Summary

Grendel seas a ship coming across the horizon, and he is filled with excitement; he feels a change coming, but he can’t figure out why he is so happy. Fifteen towering men step off the boat and Grendel is taken with their leader. He is handsome yet soft-spoken, and his voice sounds almost ethereal to Grendel. When the group is presented to Hrothgar, the king is weary. But Hrothgar sees these men are not to be feared when the leader describes a tale where he raced his friend in a swimming contest while fighting off sea monsters. The stranger then tells Hrothgar he has heard about the monster Grendel, and he has come to kill the beast. This makes Grendel feel alive because he sees a formidable opponent in the stranger.

After all the men go to sleep in Hart, Grendel bursts through the...