It should not surprise us at all that the king would ask his servants to account for their experience when a stack of arms was brought before him. Surely the most jaded of kings would be curious as to why the task of watering flocks should result in a stack of trophy arms. Of course, the king would also have been completely aware of the difficulties that previous servants had at the waters of Sebus, because previous servants were executed, and the king would have known of it, if not given the order directly. Thus the king was aware of the tension at the waters of Sebus, and that there is evidence before him that a dramatic change has occurred in the nature of that conflict.