As he stood, suddenly Fjalfar towered over his wife who sat beside him, a fragile little thing with a face much too kind and homely; not at all matching the ferocity of the man who had deflowered and claimed her as his own. And on the other side, the chieftain loomed too over the [i]huskarl[/i], his bodyguard, who propped between his knees a massive axe on a handle nearly as tall as he. Underneath his peaked helmet they could see only the soldier’s wispy black beard dangling from his chin; they knew it was Úða, but they could not see his short jet hair, nor his eyes which seemed infinitely deep in their darkness like a malevolent nighttime sea.

Fjalfar’s eyes like a predator’s scanned the crowd in vain for those rebels, those irreverent toads, who [i]dared[/i] defy his authority, and on such a drastic day. If authority alone did not quell them, he thought, then sheer power must; he shall scream til his voice has inundated theirs and drowned them!

“The ship’s hull has been scrubbed of barnacles,” he roared, “and its deck flooded of rats. It has been painted anew, and given a new sail, free of holes and patches.”

He had pressed his hand, weighed down with silver rings, augustly to his breast. Only if the crowds’ volume subsided did his in turn.

“She’s as fine a ship as we ever have seen in this place! But now she needs a crew, equally fine, to sail her.” 

At this announcement arrived a scoffing laughter from the rear of the crowd; issued forth by someone obscured from view, who this false invisibility bequeathed too great a confidence. Fjalfar positively scowled, flashing his age-yellowed teeth, fury forming in his brow and the corners of his thick lips.

“It is true that our greatest warriors shall not embark in this week,” he growled. “It is true that some of the men in this room are—[i]disgraced[/i].” He had paused, choosing the word diplomatically. “But among them shall be our own kin, our own blood and honor! Do not be so quick to besmirch the entire crew, for the sake of the few whose names you find ‘unsavory.’ And further, when this ship embarks, no longer shall they be criminals and children, witches and traitors; no, they will be our salvation, and warriors, united all under a single sail. So I say again: do not meddle lightly with their honor, which may yet be restored, so that you’re rendered a talkative fool!”