Things turns bad

For the most part, I thought the fight had gone well. The Reeve and his two remaining Fyrdmen had been unable to make their way into the room so it was left to Gwynaeth, Godmund and myself to take on two much more experienced warriors. And of course the pale giant. But somehow, things had started to take a turn for the worst. And we were about to discover just how bad things could get.

"Who has killed my son?" boomed Faelsian. Without thinking, I looked at Wilfrid. With a dark intent in his eyes, Faelsian started moving towards the poor young villager. Quickly realising what was going on, Gwynaeth tried to move between them. But Faelsian was unpeturbed by what he described as a "mere woman". The situation was getting desperate and therefore required some desperate actions.

Reaching down, I picked up the sword I had dropped in the battle. I stood forward and placed it against the throat of the fallen giant. "I killed your son. And I will another if you do not let us go!"

Faelsian turn towards me and in a threatening voice insisted that I put down the sword. I refused. He again demanded that I put down the sword, but I refused to do so unless he promised our safety. For a third time he demand that I drop the sword. Realising we were at an impasse, a decided that a gesture of faith may help. And so I dropped my sword and offered my surrender. It proved to be a foolish decision.

Blood for blood. A life for a life.

We were escorted to another room where the body of the slain Frecne was laid out carefully. Faelsian again asked who was responsible for his death. I tried to explain that he was a casualty of war and that the fight was fair and honourable. But Faelsian did not want to hear. And so Aldhelm stepped forward to take responsibility for the actions of his soldier. "Blood for blood. A life for a life" boomed Faelsian. He led Aldhelm to where Frecne lay and motioned for him to kneel. He then turned to me, handed me a seax and said "Take Aldhelm's life and your debt will be square."

What happened next was something of a blur. Godmund was outraged. A murderous glow appeared in his eyes. I have never seen such passion within him. Words were spoken between Godmund and Faelsian, but I did not hear them clearly. Adlhelm and Godmund are brothers? The seax lay in my hands. The world around me seemed to go black. All I could see was the blade, and the Reeve's neck. I could hear a thumping sound and it grew louder and louder until I realised it was my own heartbeat. The Reeve was a friend and an honourable man. I would not take his life. I could not take his life. Looking around desperately I saw Middaeg. An enemy for sure, but I saw a faint glimmer of hope in his face.

"This is not an honourable death. Not for a warrior. Your brother was slain in a fair fight. The Reeve should not die for that." I could see that Middaeg agreed. He turned to Faelsian and implored him to let the matter rest. With tears in his eyes, Faelsian agreed.

"You will swear an oath to me" he said.

An oath? What oath? To retrieve some kind of stone from the dwarves in the mountain, it seems. Gwynaeth immediately agreed, as did Godmund. It seemed a fair compromise, so I swore the oath too.