Good Arcenbryht, well met. I’d welcome your counsel on what I might do with this old broken sword which I have here…
It’s a hilt see – with some six-inches of blade still attached – which I know to my cost… The hilt, at least, seems old and wrought with some skill. See the rune markings which decorate it and set it apart from other swords I’ve seen (not that I’ve seen more than one or two mind).
The full story of it I don’t know, but what I can tell you is that we came by this after a raid by some Pukelmen on the settlement of Ercongotastead. You know of the Pukelmen – half-men I might call them. A group led by Lytelman took part in helping fight the raid and after it had been fought off, we set off after them to make some amends.
One of a number of outlawed men assisted us track the swine down to a scrub area, we thought we had them at our mercy – but they were cunning and fought from within dense bush. Some of them were right small and could come up against us and strike from within the bushes without recourse. Scorning their blows, we pushed on until we found an entry to their underground dwelling.
There then followed a man-to-Pukelman fight in their poorly lit tunnels and it was close with them against us and them fighting for their very survival. After hard-fought combat we overcame them and struck down the one or two stronger ones, leaving some smaller Pukelings fleeing the battle.
Thinking we had triumphed we approached a cavern which seemed to be the centre of the den – and found, sitting on a rock in the middle of a pool, a great slavening Pukelwoman. Monstrous she seemed to me and I moved to strike her – but was stymied by another Geat of our party who struck first at me – we traded confused blows and I saw that others were either also fighting each other or standing mazed by the sight of the Pukelwife. It was then that I realized that a glamour must be at work and thought that it would end ill for us – struggling among each other in the near dark, by our remaining flickering torches…
All would have ended for the bad, but we found three walcyriges among us unaffected by the Pukelwife’s glamour. Free from her malevolent influence, they set about her and were swiftly able to put her down with their weapons. As she fell her glamour failed and all saw her right foul in death: misshaped she was and swollen in form. We slowly recovered our full senses and drug her body off the rock and to the side of the pool. She had gold arm rings and silver ornaments a plenty and was soon despoiled of the lot of it.
After that it was decided to look in the fetid pool for what might lie therein. The first of us found mud with the glint of silver and other precious things. We then took it in turns to delve the dark and evil smelling pool and found silver, gold and armourings, though in poor condition. One searcher went under the pool and had to quit after swallowing some of the Pukelwife’s piss- and shit-water.
Lastly, I tried my luck. As the laggard, harder it was to find aught of value, until I felt deep in the pool this hilt with broken blade attached. Good luck for me, but bad too as I found myself impaled on the broken stump of the blade. Blood flowed down my arm from this gash in my left hand – look here and you can still see the cut made by the cursed thing.
After this spearing, we lost the taste for further rooting in the pool and good Hildilith bound my hand before we gathered up what we had found to search out the fair air outside the caves.
We made a camp and washed. And then there was a grand reckoning of the Pukelwife’s goods. Good Osric, leader of the wider group did the sharing out of what we had found. This included gold, silver and jewels, weapons, some well-made and fine to my eye, some ring armour, though none which would match what you can no doubt make… Osric made over this sword hilt to me – saying it was part of my wyrd to find it and should be part of my portion…
For myself I was unsure what the hilt would portend. Returning to Ercongotastead I fell into a sweating fever and thought I might possibly lose my hand or even the arm. Fortunate I was as nursed by Hildilith and, in time, came back to good health though missed the change to see your family at the Moot. For that reason I have come to seek you now.
So what then do you say to this hilt?
Cynewulf, the East Geat