"That man is the chief of the guards, and has said he will lead us to the emperor's court. But we are forewarned: it will go ill with us if you do not also bring a token to attest your rank and signify the importance of your business-something to prove you are trustworthy.
"Proof! I will present the thief's head for my proof!" declared the king.
"Nay, Jarl Harald," I said, "that will not do." And I explained as best I could the strategy given me by Justin, including what would likely happen if the emperor was displeased by our ransom demand. On sudden inspiration, I offered the observation that perhaps if the emperor was not inclined to redeem his servant, he still might be persuaded to make reparation for the theft and return the silver.
The king's brow wrinkled in thought as, surrounded by the bewildering formalities of the city, he seemed more willing to consider the possibility of simple restitution. "It seems to me," I suggested, "that we have nothing to fear, as we are certain of the truth of our claim."
The king hesitated. What had begun as a simple collection of an honour-debt was rapidly growing into a legal contest he no longer understood.
"Jarl Harald," Gunnar said, speaking up, "would you rather some other king was first of all Danes to win tribute from the emperor's hand? You would do well to consider this, I think." He paused, allowing the king to feel his prize slipping away, then added, "Do as Aeddan advises, and the tale will be told in every hall in Daneland. You will gain greater renown than Eric Hairy-Breecs. I think that is a thing worth all the silver in Miklagard."
"I will do it!" cried Harald, making up his mind at once. Turning to Hnefi, he said, "Take four men with you and bring the treasure box from the ship."
Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have known what this meant. Alas, I was so preoccupied with steering our ship of concerns successfully through the rocky sea before us, the significance of Harald's words passed me by.
I told Justin that the king was sending men back to the ship to bring the required surety, and he said, "Come along, then. I will leave some men to escort the barbarians when they return. The palace is not far; we will await them there."
The Chief of the Magnaura Gate then appointed several of his guardsmen to escort Harald's men to the longship and thence on to the palace of the emperor. He then motioned the rest of us to follow him, and thus our odd company was allowed to pass into the city without so much as a single nomismi changing hands. Justin and I marched together at the front of the parade, leading a procession of proud, awestruck barbarians and their escort of soldiers at the rear. As Justin had said, the emperor's palace was no great distance from where we had entered, although it lay in the opposite direction from the way we had gone the previous day, so I recognized nothing from before.
King Harald, looking regal if slightly bewildered, strode like a conqueror through the streets of Constantinople, much impressed by everything he saw. His head swung this way and that, but he kept his mouth firmly shut-unlike the rest of the Sea Wolves, who exclaimed aloud at each new marvel to meet their eyes. The fine big houses occasioned much speculation about the wealth inside, and the first glimpse of the amphitheatre brought exclamations of wonder and delight-much to the amusement of the citizenry of Constantinople, many of whom stopped to watch our curious company pass by.
Had anyone known what the barbarians were saying, they would not have been so amused, I think. The Sea Wolves were astounded by the sight of so much wealth, and eagerly discussed how best to get it for themselves: whether it was advisable to slay the owners outright, or simply seize the valuables and kill only those who resisted; whether to burn individual houses, or put the whole city to the torch…I was heartily glad the onlookers taking such delight in the display understood nothing of what the Sea Wolves said.
When we came in sight of the palace walls, the talk turned to strategies for sacking such an imposing place. The difficulty, from a barbarian point of view, was that the palace presented itself not as a single house or dwelling, but a cluster of buildings scattered within a walled compound-a city within a city. The prevailing opinion was that it should be plundered like any other settlement: fires should be set and the inhabitants slaughtered as they fled the flames. The barbarians could then loot the place at their leisure, providing the soldiers did not interfere. The Sea Wolves had no idea how many soldiers the emperor commanded, but judging from the look of the gate guards they reckoned their own superior strength and stature more than a match for any number of shorter, more lightly-equipped defenders. The somewhat benign appearance of our small escort of red-cloaked guards did nothing to arrest the barbarians' swift-racing avarice.
