[Legate of Amon Lanc]

There was an applause at the end of the table where a cluster of Athanar's soldiers were sitting, though at some points there was a murmur from the place of Scyrr and Áforglaed.

"What was that about," muttered Scyrr just after emptying his mug and waving impatiently at the nearby maid to bring him another one. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"What was what supposed to mean?" asked Áforglaed, sitting next to him at the very end of the table, opposite to Hilderinc, but avoiding to meet his eye. Hilderinc had been strangely silent all the time since the sheep-pen incident, not that it was strange for Hilderinc to be silent, but this silence had some very cold and almost threatening air about it. After finishing the work, Hilderinc rushed away, and Áforglaed had not heard him uttering a single word after that. It was as if he had lost his ability to speak.

"I was thinking about what lord Athanar had just said," Scyrr continued in his thoughts. "How was it? 'As soon as he has regained his health, he will take back a - how was it - central role in Scarburg.' What in Béma's name is that supposed to mean, central role?"

"Central role is central role," shrugged Baldwic, on the opposite side of the table. "You heard it. He is to be made a counselor."

"Which is supposed to be what exactly?" Scyrr asked, hitting the table impatiently with his mug. "Yo! Woman! More ale!"

Baldwic rolled his eyes, but Áforglaed attempted to contribute to the conversation. "Well, I'd say he will be giving... counsel... to Athanar."

"Oh really!" roared Scyrr. "I wouldn't have thought of that! Where is that accursed woman? Pouring drinks to others and I am supposed to die here or... But anyway, that still does not explain the 'central role' to me. The way I hear it, Eodwine is NOW made a counselor... and after he gets better... then what?"

"Are you sure you aren't just putting too much into it..." Baldwic started, but Áforglaed jumped in.

"Yeah, right!" he said. "Isn't it what the stableboy had said in the morning?"

"What, that newt?" Scyrr finally gave up hitting the table with his mug.

"Oh yes!" Áforglaed popped his eyes. "He surely must have known! Once Eodwine gets better, he will become eorl again and Athanar will leave..."

"Now wait just a-"

"Outrageous!" yelled Scyrr. "Outrageous, I say! Eodwine plans to sack us?"

Baldwic interrupted him. "Now come on, he could not do that without Athanar agreeing on it..."

Scyrr eyed Baldwic. "Now are you telling me Athanar betrayed us?"

Áforglaed stared at him. "What?"

Baldwic shook his head, looking away from Scyrr. "I think he's just had too much to drink. See, he had been drinking even before the rest of you arrived here, I have seen him... Hilderinc," he turned to the soldier sitting at the end of the table. "Hilderinc, tell him something."

"He won't say anything, he has gone mute," Áforglaed whispered over the table. Hilderinc remained impassive.

"I am per-fectly fine," Scyrr roared, "or I would be, if it wasn't for some scheming-plotting strange stuff going on here..."

"Now will you calm down..." Baldwic started, but Scyrr rose.

"I am going to get me some more ale – and ask my hay-filling hay-filled little friend what he thinks about it," he nodded towards the other table. Before they could stop him, he rushed away.

"This is not going to end well," Baldwic predicted. "Let's fetch him back, before he starts a fight on Eodwine's welcome feast..."

"But what if Eodwine is really going to become an eorl? What is Athanar going to do? Are we going to return to Edoras? Or what?" Áforglaed asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I don't really believe it's going to happen," Baldwic said. "What do you say, Hild- now, where has he gone?"

The seat at the end of the table was empty.

***

As Scyrr slowly approached the table where Léof and others were sitting, he could catch the last of the stableboy's words.

"...They did not like it much when I told them this morning that I thought Athanar might leave when Eodwine came back."

"Thought that, did you?" he growled, closing up the space and stopping behind Léof. The stableboy turned, startled. "And what else did you think, or know, eh? What do you think now?"