Scarburg Meadhall

[Folwren]

Thornden stood when Eodwine entered, but he did not approach and he watched in silence, as all present did, as Eodwine knelt and swore fealty to Athanar. He did not know immediately how to respond or react to that. He saw Athanar reach out and receive the sword and bid Eodwine rise. He partially heard the short exchange of words between them before Eodwine and Saeryn left. Then he sat down in thoughtful silence.

Eodwine would be lord no longer. Did this surprise him? No. . .not really. King Eomer had sent Athanar as a permanent replacement, and this had been clear from the very first day. Eodwine of all people would not seek to regain any place of power. Thornden knew this, and though he had never thought of it before, he now realized that of course Eodwine would offer his loyalty to the new lord. Clearly, Thornden would continue as he had done before Eodwine’s return and serve Athanar faithfully without dividing his loyalty between him and Eodwine. He would speak with Eodwine, too, and ask if there was anything he might do for him. He felt still some connection with him, and having been his steward for the entirety of his time as eorl, Thornden hoped that he would still be able to stay close to him in counsel and aid, should Eodwine need it.

He was drawn away from his thoughts by the conversation of some men down the table from him. “I did not say I expected him to try to take his old place, I just did not expect him to swear loyalty to lord Athanar, as though he were a commoner.”

“Lord Eo-,” Thornden began, leaning forward, and then stopped himself. The men turned to look towards him. “I mean, Eodwine does not pretend in anything he does. He swore loyalty to Athanar because he really does mean to be subject to him in exactly the manner he made his oath in, and he meant to show us all that there is to be no division here between his old men and those who came after him.”

“Yes, I realize that,” Quin replied. In the past month, he had become comfortable with the Old Scarburgians and spoke freely, even with Thornden. “But I just thought. . .” He paused, and his face turned a shade red. “With how some people spoke about Eodwine’s return, and how they always talked about him, and hearing how loyally you all spoke of him, I really thought he would be a stronger man.”

Thornden glanced towards the door where Eodwine had departed from, leaning on Saeryn. “He is very sick,” he said. “He left Minas Tirith probably too early for his own good. He has never been a proud man, if you think that a strength he lacks. I do not think we could love him as we do were he proud. But to be humble is not a weakness."

[Firefoot]

Falco had ridden into the hall yard well ahead of the rest of Eodwine’s party. Léof was initially alarmed, thinking that something must have gone wrong and Falco had come to get help, but almost immediately he realized that Falco had come at far too leisurely a pace for that, besides the fact that he was not calling for help.

“Greetings, Master Falco! And welcome back!” said Léof. “But where is the rest of your party? How fares Lord Eodwine?”

“And good day to you,” said Falco as he pulled to a halt and dismounted, and Léof noticed immediately that the hobbit’s voice lacked some of its normal cheer. “The rest are coming along. Eodwine… you shall see soon enough. Too stubborn to wait long enough to be truly fit for travel.”

“But we had heard that he was well!” said Léof.

“And so he will be. But it is good that the road was not longer than it was,” said Falco.

Now the rest of the party was riding up, and Léof left Falco to attend to them. All thoughts of Saeryn’s delicate situation fled his mind when he saw Eodwine, for it was eminently clear that his state of health was far more precarious than his. In dismay, he held Eodwine’s horse as Hilderinc helped him from the saddle, then took two more horses from Saeryn as she helped Eodwine inside.

Léof took the horses into the stable and unsaddled them as quickly as he could. Falco had said that Eodwine was unfit, but this seemed a massive understatement to Léof. He had looked near to falling off his horse! And him as fine a horseman as any Léof had ever met! Clearly there was more to be told. Léof put the horses away and hurried into the hall. Eodwine and Saeryn were nowhere to be seen, but Thornden and Quin were both sitting with many of the other soldiers. Just then Thornden was talking. Léof heard as he approached: “I do not think we could love him as we do were he proud. But to be humble is not a weakness.”

He sat down beside Quin where there was an opening. “What have I missed?” he asked quietly.

[Durelin]

Coenred nodded at Thornden's words, leaning over the table a little to look at him. "Agreed, Thornden. Pride has its place, but men who are quick to challenge are not strong, but brash fools." Coen was thinking of a man or two in particular, such as the men Thornden had wished to protect.

But he let his eyes pass quickly over the men, including Áforglæd and Scyrr, and back to his gruel. These men were not fools, but pride could drive a man to foolish things.

The real question was no longer about Eodwine, as it never had been. It was about those people whose loyalty and pride -- or proud loyalty -- would be tested all over again. Coen desperately wanted to ask what Thornden thought of Eodwine's oath, and how he thought it would be received by those people he felt a particular loyalty and responsibility to, like a secondary lord. But he would not in front of the men. He had no intention of helping any renewed division along.

[Folwren]

“Agreed, Thornden. Pride has its place, but men who are quick to challenge are not strong, but brash fools.”

Thornden looked swiftly at Coenred, his eyes sharp for a second, but Coenred did not follow his comment up with anything more, and he did not meet Thornden’s eye for more than a second. His glance was not challenging, more curious than anything.

Thornden considered Coenred silently for some second. Since the incident with Erbrand and Lithor, he and the captain had not been in close fellowship. There had been a rift driven between them that he had been unable to remove. The fault was his, he knew, but he wished Coenred would at least speak to him, instead of holding his thoughts in silence.

While he thought thus, Quin was answering Leof’s question.

“Your old eorl, Eodwine, just came in, and the first thing he did was go to Athanar, kneel before him, and offer him his sword while swearing loyalty to him! And he, looking half dead at that! We were just now discussing it. . .he is not well, you know. So ill he went out leaning upon lady Saeryn as though he were an old man. I mean no disrespect, Thornden,” he added, turning again to him. Thornden looked over at him. “That is just how he was.”

Thornden shrugged and stood up. He moved over to Coenred and sat down across from him. The men about them were speaking, leaning closer to discuss things more thoroughly with Quin and Leof, and Thornden bent across the table towards Coenred.

“What are you thinking, Coenred? You seem to wonder about Eodwine’s manner of return as much as Quin, but in your older wisdom, you keep silent.”

[Firefoot]

Scyld had crowded around with the rest of the Scarburgians at the arrival of the old eorl. Not for the first time in the last month, he found himself peculiarly moved by the loyalty Eodwine’s former household continued to show to him. It was the same sort of attitude that had driven Scyld to seek out these people in the first place – an attitude of selflessness, loyalty… love.

He still did not understand it.

Scyld’s loyalty was to himself – to seeing himself well-provided for, in the best position possible should events turn awry. He was a survivor – and his survival had more than once depended on him looking out for himself, because no one else would. Yet here were all these people, still showing such loyalty to a lord who could no longer serve them as a lord must. Making things harder for themselves by not simply accepting the rule of the new lord, no matter how different he might be from the old. Once, Scyld would have said that one master was just the same as another, but now he was not so sure.

Having lived and worked under both Sorn and Eodwine, he could hardly compare the two. He did not trust Eodwine, because Scyld still feared that if his history were found out he might be sent to the gallows. And if he did not trust Eodwine, he certainly did not trust Athanar and his heavy-handed sense of justice. However, he could not deny the air of freedom and camaraderie shared by those living in Scarburg – something he had never believed could really exist.

That being said, Athanar was no Sorn, and since those first couple of eventful days, Scyld could not really said that the hall fared any worse under Athanar than it had under Eodwine. So in that sense, a change in lord was not so great a hardship.

Still, he could not help but be curious to see how the meeting of the old and the new eorls would play out. Eodwine entered the hall, followed by Saeryn and the hobbit Falco. But then one came whom he was not expecting – Rowenna.

He was startled by his own reaction to seeing her: he felt like his heart was hammering in his throat. Could it be that he had actually missed her? She was certainly interesting, more interesting to him than most of the people in the hall. Like him, she was a survivor – ambitious, and ruthless, perhaps. Not just a little pretty, to sweeten the deal… but vicious. Scyld suddenly recalled his last significant interaction with her had ended in her smacking him across the face.

He realized that he was staring and forced his attention back to Eodwine. Of all the absurd things to be thinking of – a woman! It seemed that all this time he had been spending pretending to be Nydfara was finally getting to his head. Next thing he’d be fluttering and sighing (or crying, as had been the case lately) over the hall romances like the kitchen girls.

He had pulled himself from his reverie just in time to catch Eodwine swearing his fealty to Athanar. Now there was an unexpected turn. He would be interested to hear what the others thought of that. As was his habit, he faded into the background to watch and listen.

[Durelin]

Coen waited to look up at Thornden until the man started to speak. He gave a small smile. “Older wisdom? I hope that is not an attempt at flattery.” He paused, his features growing tighter again. “Naturally I have wondered about his return for some time. And now some questions are answered, but others…”

He twisted his mouth in some distaste at speaking about this so openly. Then he lowered his voice. “Of course I wonder what this will stir back up. Will Eodwine’s fealty be echoed by his people?”

[Folwren]

Thornden’s level gaze did not lower at all when Coenred spoke rather stingingly. He studied him carefully as he finished. “Of course I wonder what this will stir back up. Will Eodwine’s fealty be echoed by his people?”

Thornden drew back a fraction. “I would not be surprised if there was some questioning of his decision at first, but there will be no rebelling, no violence. Eodwine will soon assure everyone that what he has done is best, and he will restore order, if order must be restored. Do you fear otherwise?”

[Firefoot]

Léof was stunned. “He didn’t!” he exclaimed, as Quin explained to him what had happened. Léof wasn’t sure, exactly, what he had expected to happen. Certainly Athanar had made no preparations to leave Scarburg after learning of Eodwine’s return, but Léof had still somehow figured that since Eodwine was back he would naturally take charge again.

“Aye, he did. Just like Quin said,” said Hylath.

He couldn’t believe he’d missed it. Had it really been just as Quin said? Maybe Athanar had said something to him to make him do it… but no. Thornden was sitting right there, too. He would have said something. Léof glanced down at him, but Thornden was no longer following the conversation, instead having his own private one with Coenred. That made Léof a little uncomfortable, since everyone else in the group had come in with Athanar. Or, almost everyone – there was that Nydfara, down at the other end of the table. Ever since Nydfara had confronted him in the stable, Léof didn’t trust him a bit. All in all, he thought, better not to say too much in this conversation. Nothing too controversial, anyway. “Well. Didn’t see that one coming…” said Léof.

“No one did, that’s just it,” said another of the soldiers. Léof still had trouble keeping all their names straight.

“I expected a bit more of a fight, myself,” said Scyrr. Léof did not like Scyrr; he was one of the soldiers most condescending towards Léof’s position as stablemaster. “But it’s like Quin said, the old eorl seemed more than halfway to the grave. Not much of a fighter. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dead within the week, and all this hubbub for nothing.”

“He has had a long journey,” chided another soldier. “Besides, now he’s got that pretty young wife of his to care for him. I’d get sick too if I could get in on some of that.” A round of laughter followed this comment.

“Enjoy it better if you weren’t sick,” someone chimed in, and the laughter rose louder. Léof felt distinctly uncomfortable hearing the Lady Saeryn discussed this way, and he wished he had a way of turning the conversation back to Eodwine. Fortunately he was saved the effort, for their ribald jests had not gone unnoticed by Thornden.

“Hold your tongue,” Thornden said severely. His eyes clapped onto the last soldier who had spoken. “If you cannot speak respectfully of Lady Saeryn, then don’t speak at all.” He glanced about the table, taking them all in. “Another word in a similar thought, and I’ll see the man outside.” After a pause, he turned again to Coenred and they took up their conversation once more.

There was a moment of silence amongst the soldiers before someone spoke up again.

“What I’d like to know is, why didn’t Lord Athanar formally accept Eodwine’s pledge? He said they had many things to discuss. That sounds to me like it’s not really over.”

Léof’s ears perked up at that. Maybe things weren’t as set in stone as Quin had made it sound? “Does that matter?” he asked. “Did Eodwine only offer loyalty, or swear it?"