Egil’s Saga (9 page)

H
ILDIRID’S sons took up the stewardship in Halogaland. No man spake against it, because of the might of the King. But to many this change seemed much against their liking, to such as were kinsmen of Thorolf’s or friends of his.

They fared that winter to the fell, and had with them thirty men. The Finns made much less account of those bailiffs than
when Thorolf fared thither. Altogether in much worse wise was that gild paid which the Finns should yield.

That same winter fared Thorolf up into the fell with a hundred men: fared straightway east to Kvenland and met with King Faravid. They took rede together, and this was their rede, to fare on the fell even as last winter; they had four hundred men, and came down into Kirialaland; fell upon the settled parts whereso they deemed it fit for the strength of men they had: harried there and gat them fee. Then fared they back, as winter wore, up into the Mark.

Thorolf fared home about spring-time to his own place. He had then men in the cod-fishing in Vagar,
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and some in the herring-fishing, and sought all manner of provision for his household. Thorolf had a great ship: she was built for the main sea. She was wrought in all ways of the best, well painted down to the water-line; there went with her a sail streaked with stripes blue and red: all the gear was well wrought in the ship. That ship Thorolf let make ready and appointed thereto housecarles of his to fare with her: let bear aboard of her dried fish and hides and white-wares. He let go therewith much grey-wares withal, and other skin-wares that he had gotten off the fell, and that was exceeding great fee. That ship he let Thorgils the Yeller sail west to England, to buy him clothes and other provision whereof he stood in need. They held their course south along the land and after that out on the main sea and came their ways to England, found good cheaping there, loaded the ship with wheat and honey, wine and clothes, and set sail home again in the autumn. They had wind at will, and came to Hordaland.

That same autumn fared Hildirid’s sons with the scat and brought it to the King. But when they paid the scat out of hand, the King himself was by and saw it. He spake: “Is now all the scat paid out of hand, the same which ye took up in Finnmark?”

“So it is”, said they.

“Both is it now”, said the King, “that the scat yielded out of hand is much smaller and worser than when Thorolf fetched it, and ye did say that he dealt ill with the stewardship.”

“Well is that, King,” saith Harek, “that thou hast considered how great is the scat that is to be looked for to come from Finnmark;
for then knowest thou more clearly how much you missed if Thorolf squandered all the Finn-scat for you. We were last winter thirty men in the Mark, even as hath aforetime been the wont of your bailiffs. Then came Thorolf there with a hundred men.
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We heard that this was his word, that he was minded to take the life of us brethren and of all those men which followed us; and this the cause he found thereto, that thou, King, hadst given into our hand that stewardship which he would have. We saw that this was our best choice, to keep out of the way of him and save ourselves, and for that sake came we but a short way forth of the settled parts on the fell. But Thorolf fared through all the Mark with a host of men. He had all the cheaping: the Finns yielded unto him the scat: yea, and to this had he bounden himself, that your bailiffs should nowise come into the Mark. He hath the mind to make himself king over them in the north there both over the Mark and Halogaland; and that is a wonder, that you suffer him to gad it howsome’er he will. And here may sure witness be found of that good catch of wealth which Thorolf hath out of the Mark, inasmuch as the greatest cheaping-ship that was in Halogaland was laden last spring at Sandness, and Thorolf avowed him only owner of all the cargo that was aboard of her. Well I do think, she was near full laden with grey-wares, and there I well think should be found of beaver and sable more than that which Thorolf brought unto thee; and there fared aboard of her Thorgils the Yeller. Methinks he hath sailed west to England. But if thou wilt know the truth of this, then do you hold espial of Thorgils’s faring when he fareth east, for well I think that on no cheaping-ship hath come so great fee in our days. I deem that truest to say: that you, King, are right owner of every penny there was aboard of her.”

These things they of his company affirmed for true, every whit that Harek said. And here were none knew how to speak against it.

CHAPTER XVIII. OF THE KING’S SENDING OF TWO BRETHREN AND THEIR ROBBING OF THOROLF’S SHIP.

S
IGTRYGG SHARP-FARER
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and Hallvard Hard-farer hight two brethren. They were with King Harald, men of the Wick. Their mother’s kin came of Westfold,
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and they had ties of kinship with Harald the King. Their father had his kindred on both sides of the Gaut-Elf: he had had his dwelling in Hising and was a man exceeding wealthy, and now had they taken the heritage after their father. They were four brethren, all told. One was named Thord, another Thorgeir, and these were younger: they were at home and had charge of the household.

Sigtrygg and Hallvard had the King’s errands
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of all kind, both inland and outland; and on many errands had they fared that were of perilous kind, both for the taking off of men or else for fee to be taken up from those men that the King let set upon at home. They had a great following. No good friends were they with the common sort, but the King set great store by them, and they were of all men the best goers both afoot and on snow-shoes; so too in ship-faring were they swifter than other men. Mighty men of valour were they withal, and foreseeing in most things. They were then with the King, when these tidings came about.

In the autumn the King fared a-feasting about Hordaland. That was on a day, that he let call to him those brethren, Hallvard and Sigtrygg, and when they came to him he said to them that they should fare with their following and hold espial of that ship which Thorgils the Yeller fared with, “And he had her this summer west in England. Fetch me the ship and all that is aboard of her, except men; them let ye go their ways in peace, if they will not defend the ship.”

Those brethren were all ready for this, and took his long-ship each of them; and now they fare a-looking for Thorgils and his, and had word that he was come from the west and had sailed north along the land. They fare north after them and come upon them in Firsound: speedily they knew the ship, and laid aboard of her another ship on the outer side, but some went up aland and
out on to the ship by the gangways. Thorgils and his men wist not of any danger toward and kept no guard. They found out nought aford a throng of men were up aboard of the ship all weaponed, and themselves were all laid hand on and therewith led up aland weaponless, and had nought else but the clothes they stood in. But Hallvard and his cast off the gangways and let go the cable and dragged out the ship; and now turn they back the way they came, and sailed south until they found the King. They brought him the ship and all that was aboard. But when the lading was borne off the ship, then the King saw that here was great wealth, and that that was no lie
⁴
that Harek had said.

But Thorgils and his fellows found them convoy, and they seek now to Kveldulf and his son, and told him of their journey, nowise smooth: yet found they there a good welcome. Kveldulf said that now would it draw toward this, even as his foreboding had been aforetime, that Thorolf would not, when all came to all, bear good hap of his friendship with Harald the King: “And it should seem to me no great matter of this loss of fee that Thorolf hath now the miss of, if now there were not a greater to come after. It misdoubts me even as before, that Thorolf will not clearly know how to see his own power, what it is beside such overmastery as he hath now to deal with”; and he bade Thorgils so say unto Thorolf “that my rede it is”, saith he, “that he fare abroad out of the land; because it may be that he shall come in better case if he seek to England’s King or to the Dane-King or to the Swede-King”.

With that, he gave Thorgils a rowing-cutter and therewith all her gear, and tilt and victual and all that they needed for their journey. Therewith fared they and ceased not from their faring till they were come north to Thorolf, and said unto him this that was befallen to tell of.

Thorolf bare well with his scathe. So said he, that he should not lack for fee: “Good it is, to lay out fee with the King for partner”.

Thereafter Thorolf bought meal and malt and what else he had need of for maintaining of his folk. He said that his housecarles would not be so showily dressed as he awhile ago had meant they should be. Thorolf sold his lands, but some he set to wed;
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but
he held on with all his expense like as heretofore. Moreover he had then no fewer folk about him than in the former winter: rather had he somewhat more of men. And so as for feasts and home-biddings with friends of his: then had he more of all these things even than heretofore. He was at home all that winter.

CHAPTER XIX. OF THOROLF’S HARRYING IN THE WICK, AND OF COUNSEL GIVEN HIM BY KVELDULF.

N
OW when spring was come and the snow began to break up and the ice, Thorolf let set forth a great long-ship that he had, and let array her and manned her with his housecarles, and had with him more than a hundred men; that was a host of the gallantest, and weaponed exceeding well. So when they had wind at will, Thorolf held south along the land with his ship, and as soon as he was come south beside Byrda then held they the outer course outside all the islands, and at whiles so as only the hill-tops showed over the sea’s bourne.
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So they let their going be still southward off the land: they had no tidings of men till they were come east into the Wick. There they heard tell that King Harald was in the Wick, and that he was minded that summer to fare to the Uplands. Nought wist the landsmen of the faring of Thorolf.

He had a fair wind, and held south to Denmark, and thence eastaway
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and harried there summer-long and had no good gain there. In the autumn he held his course from the east to Denmark at that time when is the breaking up of the Ere-fleet;
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and there had been that summer, as the wont was, a throng of ships from Norway. Thorolf let all that host sail before him, and made none ware of him. He sailed one day at evening to Most-sound, and there in the haven before him was a great round-ship come from Ere. Thorir Thruma was named the man that steered her. He was a bailiff
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of King Harald’s: he had rule over his house in Thruma. That was a great house: the King sat there long whiles, at such times as he was in the Wick. There needed great provision for that house. Now for this sake had Thorir fared
to Ere, to buy cargo there, of malt and wheat and honey, and had laid out thereon much fee that was the King’s. They set on against the round-ship, and bade Thorir and his men choose whether to defend themselves; but, seeing that Thorir had no force to hold out against that strength of men that Thorolf had, they gave themselves up. Thorolf took that ship with all her lading, and put Thorir-up aland on the island.

Thorolf held his way then with both those ships north along the land: but when he was come off the Elf, then lay they there and waited for night; but when it was dark they rowed the long-ship up into the river and set on against that house that belonged to Hallvard and Sigtrygg. They come there before day and threw a ring of men about it: therewith they whooped the war-whoop, and those waked thereat that were within and straightway leaped up and to their weapons. Thorgeir fled out straightway out of the sleeping-bower. There was a high wood fence about the dwelling: Thorgeir leapt at the fence and grabbed hold with his hand high up on a stake of it and cast himself forth of the garth. There was stood a-nigh Thorgils the Yeller. He slashed after Thorgeir with his sword, and it came on the hand of him and took it off against the fence-stake. After that, Thorgeir ran to the woods, but Thord, his brother, was felled there, and more than twenty men.

After that, they robbed all the goods and burnt the house, and so went back again down the river to the main sea. They had a fair wind, and sailed north to the Wick. There they found fair before them a great cheaping-ship that belonged to the men of the Wick, laden with malt and meal. Thorolf and his set on against that ship, but they that were on board thought they had no means to hold out against them, and gave themselves up. They went up aland weaponless. But Thorolf and his took the ship with her cargo, and went their ways.

Thorolf had then three ships when he sailed from the east about the Fold. So sailed they by the highway to Lidandisness; fared then at their speediest, but lifted ness-liftings whereso they came and hewed them strand-hewings. But when they sailed north from Lidandisness they fared more on the outer course. Still, wheresoever they came nigh land then robbed they.

But when Thorolf was come north off the Firths, then turned he in from his way and went to see Kveldulf his father and found there a good welcome. Thorolf said to his father what tidings had befallen in his faring that summer. Thorolf tarried there a little while, and Kveldulf and Grim led him down to his ship. But before they parted they talked together. Said Kveldulf: “Not far from that hath it fared, Thorolf, even that which I said to thee then when thou wentest into the bodyguard of Harald the King: that it should so turn out for thee as that neither unto thee nor unto us thy kinsfolk should good luck betide from it. Thou hast now taken to that rede that I warned thee most against, to pit thyself against Harald the King; and for all thou be well furnished of valour and of all prowess yet hast thou not the gift for this, to hold thine own against Harald the King: a thing that hath been given in the end to no man here in the land, had he never so great power aforetime and throng of men. And now my mind forebodeth me that this may fall to be our last meeting together. That were the right way of it (for our ages’ sake), that of us twain thou shouldst live the longer. But another way I am apt to think it shall come about”.