There were many things he was proud of after such a long career. The first of which was his men. Each man, he'd liked to think, was twice as strong as your average raider. His victories in his many battles seemed to prove that fact. His men were so strong, that he'd even been approached more than once by Earls, asking him if he wouldn't take charge of some garrison somewhere in their territory.
Now, such a post was the highest honour that a raider could hope for. An ageing man like Bert didn't have many years left in the game. If he were to be given a keep, and a garrison, he would finally be able to start a family, and have some sort of stake in the world equivalent to his achievements. He'd been very close to accepting the offer – had it been given to him by a more distinguished Earl, such as Brighteyes or Earl Maddon, he would almost surely have accepted.
