As he did so, they heard cries and alarms from within the fortress and a great baying of horns; but others of the Vikings followed Krok swiftly up Toke’s ladder, as fast as they could clamber, and joined him at the top. Along the inside of the stockade there ran a wooden bridge, for bowmen to stand on. Krok and his followers jumped down on to this, encountering some men, armed with bows and spears and still drowsy with sleep, who ran out to intercept them, and cut them down. By this time, they were being assailed with arrows from the ground, and two of them were hit, but Krok and the others ran along the bridge to the gate, and there dropped to the ground, in the hope of being able to open it from within and thus admit the rest of their comrades. Hard fighting ensued, however, for many of the defenders of the fortress had already run to defend the gate, and reinforcements were coming to their aid with every minute that passed. One of the twenty men who had followed Krok up the ladder was hanging from the stockade with an arrow in his eye, and three others had been hit in their passage along the bridge; but all those who had managed to reach the ground safely packed themselves together in a tight phalanx and, raising their battle-cry, fought their way with spear and sword to the gate. Here it was very dark, and they found themselves hard pressed indeed, with enemies behind as well as in front of them.
Then they heard their battle-cry answered from without, for the men waiting on the hillside had run forward to the rampart as soon as they had seen that the attempt to scale the stockade had succeeded, and many of them were hacking at the gate with their axes, while others clambered up Toke’s ladder and dropped down inside the fortress to assist their companions who were fighting within the gate. There the strife was fierce and chaotic, friends and foes hardly knowing which was which. Krok felled several men with his axe, but was himself then struck on the side of the neck with a club wielded by a huge man with a black, plaited beard, who appeared to be the defenders’ chieftain. Krok’s helmet partially parried the force of the blow, but he staggered and fell on his knees. At length Toke and Orm succeeded in fighting their way through a tangle of men and shields, so tightly packed that it was impossible to use a spear, with the ground so greasy with blood that their feet several times all but went from under them, and managed to draw the bolts of the gate. Their comrades poured in to join them, and such of the defenders in the gateway as did not flee were overwhelmed and slaughtered.
Then a terrible panic descended on the Christians, and they fled with death snarling at their heels. Solomon, who had been among the first to break in through the gate, charged ahead of the Vikings like a fanatic, stumbling over the bodies of the slain. Seizing a sword that lay upon the ground and whirling it above his head, he shrieked to his companions through the uproar, bidding them all make haste to the citadel. Krok, who was still dazed from the blow that had felled him, and was unable to regain his feet, cried to them from where he lay in the gateway to follow the Jew. Many of the Vikings ran into the houses that lined the inside of the rampart to slake their thirst or to look for women; but the majority of them pursued the fleeing defenders to the great citadel which stood in the centre of the fortress. The gate of the citadel was crowded with Christians trying to get in but, before it could be closed, their pursuers swarmed in among them, so that fighting broke out again within the citadel; for the Christians saw that they had no option but to defend themselves. The big man with the plaited beard fought bravely, felling two men who attacked him, but at length he was forced into a corner and sustained blows which brought him to his knees, sorely wounded. On seeing him fall, Solomon rushed forward and threw himself upon him, seizing him by the beard and spitting on him, and slobbering like a drunken man; but the bearded man stared at him as though uncomprehendingly, rolled on to his side, closed his eyes and died.
Seeing this, Solomon broke into loud lamentations at having been cheated of his full revenge, in that he had not been allowed to kill the man himself. Such Christians as remained alive defended themselves no longer when they saw that their leader had fallen, but surrendered to the mercy of their conquerors. Some of them were spared, so that they might be sold as slaves. Having helped themselves handsomely to meat and drink, which included ale as well as wine, the Vikings ransacked the fortress for booty, and disputes broke out concerning the women whom they discovered crouching in various corners, for they had been without women for many weeks. All the booty they found was heaped into an enormous pile – money, jewels, weapons, garments, brocades, coats of mail, household goods, bridles, silver plate and much besides – and, when it had all been counted, the value of it was found to exceed their wildest expectations. Solomon explained to them that it represented the fruits of years of plundering at the expense of the Andalusians. Krok, who was now able to stand on his feet again, and had a rag soaked with wine bandaged round his head, rejoiced at the sight of it, and was only afraid lest it might prove difficult to find space for so much on board their ships. However, Berse assured him that they would be able to find room for it all.
‘For no man,’ he said, ‘complains of the weight of the cargo, when it is his own booty that is putting strain upon his oar.’
They spent the rest of the day indulging their appetites, in high good humour; then, they slept and, when night came, started on their return march towards the ships. All the prisoners were heavily laden with booty, and the men themselves had much to carry. Some Andalusian prisoners had been found in the dungeons of the citadel; they wept with joy at being freed, but looked wretchedly feeble and were incapable of carrying anything. So they were granted their liberty, and accompanied the Vikings on their way back to the ships, whence they were to proceed southwards with Solomon to their own country. Some donkeys had been captured, and Krok mounted one of them and rode at the head of the column, with his feet reaching to the ground. The other donkeys were led behind him, laden with food and ale; but their loads were speedily lightened, for the men stopped frequently to rest and refresh themselves.
Berse tried to hurry them on, that they might reach the ships as soon as possible. He was afraid lest they might be pursued, for some of the defenders of the fortress had managed to escape, and could have ridden far enough to have procured help; but the men paid little attention to his exhortations, for they were in high spirits, and most of them were befuddled with drink. Orm had taken a bale of silk, a bronze mirror and a large glass bowl, which was proving awkward to carry. Toke had a big wooden box balanced on his shoulder, finely embossed and full of various objects; with his other hand, he was leading a girl who had taken his fancy, and whom he wanted to hold on to for as long as possible. He was in excellent spirits, and expressed to Orm the hope that the girl might turn out to be the margrave’s daughter; but then he grew melancholy, beginning to doubt whether there would be room for her on board the ship. He was unsteady on his feet, on account of the quantity he had drunk, but the girl seemed already to be solicitously disposed towards him, and supported him when he stumbled. She was well proportioned and very young, and Orm said that he had seldom seen a finer girl, and that it would be a good thing to have woman-luck as good as Toke’s. But Toke replied that, despite their friendship, he could not share her with Orm, for she appealed to him very particularly and he wished to keep her for himself, if the gods should permit this to be.
At last, they reached the ships, and the men who had remained on board were greatly jubilant at the sight of such rich booty, for it had been agreed that this was to be divided amongst them all. Solomon received many expressions of thanks from them all, and various costly presents; then he departed, together with the prisoners whom they had freed, since he was anxious to get clear of the Christians’ country as soon as he could. Toke, who had not yet stopped drinking, began to weep when he heard that Solomon had left them, saying that now he had nobody to help him to converse with his girl. He drew his sword and wanted to run after him; but Orm and the others succeeded in quietening him without having to resort to violence, and in the end he nestled contentedly down beside his girl, having first bound her fast to him so that she should not steal away or be stolen while he slept.
The next morning, they began to share out the booty, which proved to be no simple task. Everybody wanted to have as big a share as the next man; but it was decided that Krok and Berse and the helmsman and one or two others should have three times