
quests to win the game. While each player starts with specific characteristics such
as strength, dexterity and special abilities, these features will evolve, and the play-
ers' characters will be able to collect loots that can be used to improve their health
or their weaponry. Along their way, players will earn eXperience Points and use
these to improve their skills.
Digital RPGs have used several of these features, including:
• An armed Player Character.
• The ability to collect food and other objects.
• The presence of Non-Player characters with whom they may talk or fight;
these NPCs have a wide range of intelligence and skills.
• Sometimes an end-of-level boss is included.
• Randomly-generated scenes.
• Win XPs and level up.
 RPG features in the game that you will create
Creating an RPG game can be time-consuming as they can include multiple lev-
els and great complexity. This book is attempting to make this process easier for
you by helping you to create key components that you can reuse for your games.
Throughout this book, you will learn to do the following:
• Create a 3D character that can navigate through a 3D scene.
• Create objects that you can collect.
• Create an inventory to store these objects.
• The ability to use some of these objects (e.g. food), to improve your charac-
ter's health.
• Provide a weapon to the player character.
Once your character is set up we will then start to work on the environment by
doing the following:
• Create a simple environment using basic shapes.
• Create a mini-map so that it is easier to see where the character is going and
highlight objects of interest.
• Add NPCs.
• Add the ability for the player and the NPCs to engage in battles.
• Add NPCs to whom the player can talk.
• Create a shop where the player can buy new items.
Once all these work properly, we will start to create a quest system whereby you
can set the objectives for the player using a simple JSON file; this means that you
will save yourself some time by just having to modify one file to change the objec-
tives of the quest; we will also create a game manager that will manage the entire
game in terms of what should be added or kept between scenes.
• You will create a village as well as all the houses within using Godot’s built-in
3D editor.
• Your character will be animated and able to use a weapon.

• The player will be able to talk to Non-Player Characters and select questions/
answers so that the outcome of the dialogue depends on their choices.
• The player will be able to collect objects and add these to an inventory.

• You will create a shop with both a 3D and a 2D representation from which the
player can buy items.
• You will add intelligent NPCs that will be able to detect and attack the player.
• You will create a quest system used to define, display and track the objectives
for each level.
• After each level, the player will be able to use their XPs to increase their skills.
 The design philosophy behind this book
The idea behind this book is that:
• Creating and modifying your RPG should be made easy.
• All elements in your game should be easily reusable.
• Configuring your quests should be seamless.
• Testing should be made easy.
For this purpose, I have added a few tricks so that: you can create a generic ob-
ject to be collected and then set its type (e.g., gold, or apple) in the Inspector or
create new items to be added to the shop or to be collected easily by creating/
modifying a few lines of code.
All in all, this book will teach you, not only how to create an RPG, but also how
to design your game so that it is easy to expand your code/game without
headaches.
Along the way, you will learn about:
• Character Animation.
• Quest Systems.
• Dialogue Systems.
• GDScript.
• Classes.
• JSON files.
• UI design in Godot.
• Artificial Intelligence.
• And much more.
 Chapter 2: Creating and Animating the Main Character

In this section, we will start our RPG by creating and animating the main character.
After completing this section, you should be able to:
• Import and animate 3D characters for your RPG.
• Create a third-person view so that your main character is always in full sight
of the camera.
• Create a mini-map.
 Creating your character

To start with, we will set up and animate our main character. For this book, a char-
acter, along with the corresponding animations, has already been created; this
being said, if you'd like to use your own character and animations, please feel free
to do so.
Let's import the main character and the corresponding animations in Godot.
• Please create a new Godot Project (3D Scene).
• Open your resource pack (please see the previous sections on how to down-
load the resource pack).
• Open the folder 3D-characters | akai.
• Drag and drop the files akai.gltf to the folder res:// in the FileSystem tab.
• Create the ground from a Cube: right-click on the node Spatial, select the op-
tion AddChildNode, and select the type CSGBox. This will create a new node
called CSGBox.
• Rename this node ground.
• Using the Inspector, change its position (Transform | Translation) to (0, 0,
0).
• Change its width, height and depth to 100, 1 and 100 respectively.
Now that the ground has been created, we can apply some texture to it:
• Drag and drop the texture pavement.jpg from the resource pack (i.e., from
the folder textures) to the folder res:// in Godot.
• Select the node ground.
• Using the Inspector, create a new Spatial Material by clicking on the down-
ward- fac- ing arrow to the right of the label Material.
• Click on the white sphere to the right of the label Material.

• After expanding the section Albedo, drag and drop the texture pavement.jpg
from the FileSystem tab to the attribute called Texture.

• Once this is done, you can expand the section UV1, and change the scale at-
tribute to (10, 10, 1).

• You should now see that the texture has been applied to the ground.
 Now that we have created and textured the ground, we will add our character.
• Please create a new KinematicBody node as a child of the node Spatial, and
rename this new node Player.
• Change the position of the node Player to (0, 0.5, 0).
• Please add a new node of the type CollisionShape as a child of the node
Player.
• Select this new node called CollisionShape.
• Using the Inspector, click on the downward-facing arrow to the right of the
label Shape in the section CollisionShape and select the option New Cylinder
Shape.
• Change the position of the node CollisionShape to (0, 1.5, 0).
• Drag and drop the asset akai.gltf from the FileSystem tab to the Scene view.

• This will create a new node called akai in the Hierarchy Tree (to the left of the
screen).
 • Please drag and drop the node akai atop the node Player so that it becomes a
child of the node Player.
• Change the position of the node akai to (0, 0, 0).
• This will make this node a child of the node Player.
• Please rename this node PC (for Player Character).

The node PC that we have imported contains all the animations that we will
need for this game and you can see them by doing the following:
• Right-click on the node PC and select the option Editable Children.
• This should show the children nodes of the node PC.
• Select the node AnimationPlayer, and you should see that the Animation win-
dow is now open.

• If you click on the arrow to the left of the label “Animation”, as described in
the next figure, you should see a list of the animations contained in the node.
 • If you want to see these animations in action, make sure that your view is fo-
cused on the character akai, select an animation in the Animation window
(for example, running), and press the Play button, as described in the next
image.

• After pressing the Play button, you should see the character running.

So at this stage, we know that the animations are working properly; so the next
phase will consist in controlling our character through a script.
For now, we will add a camera to the scene so that we can see our character
(that is not yet animated) when we play the scene:
• Please add a node of the type Camera as a child of the node Spatial.
• This will create a new node called Camera.
• Using the Inspector, change the Rotation property of this node to (-90, 0, 0)
and its position to (0, 5, 0).
• You can now play the scene, and you should see the Player Character
 appearing just below the camera.

• You can stop playing the scene for now.

 Controlling the character from a script

In this section we will animate our character from a script.

• Please select the node Player and add a new script to it (i.e., right-click on the
node Player and select the option to “Attach a Script”). Name this script
manage_player.
• Open this script.
• Add the following code just before the function _ready:
enum {IDLE, WALK, WALK_REVERSE, RUN}
var rotation_increment = .2
var current_state = IDLE
var speed = 1
onready var pc_node = get_node(“PC/AnimationPlayer”)
In the previous ode:
• We create several enums that will be used to identify the current state of the
player character.
• We declare a variable called rotation_increment that will be used to determine
the rotation speed of the player character.
• We declare a variable called current_state that will store the character’s cur-
rent state.
• We define the speed for this character through the variable speed.
• We also create a variable called pc_node that will be linked to the node
AmimationPlayer which contains the animations for the character.

Now that we have defined the key nodes and variables for our player character,
we just need to initialize the animations that we will be using by specifying whether
they should be looping.
• Please add the following code to the script (new code in bold):
 func _ready():
pc_node.get_animation("idle").loop = true
pc_node.get_animation("walking").loop = true
pc_node.get_animation("running").loop = true
In the previous code, we specify that all the animations that we will be using
and that are contained in the node AnimationPlayer (i.e., idle, walking, and
running) will be looping over time.
Next, we will specify what should happen in all the states that we have defines
earlier (i.e., what animation should be played and what speed should be used de-
pending on whether the character is walking or running).
• Please add the following function:
func _process(delta):
match current_state:
IDLE:
WALK:
WALK_REVERSE:
RUN:
In the previous code, we define four different states for our character, and the
system will switch to one of them depending on the value of the variable
current_state.
• Please add the following code (new code in bold):
IDLE:
pc_node.play("idle")
WALK:
speed = 1
pc_node.play("walking")
var forward = global_transform.basis.z;
move_and_slide(forward*speed, Vector3.UP)
 In the previous code:
• We specify that in the state called IDLE we will play the animation called idle.
• We also specify that in the state called WALK, the speed of the character will
be 1, and that the animation called walking will be played.
• We also move the character forward using the function move_and_slide; the
forward direction used is relative to the character’s z-axis.

Please add the following code (new code in bold):

WALK_REVERSE:
speed = -1
pc_node.play("walking")
var forward = global_transform.basis.z;
move_and_slide(forward*speed, Vector3.UP)
In the previous code, we specify what should happen when the player walks
backward; the code is similar to the one used for the state WALK except that the
speed is now -1.
• Please add the following code (new code in bold):
RUN:
speed = 4.0
pc_node.play("running")
var forward = global_transform.basis.z;
move_and_slide(forward*speed, Vector3.UP)
In the previous code, we specify what should happen when the player character
is running; the code is similar to the one created for the state WALK, except that
the speed is now 4.
Finally, we just need to write the code that will detect the keys pressed so that
the player can walk, run, and turn. But before we create this code, we just need to
map the keys that we will use through the Input Map:
• Please select: Project | Project Settings from the top menu, and then open the
 tab Input Map in the new window.

To map a key, you just to type (1) the action in the top-most the field, (2) click
on Add, and then select this action from the list, (3) click on the + sign to the right
of this action, then (4) click on the button labeled “key”, and then type the key
(from your keyboard) that you want to associate with this action, and then press
OK, as per the next figure.

Please do the following:

• Map the up arrow key to the action “move_fwd”.
• Map the down arrow key to the action “move_back”.
• Map the left arrow key to the action “turn_left”.
• Map the right arrow key to the action “turn_right”.
Once this is done, we can return to our script
• Please add the following function to the script (i.e., manage_player):
 func _input(event):
if (Input.is_action_pressed("move_fwd")) :current_state = WALK
elif (Input.is_action_pressed("move_back")) :current_state = WALK_REVERSE
else: current_state = IDLE
if (Input.is_action_pressed("turn_left")):
rotate_y(rotation_increment)
if (Input.is_action_pressed("turn_right")):
rotate_y(-rotation_increment)
if (Input.is_key_pressed(KEY_ALT)):
current_state = RUN
In the previous code:
• We use the function _input that is often employed to detect the user’s input.
• If the “move_forward” action is detected then the current state is switched
to WALK.
• If the “move_back” action is detected then the current state is switched to
WALK_REVERSE.
• Otherwise the current state is IDLE.
• If the “turn_left” action is detected then the character is rotated clockwise.
• If the “turn_right” action is detected then the character is rotated anti-
clockwise.
• Finally, if the ALT key is pressed, the character is switched to the state RUN.
You can now save your code and play the scene; you should see that the char-
acter can walk, run, and turn as you use the arrow and the ALT keys.
 So that the camera is always following the player we will, in the next section cre-
ate some code that will ensure that the camera is always following and looking to-
wards the player character.
 Modifying the Camera to follow the player
In this section, we will make sure that the camera is always following the player.
Please do the following:
• Drag and drop the Camera node atop the node Player, so that is it becomes a
child of the node Player.

• Select the Camera node.

• Using the Inspector, change the position of the camera to (0, 5, -4) and make
sure that its rotation attributes are (0, 0, 0) and its scale attributes are (1, 1, 1).
• This is so that the camera is placed above the player (i.e., y = 5) and slightly
behind it (i.e., z = -4).

Note that at this stage the camera is still not focused on the player; so we just
need to make sure that it will always be looking at the player; for this purpose, we
will create a simple script that makes sure that the camera looks at the player,
using a built-in function called look_at:
• Please right-click on the Camera node.
• Select the option “Attach Script” from the contextual menu to create a new
script.
• Call the new script camera_follow_player.
• Open the script and add the following code to it:
func _process(delta):
look_at(get_parent().global_transform.origin,Vector3.UP)
 In the previous code:
• We use a built-in function called _process, which is called every frame.
• In this function, we use the function look_at which makes sure that the node
linked to this script (i.e., the camera) looks at a specific target.
• In our code, the target is the parent of the current node: the Player node.
• So effectively, every frame, we make sure that the camera is pointing towards
the player.

You can now save your script and play the scene, and you should see that the
camera is effectively following the player.
 Creating the village
In this section, we will start to create the village that the player will navigate to
complete its quests. The village will consist of several houses, and each of them
will be based on a template (i.e., a scene that includes a house built with primitive
shapes).
So first, we will create the template house:
• Please create a new scene: Scene | New Scene | Other | Static Body.
• This will create a new scene with a default node of the type StaticBody.
• Rename this node house.
• Change the position of this node to (0, .5, 0).
• Create a new CSGBox node as a child of the node house.
• Rename this node wall, and check that its width, height and depth are all 2.
• Apply a new blue Spatial Material to this node.

We can now create the roof for this house:

• Please create a new CSGSBox node as a child of the node house and rename
it roof.
• Check that the width, depth, and height of this node are all 2.
• Change its position to (0, .5, 0), its rotation to (45, 0, 0) and its scale to (0.99,
0.7, 0.7).
• Apply a new yellow Spatial Material to this node.

Once this is done, we can start designing the door and windows:
• Please create a new CSGSBox node as a child of the node house and rename
it door.
• Check that the width, depth, and height of this node are all 2.
• Change its position to (-0.95, -0.05, 0) and its scale to (0.1, 0.4, 0.3).
 Now that the door has been created, we can complete the house by creating the
windows:
• Please create a new CSGBox node as a child of the node house, and rename
this node window1.
• Check that the width, depth, and height of this node are all 2.
• Change its position to (0.5, 0.1, -0.92) and its scale to (0.3, 0.2, 0.1).
• You can leave this node with the default white color or apply a color of your
choice.
• Duplicate this node and rename the duplicate window2.
• Change its position to (-0.5, 0.1, -0.92).
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 CHAPTER III.
THE LITTLE LORD.

Even when the first strangeness had worn off, Danaë remained an
incongruous element in the Lady’s secluded household. As a Striote,
speaking the island patois, she was a predestined adherent of the
Prince in the eyes of the two old women, and therefore an enemy of
their mistress, and to make things worse, she was ignorant of the
standard of “European” culture to which they had painfully attained.
Life within the bounds of the garden, mitigated only by a saint’s-day
visit to the nearest church, was miserably confined after the active
existence to which Danaë had been accustomed, and she
scandalised her custodians by her exploits in climbing trees and
scrambling up walls. Old Despina went out every day to do the
household shopping, in the course of which she managed to pick up
and bring home to her mistress an extraordinary variety of gossip
reflecting on the Prince, but she would never take the girl with her.
Danaë’s longings to make closer acquaintance with the crowded
streets and the enticing shops were in no way satisfied by the short
walks to church in the company of Mariora, both of them so closely
swathed in their shawls that nothing of their faces could be seen.
But Despina assured her mistress that the girl was such a savage
that if she was allowed into the town she was sure to make a scene
of some kind, or at least to attract attention by her staring and her
uncouth remarks, and as the Lady was above all things desirous to
escape notice until the moment of her vindication arrived, Danaë
was sentenced to remain within the grounds.
Even the thought of the punishment in store for the Lady would
not have enabled the girl to endure the confinement but for the
society of the baby. He was a notably joyous child, the brooding
sorrow of his unhappy mother leaving him untouched. Danaë and he
took to one another at first sight, and she became his devoted slave.
With sublime inconsistency, she saw in him the heir of the
Christodoridi. He was named Joannes, after the patriot Emperor who
had fallen on the walls of Czarigrad in the vain attempt to repel the
final onslaught of the conquering Roumis, and from whom the
Christodoridi were descended in the female line, and Danaë told
herself proudly that he should yet sit upon his ancestor’s throne. His
preparation for this exalted future should be her task, and hers
alone. Released from the baleful influence of the Lady, Prince
Romanos might be trusted to make his Imperial marriage and
safeguard his own career, but Danaë would carry off Janni to Strio,
and bring him up a fearless climber and a daring seaman, as became
a son of the sea. Whether the Prince allowed her quietly to take
possession of his son, or whether she was obliged to act without
consulting him, she hugged herself daily in the thought that the
Lady would have no voice in the matter. Nay, from her prison the
unfortunate mother should be permitted to see her child in the
distance, growing up without knowledge of her and happy in his
ignorance.
It was impossible for the Lady to be unaware of the feelings
with which Danaë regarded her, though she found the girl’s island
Greek almost unintelligible. Sullen looks, deepening into positive
hostility when Janni was taken to his mother, could not be mistaken,
but the Lady set them down to an excessive loyalty to the house of
Christodoridi, and jealousy of the foreigner who had married into it.
Eurynomé suffered from home-sickness, no doubt, and that was why
she was always so cross. Kindness was wasted on her, since one
could not import her native rock bodily into Therma harbour, and
after one or two careless attempts to break down the nurse-girl’s
enmity, her mistress shrugged her shoulders and left her to herself,
secure in her devotion to Janni. Danaë breathed more freely when
the Lady ceased her efforts, for was she not a witch? and kindness
from her could only be looked upon with suspicion. But it was
possible that her indifference was merely a ruse, and therefore
Danaë exhausted all her store of charms to protect herself and the
baby. Mariora caught her one day stealing into the kitchen to rub her
finger on the sooty side of a saucepan, for did not everyone—save
foreigners and atheists—know that a dab of soot behind a child’s ear
was the surest means of averting the evil eye? But Despina and
Mariora laid aside their differences to drag the culprit into their
mistress’s presence, and accuse her with one voice of laying spells
on the illustrious little lord—a charge which Danaë found particularly
galling from those who ought to have shared her Orthodox beliefs
had they not been corrupted by European incredulity. The Lady
would have been merely amused, had not the remedy been such a
dirty one, but as it was, Danaë received so severe a scolding that
Despina ventured hopefully to ask leave to give her a good beating.
The Lady looked annoyed.
“No,” she said; “if Eurynomé cannot do what she is told, she
must go back to her island. I am not going to take the responsibility
of teaching her common sense. Her uncle is the person to do that.
You may go, Eurynomé.”
“Alas, Lady mine!” lamented Despina, “you have lost a chance.
There is great evil in this wicked girl’s heart towards you, and I
would have beaten it out before it grows into deeds.”
“My good Despina, what harm can a wretched nurse-girl, who
could not even make herself understood outside, do to me? It is the
Prince’s fancy that she should attend on the little lord, and I should
be sorry if he thought I had a prejudice against her. If he sees for
himself that she is troublesome, he will tell Petros to take her away.”
Danaë, lingering shamelessly to listen at the door, stamped her
foot as she hurried away, boiling over with rage.
“So be it, Lady! so be it!” she muttered. “I can do you no harm,
can I? And I can’t talk your mincing foreign Greek? You will find
before very long that I can! I make my bow to you, my Lady. You
will know me better when I bring my Jannaki to the window of your
dungeon, and teach him to spit upon you!”
Danaë could not have explained why her mistress’s indifference
wounded her more than active dislike would have done, but so it
was. The company of the two old women, with their taunts and nods
of triumph, was equally intolerable, and she never rested until she
had found a hiding-place for herself and Janni where they could be
by themselves. It was close to the house, so that she could hear at
once if she was called, in the grove of ilex-trees which masked the
approach to the kitchen premises. The branches of one of the trees
grew close to the ground, and to Danaë it was child’s play to
clamber into them with Janni girt closely to her with a shawl. Once
well above the ground, she climbed higher and higher until they
were quite concealed by the foliage from anyone below, reaching a
convenient forked branch where she could sit in comfort, and where
she broke away the twigs cautiously to give herself a view over the
garden. In spite of all her care, it was not long before her two
enemies divined that she had some hidden refuge, and began to
hunt for it. Shaking with laughter, and holding up a warning finger in
front of Janni’s rosy face, she would hear them shuffling among the
stiff dead leaves below her, peering round the tree-trunks and
scanning the lower branches keenly. They knew that she must be in
the wood, unfortunately, for the first time that she took Janni up the
tree the climb made him fractious, and she was obliged to sing to
quiet him, so that it was no use denying the fact when Mariora
demanded where she had been, making that noise so close to the
house, but when they required further particulars, she assumed an
expression of idiocy that was absolutely impenetrable. The old
women were equal to her, however, and one unfortunate day,
descending her tree hastily in answer to Mariora’s loud summons
from the kitchen door, Danaë almost fell into the arms of Despina,
crouching among the dead leaves. Then indeed there was a moment
of triumph for the Lady’s two faithful attendants. Gleefully they haled
Danaë by main force before their mistress, and charged her with
endangering the little lord’s life and limbs by taking him to the top of
the tallest tree in the gardens. She was voluble in her denials, but
the tell-tale leaves and pieces of bark, traces of her hurried descent,
which decorated her hair and clothes and the shawl in which Janni
was wrapped, belied her words, and her mistress was the more
disturbed because of her former confidence.
“I knew you were disobedient to the servants and disrespectful
to me, Eurynomé, but I thought I could trust you to take care of the
little lord,” she said. “This is too much. Your uncle must deal with
you. I can stand no more.”
 With huge delight Despina and Mariora dragged their prisoner
away and shut her up in the wood-shed until Petros should arrive
with the Prince. Janni’s piteous wailings for “Nono,” which could only
be calmed by undivided attention from his mother, troubled them not
a whit, but they added fuel to the fire which burned in the rebellious
heart of the girl who crouched exhausted on the ground after a wild
and futile attack on the door. If Danaë had felt before that she did
well to be angry with the Lady and her household, she would now
gladly have seen them all lying dead before her. Her wrath was still
hot when the two old women reappeared, and with various kicks
and pinches, which were returned with interest, pulled and pushed
her into the presence of her judges. Her cap, with its rows of silver
coins, was half torn off, the many little plaits of her hair ragged and
dishevelled, as she stood with sullen face and heaving breast before
the Prince; but Janni, seated on his father’s knee, held out his arms
to her with a delighted “Ah, Nono!” The girl’s face changed as if by
magic as she started forward to take him, but Despina and Mariora
held her forcibly back, and the Lady took instant possession of her
son—a precaution which he resented by a violent howl.
“Give him your watch to play with,” she said hastily to her
husband, “or we shall not be able to hear ourselves speak.
Eurynomé is the only person who can manage him when he gets
into these passions.”
Obediently Prince Romanos dangled his watch by the chain
before his son’s face, held it close to his ear that he might hear it
tick, and finally relinquished it to him to suck—as is the wont of
inexperienced fathers confronted with a crisis of the kind, until the
howls subsided sufficiently to allow his wife to make herself heard.
“You understand,” she said to Petros, who stood deprecatingly
by, “that this is not the first time your niece has behaved badly. I
have borne with her as long as I could, but we have had no peace
since she entered the household. She is a most extraordinary girl.
Why can’t she do what she is told? Is it your island independence?”
“If it please the Lady, I think some demon must have taken up
his dwelling in her,” said Petros helplessly, and Despina and Mariora
exchanged triumphant glances.
 “She had better go home at once. The little lord’s life is not safe
while she is here,” said the Lady decisively.
“Will it be safe when she is gone?” asked the Prince, with a
desperate effort to rescue the watch, which Janni, now growing
black in the face, was attempting to swallow.
“All-Holy Mother! you will kill the child, lord!” shrieked Danaë,
tearing herself from her warders and rushing forward. A moment’s
struggle and the watch was once more in its owner’s possession,
and Janni in his nurse’s arms, crowing with delight as he grabbed at
the coins in her cap.
“See how fond the child is of her!” said the Prince to his wife.
“Is it true, Eurynomé, that thou wouldst have killed the little lord?”
“Lord, I would die for him,” replied Danaë fervently.
“You see, Olimpia. There must be some mistake.”
“I can never have her about him again.”
“My most beloved, you don’t understand our island-people. The
women make the most devoted nurses in the world, and have died
for their charges, as she says. She is a wild creature who does not
understand civilised ways, but I would trust her with the child
through anything. Let Petros speak to her seriously, and I’ll be
bound you will see a great change in her.”
“If Petros can make her understand that she is to do what she is
told, and that Janni is to be brought up in my way, not hers, I might
think of it.”
“Surely, my Lady, there is a way of making women understand,
and I have never known it fail,” said Petros unctuously, with a glance
at his master’s riding-whip. The Prince laughed uncomfortably.
“No, no, friend Petraki, we are not in the islands now. Give the
girl a good talking-to, that’s enough.”
Petros looked at the Lady, whose delicate brows were drawn
into a slight frown. “Leave it to me, lord. Does not the girl come
from my place? Is she to bring disgrace on me by angering the
mistress I brought her to serve? In five minutes she shall kiss the
Lady’s foot and ask pardon—yes, and promise amendment. Follow
me, wretched one.”
 “Well, don’t be too hard upon her. Follow thine uncle, little one,
and fear not. The Lady and I will come to thy help if he beats thee.”
“He will not, lord.” The words were uttered with such
concentrated fury that Prince Romanos turned rather uneasily to his
wife as Danaë, with head held high, followed the retreating form of
Petros.
“That is really a very remarkable girl, Olimpia. Our women are
usually kept in better order.”
“Then I wish Petros had not chosen the exception to bring here.
If you knew the trouble Eurynomé has made in the house, you
would not be so horrified by the thought of her getting a beating.
She thoroughly deserves it, and no doubt, as her uncle says, it is the
only argument that people of that type understand. I have stood
endless unpleasantness, but when it comes to risking Janni’s life
——”
“My beautiful one, you are agitating yourself needlessly. Rather
than bring a tear into the eyes of my Princess—” he stole a glance at
her to see how the word was received—“the girl shall go back to her
place to-morrow. But if she is really penitent, and promises to do
better, is it not well to have one about the child who is truly devoted
to him?”
“And who recalls to you, lord, those happy days of your youth in
Strio?” said the Lady, imitating sarcastically Danaë’s island-speech.
“Well, as it seems quite certain that Petros is not beating her, do you
think we might venture to have tea?”
Behind the screen of trees, Danaë was facing Petros with
blazing eyes. “If you dare to lay a finger upon me, I will tell
everything to the Lord Romanos,” she said hoarsely.
“I am not such a fool, my lady. I will leave my lord your father
to do the beating when you are packed back to Strio with the work
undone that you came for.”
“And why is the work undone?” Danaë recovered herself after a
momentary pause of consternation. “Because you were not ready! I
have been waiting eagerly to do my part, but you have never called
upon me. You may be sure, insolent one, that the Despot shall hear
the truth, whatever he may be pleased to do to me.”
 The hereditary tendency to obedience in Petros responded
immediately to the hectoring tone. “Indeed, my lady, I am to blame,
but it has not been my fault. This is the first time that I have seen
you alone, to make the final arrangements.”
“Is everything arranged on your side?” demanded Danaë,
unappeased.
“Everything, lady mine. The helpers are secured—and indeed it
was not difficult to find them. There are those in Therma as well as
in Strio who hate the Lady. And it will be well to do it soon—this
week—while the English lords are here. The Lord Romanos will have
less time for coming here, nor will he so easily remark my absence.
Moreover, he will have less opportunity for inquiring into the matter
afterwards.”
“That does not concern me,” said Danaë loftily. “It is your part
to leave no traces. You have a boat ready at a suitable place, able to
sail at any moment?”
“A boat, my lady?” Petros was taken aback. “Why a boat?”
Danaë stamped her foot. “Fool! to carry off the Lady to Strio to
her prison, of course. And how are the little lord and I to return
thither, pray? Did you think the Lord Romanos would willingly part
with his son?”
“My lady”—Petros looked at her with cunning eyes—“you are
wiser than I. I have indeed been remiss, but the boat shall be ready.
How could my lord your father be other than delighted to receive the
beloved wife and child of his illustrious son?”
“She is not his wife!” cried Danaë. “His wife must be Orthodox
and of royal blood. She is neither.”
“Yet the little lord will be welcomed and honoured as the heir of
the Christodoridi?” insinuated Petros humbly.
Danaë felt as though a pitfall had opened before her feet, but
she faced him undauntedly. “That does not concern you, friend
Petros. The Despot will do as he pleases. I have not felt obliged to
share with you the secret instructions he gave me.”
“And I did not expect it, my lady. Only—there are some who
would willingly make everything secure by killing the Lady instead of
merely carrying her off.”
 The chronicles of the Christodoridi included a not inconsiderable
variety of cold-blooded murders, but Danaë blenched. Nevertheless,
she endeavoured vigorously to justify herself, realising that Petros
was gloating over her horror.
“What is that to us? You have the Despot’s orders to bring her
to Strio, not to kill her. To remove her evil influence from the Lord
Romanos is a good deed, but to shed blood would be to bring sin
upon our souls. Moreover, I, at least, would sooner have the witch in
captivity, where I knew her to be secure, than set her malicious
ghost free to haunt me.”
“Great is the wisdom of Kyria Danaë!” said Petros, with extreme
respect, “and her words shall be obeyed. Take this, my lady,” he
handed her a minute wedge of iron, “and hide it safely. The time we
choose must be when Despina has gone to do her shopping, for the
fewer witnesses the better, and therefore you must find means to let
me know if she has not been out yet any day when I attend the Lord
Romanos hither. Then I will keep her in talk while she lets us out,
and you must slip the wedge into the hole of the lock, so that the
bolt cannot shoot home. The rest you can leave to me.”
Danaë considered her instructions. “It will be difficult to get
near the gate, but I will manage it somehow. You have made
arrangements for getting the Lady unperceived to the boat?”
“Is it for me to share with you the secret instructions I have
received from my lord your father, lady?” asked Petros sulkily—then,
with a spasm of geniality, “But all the Despot’s thoughts are yours,
as we know. Does the idea of a mock funeral procession, with
yourself and the little lord among the mourners, please you, my
lady?”
“Excellent!” cried Danaë. “Nothing could be better.”
“Then all is well, and all is ready. Therefore return now,
Eurynomé, and kiss the Lady’s hand, and promise her to behave
better in future.”
“I will not do it!” cried Danaë, her anger reviving.
“Then you return at once to Strio, my lady, and the plan falls
through. No vengeance on the Lady!”
 “Even for that I would not do it,” she said wrathfully. “But to
save my brother and Janni from her evil arts—” she pushed past
Petros, and marched doggedly to the tea-table. “Grant me pardon,
Lady mine. I will not risk the little lord’s life again,” she forced herself
to say.
“On your knees, Eurynomé!” said Prince Romanos sharply,
conscious of his wife’s raised eyebrows, and the girl obeyed sullenly.
The Lady held out a delicate hand with obvious lack of eagerness,
and Danaë kissed it and dropped it as if it had been a hot coal,
retiring awkwardly enough at an imperative sign from her brother.
“I can’t congratulate you on your protégée’s manners,” said the
Lady lightly.
“No one is better fitted to improve them than yourself, my
beloved Olimpia. And at least she is staunch, and would give her
heart’s blood for Janni.”
“What is the danger at which you are always hinting? Is there
something new?”
“There is always a certain amount of unpleasantness,” he
replied evasively. “And this visit of Theophanis and his brother-in-law
will stir up their supporters. My beautiful one, it is my particular wish
that you have a proper guard for the present—inside the garden.”
“To guard the Princess—or the Lady?” she asked coldly.
He uttered a furious exclamation. “Olimpia, you are enough to
drive a man mad! Do you think I have invited Theophanis here to
hand over the crown to him? It will task all my powers to hoodwink
him and Glafko as to the promising negociation which is to end by
seating you beside me on the throne, and would you have me ruin
everything by making him aware of your existence now?”
“Perhaps you are also hoodwinking me on the same subject?
No, I will have no guards within these walls. Here, at any rate, I
need not see the pointing finger, or hear the things your people say
of me. Any danger that may threaten Janni or me is entirely due to
your refusing, in defiance of all your promises, to acknowledge us,
and I will not accept further protection at your hands while the
concealment lasts.”
 “Olimpia!” Prince Romanos had thrown himself on his knees, in
an attitude that would have been impossibly theatrical in any other
man. “You wrong me deeply; I call all the saints to witness to it.
Believe me, you should not remain in concealment another hour, if
the necessity were not urgent. It is your throne and mine—Janni’s
throne, our son’s throne—that is in danger. Trust your husband,” he
leaned forward and enfolded her hands in his—“or if not your
husband, trust the poet to whom you plighted your troth on the
marble terrace among the orange-trees.”
“I do trust you,” she said wearily, allowing her hands to rest in
his—“because I must. I remain here because I have nowhere else to
go. I have wounded my father grievously for your sake by begging
him not to come. You may send your guards here if you will tell
them the truth about me. But within these walls everyone must
know that I am the Princess and your wife.”
“It is impossible,” he murmured gloomily.
“So I thought. So it will always be when I urge you to make the
truth known. You have no intention whatever of acknowledging it.”
“My most beautiful and best beloved, you are cruelly wrong,
and I will prove it to you. If I place in your keeping the most sacred
treasure of our house, handed down for hundreds of years before
the birth of John Theophanis himself, will you believe me then? If
anything should happen to me, you have only to produce that jewel
to show that I acknowledged you as my honoured wife, and as
rightful Empress of the East. Ah, my beloved, you are yielding! I will
not ask you to see me again until I can put the treasure into your
hands, and you will own how much you have misjudged your Apolis.”
 CHAPTER IV.
THE GIRDLE OF ISIDORA.

It was about ten o’clock in the morning, and Despina was clattering
things furiously in the kitchen as she collected baskets and other
aids to shopping, for she was late in starting. The Lady sat in the
morning-room opening on the verandah, writing a letter which
seemed, from her frequent pauses, to be difficult to frame, and
Danaë was playing bo-peep with Janni in and out of the window.
Above the child’s shouts of laughter came the imperative sound of
the door-bell, and Danaë caught him up in her arms, and followed at
a discreet distance in Despina’s wake as she went to open the door.
“Aha, old mother, you won’t be able to start just yet!” she cried
mockingly, as the Prince rode in, followed by Petros, for Despina
would never delegate even to Mariora the duty of keeping the door
in her absence.
“May he that is without and afar [i.e., the devil] fly away with
that girl! If I catch her, I’ll teach her saucy tongue a lesson!”
muttered the old woman furiously.
“I should recommend a red-hot skewer,” was the soothing
suggestion of Petros, as he flashed a glance towards Danaë to show
that he had understood her intimation. “A monk at the Holy
Mountain told me that the worst of scolds could be cured by marking
a cross on her tongue with it, if the proper prayers were said at the
same time.”
Despina requited his sympathy with another curse, and Danaë
laughed as she followed the Prince, who had taken Janni in his arms.
He gave the child back to her as they reached the house, and she
sat down again on the verandah while he greeted his wife. Reading
in her eyes the question she was too proud to ask, he unbuttoned
his tunic, and took out something wrapped in linen which had been
concealed there. Danaë, her curiosity aroused, watched him with
eager eyes while he unrolled it, but she sang mechanically to Janni
the while, lest her interest should be observed. One by one he
released from the protecting folds a series of circular plaques of
gold, gleaming with jewels and translucent enamel, while the Lady
looked on, puzzled and a little disappointed, and Danaë’s breath
came quick and fast.
“Byzantine, I suppose?” said the Lady, fingering one of the
plaques; “and not intentionally comic?”
“Wait!” said Prince Romanos sharply. He was fitting the plaques
together by means of the little gold hooks and chains attached to
each, until they formed a small portrait-gallery of severe-featured
saints, with jewelled halos and dresses. He held it up. “If the people
in the streets as I passed had known that I was bringing this to you,
Olimpia, they would have torn me limb from limb. It is the girdle of
the Empress Isidora.”
Danaë gasped, in spite of herself, at the sound of the name,
which was the only word she understood, but she had already
guessed what the jewel was. Handed down in the Christodoridi
family was a metrical version of the exploits of the famous, and
infamous, Empress, in which the girdle figured largely, and Danaë
could have named each ill-favoured saint from memory. And this
treasure, the badge of Orthodox sovereignty, her infatuated brother
was now handing over to the schismatic woman who had bewitched
him! Even the Lady, who knew nothing of its legendary fame, was
impressed as she took it into her hands.
“It is a magnificent thing!” she said. “Why have you never
shown it to me before?”
“Because I have never had it in my possession, or even set eyes
upon it, till now. In fact, I did not know that it was still in existence.
For your possession of it, my most beautiful, you may thank Prince
Theophanis, or rather Lady Eirene, his wife.”
“You will hardly ask me to believe that Princess Theophanis has
acknowledged the justice of your claims so far as to send you this by
her husband?”
“Very far from it, my dearest. She has no knowledge of its
present whereabouts, and if you are to keep it, she had better not
know.”
 “But to whom does it really belong?”
“To the head of the descendants of John Theophanis. That, my
Olimpia, is your husband, as the inhabitants of Emathia testified by
their free vote. But the girdle has been preserved since the fall of
Czarigrad in the family of the Princess Eirene, and I have reason to
believe that she regards it as her own property.”
“And you have contrived to rob her jewel-case during her
husband’s absence here?” asked the Lady lightly.
“Your poet does not go to work quite so crudely, Olimpia. No, it
seems that it is ten years or more since anyone saw the girdle.
Before her marriage the Princess was detained in a sort of
honourable captivity at the old Scythian Consulate here, from which
she escaped to join Theophanis. Unfortunately for her, knowing that
the Scythian Imperial family were most anxious to possess the jewel,
in order to support their claims to the heritage of the Cæsars, she
contrived a hiding-place for it, from which she had not time to
rescue it when the opportunity of escape came. There it must have
remained ever since, for even when the Consulate was burnt by the
Roumi mob before the bombardment, the walls in great part
remained standing. But just lately she saw in the papers that we
were clearing away the ruins to make the new boulevard, and
immediately hurried her husband off to make inquiries. Knowing
Maurice Theophanis, you won’t be surprised to hear that he chose
me, in strictest secrecy, as the recipient of his inquiries—for which I
should imagine his wife will have a word or two to say to him when
he gets home. It seems that Princess Eirene managed to pick a large
stone out of the wall with her scissors, and hide the girdle in the
rubble behind it. As she had fitted the stone in again neatly enough
to escape the observation of the spies who surrounded her, I
thought it was very likely the treasure was there still, but I said a
good deal to Theophanis about fire and plunderers. We visited the
ruins, and Glafko—who has a plaguy exact mind—located as nearly
as he could the spot where the Princess’s room had been. In their
presence I promised the workmen a large reward if they found
anything, and fearful penalties unless they gave it up, and then I
carried our friends off to a review. The walls were duly knocked
down, and nothing was found. But Daniloff, the chief of police, used
himself to be employed at the Scythian Consulate in the old days,
and he had visited the spot the night before. He found the girdle and
brought it to me, wrapped up in odds and ends of paper, and he and
I cleaned it and polished it ourselves. No one else on earth dreams
where it is.”
“That girl outside will know,” said the Lady, without looking
towards Danaë.
“Nonsense! she doesn’t understand French. All she knows is
that I have brought you a present of jewellery to-day—surely a very
natural thing to do. It is not as if she had ever heard of the girdle
and its history.”
“And the obvious thing, to her, would be that I should put it on
at once.” She passed the glittering links round her waist, confining
the folds of the loose flowing gown of rich wine-colour she was
wearing. Before she could snap the clasp into place the Prince’s
hand stopped her.
“Wait, Olimpia. I must tell you that they say the girdle brings ill-
luck with it.”
The Lady laughed, and fastened the clasp. “I will risk the ill-luck
if it makes me Empress,” she said.
Prince Romanos gazed at her in unfeigned admiration. “Olimpia,
you are magnificent! You look the Empress to the life. May I yet see
you wear the girdle at our coronation in Hagion Pneuma!” He knelt
and lifted the edge of the wine-coloured robe to his lips. “Hail to the
Orthodox Empress!” he said fervently in Greek, and Danaë thrilled
with horror at the sacrilege. Were there no bounds to her brother’s
infatuation?
The Lady blushed slightly at the fervour of her husband’s tone.
Perhaps she also saw, as she looked dreamily far beyond him, the
dim splendours of the great cathedral of Czarigrad, rescued from the
Moslem and restored to Christian uses, and crowded with rejoicing
people assembled to welcome back the descendant of John
Theophanis to the throne of his ancestors—saw herself in imperial
robes beside him, and Janni, grown a goodly youth, acclaimed as
the heir of the Eastern Empire. Then she shivered a little, and
unfastened the clasp again.
“Don’t speak Greek; it is not safe with the girl about. You have
made me almost afraid of letting even Despina know that I have the
girdle, yet she has my keys. I will put it here,” she opened a drawer
of her bureau by a spring, and laid the jewel inside it, Danaë
watching her every movement, “until I can make an excuse to get
them and hide it in the safe. And now tell me what it is you want me
to do for you in return for it.”
“Most beautiful and beloved, will you not believe that your poet
brought you a gift solely that he might feast his eyes upon your
beauty adorned with it, and enjoy your pleasure?”
“Not for a moment,” said the Lady decisively.
“Ah, hard-hearted one! will nothing move you? Well, then,
dearest, I claim your promise made the other day. You will allow me
to quarter a guard for you within these walls?”
“I made no promise!” she said quickly.
“Not in words, I own, but it was implied, in return for the gift I
hoped to bring you, and have now brought. Listen, Olimpia; I am in
a very difficult position. Theophanis and his brother-in-law have
made this week a perfect hell to me. The shifts and excuses to
which I have been driven to baulk their curiosity are really
humiliating to look back upon. I am compelled—simply for the sake
of averting the suspicions I saw beginning to spring up in their
minds—to appear to fall in with their scheme for the railway route.
Of course it is exactly opposite to the one on which your hopes—our
hopes—depend, but I must throw them off the scent for a week or
two, or until I can get things definitely settled. Theophanis and
Glafko are returning home fairly satisfied, but to make things quite
smooth I was obliged to volunteer to go part of the way with them,
to see a place where there would be difficulty in getting the line
through. It is a Moslem colony—evkaf [or wakf, land set apart for
religious uses] land, a mosque and a cemetery—and any sensible
person would have seen at once that it was an insuperable obstacle
to their pet route, but they want to negociate about it, relying on
Glafko’s influence with the Roumis, I suppose, and—in a moment of
thoughtlessness, I confess—I proposed enthusiastically to go with
them and see what could be done.”
“Which means that you will be away from Therma—how long?”
“Four days, not more; three, if I am lucky.”
“And you have never gone away before without sending Janni
and me into safety at Thamnos first!”
“My dear Olimpia, this is such a short time. And the notice was
so brief; I start with them to-day, and there was no time to arrange
anything. Then consider what is to be gained—the fulfilment of our
dearest hopes. You on the throne beside me, Janni acknowledged
heir of Emathia—safety and recognition, in short, if I can only keep
those two meddlesome Englishmen in the dark till my great coup is
made.”
“And your police are not capable of protecting this house
against the mob, even with the help of the soldiers outside?”
“It is not the mob I am afraid of, but those who are your—our—
enemies for political, dynastic reasons.”
She raised her eyebrows. “The Theophanis family?”
“Let me beg you not to consider me altogether a fool, Olimpia.
No, not the Theophanis family. But you are aware that your
existence is not entirely unknown in the city; you have often
complained to me of the fact. I have reason to believe that it has
reached the knowledge of the very people with whom I am carrying
on my secret negociations. They may not know your real position,
but they are quite capable of seeing in you and Janni a possible
obstacle to the realisation of their aims, and in that case you and
Janni would be sentenced to disappear. Now do you see what I
mean? I may have been brutal, but you have forced me to speak
plainly.”
The Lady frowned, paying little attention to his excuses. “In
plain words, then, you think that opportunity will be taken of your
absence to murder your wife and son?”
“I don’t think it will be so, or I should not go, but I think it is
possible that such an attempt might be made. Consider Janni,
Olimpia, if you will not consider yourself.”
 “I am considering myself,” she said quickly; “or rather, I am
considering the dignity of your wife. The Princess of Emathia may be
pardoned a little pride, Romanos—may she not? But Janni is in
danger, you say? Well, then, I well yield as far as this. You may post
your guards round the house at night. Arrange matters with
Despina, and let me hear nothing of them. They must be gone
before I come out of doors in the morning, and they must only
arrive after dark—I will not walk in the garden late. I will not see or
be seen by any more of your subjects till you acknowledge me; that
piece of pride I keep. But we shall be protected, according to your
wish; for I suppose even you do not expect a murderous attack to
be made upon us in the daytime?”
“No, I think that ought to be enough,” he said reluctantly. “I
shall be a little happier in my mind, knowing that the garden is
thoroughly patrolled. Accept your poet’s gratitude, my Princess, and
vouchsafe him a gracious farewell. I have innumerable things to do
before I join Theophanis and Glafko this afternoon. They start this
morning, with a patriarchal paraphernalia of tents and baggage-
mules, for the fancy for exploring their proposed new route forbids
their making use of the railway, and I catch them up, travelling light.
But I dare not stay longer.”
“And poor Despina will be distracted by the delay in her
marketing,” said the Lady lightly. She took her husband’s arm, and
walked with him into the garden, Danaë following with Janni in her
arms, and the little iron wedge which Petros had given her clasped
tightly in her hand. The Lady remained out of sight of the gate, but
while his father was speaking to Despina, Janni clamoured to see the
horses, and Danaë carried him to watch the riders mount. She
hardly knew how she could contrive to slip the wedge into the lock,
for Despina, fuming with impatience, was clearly in a desperate
hurry. To add to her irritation, the horse which Petros rode began to
dance hither and thither, apparently desiring to go anywhere rather
than through the gate, and in his efforts to control it, Petros caught
his spur in the old woman’s embroidered apron, and the stuff only
yielded with a jagged tear. Then the horse went through the
gateway with a bound, and Petros was left sitting on the ground
with an expression of such intense astonishment that even Despina,
while reviling him loudly, could hardly help laughing.
“Come on, Petraki! What’s the matter?” cried his master, turning
round.
“I knew something would happen when we met that priest just
as we were starting, my Prince,” moaned Petros lugubriously, noting
with the tail of his eye that Danaë, venturing as far as the doorpost
in sympathetic curiosity, had slipped the wedge into the hole.
“If you hadn’t been so clumsy, nothing would have happened,
fellow,” snapped Despina, contemplating her ruined apron. “I didn’t
meet a priest, so why should I be unlucky?”
“And I did meet him, and nothing has happened to me,” said
Prince Romanos gaily. “Get yourself a new apron with that, old
mother, and don’t croak. Make haste, friend Petros,” as the sentry
brought up the horse, which he had captured; “or shall I send the
police for you with an ambulance?”
“O my Prince, I think I can get to the Palace,” said Petros, rising
with many groans, “but after that——”
“You will have to go on the sick-list instead of coming into the
country with me. That’s where my ill-luck comes in,” said the Prince,
as his retainer hoisted himself with tremendous difficulty into the
saddle.
“Take the little lord in, Eurynomé,” cried Despina wrathfully.
“How often have I not told you that no modest girl goes peeping out
of gates, and there you are, absolutely outside! You’re a bad one,
and I always said so.”
Danaë obeyed, too much excited even to give Despina as good
as she gave, so near and clear to her mind was the culmination of
the plot. Her brother was going away somewhere, and Petros had
contrived to avoid going with him, and the door could be opened by
anyone who knew the secret of the obstructed lock. Moreover, the
saints—so she gratefully phrased it—had put in her way the means
of escape from the fears of Janni’s future in Strio which had been
suggested by the words of Petros when last they met. With the
Girdle of Isidora in her possession, she could bargain for his safety
with her father. Prince Christodoridi was an unsatisfactory person to
bargain with—she recognised it quite dispassionately and not
without admiration—since he never kept any promises that were not
strictly in accordance with his own interests, but with the treasure of
the family in her hands, it would be hard if Danaë could not manage
to bind him down to tolerance of Janni’s presence, if not to actual
recognition of his rights. To leave the girdle where it was, for her
brother to bestow on some other schismatic woman, was a thought
which only suggested itself to be scouted.
The morning passed quietly. Despina went out with her baskets,
shutting the gate with a tremendous bang, since the lock was
difficult to manipulate. The Lady compassionated her on having to
start so late on such a hot day, and called Mariora to carry her chair
and table out of doors. The favourite spot on the lawn in front of the
house was not sufficiently shady to-day, and only the thick foliage of
the ilexes afforded tolerable shelter. The Lady sat down to finish her
letter, with Danaë and Janni playing on the ground beside her, and
Mariora returned to her work. As the day grew hotter and the air
and the hum of insects more drowsy, the child became sleepy and
fretful.
“Carry him indoors, Eurynomé,” said the Lady, looking up from
her writing. “It is early for his sleep, but the excitement this morning
must have tired him. I will come and sit beside him while you have
your dinner.”
“It is done as you command, my Lady,” responded Danaë, with
unusual meekness, and she lifted the child to carry him into the
house. On the verandah she paused. There were sounds at the gate.
The Lady had heard them too, and risen from her chair, just as
Mariora rushed through the hall from the kitchen.
“Fly, my Lady, hide yourself! Murderers!” shrieked the old
woman. “I will keep them back!” and she pushed her mistress
violently inside the house and ran towards the gate, brandishing a
chopper. The Lady turned to snatch Janni out of Danaë’s arms, but
drew back suddenly.
“Hide him, my Eurynomé, save him! You love him, I know.”
“They will do you no harm, Lady,” responded Danaë confidently,
“nor the little lord either.”
 “What do you know about it, girl? Listen!” as the clash of
weapons and a terrible sobbing shriek reached their ears. “Ah, my
poor Mariora! Take him, hide him—you have some place. I will go
and meet them and give you time.” She pressed a passionate kiss on
Janni’s sleepy eyes. “Save him, I charge you, Eurynomé. Go, go
quickly!”
Overmastered by sheer force of will, Danaë fled through the hall
and kitchen and out into the ilex-grove, seeing nothing but the tall
red figure stepping out with uncovered head into the blinding
sunshine. A clamour of words followed her, menaces and evil names,
then the Lady’s voice, very clear and distinct in her foreign Greek.
“I am the wife of the Lord Romanos. If you kill me, you kill your
Princess.”
Again that clash of steel, and Danaë’s stubborn heart misgave
her. Pausing only to wind her shawl firmly round Janni and herself,
she began to climb, hurriedly and furiously, and never ceased until
she had reached her eyrie, where no one could see her from below.
She found a cradle among the branches for Janni, and tied him there
safely before she ventured to look out of the window she had made
for herself. On the lawn lay a prostrate figure in a red gown,
dreadfully still, with a deeper red spreading from it to the grass, and
men in the uniform of the Prince’s guard were searching eagerly
among the trees. Others came rushing out of the house as she
watched.
“Not a soul there! Where are they?” was the cry. “What is the
use of killing the she-wolf if the cub is left alive?”
Then Petros was false! More than that, it came upon Danaë like
a blow that her father had planned this murder all along, and
deliberately made use of her to further his plot. In the sudden
revulsion of feeling she forgot her own hatred of the Lady, and the
ignoble part it had led her to play. Janni was alive, left to her charge
by his murdered mother, and she would save him if she died for it.
Sick and shaking, she crawled back to where she had left him, and
found him peacefully asleep. Seating herself in a fork of the
branches beside him, she loosened her dagger in its sheath. If they
were tracked to the tree, no one should touch him while she
remained alive.
 CHAPTER V.
THE BRAND OF CAIN.

Danaë woke from the sleep or stupor that had overcome her to find
Janni patting her face.
“Wake up, Nono, wake up!” he was saying, as he was wont to
do in the early morning. “Breakfast!”
With a horrible spasm of fear, she covered his mouth quickly
with the shawl, fearing his voice might have been heard, then
listened apprehensively. But no sound came from below, and Janni
was struggling to get rid of the shawl, and insisting, in his own
language, which only Danaë understood, that he was very hungry,
and would shortly roar if breakfast was not forthcoming. Judging by
her own sensations that some hours must have passed since she
had climbed the tree, she ventured to crawl back to her point of
vantage and peer cautiously forth. The dreadful red form still lay
where it had fallen, marring the peaceful beauty of the garden with
its rigid lines and clenched hands, but of the murderers there was no
sign. Could they have guessed that she and Janni were hidden in the
grounds, and be lying in wait in the house, ready to pounce upon
them when hunger should drive them forth? Danaë shook from head
to foot as the thought occurred to her, but a howl from Janni
brought her back to him in a panic, and made action inevitable.
Quieting him with promises and entreaties, she let herself down
from the tree, and starting at every sound, crept through the bushes
and reconnoitred the kitchen door. There was no one to be seen,
and she ventured inside. Everything was thrown about and broken,
but no one was there. Kicking off her slippers, she crept through the
hall to the front of the house. Curtains had been roughly pulled
down, pieces of furniture dragged from their places, evidently to
make sure that no one was hiding behind them, and all receptacles
ransacked. The sight of the bureau standing open gave her a shock,
but she saw at once that the secret drawer had not been discovered.
Approaching noiselessly, she touched the spring, and the Girdle of
Isidora, in all its antique and sacred beauty, lay before her
worshipping eyes. With a sudden impulse she snatched it up, and
fastened it with trembling fingers round her waist, hidden by her
long coat and apron, leaving the drawer open.
A distant wail reminded her of her charge, and she returned
hastily into the kitchen to look for food. Some milk she was able to
rescue from a broken crock, but there was none of the white bread
which was always bought for Janni. Surely Despina ought to have
returned with her purchases by this time? Danaë ran out towards
the gate, avoiding with a shudder the tumbled heap which showed
where Mariora had made her gallant and ineffectual stand on behalf
of her mistress, but recoiled hastily. Almost at her very feet lay
Despina, dead among her baskets. She had been attacked from
behind and cut down as soon as she was inside the gate. With iron
resolution the girl crushed down the desire that seized her to run
away screaming—anywhere, anywhere, away from those three
corpses. Janni remained alive and dependent on her, and she must
take care of him. Setting her teeth, she stepped forward gingerly
until she was able to seize one of the baskets. Happily, it was the
one containing the bread, and she hurried back to Janni, and
brought him down from the tree and fed him. She found a hiding-
place in the bushes, close to the spot where the Lady had sat writing
that morning, and tried to get the child to sleep again while she
thought things out. How she was to place him in safety she could
not tell. She did not even know the way to the Palace, and besides,
her brother might even now have started on his expedition.
Moreover, there was the disquieting fact that the murderers had all
worn the uniform of the guard, which seemed to ring her round with
fresh perils. The guard were then in the plot to destroy the Lady and
her son, and to go to the Palace would be to walk straight into their
clutches. Worse still, they were to provide a detachment to garrison
the garden that night, so the Prince had told Despina when he
announced his approaching journey before he rode out, and they
would no doubt use the opportunity to place the three dead bodies
inside the house, and remove all traces of the tragedy from the
outside. They were not to come near the house itself, nor to see
anything of the inmates, so their orders ran, and therefore the
horrible business would in the most natural way remain
undiscovered until Prince Romanos returned to Therma and came to
see his wife.
And in the meantime? Danaë’s heart sank. Her brother would be
away three or four days, as he had told Despina, and it would fall to
her to keep Janni safely concealed and fed for that time. The
slightest sign of their presence, the faintest wail from the child, and
the murderous crew who had killed his mother would be upon them.
There would be no more milk, even if she could make the bread last
which she had found in the basket, and Janni was not accustomed
to bear privation silently. Nor was a tree an ideal sleeping-place for
three or four nights, especially when any movement in the branches
might betray your presence to bloodthirsty enemies below. Slowly a
plan grew up in Danaë’s mind. She and Janni would escape from the
garden while there was time, before the guard arrived that evening.
The gate was out of the question owing to the presence of the
sentry, but the wall was easy to climb, especially where trees grew
close to it. Danaë had no mind to trust herself in Therma, but she
knew, by longing observation from her treetops, which way lay the
open country, and there it must be possible to find villages where
she and Janni might be sheltered until she could manage to
communicate with her brother. Crawling out of her concealment, she
picked up the letter which the Lady had been writing, and which had
fallen to the ground, folded it and hid it in her dress. It would be a
credential should she be forced to approach Prince Romanos through
a third person, less likely by far to arouse suspicion or to provoke
danger than the famous girdle. Then she ventured back into the
house to collect a few clothes for herself and Janni, which she made
into a bundle with the rest of the bread, and hid among the trees at
the point she thought best for crossing the wall. Returning to fetch
the child, she was horrified to hear violent blows upon the gate. The
guard had arrived early—the mob of the city were attacking the
house—the conjectures, both equally alarming, chased one another
through her brain as she caught up Janni, and rushed with him once
more to the tree of refuge. But before she could mount it she heard
her brother’s voice.
“Open the door, Despina! it is I. The lock will not work. Unfasten
the bolt. Are you all asleep?”
Saved as by a miracle! Danaë left Janni on the ground, and ran
joyfully to the gate, where she struggled vainly with the lock, while
the Prince demanded impatiently why the door was not opened.
“It is I, lord—Eurynomé; and the bolts are not fastened, but the
key will not turn.”
“The key? What are you doing with the key? Where is Despina?
She knows how to open it.”
“Alas, lord! I found it in the door. An evil fate has overtaken
Despina.”
“Holy Basil! what do you mean, girl? Call Mariora, then. What
has happened? Will you fumble to all eternity?”
“Lord, there is no one to call.” In spite of herself, tears were
very near Danaë’s voice. “There came men——”
“Men? what men? What did they do? Open the door, girl! What
of my wife—of the Lady?”
“The little lord is safe, lord.”
The words were spoken very low, and they were downed by the
noise of a vigorous assault on the door. Evidently Prince Romanos
had called the sentry to his help, for the stout planks gave way with
a crash, and he burst in. “Where is your mistress?” he cried fiercely,
seizing Danaë by the shoulder.
“She lies there, lord. She has not moved,” she faltered.
“A doctor! fetch a doctor!” cried Prince Romanos to the sentry,
“and, Christos,” to the guard who was holding his horse, “the police
—no, the chief of police. He is to come alone. Show me where your
mistress is, Eurynomé. You say she has fainted?”
He passed the bodies of the two old women without heeding
them, dragging Danaë with him at a pace which almost whirled her
off her feet, until he released her with a suddenness that sent her
staggering among the bushes. He had seen the rigid red figure on
the grass. For the moment Danaë thought he would have fled,
unable to face it, but he pulled himself together and went on,
treading with fearful, uncertain steps. He was kneeling beside his
dead wife, laying a hand on heart and brow, assuring himself of the
awful truth, and then he broke into a wild lamentation which thrilled
Danaë to the core, for its rough island Greek showed her the
primitive Striote under the mask of the denationalised European.
“Alas, Olimpia, my fairest! Dear love of my heart, whom I wooed
under the orange-trees in the twilight, who shouldst have sat beside
me on the throne! Beloved, thou hast left me too soon; thou, who
didst lay a healing hand upon my tortured brow, shouldst have worn
with me the diadem of New Rome. Like a shy proud fawn wast thou
when I first beheld thee, fearing to hear of the love to which thine
own heart leaped out in response; like the stricken deer wounded by
the huntsman do I see thee now. In thy glory did I behold thee last,
beautiful exceedingly, worthily apparelled—not Helen’s self could
have excelled thee. But now thou liest low; cruel Charon has
snatched thee from me, who wast my eyes, my soul, my life, my all
——”
Danaë could bear no more. Her brother was unconscious of her
presence, and she burst through the bushes and ran across the lawn
to the spot where she had left Janni. Catching him up, she hastened
back and tried to put him into his father’s arms.
“See, lord, you are not left wholly desolate. There is yet one to
love and that loves you.”
“Take the child away!” said Prince Romanos angrily.
“But, lord, your little son!”
“Take him away. What do I care for him? It is his mother I want
—not a baby that cannot speak.” He turned again to the Lady’s body.
“Sweet, hast thou no word for thy lover? How has he sinned that
those lips are closed and silent which have so often overflowed with
words of love? But no, it is neither his sin nor thine, but the iniquity
of those who sought to strike him through thee——”
A howl from Janni, whom the indignant and perplexed Danaë
had been vainly endeavouring to console for his father’s repulse,
broke into the lament.
“Will you take that child away, girl? Is this a scene for his young
eyes? Take him to the nursery, and keep him there until I send for
you.”
“You bid me go, lord, and take with me the little lord?”
demanded Danaë, thrilling with outraged pride and affection on
behalf of her little charge.
“Yes, go, in the name of the All-Holy Mother of God, and leave
me alone with my dead!”
“I go, lord!” said Danaë impressively, but she doubted whether
he even heard her. He was bending over his wife again.
“Most beloved, open those lips but for an instant, and tell me to
whose cursed treachery I owe this blow. Let thy spirit visit me at
night, my beautiful one, and keep vengeance ever in my mind. If
there be one left alive of those who slew thee——”
The familiar voice, raised in a half chant, grew faint in Danaë’s
ears. She was stalking majestically across the grass, hushing the
protesting Janni in her arms, and listening greedily for some word of
recall. No one should say she had stolen away secretly, but if she
was driven out she would go. His son, his heir, was nothing to Prince
Romanos in comparison with the dead body of the schismatic
woman! He would leave him without protection in the house, till the
conspirators returned and finished their deadly work! Very well,
then; he should see no more of Janni until he had learnt to value
him properly. Danaë would at once save the child and punish the
father. Mingled with her lofty resolves was perhaps a vague idea of
averting retribution. The death of the Lady was without doubt in
some measure due to her; she would blot out her guilt by saving the
Lady’s son.
Prince Romanos did not call her back, and when she looked
round from the edge of the wood he was still kneeling over his wife’s
body. Her heart hardened against him, and she picked up the bundle
she had left under the trees and went on as far as the wall. She
climbed up easily enough, and dropped the bundle over, then
returned for Janni, and wound him closely in her shawl. The ground
outside was happily soft, for on this side the garden adjoined a large
piece of land belonging to the Prince which he had planted with
trees, with the intention of making it into a park in future, and she
was able to let herself down safely by her hands. She had often
longed to explore this piece of woodland, and when it was once
crossed she would be well away from the city. She started very
happily, beguiling the way by conversation with Janni, though after a
time it occurred to her that there was nothing very interesting in the
rows of young trees and the growing shrubs. Janni was heavy to
carry, too, when it was not a question of merely rambling about the
garden, but she held on stoutly, sustained by her very mingled
motives.
Sitting down at last to rest at the top of a hill up which she had
laboured with considerable difficulty, she looked back over the way
she had come. The sea in the distance gave her a moment’s wild
longing for Strio, but there would be no safety there for Janni, she
saw that now. Rather must she look nearer, to the new Therma, with
its streets of tall white houses crossing and recrossing with
mathematical regularity, and the Emathian flag flying over the
Palace, the position of which she could easily distinguish now,
dominating the broad road leading from the great square called the
Place de l’Europe Unie. But between the Palace and herself was the
villa among its woods, with her brother mourning over the tragedy
she had helped to bring upon him, and she wondered hopelessly
how the tangle was ever to be unravelled, how she could keep Janni
in her own charge, and yet see him restored to his proper position.
But her desultory musings were suddenly focussed into a keen and
pressing anxiety. Among the young trees between her and the wall
of the garden something was moving. At first it looked like a bright
bird flying low, but as she watched it she realised that it was the gay
fez and golden tassel of a man of the Prince’s guard. There was no
need to ask herself who it could be. Petros had guessed that she
had fled with the child, had tracked her path, and was following hard
on her heels, that he might finish his evil work, and make sure of
the victim who had been snatched from him in the morning.
Terror lent wings to Danaë’s tired feet, and catching up Janni,
she hurried on down the hill. There was no time to look for villages,
and what village would shelter her against the demand of a servant
of the Prince? She stumbled along wildly, looking hopelessly round
for some hiding-place that might enable her to evade the pursuer.
But he had reached the top of the hill while she was still full in view,
and his shouts of “Eurynomé! stop, girl!” his adjurations and threats
of vengeance, came to her faintly on the wind, though she strove to
shut her ears to them. Tired as she was, and burdened with the
child, she had no hope of outdistancing him, but she struggled on,
though it seemed to her that he was now so close that she could
hear his heavy footsteps. Then, as she reached the foot of the hill,
and an artfully contrived glade opened before her, she saw one
single chance of safety, for there were the figures of men and horses
under the trees. Two men wearing “European” clothes, and evidently
not Emathians, were walking up and down impatiently, as though
waiting for somebody, and behind them were four horses under the
charge of two armed guards. There was no doubt in Danaë’s mind
as to the identity of the strangers. They must be the Englishmen
whom Prince Romanos had told Despina he was to meet and
accompany on their journey—and therefore they were an additional
danger. The single subject on which Danaë and the two old women
were in agreement was that of the preposterous baselessness of the
claims of the schismatic Englishman who dared to put himself
forward as heir of the Eastern Empire by right of direct descent from
the Emperor John Theophanis. When the Orthodox position was
triumphantly vindicated by the election of Prince Romanos, who
could trace his lineage only in the female line, to the throne of
Emathia, he had relegated the rival claimant, so Danaë firmly
believed, to a species of honourable imprisonment in a remote part
of the principality. Here he could amuse himself by playing the ruler
under strict supervision, and was even allowed to visit Therma on
asking permission. Judging him by herself, however, Danaë had no
faith in his gratitude for this considerate treatment, and saw in him
merely another menace to Janni’s safety if he discovered who he
was. But the danger of Petros hot on her heels was more pressing,
since she had always understood that Englishmen were easily to be
deceived. Yet how, in any case, was Petros to be kept from
publishing the perilous truth? Her quick scheming brain worked at
tremendous pressure during the last agitated minutes of her
stumbling run.
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