Chapter 79: Portents of Storm Clouds

In October 1018, Fox, Badger, and Lizard notice a cloaked figure asleep beneath a tree, a sword hilt catching the light. Guessing he is the runaway slave who carries a bounty, they argue loudly over whether to ambush him at once or wait for the backup Snake advised, since the man already cut down five Kjallakr retainers. Their squabbling only grows louder, and the fugitive closes in and swings before any of them can clear their scabbards.

At Sverkel's farm, Einar chops wood while Arnheid does laundry and Thorfinn strains to catch Snake reading scripture aloud to the bedridden old man. Einar explains that Thorfinn, though no Christian, finds the readings interesting. Inside, Snake grumbles that the sermons bore him and prefers the Old Testament. When Sverkel tries to rise and harvest wheat that has already been gathered, Snake discovers the old man has wet himself and calls Arnheid in to help clean him up.

Washing his hands afterward, Snake observes that Sverkel is slipping into senility and has little time left, urging Thorfinn and Einar to show him gratitude while they still can. Thorfinn asks about Snake's bond with Sverkel, and Snake shrugs that they are near strangers, admitting he is already wondering what price the old man's Bible will fetch once he dies. Arnheid returns to the wash, pausing to suck at a finger split from endless labor.

A galloping horse draws near, and Snake, realizing the rider is no man of his, shouts for him to halt. Fox and Badger give chase from behind, yelling that the man is the escaped slave and has killed Lizard. Snake rushes inside for his sword. Arnheid, stunned, cries out the name Gardar at the sight of the rider's face. The man reins in hard and calls back to her, overjoyed to have found his beloved wife at last.

The escaped slave kills Lizard after the bounty hunters waste time arguing. Daily life at Sverkel's farm is shown, with the old man's decline underscored. Snake reveals his coldly transactional view of Sverkel. The fugitive rides onto the farm pursued by Fox and Badger, and Arnheid recognizes him as her husband Gardar, who declares he has finally found her.

Published December 24, 2011, this chapter begins Volume 12 and adapts into Episode 37. It introduces Gardar and sets the tragic Arnheid storyline in motion, framing the coming conflict through the recurring metaphor of an approaching storm.