richly rewards your loyalty. Return to your ships and prepare yourselves.' Gesturing to the magister, who produced his wax tablet, the emperor took up the stylus and began to write. 'We will send the protospatharius to you tomorrow to arrange for provisioning. The envoy sails in three days' time.' Passing the tablet back to the magister sacrum, Basil held out his hand for the king to kiss.
This time, Jarl Harald Bull-Roar bent his neck, and sealed his allegiance with a kiss. The emperor stood up from his throne and retrieved the golden bowl that lay at his feet and presented it to the wily Dane; then, descending from the dais, he stooped, and with his own hand swept a fistful of gold coins from the heap on the floor and poured them with a magnificent clatter into Harald's bowl as a wealthy merchant dispensing alms to a favourite beggar. The barbarian king smiled so broadly, and with such manifest delight, that the emperor repeated the gesture. I could not help noticing, however, that the silver cumtach received no further mention, and lay forgotten at the foot of the throne.
Basil then dismissed his new ally, saying, 'Serve us well, King of Skania, and the glory and treasure you seek will be yours, as God wills.'
Harald thanked the emperor and took his leave, saying he would return to his ships and await the emperor's pleasure. Then, following the magister's lead, we were removed from the imperial presence-eyes averted, we walked slowly backwards from the throne. Upon reaching the doorway, I paused for a last lingering glimpse of the marvellous hall, when the magister put his hand on my shoulder.
'The basileus would speak with you alone,' he said, indicating the throne. I looked up to see Emperor Basil beckoning me to him. 'Tell your king that you will be returned to him when the emperor has finished with you.'
Harald, happy with his gold, grunted his gruff approval, and I retraced my steps to the throne wondering what God's Vice-Regent on Earth could want with me.
33
We live in uncertain times, Brother Aidan,' the emperor said, his tone at once familiar and imperious, 'as you have seen evidenced this day: trusted officials use their powers to rob and steal for their own gain, and barbarian raiders argue for justice and pledge loyalty.'
The emperor had ordered everyone from the throne-room save his imperial bodyguard. These men stood ranged around the throne, expressionless, eyes neither watching nor looking away. There was no one else to hear what the emperor said to me.
Raising a hand to the Farghanese bodyguard surrounding his throne, he said, 'Look you now and tell us who stands closest to the emperor?'
He seemed to expect an answer, so I said, 'Are they barbarians, sovereign lord?'
'Your master is a barbarian, and we have seen many such before. We labour under no illusion, Brother Aidan, we know we faced an enemy who came to steal and kill; he told the truth about that, yes, but we knew anyway. And yet, when given the chance-we know well who placed that chance within his grasp, Subtle Priest-when given the chance, this rough barbarian showed himself more trustworthy than the man born and bred to his office.
'Trust is the heart of the matter here. Who does the emperor trust? His friends? Friends sick with envy and the venom of spite, who would sooner slit his throat than bend the knee? Does he trust his officials? All the scores upon scores of nameless, grasping functionaries who would sooner poison his drink than kiss his ring? Perhaps he trusts his sons? Men who are either too young to shoulder the burden of state, or who are themselves ambitious and overeager for the crown?'
He appraised the effect of his words, and nodded with grim satisfaction. 'You begin to see how it is. For every work the empire requires, the emperor must weigh out the loyalty of the man he asks to perform the task. For most duties, scant loyalty is required, and one man may serve as well as the next. For some tasks, however, great loyalty is necessary-and then the choice becomes much more exacting.'
As he spoke, I began to feel a strange sensation in my stomach-like fear, or dread, but neither-as if I had made a momentous wager and was now about to discover whether I had won or lost.
'Komes Nikos, as you have seen, is a loyal and trust-worthy servant,' Emperor Basil continued. 'He stands close to the throne. Scholarae Justin is poised for swift advancement; his diligence and honesty will find particular reward. We have need of such men always, and that is why we seize on them whenever and wherever we find them.
'Brother Aidan,' he looked at me with his clever dark eyes, 'we see such a man standing before us now, and we are loath to let him escape our sight.'
'Then you must also see, sovereign lord,' I told him, raising my hand to the iron ring on my neck, 'I am but a slave.'
The emperor's response was sharply contemptuous. 'You disappoint us, priest. Little do you comprehend the power of an emperor if you imagine that to be an impediment. Allow us to reassure you, brother monk, the ability to reward the friends of the empire is well within our grasp.'
'Forgive me, sovereign lord,' I said. 'I am ill-taught in courtly ways. I have spoken out of place.'
The emperor leaned back against the cushions of his throne. 'Never fear, we will not command you against your will. It is your loyalty we are most anxious to procure, not your obedience.' The emperor smoothed the purple silk of his robe with his hands.
'Your pilgrimage has not been in vain, brother priest. You are well placed to be of service to us. It may be that the chore we have in mind is the very task to which God himself has called you. Hear us, Brother Aidan; your work has only begun.'
'Sovereign lord,' I replied, my thoughts roiling in confusion, 'command me how you will, I am your servant.'
Basil smiled a lipless smile of thin satisfaction. 'Good. We are pleased, brother monk.' Beckoning me closer, he said, 'Listen carefully, this is what we would have you do.'
I attended with utmost care while the emperor explained that the whole of the imperial attention was concentrated upon the embassy to Trebizond. It was, he said, a matter of utmost delicacy. 'Naturally, the empire has enemies of many kinds-enemies whose aims are not always easy to discern. Therefore, we must avail ourselves of every protection for the good of the empire.' He looked at me with disarming candour and said, 'Secrecy has its uses, brother priest. If you know how to keep a secret, we would welcome your presence in Trebizond. More, we would reward it.'
I replied that discretion was a virtue, and one which had served me well in the abbey. The emperor then shared his secret concern and asked me to be his eyes and ears in Trebizond, to observe all that took place and report to him upon my return to Byzantium. When he finished, he asked if I understood. Upon receiving my assurance, he stood abruptly. The Farghanese all moved back one pace. Making a gesture of dismissal, the emperor said, 'Come to us when your journey is completed.'
'As you will, basileus.' I bowed my head and stepped backwards as I had seen the others do.
The emperor summoned the magister to usher me from the palace. 'The gateman,' Basil said, 'is he still with us?'
'He awaits your pleasure in the anteroom, basileus,' replied the white-robed courtier.
'Tell him that he is to return this man to his ship,' the emperor commanded, adding as he thought of it, 'but there is no hurry, we believe, so tell the guard that he is to show our servant whatever he wishes to see and experience of our city.' Glancing at me, he said, 'And by all means, he is to feed the man. Give him a solidus for this purpose, magister.'
'As you will, sovereign lord,' replied the courtier.
Once again, I was dismissed and led from the hall. Basil allowed me to reach the door before calling, 'God grant you a safe voyage, brother priest, and a swift return. Until then, let us both anticipate the pleasure of discussing what you will do with your freedom.'
Upon emerging from my audience, I found Justin waiting alone in the anteroom; all the others had gone. The magister beckoned him to us and placed a gold coin in his hand, charging him with the emperor's orders. The
