Archers and Crusaders: Historical fiction: Novel of Medieval Warfare by Marines, Navy sailors, and Templar knights in the Middle Ages during England's ... (The English Archers Saga Book 6) by Martin Archer

themselves warm and dry.
           It is growing dark when our galley’s rowing drum finally starts and we begin making our way out of the harbor bound for Venice.  It’s been a long day and I’m suddenly very tired – but not too tired to give one final order as I head off to join Cardinal Bertoli and get some much needed rest.
           “Throw the garbage overboard in the middle of the night,” I tell Jeffrey with a jerk of my thumb towards the bodies of the four men who tried to kill us.
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           Venice comes in sight late the next afternoon.  The sky is overcast and we don’t know what kind of reception to expect - so we slowly row into the crowded harbor on high alert and instantly ready to fight or run. 
           Bales of arrows are brought out of the cargo hold and stacked up all over the deck; four archers with good ‘long’ eyes are up in our expanded lookouts’ nest; sergeants have inspected every man’s weapons; and Jeffrey and his sergeants spend time in every corner of the galley to make sure every man knows what he is to do under the various circumstances that might occur.  Hopefully, of course, it will all come to nothing.
           We don’t tie up at the dock when we bump up against it.  Instead some of Jeffrey’s sailors use the hooks on our pikes to hold the galley against the dock while de Montfort and his men and climb up to it.  We boost Cardinal Bertoli up to join them and then we back off about forty feet from the dock.  We’ll wait out here for them to return. 
           The cardinal is going with de Montfort to meet with the crusaders and any Venetian officials who want to talk about the payments that must be paid if Venetian ships are to carry the crusaders to Egypt and the Holy Land.  I’m not going with them and neither are any of our men. 
            I hope Cardinal Bertoli will be safe.  While we were sailing here he and I talked about things at length when de Montfort was not around.  Should the cardinal or should he not be accompanied by a guard of our Marines? 
           After much discussion and prayer he finally decided not avail himself of my offer to provide him with guards.  He thinks he’ll be safe if he is with de Montfort and his men – he’s probably right but then again that’s what we thought at Pula.  We really did think that we’d be safe if we went ashore to look for Cardinal Capua at the bishop’s residence next to the church.  I reminded Bertoli of this to no avail - he decided that being with di Montfort would be more than enough.
           The cardinal promised me that he will lie and say that he knows nothing about any Venetian galleys – only that once on the way to Pula he heard a lot of noise and shouting when he was locked in the little castle.  I agreed that I’d play dumb about it as well. 
           “God will forgive us for our lies,” we both agreed.
           Somewhere along the line Cardinal Bertoli will decide whether to stay longer in Venice with the crusaders or sail with us back to Rome.  Either way, he’s to return to the galley in the morning no later than three hours after sunup.  We agreed that if we don’t see him in person by then we will leave without him - and we agree that any message purporting to be from him that asks us to wait longer will be a fake and mean that we are in such great danger that we should immediately leave.  If he really decides to stay he’ll come tell us in person.
           We’re not taking chances.  As soon as Cardinal Bertoli and the crusaders disembark we move a little ways away from the dock and take a position pointing out of the harbor.  From here we can also quickly return to the dock if necessary.
           It’s a good thing we don’t stay at the dock.  A hostile crowd begins gathering on the dock almost immediately.  Somehow word has reached Venice that the five galleys are lost and we are