The Mediterranean Sea, Sicily Island.
More than two months after landing, the Roman army had occupied the western part of the island and completely encircled Palermo.
The Hermes Brigade, in which Orlando served, had not taken part in the siege. After replenishing its ranks with new recruits, it continued fighting in the mountains.
In early October, he led his troops to the port of Cefalù to collect supplies. Before they reached the harbor, they could already see faint black smoke rising into the sky from far away.
Had someone burned the port?
Oh no, my supplies!
He quickly rode into town. Some of the houses had been burned down, and the smell of smoke was thick in the air. The docks were in even worse shape, with sailors busy clearing wreckage and dousing areas that were still burning.
The wreck of a cruiser lay at a berth not far away. Its mast had snapped in the middle and toppled over, and its blackened hull listed heavily as it slowly took on water and sank.
An officer explained what had happened to Orlando.
The enemy had attacked at midnight, firing nearly a thousand rockets from outside the harbor. Most had missed, but a small number had struck the port and started scattered fires.
The military's losses were as follows: two warehouses, a row of barracks, two unfinished treadwheel cranes, one merchant ship, and one cruiser. Their total value was between 15,000 and 20,000 Florins.
More than two hundred civilian houses in the port had been lost, but those did not fall within the military's remit.
If the residents wanted compensation, they could go to Paris and seek out Charles VII, or ask the Pope in Rome to adjudicate.
All the military could do was provide a little grain. Nothing more.
Orlando