The morning mist was lifting, and Sven was finally able to make out the buildings of the settlement across the lake.
His war party had arrived in the area the previous afternoon. It had been raining hard all day, and everyone was in a nasty mood. Some of his men wanted to attack the settlement right away, and Sven knew why.
"You'll have to stay wet for one more night," he told them. "We won't attack until we know the exact layout of that village. I don't want anyone there to get away."
They scouted out the village's perimeter that same evening. They came across a path leading away from the lake and into the forest. Sven would have missed it in the rain and the murk that came with the dusk, but Henrik once again proved his worth as Sven's best scout.
He halted the scouting party with an upraised hand, dropped to one knee, and examined the ground. He beckoned Sven to join him, and whispered:
