Averel

Denholm, Captain of the Garrison at Bancross,

Again this be delivered to you by my man Ealdbriht, who you now recognise well. 

Denholm, Captain of the Garrison at Bancross,

This message will be delivered to you by my man, Ealdbriht, who you may recognise. He will confirm who he is by showing my token, and giving you the agreed password. 

To Denholm, Captain of the garrison in Bancross,

It has come to my notice that you have in the garrison cell one minor offender of the name, Criba. His master has been asking after his whereabouts, and as the man holds particularly entertaining dinners, I do not want the action of one of my people to cause him offense. 

Greetings to you, my friend,

I send you this message by my hand, to be delivered by my trusted man, Aldholm. He smells fresher than most. You have met him before, and in any case he will present you with my token, which you will recognise. 

Now Hild had not intended to be at all nosy about Thane Averel’s coming and going. She had thought in the past few weeks that surely he would return to Bancross soon, as he did every year at around this time. The village had prepared well for the leaner months, but she was finding herself eyeing some of her supplies in the Roaring Dragon a touch wistfully.