Aaaaahhh, Sweet Revenge
Night comes and darkness covers all. The warriors lie soundly asleep in the great hall of Heorot, knowing that Grendel is dead and that Heorot is once again a regal safe haven for all troops. But the men do not know fate’s plans, for this night a monstrous sacrilege befalls Heorot once again. It is the she-demon! Grendel’s mother wreaks havoc on the mead-hammered occupants of the hall. She carries herself like a warrior, avenging the death of her kin. She snatches Grendel’s arm, it is no longer to be displayed as a trophy, and she snatches King Hrothgar’s most beloved friend Aeschere, apparently as the man-price for her dead hell-hound son.
Closer to Home (Swamp)
Fleeing the scene of the brutal attack, Grendel’s mother returns to familiar grounds where she is greeted by the fallow savage landscape that only a mother-demon can call "home." Ravenous for blood, she decimates Aeschere and leaves his head by the cliff to serve as a warning to trespassers. We may also speculate that she does so to avenge the desecration of Grendel’s arm that has been so conspicuously hung in the hall as a trophy.
Unferth Disappoints
After Grendel’s mother’s unexpected attack, Beowulf advises King Hrothgar that it is better to act than to weep. Unferth is given the chance to prove himself and to test his boasts by volunteering to slay the wretched she-demon that has brought new sorrows on the king’s old head. But Unferth disappoints his fellow warriors and his king. He knows how to "talk the talk," but apparently he backs down from "walking the walk," and loses repute. This costs him his reputation and his pride. He quietly hands over his sword to Beowulf, and with it, his pride and honor. The boaster is but a boaster and is unable to stand steadfast in the face of imminent danger.