Read Online The Archer's Return: Medieval story in feudal times about knights, Templars, crusaders, Marines, and naval warfare during the Middle Ages in England in the reign of King Richard the lionhearted by Martin Archer - Free Book Online

turns out they’ve come all this way to welcome me back to Cyprus and invite me to eat and drink with them and several of their fellow merchants.  And the intensity of their invitation suggests they have something else they want to talk about and it is important.  Hopefully it isn’t that Latika has fallen and is no longer a refuge for Christians and Jews fleeing the Saracens . 
           That can’t be it; we have men and galleys constantly visiting there so Yoram would have told me immediately.
    @@@@@
           They enthusiastically invite everyone so Harold and Yoram and Henry come with me to the merchants’ meal and so do Peter Sergeant and Robert Monk.  It’s a great meal and it goes on for the entire afternoon. 
           Peter and Robert don’t say a word.  This is their first time outside of England and they are wide eyed and clearly astounded by the variety of things available in the Limassol market and all the different foods that are set in front of us - just as Thomas and I were last year.  It seems like ages ago in another life; aye, that it does.
           We talk of our families and our health and many other things before the real reason for the merchants request for a meeting comes out.  And, of course, one of the things we talk about is the old quarries for the perfectly understandable reason that we would like to use to get the stone we need to face our new log walls.
           “They’re copper and limestone mines from the olden days of the Romans,” suggests Reuben.
           “They were shut down long ago when iron began replacing bronze.  Probably even before that when the island ran out of trees to make the charcoal that has to be burned to cook the ore.  You ought to be able to get them off King Guy for song – he’s greedy that Frenchman is.  Always trying to raise our taxes isn’t he.”
            Copper?  That can go with tin to make coins can’t it?
           “Uh, Reuben.  What do you know about the old mines - are any of them still operating?”
           “They’ve all been closed for a long time.  I doubt anyone even knows when they were last worked.”
    @@@@@
           I learn a lot from the merchants before they finally bring forth what they want so I can stagger home with a full belly.  They want us to either place more galleys in Latika and Acre or establish a defendable compound with a strong force of defenders where their families can temporarily gather to escape by sea - or both.  And, oh yes, and what do I think about them opening trading posts all along the coast of the Holy Land and acting as our agents to book cargos and passengers?  Ah.  That’s it for sure.  They’ve seen the coins we’re earning and want a cut. 
           “That would be quite dangerous for you wouldn’t it?  Opening trading compounds all along the coast, I mean.”
           “Yes, but quite lucrative for everyone.  And our agents and their families would be able to escape on your galleys if the Saracens come.”
          They have a very specific proposal.  They will put an agent with his own defendable walled compound in every port still in Christian or Jewish hands including Constantinople, Antioch, and Beirut, and perhaps even in some that the Saracens have taken over, such as Aleppo and even inland at Damascus and Jerusalem.  Our Marine archers would be the compound guards and row them to safety on a galley standing by as we now do for them in Acre and Alexandria.
           Constantinople, Beirut, and the smaller Christian ports I can understand.  But the Saracen port of Aleppo, and inland at Damascus and Jerusalem? Impossible.
           “Aleppo, Damascus and Jerusalem?  Forgive me, but the Saracens control them so that’s hard for me to understand.”  Or believe. 
           “Yes, but we think we can put agents those cities if we use Saracen or Jewish guards instead of your archers.  They