Crowner's Crusade Read Online Free PDF

Tancred that he expected to be in Corfu in a few weeks’ time and fervently hoped that the Sicilian would honour his promise to send couriers with the latest information.
    Out beyond the shelter of the coast, the sea became rougher again and it was with relief that the hazy outline of Corfu became visible on the morning of the ninth day of November.
    Next day, they had clawed their way up the inner side of the large island to reach Kirkira, the main city and port, where with great thankfulness, they dropped anchor. Corfu was also part of the Byzantine Empire ruled from Constantinople and Richard and his advisers were unsure of the reception they would get there. Philip of France had also called at Corfu on his way home the previous year and Richard was not sure of what poisonous lies he had left behind him about his rival. It was known that he had been proclaiming all over Europe that the Norman king had been trying to kill him and also the lie that he had ordered the fatal stabbing of Conrad Montferrat, ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. However, it was imperative that they learned what they could from Tancred’s messengers, as well as taking on food and water for the next leg of the voyage, as by now their stores were seriously depleted.
    â€˜You go with William and Baldwin, John,’ commanded the Lionheart, as the ship’s boat was lowered over the side. ‘Seek out these men from Sicily, if God willing, they have arrived. Take Gwyn with you, he is worth any three men if you have to fight your way back!’
    They dressed in sober clothing with no rich adornments, so as not to attract undue attention, and left the Templars on board, as they were not always welcomed by the Orthodox communities. They clambered gingerly into the small boat and two crewmen rowed them the half mile to the long curving beach with its stone jetty. Many ships were drawn up on the strand, including Venetian trading vessels hibernating for the coming winter.
    The boat grounded on the sand near the base of the jetty and the three knights waded ashore, Gwyn following behind, his old sword scabbard slung across his back from a leather strap. They climbed a slope up to the town, where several streets rambled away, lined with a mixture of wooden and stone buildings, the latter gleaming in the autumn sun. The people in those streets were even more mixed than the buildings. Some of them wore Moorish robes, others dressed like farm peasants and yet more were obviously merchants, artisans and labourers.
    The four men attracted curious glances and some hostile glares, for it seemed that everyone knew that it was the ship belonging to the King of England that lay at anchor in their bay.
    â€˜Keep your hands near your weapons,’ advised William de L’Etang. ‘Some of these fellows don’t seem all that pleased to see us.’
    They strode up the main street away from the sea and it seemed to John that the crowds parted to let them pass, as if they might have some contagious disease.
    Gwyn moved up to walk alongside de Wolfe and muttered in his ear. ‘How are we supposed to find these Sicilian messengers? We know no one here to enquire, do we?’
    â€˜I understand that they will find us, if they are here. If not, we must return to the ship after a couple of hours.’
    As they walked farther from the more open area near the beach, the main street closed in, with many narrow, crooked alleys running off on each side. The smell of a town grew stronger, a mixture of cooking, sewage, rubbish and unwashed humanity. Though well used to similar odours in almost every town they had ever visited, after weeks at sea in clean, open air, the stink affected their nostrils more than usual. Shops and stalls lined the road, a haphazard collection selling all manner of goods, as Corfu was a meeting place of several cultures. Venice had strong trading links with it and Italy was not far over the western horizon. Merchants from North