Harald continued, reaching in again, 'is for the friendship of my men.' He placed a smooth-polished yellow gem in the envoy's hand. 'And this,' he said, reaching into the bag a third time, 'is for the future good will between our peoples should we happen to pass this way again.' He placed a green gem beside the yellow one, then closed the bag and passed it back to his man.
'I would have thought,' said the envoy, peering disappointedly at the objects in his hand, 'that a man of your estimable worth would have placed a much higher value on the friendship between our peoples.'
'I desire only the merest acquaintance,' was Harald's retort. 'I do not wish to marry your lord or any of his people, agreeable though they may be.'
The Patzinak envoy did not like this. He sighed and pulled on his chin, gazing at the loot in his hands and shaking his head sadly from side to side as if he were contemplating a tragic mistake. 'I am loath to believe,' he said at last, dropping the treasure into the bag at his side, 'that your new friends hold so little value in your eyes. I fear it is most distressing. No doubt when my lord hears of the small esteem in which you hold him, he will require additional blandishments.'
'How foolish of me,' replied Harald upon my relation of these words, 'I have forgotten to mention that in addition to the silver and gems which you have so swiftly hidden from sight, I am also giving you and your wealth- lusting lord the gift of your lives.' The Sea Wolf king paused to await the effect his words would have; and when the envoy raised protest against this line of reasoning, Harald said, 'What? Do you place so little value on your own heads?'
With that, he drew his axe and prepared to signal his men to renew the fight. The Patzinak envoy gaped at him and said, 'Now that I understand you better, I am amply persuaded of your earnest desire for our friendship. Therefore, I will endeavour to present your generous offer to our lord. Still, I would remind you that you must pass this way again when you return home. And I would beg you to consider well what manner of welcome you wish to receive upon your return.'
'Let us find what we find,' growled Harald, growing tired of the game.
'Then go your way,' the Patzinak envoy said. 'I will tell my lord to prepare the welcome you deserve.'
'That is my fondest wish,' replied Harald, drawing his thumb along the edge of his axe.
'So be it.' With that, the envoy signalled to his men and they withdrew at once.
'That was well done, jarl,' said one of Harald's men. 'Will they attack again do you think?'
'I think not,' replied Harald. 'We have purchased safe conduct this time. But we are forewarned: next time it will be more costly.'
Returning to the ships, we prepared to continue on our way. By day's end all four ships were once again in the water and drifting peacefully downriver. As the moon was bright enough to steer by, we did not rest, but continued on through the night. Daybreak found us far away from the Patzinak lands, and well beyond the last of the obstacles standing between King Harald Bull-Roar and the City of Gold.
PART TWO
May the Everlasting Christ
Go before you all your days,
And take you in his loving clasp,
Whether braving storm-torn Western seas,
Or treading death-dark streets in
The Golden Cities of the East.
26
The Black Sea, so far as I could tell, was no darker than any other I had seen, and when the sun shone the surface of the water gleamed like polished jade. But the sun was a rare visitor, for the days were often grey and the dawn mist which lay thick on the water now remained well past midday. Still, the air was warmer than I would have imagined; and if it grew chill at night, when the sun shone it grew almost pleasant.
By what I could see from the longship's rail, I reckoned we had come to a land of tight-clustered hills. The hills, rising dull brown beyond the cragged shore were not high, but they were dense with small, shrubby trees and thorny bushes. Sometimes I glimpsed bony sheep picking their way among the prickly branches, searching for food, but I did not see any people.
Harald, considering his fleet more than a match for any foe, proceeded boldly, sailing by day and coving at night. One evening the wood gatherers returned to camp with some of the peculiar sheep: tall, rangy, thin- haunched, long-necked, with mottled fleeces of brown and grey-more goat than sheep, to look at them. We slaughtered the beasts and put them to roast on spits over the campfires. The meat was strong and tough, and the burning tallow made our eyes water. None of the men could stomach the fare. Even Hrothgar gave up after a while, saying his belt would be more tender, and would no doubt taste better. After that miserable meal, no one troubled the sheep any more.
The experience put me in mind of Christ's parable. It could be no easy task to separate those sheep from goats; it would take a shepherd who knew his flock and could call them by name. Sure, it would take a good shepherd.
Several times, early in the morning, we saw fishing boats; small craft, carrying only two or three men who plied the water with long oars, they presented no interest to the Sea Wolves, who sailed by without molesting them. When, after sailing three days, we came in sight of our first settlement, Harald gave orders that no one should turn aside to plunder. With the prospect of unlimited wealth now almost within reach, he did not care to waste his efforts on such small pickings.
'They can have nothing worth taking,' he said, frowning with disdain. 'Besides, we can always sack them on the way home.'
Over the next days, the settlements grew more numerous. Feeling that we must be getting near to Miklagard, the king exercised greater caution in his approach. Accordingly, we sheltered in coves during the day, emerging at dusk to sail the misty waters until dawn. I took my place beside Thorkel at the tiller, watching the sky. Though the sea lay deep-misted and obscure beneath a mantle white and dense as wool, the sky shone bright with stars beyond measure.
All night long we watched the dazzling sky, ablaze with unfamiliar stars. Contemplating this wonder, Dugal's words came back to me: the very stars in the sky are strange.
Oh, Dugal, if you could only see them, I thought. I would give anything for you to stand on this deck beside me with your eyes straining heavenward and the starlight on your handsome face.
'We are near,' Thorkel said, pointing out over the rail to the west.
I looked and saw the lights of a fair-sized settlement, the glow of hearthfire, candle, and rushlight from a hundred or more dwellings-some huddled low, near the shore, and others scattered higher in the hills.
I did not see why this should mean that we were any nearer our destination. 'Do you know this place?' I wondered.
No, Thorkel said; he had never seen it before. So, I asked him how it was that he thought a settlement on the sea betokened nearness to Miklagard.
'For a Sea Wolf, you have much to learn,' Thorkel replied. 'People do not build a settlement on the water unless they are secure behind the defences of a wall.'
Squinting my eyes, I searched the shoreline, stark in the silver of bright starlight. 'You are mistaken, Thorkel. I see no wall.'
The tall pilot smiled. 'Miklagard,' he said, 'is their wall.'
