28.Payback

Bob confronts Fred in the forest, attempting to intimidate him into submission over past grievances. The confrontation doesn't go as planned when Fred refuses to back down, forcing Bob to abort and retreat when Fred's friends approach.

Bob spends five hours moving into position in Caerleon to ambush Fred near his preferred bathing location. When Fred returns from the water, Bob slams him against a tree with a flint knife to his throat and demands submission, reminding Fred of their previous conflict. Fred refuses to capitulate, threatening that his friends will retaliate. Bob realizes he's stuck—he either must follow through on his implicit threat to kill Fred or lose credibility, but he cannot bring himself to commit murder in cold blood. When Fred grows angry and defiant, Bob uses a spy drone to create suspicious noises that draw Fred's friends closer. Recognizing he cannot kill Fred without severe consequences, Bob delivers a punch to Fred's stomach, grabs his spear, and escapes into the forest before Fred's friends arrive. Later at dinner, Bob recounts the incident to Archimedes, who examines Fred's poorly-made spear and theorizes that equipment failures may be responsible for Caerleon's hunting difficulties rather than laziness or incompetence, suggesting resource inequality rather than character deficiency might be driving tensions.