At the shoulder of the ridge where the path turned downwards towards the tam, a wide platform was cut into the stone. It was enclosed by a low wall, and paved with slippery slabs. A hundred wolf skulls sat on the wall facing outwards. They were from blackmanes, the very largest breed. At the centre of the platform was a boulder as high as Bjorn's waist, polished smooth by years of human contact.

'The Wolf Guard will go back to the valley and await the primarch's return from the mountain by the bridge,' said Kva.

'We will not,' said Grimnr. His followers looked to one another uneasily. 'You cannot mean I should leave my primarch.'

'He does. Obey the Rune Priest, Grimnr,' said Russ. He sounded weary and tense, thought Bjorn. 'Obey his command as if it were my own.'

'And what of Bjorn?' said Grimnr, gesturing at him angrily.

'Bjorn will wait here as sentinel,' said Kva. He pointed at the boulder. 'You will sit upon the Rock of Vigilance, and face towards the Aett. Do not look into the corrie.' Kva moved to address them all. 'We gothi shall undertake a struggle of the flesh and of the spirit that you cannot join. There are wards around this place. The skulls and the stone shall protect you, Bjorn. Do not leave them for any reason. You must not look into the corrie.'

'How am I to play witness if I cannot watch?' said Bjorn gruffly.

'Yes, why does he get to stay, and we, the Wolf Guard, are sent away?' demanded Blackblood.

'He is to be the herald of failure,' said Kva to Blackblood. 'Do you wish to take this burden from him? His is an ill wyrd. You may share it, if you want.'

Blackblood scowled, his single eye turning flinty. He spat on the stone. 'No,' he said.

'Then you will wait at the bottom,' said Kva. He turned back to Bjorn. 'If Lord Russ does not return, it is you who shall take back the tidings of his loss.'

'How will I know?'

'If he does not return by sunset, you will know. You will look away,' said Kva. 'I do not care what you hear. You must not turn back, or any ill that befalls us will befall you too, and through you, the Legion. If we are to fail, you must take the news back to the Aett. That is your task, no more. Wait until evening. Never look into the corrie, no matter what happens. Do not look!'

'If that is my wyrd, that is what I shall do,' said Bjorn, 'though I do not wish to have this fate.'

'It is your wyrd, Bjorn the Fell-Handed,' said Kva, 'and I am sorry that it is so, but the Allfather's weaving makes no allowance for personal feeling.'