Jarl Harald Bull-Roar, King of the Danes of Skania, could not understand why he had been made to stand waiting aboard his ship all day while we roamed the city spending his coins. How difficult could it be, he thundered, to locate the treasure? To the hiss and flicker of torches, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, frowning mightily, demanding an answer to this mystery. Gunnar and I remained silent before his simmering wrath, while Hnefi and Orm strove to explain.

"It is very difficult, Jarl Harald," Hnefi said. "This Miklagard is far larger than we knew. It is not easy to find a treasure house."

"But finding a drinking hall is not so difficult, heya?"

"We found no drinking hall, jarl," replied Orm. "We could find only wine."

"So! You have been drinking wine," growled the king dangerously.

"Nay, jarl," put in Hnefi quickly. "We were looking for the chief treasure house, as you commanded us to do. We saw very many things, including many fine dwellings. I am certain they contain much plunder."

Harald liked the sound of this, so Orm embellished it. "It is true, Jarl Harald. There are hundreds of these houses-thousands, perhaps. The treasure they hold is more than we could carry away though we had ten ships."

"You saw this treasure?" inquired the king. "You saw so much gold and silver?"

"Nay, Jarl Harald," replied Orm, "we did not see the gold or silver. But these dwellings are surely the halls of kings."

"The halls of kings!" scoffed Harald. "In their hundreds and thousands, you say. But I ask you: how is it that Miklagard contains so many kings?"

"Perhaps they are not all kings," allowed Hnefi judiciously, "but they are wealthy men. For who else can build such palaces?"

The king scowled at his scouts, and tugged at the ends of his moustache as he tried to determine what to do. Finally, turning to Gunnar and me, he said, "Well? What have you to say to this?"

"It is as Hnefi and Orm have told you, Jarl Harald," replied Gunnar. "There were too many palaces to count, and some of them must contain treasure worth plundering."

"Some of them, heya," grunted the king in gruff agreement. "That is likely the way of things. What else?"

"We drank no ol, nor even wine," Gunnar said, "although we did eat a little bread and some meat grilled on sticks. Also, we saw a market to make Jomsburg and Kiev seem like pig wallows."

"That I should like to see," muttered Harald.

"Truly, this Miklagard is the greatest city ever known," put in Orm enthusiastically. "It is like no other on this earth."

The king gave the warrior a dark look, preferring Gunnar's more plausible account. Turning once more to Gunnar, he said, "Even I, who did not go into the city, can see that it is a large settlement. Are there many soldiers guarding the gates?"

"Jarl, there are more people of every kind than I have ever seen in one place before, and there are guards at every gate: eight at least, and I do not doubt there are many more elsewhere."

"If this is so, how did you gain entrance?"

"We were made to pay to enter the city." So saying, Gunnar brought out the copper disk he had been given. The king took it and examined it closely.

"It cost ten nomismi," Gunnar explained.

"And that is another thing you should know," Hnefi said suddenly. "It happens that the silver coins we carry are worth a hundred nomismi, not ten."

The king swung from Hnefi to Gunnar for confirmation. "It is true, jarl," replied Gunnar. "They told us this at the gate. Ask the Shaven One; he spoke to them about this very thing."

Harald's face clenched like a fist as the enormity of the theft practised against him became apparent. "Is it true?" he asked, his voice husky with pent-up rage.

"Yes, lord," I told him, and explained what the soldier at the gate and the Prefect of Law had told me.

"I will nail the thief's head to the mast," growled the king. "I, Harald Bull-Roar, make this vow."

All thoughts of plunder were quickly forgotten as the discussion swung to how the king might best carry out his revenge on the dishonest harbour master. There quickly emerged a crude, but effective plan which the Sea Wolves were only too able to carry out. In celebration of their loathsome scheme, the king shared out ol, and everyone drank his fill. I did not drink with them, however, but hunkered down beneath the dragonhead prow and watched the barbarians stoke their courage with liberal lashings of ale.

A little after sunrise, the harbour of Hormisdas began to stir and one of the Sea Wolves climbed the mast, establishing himself at the topmost part to search for ships which might be making entrance to the harbour. But there were no ships on the horizon, so he climbed down again and we waited. After a while, Harald ordered him aloft once more and the search was repeated, with no greater success than before.

After the third search, the king said, "We will not wait any longer." He then gave the order for the anchor to be brought up and, using the oars, the Danes steered Harald's longship towards one of the nearer craft the king had marked out. They moved the vessel in a most stealthy manner, giving the impression it might be drifting of its own accord. They did this so that they would not arouse suspicion, for what they had in mind was wicked and cruel.

When we had come close enough to the neighbouring ship, they threw out iron hooks to secure the vessel, whereupon six Sea Wolves leapt onto the deck of the captured ship and, using firebrands lit for the occasion, immediately set its sail ablaze.

Fortunately, there were few people aboard the other ship, the merchant, pilot, and most of the crew having gone into the city with tradegoods the day before. The flames and smoke woke the remaining crewmen, however. Up they rose to see their sail alight and their vessel overrun by barbarians. Severely outnumbered, the strangers were in no mood to resist, and put up no fight whatsoever. They simply sat down on the deck and gave themselves up to their fate.

This pleased Harald, for he was not interested in losing any men. The burning sail gave off black smoke, which pleased the king even more. "Heya!" he cried. "See here! They are coming! Loose the ropes!"

As the king expected, the harbour guard, alerted by the fire, raced to the disturbance in haste, arriving in time to see the Sea Wolves return to their own ship and push off from the other. Observing that the harbour guard was coming to aid them, the crew of the burning vessel leapt up and began calling for the guard boat to arrest the barbarians' escape.

Harald made a show of trying to turn his ship, as if to flee, but was easily overtaken by the boat of the harbour guard. They came alongside, shouting at the Sea Wolves and shaking their spears.

"Shaven One!" cried Harald. "What are they saying?"

"They are saying to halt at once, or face the emperor's war fleet."

The Sea Wolf king smiled at this and said, "Then I suppose we must stop." He called to Thorkel to ship oars, and then thundered to his men in a roaring voice: "Prepare to be boarded!" To me, he said, "Tell our thieving friend that we are stopping now."

Taking my place at the rail, I called down to the harbour master, standing at the prow of the boat. "We are halting now," I told him. "The king will allow his ship to be boarded."

"Then stand well back," the quaestor answered angrily. With a forward motion of his hand, he signalled his men to scale the side of the longship. There were eight guards altogether, each armed with a spear and a short, broad-bladed sword.

When they had all come on deck, the harbour master swaggered to where Harald stood and demanded to know why he had attacked the other boat, to which-once I had translated the question-King Harald replied placidly, "I found the sight of them annoying."