Chapter 74: Escaped Slave

At night on the neighboring Kjallakr farm, a disheveled blond man in broken shackles moves through a house strewn with corpses, a woman and child cowering in the corner. He calmly pursues his fleeing master outside, and when the man drops to his knees, kisses his shoe, and swears by Odin to grant freedom and riches, the slave answers that no reward could undo the humiliation of a life in bondage, that his master could never understand without living it himself. Declaring that as his slave the man's life is his to dispose of, he runs him through, then walks off murmuring that it is time to go meet a certain person after so long, leaving the burning house behind.

At Sverkel's home the old man now lies bedridden, his hands trembling too badly to hold a cup, resigned to dying in bed rather than in his fields. Arnheid arrives on the orders of Ketil's wife to care for him and, at his instruction, prepares a lavish meal to share with Thorfinn, Einar, and Snake. When she tries to feed the embarrassed Sverkel, he refuses, but Snake goads her to spoon it in anyway and teases the old man for being ashamed to be fed like a child, until Sverkel's own growling stomach betrays him and sets everyone laughing. While washing up at the well, Arnheid tells Thorfinn that she has not laughed and enjoyed a meal like that since she was free, then catches herself for speaking too openly. Fox rides in and reports to Snake that a slave has fled the Kjallakr farm three days earlier, and that this is no ordinary runaway: he killed Kjallakr and his sons and torched the house before escaping, with a bounty of three horses offered for his capture. Snake orders the guards to stay alert and patrol in groups of three, but warns them not to seize the man on sight; they should summon reinforcements first, since there is no telling what a cornered person will do.

An escaped slave, later known as Gardar, murders his master Kjallakr and his sons and burns their home before slipping away, sparing only a woman and child and hinting he intends to reunite with someone. Arnheid is assigned to nurse the now-bedridden Sverkel and shares a rare, joyful meal with the farm's slaves and Snake. Fox brings word of the dangerous fugitive and the bounty on him. Snake instructs the guards to patrol carefully and call for backup rather than confront the killer alone.

The chapter introduces the escaped slave whose arrival will upend the farm, and his stated intent to meet someone quietly foreshadows his connection to Arnheid. It also deepens Arnheid's bond with the household as Sverkel's decline sets a somber tone. The events were adapted in Episode 37 of the anime.