"I will do it!" cried Harald, making up his mind at once. Turning to Hnefi, he said, "Take four men with you and bring the treasure box from the ship."

Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have known what this meant. Alas, I was so preoccupied with steering our ship of concerns successfully through the rocky sea before us, the significance of Harald's words passed me by.

I told Justin that the king was sending men back to the ship to bring the required surety, and he said, "Come along, then. I will leave some men to escort the barbarians when they return. The palace is not far; we will await them there."

The Chief of the Magnaura Gate then appointed several of his guardsmen to escort Harald's men to the longship and thence on to the palace of the emperor. He then motioned the rest of us to follow him, and thus our odd company was allowed to pass into the city without so much as a single nomismi changing hands. Justin and I marched together at the front of the parade, leading a procession of proud, awestruck barbarians and their escort of soldiers at the rear. As Justin had said, the emperor's palace was no great distance from where we had entered, although it lay in the opposite direction from the way we had gone the previous day, so I recognized nothing from before.

King Harald, looking regal if slightly bewildered, strode like a conqueror through the streets of Constantinople, much impressed by everything he saw. His head swung this way and that, but he kept his mouth firmly shut-unlike the rest of the Sea Wolves, who exclaimed aloud at each new marvel to meet their eyes. The fine big houses occasioned much speculation about the wealth inside, and the first glimpse of the amphitheatre brought exclamations of wonder and delight-much to the amusement of the citizenry of Constantinople, many of whom stopped to watch our curious company pass by.

Had anyone known what the barbarians were saying, they would not have been so amused, I think. The Sea Wolves were astounded by the sight of so much wealth, and eagerly discussed how best to get it for themselves: whether it was advisable to slay the owners outright, or simply seize the valuables and kill only those who resisted; whether to burn individual houses, or put the whole city to the torch…I was heartily glad the onlookers taking such delight in the display understood nothing of what the Sea Wolves said.

When we came in sight of the palace walls, the talk turned to strategies for sacking such an imposing place. The difficulty, from a barbarian point of view, was that the palace presented itself not as a single house or dwelling, but a cluster of buildings scattered within a walled compound-a city within a city. The prevailing opinion was that it should be plundered like any other settlement: fires should be set and the inhabitants slaughtered as they fled the flames. The barbarians could then loot the place at their leisure, providing the soldiers did not interfere. The Sea Wolves had no idea how many soldiers the emperor commanded, but judging from the look of the gate guards they reckoned their own superior strength and stature more than a match for any number of shorter, more lightly-equipped defenders. The somewhat benign appearance of our small escort of red-cloaked guards did nothing to arrest the barbarians' swift-racing avarice.

Curiously, as we neared the palace, the houses became more crude and haphazard in their construction. The grand and spacious villas of the wealthy were steadily replaced by habitations of meaner design, each more rude than the last until, in the very shadow of the palace walls, the dwellings were little more than hovels: bits of wood stuck up against the wall and covered over with branches and rags. The entire length of the wall in either direction supported these pathetic structures, about which swarmed a horde of filthy beggars.

Before we knew what was happening, we were surrounded by a seething mass of dirty, ragged people, all crying for alms. Some of these wretches waved withered limbs or stumps in our faces, others exposed gangrenous wounds running with pus. The barbarians, though uncouth themselves, were appalled by the poverty of this stinking throng and lashed out angrily whenever any of the beggars pressed too close. The guardsmen, well accustomed to the stench and noise, took the lead and pushed the overbearing crowd back with their shields and the butts of their spears. We eventually reached the gate where we were met by a company of blue-cloaked guards who, upon taking one look at the barbarians, drew their weapons and challenged us at spearpoint.

"Halt!" shouted the chief guard. "Halt or be killed."

The Danes, seeing spears lowered, thrust themselves forward to wage battle-at which point our escort of guards joined ranks with their countrymen. Justin raised his voice above the rattle of shields and shouted, "Scholarae Titus! Let us through! These men are with me-I am escorting them to an audience with the emperor."

The guard called Titus signalled his men to stay the attack, and said, "Explain this procession."

"We are on a…diplomatic mission-a matter of the highest importance."

Eyeing the barbarians, Titus said, "I cannot allow it."

"Listen to me," Justin said, stepping close. "There are lives at risk. The Quaestor of Hormisdas Harbour has commissioned us," he lied. "We must get through at once." He then signalled to me to bring the bundle, which I took from Gunnar and brought to him. Unknotting the cloak, Justin held it open for his comrade to inspect. "I am hoping to resolve the incident without bloodshed."

Titus shifted through the items in the bundle. "They have weapons," he replied firmly. "I cannot allow barbarians beyond the gate with weapons. It is my head, and I consider that the highest importance."

Turning to me, Justin asked, "Your king must agree to leave his weapons behind."

Motioning for Harald to join us, I quickly explained to him the conditions of entry. He frowned and shook his head dangerously, saying, "Nay. I will not go into that place unarmed. We will burn it down instead. Tell them that."

Turning to Justin, I said, "Lord Harald asks what assurances you offer that he will not be attacked should he and his men surrender weapons."

Justin, observing the thrust of Harald's chin, turned back to the other guard. They held close conversation for a moment, and then Justin motioned me to join them. "My friend Titus begs to inform your king that within the palace precinct, influence and negotiation have replaced brute force. We are not barbarians here. If the king would hold converse with the emperor, he must put aside his arms and proceed peaceably."

This I told to Harald, who considered the situation for a moment and wondered, "Is it a trap?"

"I do not think so, Jarl Harald," I answered. "In any event, you still have the quaestor for a hostage-his life and those of his men remain in your hands whether you hold a sword or not. Truly, I believe you must obey these guards if you wish to see the emperor-and collect your honour-debt."

"I will do it," replied the king, making up his mind at once.

"Very well," said Titus, when I had conveyed the king's words to him. "Tell him to get on with it."

Harald commanded the Danes to give their axes, swords, and hammers to the soldiers for safe-keeping, which they did with no little grumbling and suspicion. I noticed, however, that the small knives which all Sea Wolves carry close to their bodies-under their belts, or in their boots-did not appear among the items given over for safe-keeping. Justin then instructed Titus regarding the expected arrival of the surety. That settled, Scholarae Titus signalled the gatemen, who stepped aside and opened the big door, allowing us to pass quickly through, leaving the rabble and noise behind.

Once inside the walls, we found ourselves in what seemed an enormous garden at one end of a long, tree-lined pathway. High walls divided this palace precinct into several smaller partitions so that wherever one looked the eye met the blank expanse of some wall or other. Rising above the walls, here and there, were the branches of trees and the rounded tops of domes, many with crosses at their peaks.