"Hola!" cried a sentinel.
"Melons," said Pippino, who knew the correct reply.
The sentinel led them up a steep and winding stairway that ascended and ascended and ascended up to the roof of the third and highest tier, turned into a turret, and ascended up yet another stairway and through a trap-door, until they reached the abode where Luigi Vanya toiled in pursuit of evil. At the moment, he was busily playing pyramid solitaire with the skulls of his enemies. His followers were in various states of intoxication. Graffiti in Vanya-Orkish Creole adorned the walls, along with a red V for Vanya.
As soon as the Count and Arafrantz entered, the vanditti rose and grabbed their weapons, shouting "Forth Vanyinghi!"
"Hola!" cried another sentry. Wearily, the Count turned him into a frog.
"This is not quite the welcome we expected," he told Luigi Vanya, as Gali kicked over the pyramid, stopping briefly to gnaw at some of the contents. "We are the Count of Monte Fato."
