The Wonderful Travels of Drake

By Peter T. Cavallaro

An action adventure novel set in the late Middle Ages, The Wonderful Travels of Drake follows the journey of a young boy, Drake, who accompanies his father and uncle on a trade expedition from their home in Naples to the mysterious land of Cathay, present-day China. His taste for adventure and glory is satisfied on the journey, as he experiences the wonders of seeing foreign, exotic lands, and battles with strange creatures and hostile people that he and his party encounter. In the end, Drake becomes older and wiser, and acquires recognition of some of the wonders and perils of the world, and of life. With colorful companions ranging from monks to ship captains to revloutionaries and fierce foes such as a pack of desert jackals and a vast Mongol horde, Drakes adventures are gripping and amazing. The Wonderful Travels of Drake is an excellent tale that uses the metaphor of a fantastic journey to symbolize the deeper meaning, which is the a young boys transition from being a boy to a man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 11, 2004
• ISBN: 9781477180457

Peter T. Cavallaro

Peter T. Cavallaro is fifteen years old at the time of publication. The Wonderful Travels of Drake is his first published novel, but he has been writing creatively since he was five. One of Peter’s favorite authors is J.R.R. Tolkien, and Peter has read many of Tolkien’s works. He is particularly fond of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peter is an active high school student who loves history, studying the Classics and, of course, writing.

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Copyright © 2004 by Peter T. Cavallaro.

Library of Congress Number:        2004097054

ISBN :              Softcover              1-4134-6678-8

                        Ebook                  978-1-4500-4544-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Chapter 1 The Start of an Adventure

Chapter 2 Goat Island

Chapter 3 In the House of Safur

Chapter 4 Out of the Country and into the Desert

Chapter 5 Packs of Teeth and Fields of Steam

Chapter 6 Escape to India

Chapter 7 From Mountains to Marshes

Chapter 8 The Fate of Drake and Santino

Chapter 9 A Small Battle

Chapter 10 The Court of Emperor Ningzong

Chapter 11 A Taste of War

Chapter 12 Through the Ocean of India

Chapter 13 A Heavy Loss

Chapter 14 Back at the Beginning

Chapter 1

The Start of an Adventure

The streets were filled with the shouting of men, the clucking of hens, and the rattling of carts. Today was market day, meaning that all of the merchants who lived nearby had eagerly crowded into the great bustling city of Naples to sell what goods each of them had to offer. The items for sale varied greatly, ranging from pots and pans to livestock and vegetables. There were also numerous foreign items such as spices from India and carpets from Persia.

But aside from market day, this day also had significance for a young boy of sixteen named Drake Pastro. Today was the day he would be welcomed into his father’s business. As the tradesmen pushed their wagons to the square, Drake raced eagerly along through the long narrow blocks toward his father’s office. The cobblestone streets were wet from the previous rainy night, but the agile Drake dashed with ease down the road nonetheless.

Drake was a young boy who was eager to seek adventure and glory. He was born into one of the more wealthy families of the city and was said to have descended from the great Roman philosopher Cicero. This was all on his father’s side, for his mother’s ancestry was of Celtic origin. It happened that during the Roman campaign in Britannia, several hundreds of years before, a renowned Celtic warrior was brought back to Italy as a Roman slave. After acquiring his freedom, he simply did not wish to leave the warm climate of Italy and therefore he remained. Drake had received his name from this ancestor, whom his mother had always spoken about. Unfortunately, Drake’s mother had died of an illness when he was young.

Drake’s father, Antonio Pastro, owned and operated his own business which involved trading goods with Cathay, the mysterious land of the Far East. Once a year, Antonio would send an expedition to the land of Cathay to trade western goods with the emperor of Cathay for Eastern items such as silks and spices. On market days such as this one, Antonio’s merchants would be out in their own stalls selling goods brought back from the previous expedition.

When Drake arrived at his father’s office, his father was nowhere to be found. Instead, his father’s younger brother Santino was there waiting. Santino co-owned the business along with Antonio and was one of Drake’s last living relatives other than his father. Santino was everything that one would consider ‘rugged.’ He wore a worn-out black cape that was torn in several places. The cape’s poor condition was due to Santino’s previous endeavors. His old leather shoes were coming apart, and he had a scar running down the left side of his neck. Santino’s long dark hair stretched down to his shoulders, and he occasionally tied it into a ponytail. His beard, like his hair, was dark but was not bushy. Santino was fairly tall and had bulky shoulders. His arms were muscular and his face was light and yet rough at the same time. He was not a very large man, though his legs were incredibly strong as a result of past travels. He seemed by his appearance to enjoy the outdoors, and so he did. Over twenty years earlier, Santino had sailed to the Barbary Coast where he had many adventures. He had also accompanied his brother on a journey to Cathay once. Santino was one whose numerous experiences had given him many things, but above all, they had given him wisdom beyond his years.

Ah, young Drake, Santino said cheerfully as he watched his nephew walk in. "Congratulations on your big day. So, do you think you’re ready to work with us? Perhaps some day you may even run the business."

Hello Uncle! Drake exclaimed. I am very ready to become a part of the business.

Excellent. said Santino, grinning.

Do you know where my father is? Drake asked his uncle curiously. I’ve been anxious to see him and I thought he’d be here. He seemed very busy this morning.

That he did, said Santino nodding. He has a lot of things to prepare before we go.

Go where?

Oh yes, that’s right! Antonio told me it was to be a secret. I suppose you’ll find out when you see him. He’s at the monastery with Brother Clive. With this, Santino began laughing.

You might consider your little secrets hysterical, but I don’t. Drake replied teasingly. Thank you Uncle Santino. I think I’ll go down to the monastery and look for him.

At the monastery, the caretaker opened the gates as Drake walked in. What can Father be doing here? Drake asked aloud to himself.

Praying for a safe and peaceful journey, replied the caretaker, walking forward.

Journey? What journey? said Drake with a mixture of excitement and confusion.

"You don’t know? asked the caretaker in a surprised tone. Then he chuckled to himself and walked away. Suddenly Drake heard a familiar voice say Come in son."

Drake ran into the courtyard where two men sat talking. The first was Drake’s father, Antonio. Though he was three years older than Santino, he was slightly yet noticeably shorter than his brother. He also had long dark hair, but it was slightly lighter than Santino’s. Antonio’s arms were strong and thick, and he also had a small, thin light brown beard. Antonio was a proud man who was highly intelligent but was quick to temper. He had served in the military for some time before opening the trading business with his brother, and he had seen battle several times, although he seldom spoke of his experiences.

The other man sitting beside him was the head monk in the monastery, Brother Clive. He, as all monks, had a long brown robe down to his feet, with a wrinkled hood in the back of it. The middle of his head was shaved, again, like many monks, creating a ring of curly black hair. He was quite young for a monk, especially one who is head of a monastery. Not only was Brother Clive well known around town, but he was also a family friend of the Pastros.

Greetings son, said Antonio as Drake walked in. I’m sure you know Brother Clive.

After everyone had exchanged salutations, Drake said what most was on his mind.

Father, he began, I am pleased to finally become a member of your business, but is there something that you are waiting to surprise me with? Uncle Santino said you would tell me when I saw you, and the man at the gate said that you were here to pray for a safe journey.

Now Antonio stood up, looking pleased at his son. Finally he answered Drake in a proud tone. "As a matter of fact, I do son. Because you are now a member of my business and because I believe you are soon going to become a man, I would like to invite you to come with your uncle and me as we travel to the Far East."

After a moment of speechless bewilderment, Drake began to say everything at once.

A journey to a foreign land! Will it be dangerous? I hope it is! I didn’t know that you were such an experienced traveler. How long will it all take?

Now calm down, calm down, said Antonio with amusement. As you know, we are merchants who trade goods imported from the East by travelers who work for our company. But lately the Eastern governments have closed down their ports and provinces to trading. Because we are closely associated with the imperial family there, the emperor has agreed to allow us to continue our trade with the country, but only if your uncle and I go as well so that they may personally speak and deal with the heads of the company. Hence, we have decided to go and have invited you to accompany us. It may take over a year.

How do you know the imperial family? asked Drake with a new sense of wonder filling inside of him.

Antonio paused for a moment. We journeyed there once before, long before you were born. Now we plan to retrace our steps. First we shall sail east across the Mediterranean Sea into Asia Minor. Our company has a base there where our imported goods from Cathay are packaged and shipped to Italy. There we shall meet the rest of our group and pack our supplies onto the backs of camels. We shall then ride through the scorching deserts of Mesopotamia, Arabia and Persia. After that we will conquer the snow-capped peaks of India until we finally reach the land of Cathay.

Who is setting out from here with us? asked Drake.

Santino, yourself, me, and Brother Clive.

Brother Clive?! Drake repeated with amusement.

Well, someone has to document this little expedition. said