"So… the lost tower, eh? What’s there to share? People make too big a deal about it"

Albanus looked at his father as if he were seeing him for the first time.

“Father, we haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“What are you talking about, Albanus?”

“We came here skirting around the truth, and I think you deserve to know. It has occurred to me that telling you the truth might actually lead us to a way out of our terrible predicament.”

The father growled with annoyance.

“Do you think I have time for riddles? At my age? Just speak plainly, boy.”

“The king has sentenced all your sons to death!”

The father raised his thin eyebrows, his eyes widening in surprise.

“And for what crime?”

“No crime whatsoever. He charged the three of us with finding out the secret to the locked tower. We’ve failed to find anyone in all of Rome who can remember anything significant about the tower, and the king is punishing us for our failed mission. Father…” Albanus stepped closer to his father, his eyes pleading. “Perhaps you know something about the tower? You’re very old.”

His father rolled his eyes. “So… the lost tower, eh? What’s there to share? People make too big a deal about it. It’s not nearly as exciting as the legends on the street would like to have you believe. For centuries, the leaders of Rome have always kept all their most cherished items in there, things they wanted to be safeguarded for long after they had passed on. But you’ll find more treasure in the palace of Decimus himself than what you would discover in the locked tower.