[Nogrod]

Bregoware

As people had gathered around the fire to wait for the tea, Sythric addressed them all. “It’s nice to see we have all slept well last night, at least somewhat”. With that he looked joyously at Meghan and Osmod, and then to Raedwald. “we had quite a day yesterday, and I think we all feel it in our muscles still. But I have slept very well last night indeed. I don’t know why, but I have. It’s kind of a mystery to myself too.” He looked over all the others before continuing.

“I’m sorry, if I was a bit detached or melancholic yesterday. I was just tired and sore about all this going on. But now I think I could be of some help to us all, if you wish. I have my vices, but they could turn out to be my virtues this morning. I’ve dropped the habit of a morning-tea a long time ago. I prefer a sip of wine to wake me up. When you ride with a border-watch, you normally don’t have time or courage to make a fire, so some wine will have to do. And the effect is similar as it too warms you from the inside.” He smiled heartily, mostly to Raedwald, but to the others too.

“I could take a quick look at the Scyffold and what’s left of it. Just to have some idea, what has happened there, and more importantly, when it has happened? We still might have to bring these stories to the king, and just looking at the near future for ourselves, I would very much like to know, whether there could be an army of orcs within a day’s length of us, or just further away.” That last thought seemed to have silenced the others, at least they didn’t comment. So Sythric rose up.

“I could pack Thydrë just now. I would be leaving as the sun properly rises, and would give me some light to see around there. It’s up to you then to decide, whether you want to come in and have a look yourselves, or would you prefer to ride past those horrors and evil sights. If I don’t see you at the village center by the time sun climbs over those hills there”, Sythric pointed to the hills east from where they were sitting, “then I’ll be seeing you at the south-west corner of the village? That would give you something like an hour, or a bit less, to have your teas, to pack and get going. Would that suit you?”. He looked at Osmod, who had just received a steaming hot cup of tea. As Osmod seemed to be collecting his ideas, Sythric continued a bit more still: “Don’t you worry about me. I have seen enough corpses – friends and foes – that I can handle this one. It will not be a nice view to be had down there.” He made a pitiful try to smile with this last one, but managed to wink his eye towards Raedwald without others seeing it.

I hope this will work. It's always better to acquaintance yourself first with a dead orc, rather than one that's all alive and intending to kill you. Sythric thought to himself. Seeing some horror today would prepare them, and they would have seen, what the orcs generally look like, in reality, not just from the imagery of the tales and as visualized by wild imagination (which always seemed to underestimate the horror of real bad things in the end)... Hopefully Raedwald saw my intention in me kind of boasting my toughness, as a challenge to these young people? I'll count on him.