Let me tell you something, my brother. The Cumans are so dangerous that no merchant dares travel through their territory except in the company of a fleet protected by soldiers. Merchants wouldn’t spend money unless it was necessary. What chance do you think you have? None, I tell you. None at all.’
‘The nomads won’t be expecting us. If we run the gauntlet, will we be safe?’
Vasili shrugged. ‘Yes, provided you stay on the river and camp on islands. At last you will come to the island of St Aitherios in the mouth of the river. And there, dear brother, you will find that all your efforts have been wasted.’
‘How so?’
‘Only small boats can negotiate the great portage; only a large ship can cross the Black Sea. At this time of the year, you won’t find any merchant vessels at the mouth of the Dnieper. The estuary will be deserted.’ Vasili leaned back. ‘There. I’ve sketched your prospects. Are you still determined to risk it?’
‘Hero once told me that a journey half-finished is like a story half-told. We’ll go on to the end, wherever we find it.’
Vasili threw back his head and laughed. ‘My friend, I hope that if you reach your goal, you find a bard worthy to immortalise your adventures.’
Vallon saw that the company had eaten themselves into a stupor, some of them yawning openly. ‘Sir, forgive our lack of manners, but my companions are still weary and your splendid hospitality has overwhelmed them. If you would permit …’
Vasili rose at once. ‘Let them sleep. Yes, after food and drink, the balm of sleep.’
The company climbed to their feet and bowed while Vallon thanked their host again for his largesse.
Vasili wafted a hand. ‘The pleasure is all mine. Perhaps you would favour me with a word in private.’
‘Certainly. My Norse is poor. Can I bring someone who …?’
‘Of course.’
Vallon nodded at Wayland. Vasili ushered them into a chamber glazed with mica windows. He showed his guests to a bench padded with furs, spoke to his steward, then took up a seat opposite.
‘Since I haven’t curbed your wanderlust, I’d like to give you a favourable wind. First, I’ll draft a letter of introduction that will open doors for you in Kiev. My steward will help you find suitable boats and I’ll provide you with the guide I employ for my own expeditions. Oleg knows every inch of the portage and the river-men who’ll take you across it. They’re honest and willing toilers. If you wish, you can cross the portage humming songs and with your thumbs tucked into your belt.’
‘I’m obliged. Naturally, we’ll pay.’
Vasili waved away the offer. ‘Oleg is my own man and I’ll bear his expense. He’ll make sure that the porters charge a fair price.’ Vasili’s cupbearer entered with an enamelled tray bearing a glass carafe and three silver beakers. ‘Wine from the Greeks. I hope your physician will allow you the indulgence.’
Vallon sniffed the purple liquor appreciatively. Wayland wrinkled his nose. Vallon sipped and felt the spirit suffuse him with warmth. He sensed that Vasili had left something unsaid.
‘If there’s anything we can do in return …’
‘Nothing. Trade is the lifeblood of Lord Novgorod the Great. Tell your merchant adventurers of the generous reception they can expect.’ Vasili drank and then paused in afterthought. ‘There is one small favour. I have some documents that I need to send to Kiev. With winter coming, I thought I’d have to wait until next year, but since you’re determined to go, perhaps you wouldn’t mind …’
‘Not at all. Excuse me a moment.’ Smiling, Vallon spoke to Wayland in French. ‘Stop scowling.’ Vallon transferred the smile to Vasili. ‘He hasn’t drunk wine before. I was telling him not to let it go to his head.’
Vasili’s gaze dwelt briefly on Wayland before returning to Vallon. ‘Honoured friend, I must make one last attempt to dissuade you from your course. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. Can’t I persuade you to stay in Novgorod and put your affairs in my hands?’
‘We’ll leave as soon as we can find boats. As I said, the falcons aren’t for sale, but if you’re interested in purchasing some of our other goods …’
Vasili fluttered his fingers. ‘I’m always willing to help a friend. If you want, I’ll take the walrus ivory and sulphur off your hands. I’ll send my steward over tomorrow. Now, I won’t keep you from your bed a moment longer.’
Rising from his chaise, Vasili escorted his two guests as far as the compound gate. ‘Goodnight, dear friend. Think about what I’ve said.’
The gate shut behind them. They walked in drowsy silence through the empty streets. The cathedral bell rang out with chimes that sounded exotic to Vallon’s ear.
‘You displayed the manners of a churl,’ he said.
‘I don’t trust him.’
Vallon stopped. ‘If a man excites your suspicion, you keep your doubts hidden.’ He resumed walking. ‘Why don’t you trust him?’
‘I don’t understand why he’s buttering us up.’
‘It’s true that Novgorod lives by trade, and a sumptuous meal is a small price to pay for good will. Also, even with Richard’s bargaining our new clothes didn’t come cheap.’
‘When we arrived at Novgorod, Vasili’s steward wanted to buy the falcons. His lord expressed the same interest tonight. Earlier today I made some enquiries. In Rus a female slave sells for one nogata. That’s about twenty pennies. Guess how much a gyrfalcon fetches.’
‘Twice as much? Five times?’
‘One gyrfalcon could buy twenty slaves. With the silver we’d earn by selling them, we could buy enough slaves to carry us piggyback to Byzantium.’
‘Perhaps that says more about the cheapness of lives in Rus than the value of gyrfalcons. Anyway, it proves nothing. Vasili made it clear that he would give us a good price for the falcons.’
‘I was watching him. I could see him calculating. He realised that we wouldn’t sell them no matter how much he offered, but he’s still determined to have them.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Ask yourself why Vasili should provide us with his own guide.’
‘As a favour for us carrying his letters.’
‘He tells us we’ll never survive the journey and then entrusts letters to us. It doesn’t make sense.’
‘Perhaps they’re not particularly important. Look, you’re forgetting that he did everything to dissuade us from making the journey.’
‘He knows we’re committed. What made my ears prick up was when he said that beyond Novgorod territory we’d find ourselves in no-man’s land where our disappearance wouldn’t be noticed. And that story about the sorcerer prince …’
‘You’re doing an excellent job of spoiling my evening.’
‘I’m sorry. It’s just that … I don’t know … Something’s not right.’
They’d reached the gate of their lodgings. Vallon jangled the bell and turned to Wayland. ‘If you’ve got an itch, I’d be foolish to ignore it.’ He couldn’t keep from yawning. ‘But right now, all I can think of is bed.’
The Road to the Greeks
XXXVIII
Vallon was finishing breakfast alone in his chamber when Hero poked his head around the door. ‘There’s a queue of people waiting to see you.’
‘Who?’
‘Just about everyone. Caitlin, Drogo, Garrick. Most of the Vikings.’
‘I’ll see Garrick first. Has Richard tallied up his wages?’
Hero placed two purses on the table. ‘This one’s Raul’s. That one’s for old Garrick.’
Vallon stood and weighed the bags, one of them the reckoning of a man’s life. ‘Poor Raul.’ He put the purses
