One-Eyed Sven hands around dried apples and water as demands, the kindness of his manner at odds with his scarred and rugged old body. He looks each of you over with his good eye as he caters to you, the other eye taken in combat, a sure sign of Odin's favour for the aging warrior. The three girls happily take a few apples as they chatter among themselves while Signy only a sip of water. One-Eyed Sven is well-respected at Silvermeade Hall and must be more like an old uncle to them as he often steps in to supervise younger huscarls and thralls when Jarl Olaf and Hallbjorn are called away. Mørkedrømevandrer stays some distance away, skirting the site as he stays alert.

“You young folks should keep an eye out, I did hear from Hallbjorn that a couple of outlaws have been spotted out on the Moors, not to mention the trouble that Sigfastr the dwarf ran into in the forest — damned fairies. And keep a look out for troll sign. We may not have got them all when we burned ’em out of the hills last winter. Oh, and keep an eye on the weather, I’ve got an awful crick in my back, sure sign of a storm coming.”

After Inga explains that you are headed to the nearby Meadows he responds to the rest of you,

"Well, it’s a nice day to travel, and I envy you a peaceful task for it. Me, I have to head back to the hall this afternoon and see what ol’ Olaf is planning for the season. Probably going whaling. The godi and cunning women are talking about a dry summer, and that means a poor harvest.”

After a ten minutes or so with the old veteran you are refreshed and invigorated from a fair few battle yarns he clearly loves to tell, although the Inga becoming agitated and restless at the subject matter (Fastvi however is entranced by the tales). Eventually you mount up continue onward, anticipating only a short final leg to your destination.

..........

Crossing the Coast Road you near the end of your ride, the trail turning southwest and heading into the woods where the Meadows are situated. This part of the forest is fairly tame, and you soon find yourselves on a dirt double track through the trees, muddy in the low places due to recent rains. After a few minutes, you hear the lowing of oxen and the raised voice of a man cursing his beasts. Coming around the corner, you see a small, heavily laden cart stuck in the mud. A one-eyed elderly man (not One-Eyed Sven) is trying to goad a pair of oxen into pulling the cart from the mud, with little success. Standing off to the side, out of the mud, is a strikingly handsome blonde woman of middle years and a young red-haired boy.

There is no room on the trail to pass the cart where it is stuck. To do so you would need to forge your way through the surrounding trees with the girls, a task that Inga and Runa are certainly not dressed for. Inga huffs in irritation at the blocked way forward and looks across at you as if to say "fix this!".