Matthias paces the Diet chamber like a caged animal. He stops to speak:

If I am not to take ship to the Holy Land, then what am I doing still in Bologna's port?

I have been the Crusader Count of Adana for eight years and I have yet to leave Italy, or even receive marching orders in four!

If a passage to Outremer is impossible, even an overland one, then I ask that I be sent some place where I can be useful rather than watch the gulls fly over the Adriatic!

Matthias's outburst turns to grumbling as he continues pacing the chamber.