The weeks and months rolled into a year, and still the ambassadors did
not return to Bari. Every heart was full of an undefined dread. Had
they perished at sea, or at the hands of the cruel tyrant to whom they
had been sent? None could answer.
Old Berchther one day went to the king, and said, “Sire, my heart is
sad. I can bear my sorrow no longer. I had twelve goodly sons.
Helfrich, the eldest, was slain fighting the barbarians near the Elbe
in the far north. Seven have gone to Constantinople in your service,
and have never returned. I will go and see if I can find them.”
“You must not go alone,” returned the king. “I will call a meeting of
the royal council, and ask my wise advisers what were best to be done.”
After a stormy discussion, in which weighty arguments were often
enforced with still weightier blows, it was determined to follow the
advice of the eldest counsellors. These aged and reverend men were of
opinion that it would be bad policy to send an army against
Constantinople; for were the messengers still alive, the emperor would
assuredly put them to death when he found that Rother had appeared in
the guise of an enemy. It would be far better, they contended, to send
a richly appointed embassage, composed of good men and true, to spy out
the land, and see if it were not possible to save their friends, and
gain the hand of the princess at the same time.
King Rother announced his intention of placing himself at the head of
the expedition, and as Berchther refused to be left behind, Count
Amelger of Tengeling was appointed regent.
Preparations for their departure went on apace. Noble warriors came
from all parts of the kingdom to offer their services. Among those
accepted were twelve men who were so tall and so heavy, that they could
nowhere have found horses strong enough to bear their weight. King
Rother alone knew who they were, and he received them as old and
trusted friends. They were Asprian (Osbern), chief of the Northern
giants, and eleven of his tallest men.
At length all was ready, and the ship set sail amidst a blare of
trumpets. A fair wind filled the sheets, which were edged with cloth of
silver, and the vessels glided through the glassy deep as if drawn by
swans. The king stood high on the deck of his galley: when he touched
his harp and sang of woman’s love and manly courage, the hearts of the
heroes were fired to deeds of daring. And the mermaids and dolphins
dipt their heads out of the waves, and played about the prows, and
listened to the lay.
Then Rother called his chiefs about him, and told them that he intended
to go cunningly to work when he got to Constantinople. He would
introduce himself to the emperor as Dietrich, a noble of King Rother’s
country, who had been outlawed by his sovereign, and who now craved
Constantine’s protection. He further desired them to begin at once to
call him by his assumed name, that they might make no mistakes on their
arrival.
The voyage was uneventful, and the adventurers soon reached their
destination.
[Illustration: KING ROTHER’S VOYAGE.]
The first to land were “Dietrich” and old Berchther, and then followed
the flower of Rother’s army. Lastly the giants appeared, inspiring awe
and fear in every heart. All were clothed like princes in splendid
attire and with jewelled armour.
The empress received the strangers with courtly grace, and even the
emperor looked pleased to see them. “Strangers,” he said, “we should
like to know from whence you come, who you are, and what brings you to
our good city. Before granting you permission to remain here, we would
fain know more about you.”
“Mighty sovereign of Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria,” answered Dietrich,
“we come from the realm of King Rother, where I bore the title and
power of duke. I helped my liege lord in all his battles; but as I was
always victorious, he grew jealous of my good fortune, and I had to fly
for my life. I have come here as a fugitive with my faithful vassals,
and all the wealth I could carry, and now I entreat of you to grant me
your protection, for which I will repay you by faithful service in the
field.”
“You are an honest man,” replied the emperor, “and you shall receive a
fitting welcome. I was afraid at first that you had come on the same
errand as the ambassadors of King Rother, who asked me to give my
daughter in marriage to their master. I have them safe under lock and
key, where even the light of the sun cannot reach them. Had your
request been the same as theirs, you and your men should have suffered
the like fate.”
On hearing these words the giant Asprian started forward, the whole
room trembling beneath his mighty tread. “My lord,” he cried, laying
his hand upon his sword, “you might perhaps have found that a more
difficult task than you imagine. Before you took us prisoners many of
your guard would lie low, and who can tell whether you yourself would
have escaped scatheless? _We_ are not lambs to be slaughtered at the
will of any man.”
Constantine did not much like this address, and tried to smooth down
the ruffled feelings of the giant. After some further conversation he
invited the strangers to dine at his table. While they were eating, a
tame lion, of which the emperor was very fond, began to steal the food
from under the hands of the guests. Asprian’s wrath was roused by the
tempting morsel being snatched away from him, and starting up he seized
the beast in his powerful hands, and flung him with such force against
the stone wall of the banqueting room, that he fell, never to rise
again. Constantine desired the guards to turn the giant out of the
hall, but the empress whispered, “Oh, take care what you do. That man
is not to be defied with impunity. King Rother must be very powerful to
have outlawed such men as these. Take my advice, and set his messengers
free. Let them take our daughter home with them that she may be the
wife of a great king, and that she may induce her husband to be our
friend and ally.”
Constantine listened in angry silence. At length he desired his wife to
be silent, reminding her that when once he had made up his mind on any
subject, he never changed.
Dietrich and his friends took up their abode in the lodging the emperor
had assigned to them, and there they had their treasures borne by the
sailors: a labour that lasted many days. Many were the gifts they
showered on their new acquaintances, amongst others, on Lord Helme and
a brave and somewhat poor warrior named Arnold. The latter was so
touched by their kindness that he swore to help his benefactor whenever
he could.