Askeladd killed Thors in one of the Hunger Games, so Thorfinn hates both the King and Askeladd, but Askeladd is one of his mentors in the Hunger Games.
A woman named Hattrgerd helped both Thorfinn and Canute get ready for the royal ball that all tributes must attend before the Hunger Games officially start.
Askeladd was 100% irritating Thorfinn the entire time by telling him to be friendly and smile more toward potential sponsors, who may just end up saving his life with their money. While poor Bjorn has to practically peel Canute off of his side, the young prince is anxious about having to survive these games. Both end up near the end of the hall, where they end up meeting a young noble woman named Gudrid. She shyly talks with Thorfinn with a small blush on her face before her husband takes her somewhere else, as he is jealous that his wife is more interested in some stupid flea-ridden blonde than him.
Garm is threatening to murder every tribute before the games even begin, and all of the sponsors have their eyes on him. Thorkell just laughs and says, "That's my boy right there. His name is Garm, and he'll win the games this year". Thorkell shoots Askeladd a dirty look, and Askeladd just sighs as he sees Thorfinn shaking Canute vigorously while swearing at him to get it together and to stop making him look so weak.
Arnheid is with Einar and Snake while she shakes her head and mutters prayers. She stays with Snake and Einar the entire night as most of the men stare at her like prey. She enjoys staying with Einar and her mentor, Snake, as they seem to treat her well enough. She just hopes that she may survive long enough to see her husband again. She saw him for a single moment, then he got ushered off by the mentor he had. She just wants to see him again. Still, Einar makes her laugh the entire night, and he seems quite insistent on sticking near her side.
Ketil, Thorgil, Fox, and Olmar join together and speak about picking off the weaker ones first and then seeing what they are able to do about it. Olmar is noticeably shaken; however, he tries to look strong and smug in front of his father, brother, and this other man who used to work for one of the mentors, Snake. Apparently they had a nasty falling out, and one of the Snakes tributes will definitely end up getting hunted down by Fox, and they allow him to. After all, Ketil is less than enthusiastic about getting stuck here in the first place. He is here because his farm is split between two different properties, so it is just his luck that he and his two sons ended up getting picked.
Sigurd ends up near a man named Bug-Eyes and a guy named Willibald. He got punched in the nose after flirting with the cute noble woman who named herself Gudrid. Willibald says that he expects his death and that he hopes one of them will make it swift. He won't attack anyone or harm a living creature, as it would be a sin and go against his nature. So he spends the entire night swallowing gallons of mead in hopes of drinking himself to death instead of getting killed in the horrendous games that the King always hosts.
