Justin spoke briefly to the guard on the gate, and the man let us through the night door. There were still a few small craft waiting at the bottom of the steps, and Justin bargained with the boatman and paid him. "He will take you to the ship. Good night, Aidan," he said, helping me into the boat.
"Thank you, Justin," I replied. "Thank you for all you have done for me this day. I will pray God rewards your kindness a thousand times over."
"Please, say no more," he answered. "I have my reward: the emperor favours me with his gold, I have bread and wine with a brother…it is a good day for me." Raising his hand in farewell, he said, "Remember, I will seek word of your friends. I should learn something in a day or two. Come see me when you can."
"How will I find you again?" I called as the boat pushed away from the quay.
"I am always at the gate," he said. "Farewell, my friend. God keep you."
"And you. Farewell, Justin."
The next morning, King Harald prepared to receive the protospatharius aboard the longship. I marvelled at the eagerness with which this red-bearded plunderer donned the garb of civilization. I watched him stride about the deck, ordering the ship for inspection by the Overseer of the Fleet, and I thought: yesterday he was but a raiding rogue, and today he is a loyal defender of the empire.
At midday the anticipated official arrived in a small boat with four men in blue cloaks; they all wore brown belts and low-crowned, wide-brimmed black hats, and a black cloth pouch hung at his side on a leather strap over his shoulder. As an official of the imperial court, he carried a rod of ebony which had a bronze knob on either end.
The overseer and his men came aboard bearing greetings from the basileus and a parchment document recognizing the jarl and his men as mercenaries in service to the emperor. "I am Jovian, Protospatharius of the Imperial Fleet," he told us, and presented the sealed parchment to Harald, who received it with genuine gratitude, and sat bathed in bliss as I read it out to him. The two then sat down to a meal of black bread and fish and ol; they ate and talked most amiably and then applied themselves to the business at hand: negotiation of the amounts and methods of remuneration for Harald's service.
The emperor, it transpired, had placed the value of Harald's service at a thousand nomismi each month. There ensued some confusion over this, however, and it was explained that a month was to be understood as the duration of time between one full moon and the next.
"That is a hundred silver denarii every month," I told him. "I think that is very good, Jarl Harald."
Hnefi and Orm, sitting close by, heard the number and could not believe their good fortune. "Jarl Harald," they said, "it is more than we got raiding all last summer!"
But the marauding Dane was not accustomed to accepting the first offer. "It is enough for me and the use of my ship perhaps," he allowed cannily. "But I have four ships and a hundred and sixty men. What am I to give them?" While I translated his words, the king fixed the courtier with an uncompromising stare.
"I did not know you had so many men," replied Jovian. "Perhaps some allowance might be made for them." After a brief conference with his underlings, he said, "Shall we say two thousand nomismi? One thousand for you and your ships, and another thousand for your men. What say you to that?"
"That is less than ten denarii for each man," Harald complained.
"But it is more than most of them have ever held in their hands at once," pointed out Hnefi.
"Nay," declared Harald with a slow, obstinate shake of his head. "Ten for each man." I conveyed the king's answer.
"Eight, perhaps," suggested the overseer cautiously. "And I will allow your men a share of the theme bread."
Harald listened to the offer, considered it, and extended his hand in the barbarian manner. The protospatharius regarded the king's hand with a bemused expression.
"It means he has agreed," I informed the official. "If you agree, clasp his hand thus-" I made a shaking motion with my hands to show him how it was done.
Jovian grasped the Sea King by the hand and sealed the bargain. That settled, they then turned to a discussion of the rights, privileges, and duties of the Danes as new-made subjects of the realm. Lastly, they decided how, when, and where provisions for the voyage were to be collected, and the means by which the Sea Wolves were to join the other ships of the imperial fleet making their way to Trebizond. Needless to say, I spent the day translating between them; it was tedious, but I learned much to my advantage about the emperor's fleet, and the nature of the voyage under contemplation.
