Chapter 79

"Arnheid!? My beloved wife, I've found you at last!"

- Gardar

Portents of Storm Clouds (暗雲の先触れ) is the 79th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Badger, Fox and Lizard spot a suspicious armed man sleeping in the forest. They assume he's the escaped slave and loudly argue about whether they should apprehend him now or get backup first as Snake suggested. The escaped slave approaches them while they argue. At Sverkel's, Snake reads the Bible to Sverkel out loud; Thorfinn tries to overhear, as he finds it interesting, while Arnheid and Einar work outside. Sverkel wets himself while trying to leave to do work. Snake notes he probably doesn't have that long left and that Thorfinn and Einar should thank him while they still can. A man rushes by on horseback, chased by Fox and Badger, who yell out that he's the escaped slave and just killed Lizard. Snake runs in to grab his sword, while Arnheid recognizes the escaped slave and calls out to him. The man, Gardar, stops his horse and calls back to Arnheid, happy he's finally found his wife.

Summary
In October 1018, Fox, Badger and Lizard see a cloaked form sleeping by a tree, its sword hilt glinting in the sun. They agree that it's suspicious that someone is hiding deep in the forest with a sword, and assume he could be the escaped slave. Badger loudly exclaims his happiness, as catching the escaped slave comes with a sizeable bounty, but Lizard reminds him that he's dangerous and Fox tells him to quiet down. Badger claims he'll easily ambush him, since he's sleeping. Lizard reminds him he killed the five Carrock men and that they should get backup first, as Snake suggested. Badger loudly complains they'll get a smaller share of the bounty if they call for backup, while Lizard keeps reminding him not to get ahead of himself. Fox angrily tells them to quiet down again, but they only get louder as their conversation escalates. The escaped slave approaches them as they argue and swings his sword before they can remove theirs from their scabbards. At Sverkel's home, Einar chops wood while Arnheid does the laundry nearby. Einar asks Thorfinn if he can stack the pieces he's chopped so far and Thorfinn agrees he'll get to it in a moment. Arnheid asks what Thorfinn is doing and Einar replies that he's trying to hear Snake reading the Bible to Sverkel out loud. Arnheid asks if Thorfinn is a Christian — Einar tells her he's not, but that he finds it interesting to listen. Inside, Snake reads out the forty-sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. He stops and complains that it's a load of bull and that he's tired of reading sermons, commenting that the Old Testament was more interesting. Sverkel rolls out of bed and Snake asks him if he needs to go to the bathroom. Sverkel says he needs to go harvest wheat while the weather's good. Snake reminds him that it's been done already and tells him to get back to bed. As he lifts Sverkel to help him back to bed, he notices he's wet himself and calls out to Arnheid to help. Arnheid heads inside to clean him up; Einar and Thorfinn say they'll help. Snake washes his hands outside and notes it looks like Sverkel is starting to go senile and probably doesn't have much longer to live. Einar is shocked, since Sverkel was well not long ago, but Sverkel points out that he's old enough to be a great-grandfather and that the elderly decline quickly once they stop being active. He clarifies he doesn't think it'll happen very soon, but that since Thorfinn and Einar owe Sverkel a lot, they should thank him while they still can. Thorfinn asks Snake what kind of relationship he has with Sverkel, as he and Einar have been wondering about it for a while. Snake says they're not much more than strangers and that he's in fact wondering how much he can sell Sverkel's Bible for once he passes; he tells them to get back to work. Arnheid gets back to doing the laundry and briefly stops to suck on her bleeding finger, her hands in bad shape from the constant work. A horse gallops nearby and Snake wonders if it's one of his men who's in such a hurry. He realizes it's not and yells at the rider to stop. From further back, Fox and Badger chase the man on horseback. They yell to Snake that the man is the escaped slave and that he just killed Lizard. Snake rushes inside the house to grab his sword. Arnheid, shocked, yells out "Gardar" when she sees the escaped slave's face. The man stops his horse abruptly and calls out her name, saying he's happy he found her, his beloved wife, at last.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Thorfinn
 * Einar
 * Gardar
 * Badger
 * Lizard
 * Fox
 * Arnheid
 * Snake
 * Sverkel