“Enough!” Acwellen’s voice barreled over the cheers of his men as Aglaeca stepped in, grabbing Drefan’s arm and near throwing him to the ground. The camp went quiet, every man looking to Acwellen except for Banan who simply turned his back once again. Acwellen pushed himself to his feet, while Drefan breathed hard, splitting his glare between Aglaeca and Padric. The old man huffed when his leader approached and held out a hand for the seax, but handed it over without a word. Acwellen took a moment to admire the blade before squinting down at the rune etched into the pommel.

“It is as he says,” Acwellen said. He looked at Padric and walked over, thumping the hilt of the weapon against his palm. “It was yours.”

Padric smiled gratefully and held out his hand for the weapon.

“What do you have to give for its return?” Acwellen asked.

Padric looked up at him, mind searching, but Acwellen did not wait for an answer.

“It is not right that my men should suffer loss of spoils without recompense. You are a stranger here. And a pauper. What have you to offer this man in trade?” Acwellen leaned down, his large frame blocking the firelight. “Nothing. Your clothes, your boots. Horse. That sword. Your life! All gifted to you by the Winetongue. You own nothing but your own cursed head. And you will not look to take gifts from me and mine the same as you take from our Thegn.”

Acwellen loomed over him for a moment longer, then turned and flipped the seax back into Drefan’s hand before resuming his seat.

Padric spent that night in furious silence. None of the men spoke to him, not even Seon, but Drefan kept throwing bemused leers his way, sharing nudges and whispers with Poncey Swan. Padric could taste the need to kill them and put an end to their gloating for good and all. His days were spent in the saddle, lost in dark thought. At night, the saddle was traded for his blanket, but the thoughts remained the same. Faabar would have known how to deal with these churls, but he was gone and Padric had only himself for council. By the time they reached the fort, he was still uncertain of his course.