“What are we to do, Father Vitus?” Foulques de Villaret, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Rhodes, demanded. “We've only just taken full control of the island; my men are needed to maintain law and order and to make necessary repairs to the city. I'd rather not have to send them chasing after some local legend your people haven't been able to get to the bottom of.” For three years de Villaret had overseen the invasion of Rhodes, understanding the strategic importance of its position to his Order. The Hospitallers had previously been based in neighbouring Cyprus but relations with the Cypriot king had been tense and Rhodes offered the ideal position to control the trade routes from the Black Sea. After an impressive land-sea military operation, the Order had finally taken control of the island and was now working to improve the old Byzantine fortifications. In the past fortnight though, two of the Hospitaller sergeants-at-arms had mysteriously disappeared followed just a couple of days later by an actual knight.
