1.
Kircher and Newton did not forbid her from getting out of bed. The wounds she had sustained were superficial. But something made her prefer to lie there and recall her recent defeat. She kept seeing the face of the enemy who had struck her down and could have killed her, but for some unknown reason decided to spare her.
Athanasius Kircher, a friend of her murdered father, had recently returned from a Jesuit mission in China. Now, at her request, he had come to Vienna. When she had told him everything she had managed to find out, Kircher had immediately agreed with her, confirming that the matter might be much more serious than it seemed. He decided to seek advice from other scholars with whom he regularly corresponded. In Vienna there were Isaac Newton and Rabbi Nathan ben Moses Hannover.
All the young scientist needed to do was a messenger asking him to come. However, the Rabbi was in Vienna temporarily and was staying at an inn. Normally, this would not have been an obstacle, had the riots not broken out in the city. Their main cause was supposedly the lack of consent to recognize Charles II of Habsburg as the Archduke of Austria. Someone had spread rumours that this would mean even greater oppression for the common people. It is true, that in the lands of the Spanish Habsburgs, from which came the new emperor, rebellions of this type occurred frequently, but in this case Octavia and Kircher believed that it was an element of a political game, one of a much greater significance.
The inn where Rabbi had rented a place was in a district affected by riots. So, they had to not only hurry, but also take with them a few people who were skilled in handling the weapons.
***
They arrived at the last moment. The inn already surrounded by angry townspeople. Several thugs were seen preparing to set the building on fire, in order to smoke out or burn alive the people inside. Octavia, without thinking, reached for her rapier.
– If I may suggest something… – Max Otto, former servant of her father, interrupted her. He was a tall, strong man, with a distinct scar on his face. Before he was recruited by the Imperial Army Intelligence Service, he was a bandit. He grew up on the streets, orphaned or abandoned by his parents. In matters concerning the Viennese common folk, he was Octavia’s greatest authority.
– We won’t kill them all. They’ll tear us apart – he said with complete composure, as if their lives weren’t at stake – we’ll try to distract them. Turn their anger somewhere else. You, my lady, try to get Rabbi out of the inn and be as inconspicuous as possible.
Octavia nodded her head and make sure that long coat is fully covering her armour and helmet.
