Before even the morning star had heralded the dawn, Beowulf was roused from the sleep-stable by one of the night watchmen. Filchurk the Diviner had sent a message to meet him at the Milching Keep. Beowulf pushed something man-sized and lardy off him and rolled off the night-bench with a grunt.

When he got to the Milching Keep, Beowulf found Filchurk already at the scene, cup of warmed peat-moss in hand. He was waiting outside the big wooden door.

"What do we have?" asked Beowulf, with a special effort to sound groggily virile.

"Battered body. A goat missing."

"Do we suspect the goat?"

"We did. Until we cut open a ox and discovered it was the goat. We also found a peace-blade in the man-body's back."

"Have we questioned the peace-blade?"

"I had Disheart and Fellwroth interrogate it. But it's not talking."

"Any i.d. on it?"

"A rune on the hilt. The boys over in Enchantments ran some tests. They think it goes by the name Grolck the Peace-Blade."

"Grolck the Peace-Blade," said Beowulf. "Grolck the Peace-Blade." He said it more slowly the second time to show that he was searching his memory. Beowulf had a redoubtable intellect and it always impressed others on the force to see him use it.

"Have Gassock the Monger run that name through the iron-chive," he said at
last. Filchurck tingled at Beowulf's decisiveness. "I want to find out who this Grolck knows and what he’s made of. Any other clues?"

"None yet. Disheart and Pudlam the Cadet are consulting the body's entrails even as we speak."

"Finding-party out?"

"They're ready to go as soon as the night mists clear up." Filchurk took another sip of his peat-moss.

"Ok. As soon as Disheart and Pudlam are done with the guts, burn the place. Then start a formal investigation of the ashes. We're going to get to the bottom of this, by filth!"

"Here you go, sir." One of the night watchmen handed Beowulf a stein of steaming peat-moss. Beowulf growled his appreciation.