Once Erak was ransomed and set free from Arrida, he had another problem.
"How am I going to pay Araluen 40,000 reels of silver?" he asked himself on the way back to Skandia, coursing his hands through his blonde hair and pacing about the captain's quarters. "Skandia can't lose 40,000 reels! I mean, with 100 slaves either freed or dead, we don't have as much free labor any more and with the raids from those Temujai, we have no more money left. We are currently in debt to the Araluens and many of our masters of the weapon making jobs! Skandia can't pay Araluen back yet." He eventually took a seat and rested his head in his hands when Svengal burst through the door.
"Erak, the Araluens are asking when we will have the money by," he stated, noticing the down look on his Oberjarl's face. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's just that Skandia has no money. We have lost 100 slaves, are in debt to our blacksmiths, and now we are in debt to Araluen with no money left in Skandia. All the extra, the Temujai stole. They keep coming and they always manage to know when and where the money is going to be hidden. Then they strike in like we did to them near Hallasholm! How do they know where we are transporting or hiding the money?"
Svengal listened to the reiterated knowledge. He had heard this speech about a thousand times already and replied, "So tell them whenever you have it?" to hear a groan come from his leader as his head slipped from his hands and on to the polished desk in front of him, leaving a dent there.
As Erak brought his head back up, he gave Svengal the answer of, "No. I will tell them that myself," and with that, he stormed out of the room with Svengal shaking his head and saying, "Good old Erak, annoyed by being the leader as ever."