Sturlaug said, “Do not be so angry, my lady, for Asa has sent me here to you.”
“What do you have to do with Asa?” said the old woman.
“She is my wife,” he said.
She asked, “Is the wedding over?”
“It is,” he said.
“Now that’s a shabby trick,” said the old woman, “that I wasn’t invited to the wedding. But I’ll do as Asa asks. Take off your clothes. I want to see the shape of your body.”
He did so. She stroked him all over, and he felt himself growing very strong because of it.[21] Then she gave him a cup to drink from, and they went to the sitting-room. The old woman was most helpful that evening. She asked whether Sturlaug wanted to lie alone that night, or next to her—“but I certainly won’t betray my dear Asa.”
Sturlaug said, “I think it would be better, lady, if I were near you.”
Then the old woman put a log between them,[22] and they both lay together on the same pillow and talked through the night. Sturlaug said, “What advice can you give me, since I have been summoned to a single combat with Kol the Crooked?”
“I believe that things have taken an unlucky turn,” said the old woman, “because no iron will cut him. I can hardly advise you here.”
In the morning, the sworn brothers prepared themselves for their journey. When they were ready, the old woman said to Sturlaug, “Take this shaggy cape[23] which my father’s family owned, and this short sword—good fortune has always gone with it. And test whether there’s any strength in you.”
Sturlaug accepted the sword and struck at a stone that stood in the courtyard, and he cut off a corner of the stone. The rust fell off the sword, and it was as bright as silver. The old woman said, “You must bring that sword to the combat with Kol the Crooked. But you must not show him that sword, if he asks to see what you have to strike with.”[24]
Then the old woman said, “Farewell, my Sturlaug, and may everything turn out to bring you victory and prosperity as long as you live. I lay upon you all the luck which our kin has had, as much as I may. Yet I am afraid of how Kol the Crooked might deal with you. I have two sons, whom I want you to take into sworn brotherhood.”
“So be it,” said Sturlaug, and they swore brotherhood with each other. Then they turned away. When they had gone a short distance, the old woman called out after them and said, “You will want my foster-son Svipud to come with you, my dear Sturlaug. He is fleet-footed.”
“I am willing,” said Sturlaug. The old woman put a little purse into Svipud’s hand. He stuck it into his clothing and then he rushed out in front of their horses. Now they rode on and didn’t stop until they had gone east to the Gota River. Kol hadn’t arrived. Sturlaug pitched his tent where Kol usually pitched his tent.
CHAPTER X
Kol arrived a little later. Sturlaug went to meet him and greeted him. Kol said, “Who is this wicked son of a bitch, who is so impudent that he dares to pitch his tent where I usually pitch mine?”
Sturlaug said, “You know very well who the son of a bitch is, because he wasn’t here before you got here. But if it’s my name you’re asking for, I’m called Sturlaug.”
Kol said, “What do you mean by coming here?”
Sturlaug said: “I intend to fight you.”
Kol said, “Now this is hardly a fair move. You’re far too rash to have such arrogance, since I have killed so many warriors who have fought me. What drove you to do this?”
Sturlaug said, “This above all: Asa the Fair is my wife. You won’t take the maiden, even if I should fall before you.”
Kol said, “Listen to this outrageous thing that’s come into your rascally[25] head to do. Just for that, I won’t show you any mercy, and soon you’ll lose your life. It’s too late for you. Yet it’s a shame for such a man as you.”
Sturlaug said, “Never shall I turn tail before you.”
Kol pitched his tent on another site that evening. When Kol had gone inside to eat, Svipud came into his tent and took the old woman’s little purse out of his cloak and shook it in the tent, and this created much smoke. Kol glared at him and said, “Go away, you wicked dog, and don’t come back, because you must be up to no good.” Svipud turned away, so that no one knew what had become of him. They slept that night.
In the morning, Sturlaug got up early, along with his sworn brothers. They went to the island, sat down and waited for Kol. Hrolf Nose stood up and went into the forest and cut himself a great big club. He picked it up and went back to his fellows. Kol got up in the morning, and the sun was shining all over the meadows. He said, “I suppose that wretched slave who came here yesterday evening had some sort of magic which hasn’t done us any good. This may truly be called a death-sleep that we’ve slept. Let’s go to the dueling-ground.”
They went to the dueling-ground and cast a cloak under their feet. Kol pronounced the law of combat between them, and each of them had to stake twenty marks of silver. Whoever won was to have it. And when they were ready, Kol spoke up: “Sturlaug my lad, show me the sword that you have.” He did so. Kol saw the edge and stared at it, and said, “You won’t beat me with that sword. Go home at once and say that you’ve been beaten. Give me your weapon, and send me Asa the Fair. Tell her that you didn’t dare to fight me, or to withhold her from me.”
Sturlaug said, “You won’t beat me with words alone, because you’re overcome with terror. Soon you’ll die a wretched death.”
Kol was angry at his words and said, “You’ll find out that I won’t show you mercy, you wretched dog.”
Then Sturlaug threw away the sword that he had shown to Kol, and he took Vefreyja’s Gift from under his cloak and drew it. Kol said, “Where did you get Vefreyja’s Gift? I would not have challenged you to combat had I known.”
Sturlaug answered, “It makes no difference to you. Things have gone badly for you if you’re afraid before you need to be.”
Sturlaug struck at Kol and split his shield completely. Kol struck back and split his shield in the same way. Then Sturlaug struck a second time against Kol’s helmet, and sheared off all the flesh from his cheek, and the stroke went on down to the shoulder and stuck in his shoulder-blade. Kol stood straight and didn’t pay any attention to the blow. Then Hrolf Nose rushed at him with the club and pounded the sword’s point, so that the sword drove down into his body. Kol fell there, and Sturlaug won the victory and became famous for this deed.
Sturlaug rode to Vefreyja. The old woman was outside, and she greeted Sturlaug warmly. Svipud was there ahead of him. They stayed there for the night. The old woman was pleased with this deed. “And it’s true,” she said, “that my Asa is blessed to have such a man as you, and from now on your wise plans will turn out well for you, if you’re careful. I am afraid of how things will turn out, but I hope that it goes well with you. This old woman won’t be worse than nothing to you.”
Sturlaug rode away to meet Jarl Hring. He welcomed them all gladly, and Asa was happy to see her husband. This news reached King Harald. The king was upset at what had happened, as later events will show, but all of Sturlaug’s kinsmen thought that he had been pulled out of Hel.
CHAPTER XI
One day when Jarl Hring was at the games with his men, as Hring and Sturlaug were playing before them all, they saw a man ride at them out of the forest, fully armored and riding a red horse. He was very tall, with a helm on his head, girded with a sword, with a gold-enameled shield at his side and a spear in his hand. He rode up to the jarl and greeted him warmly. He welcomed him in the same way, and asked who he was. He said, “I won’t withhold my name: I am called Framar, and Kol the Crooked and I were half-brothers. I have come here because I want to challenge you to combat, Sturlaug, for I will not carry my brother in my purse.”[26]
Sturlaug said, “I’m quite ready for combat whenever you want. You’re obliged to seek redress on be
half of a wicked man, such as Kol was.”
“That’s true,” said Framar, “but he was my kinsman, and for that I want to fight you where Kol fell, east on the Gota River, when half the winter has passed.”
“So be it,” said Sturlaug. Then Framar went on his way, and the others stayed behind. Summer passed.
One night, as Sturlaug and Asa lay together in their bed, Asa said, “Have you been challenged to combat, Sturlaug?”
“It’s true,” he said. “What advice can you give me about that?”
Asa said, “Go and find Vefreyja, my foster-mother, and take her advice.”
“So be it,” said Sturlaug. He went to meet Vefreyja. The old woman was outside, and she greeted him warmly, and they stayed there for the night.
In the morning, Sturlaug asked the old woman for advice. The old woman said, “Whom do you have to battle?”
“His name is Framar,” said Sturlaug, “the brother of Kol the Crooked.”
“They’re not like each other,” she said, “and it’s too bad that you two have to bear deadly spears against each other, because Framar is the bravest man and comes of the best family, but Kol was the worst man and descended from thralls. And it would be fortunate if it could come about that you two might become friends, rather than enemies. I can’t help you with that, and it must go with you as it’s fated. But Svipud, my foster-son, shall go with you.”
Now they went their way, and didn’t stop until they came east to the Gota, and Framar rode to the other bank. They met each other there and asked each other for news. They dismounted, and each set up his tent with the other’s help, and they slept there for the night.
CHAPTER XII
In the morning they got up early and went to the island and sat down on a log. Framar said, “What would you like, for us to test each other first, or for our men to fight?”
Sturlaug said, “I think it would be a good idea to be entertained by my men.”
Hrolf Nose stood up and said, “I’ll go up against you, black man.”[27]
Hrolf quickly prepared himself for wrestling. At once they attacked each other and wrestled with powerful grips, and their combat was both fierce and long. They were badly mismatched in strength, because the black man could carry Hrolf in his grip wherever he wanted. The berserker wanted to throw Hrolf down, but he always got his feet under himself. This black man was as large as a giant, as broad as a bull and as black as Hel. He had such large claws that they were more like vulture’s talons than human nails. Now he carried Hrolf towards the log, and the black man wanted to throw Hrolf down onto his own club, but Hrolf put his feet down so hard that they fell away from each other. The black man landed on his back, and there was a stone underneath him, and his back broke. Hrolf quickly leaped to his feet and seized his club and quickly bashed him down into Hel. Hrolf was all bruised and bloody, and his flesh was torn from his bones. Sturlaug thanked him very much for his ferocity.
Next there was a man with Framar who was named Thord, a tall man and a strong one, from Sweden in the east. Hrafn the Tall went up against him, and they had a single combat with mighty blows, but in the end Hrafn fell before Thord.
Now Jokul went forward and said, “Who will stand up to me?”
A man named Frosti stood up and said, “Wouldn’t it be fitting for me to take you on, since frost hardens a glacier?”[28]
They fought for a long time until Jokul fell before Frosti. Sturlaug felt that it was a great grief to lose his sworn brother, but it had been stipulated that no one could help anyone else.
There was a certain Finn[29] with Framar, and it was arranged that he would face Svipud. They attacked each other and fought so fiercely and quickly that the eye couldn’t follow them, and neither one wounded the other. But when men looked their way a second time, they had vanished, and there were two hounds who bit each other furiously. And when everyone least expected it, the hounds vanished, but men heard some sort of commotion up above, and they looked up and saw that two eagles were flying at each other in the air. They tore off each other’s feathers with their claws and beaks, so that blood was falling to earth. In the end, one of them fell down dead on the ground, and the other flew away, and no one knew which one that was.[30]
CHAPTER XIII
Framar said, “Now it’s time for the two of us to test each other.”
“I’m ready for it,” said Sturlaug.
Now they spread a cloak under their feet. Sturlaug drew Vefreyja’s Gift, and when Framar saw that, he said, “How did Vefreyja’s Gift come to you?”
Sturlaug said, “It’s none of your business where it came from.”
Framar said, “I would not have challenged you if I had known that. Still, I have never had fear in my breast.”
Framar pronounced the law of combat, and Sturlaug had to strike first. He struck Framar right on his helmet and cut off the part that he hit, and his stroke went on into his shield and split it all the way down to the pointed end,[31] so that the sword sank into the earth. The point cut through Framar’s mailcoat into his chest, and it also gashed his forehead and scratched the bone. Blood ran into his eyes so that he couldn’t see, and the wound swelled up terribly.
Then Framar struck at Sturlaug and split his shield completely in two. Then Sturlaug struck at Framar a second time, and it went the same way as the first stroke, and Framar was out of the fight. He sat down and said, “You have the greatest enemy in your hands, because your sword is full of venom and evil. Cut off my head as soon as possible, because I don’t want to live in torment.”
Sturlaug said, “Will you accept your life from me?”
Framar said, “I would find it good to accept my life from you, but my life has now been destroyed.”
They carried him off the island and into his tent, and there was little hope for him. And at that moment, they heard a great rumbling noise outside, and when they came out, there was Vefreyja in a wagon. She asked how it had gone for them. They answered that Framar was on the point of death.
The old woman said, “Carry him out here. It doesn’t matter where he dies.” It was done as she ordered.
Sturlaug said, “Will you let more men go with you?”
“I won’t,” said the old woman. “I am quite capable of doing this by myself.”
The old woman drove off with Framar, and the others stayed behind. The night passed, and in the morning, Sturlaug got ready for his journey. Frosti came to Sturlaug and said, “I would willingly go on the journey with you and your sworn brothers.”
Sturlaug said, “I suppose that I would be compensated for Jokul if you took his place,” and Frosti became Sturlaug’s sworn brother. At once they rode away and didn’t stop until they came to Vefreyja. When they arrived, there were Svipud and Framar, both completely healthy. They stayed there for the night and were well received.
In the morning, Vefreyja spoke up: “My dear Sturlaug, I want you and Framar to swear brotherhood, for he is the boldest man in every respect.”
Sturlaug answered, “It’s your decision, old woman. That will benefit me the most.” Now Sturlaug and Framar swore brotherhood with each other. Each one had to avenge the other, as if they were brothers by birth.
CHAPTER XIV
After that they rode off, until they were approaching the estate of Jarl Hring. They thought that something strange was going on: the hall was completely surrounded by men. King Harald had come there with four hundred men, intending to burn Jarl Hring and his daughter Asa the Fair inside the hall. They saw that flames were licking over everything, and that King Harald was burning all the estate. Then Sturlaug and his men saw people coming up out of the ground in a certain clearing, and when they headed over there, they realized that Jarl Hring had escaped with all his household, and Asa the Fair was there with him. There was a happy reunion for them all.
After that, they all
rode to meet the king, where he was at the burning. They were fully armed and their horses were wearing chainmail. Sturlaug said, “It’s better for us to meet here than at sea, king. But things have gone badly for you, because you’re both cowardly and treacherous.”
The king replied, “I’ll pay no attention to your wicked words, but I must say to you, Sturlaug, that you shall never stay in this land unafraid, unless you bring me the aurochs horn that I once lost. I’ll give you a name along with the quest. You shall be called Sturlaug the Hard-Working. That name will stick to you, because from now on, hard work will always be the fate of you and your sworn brothers, as long as you all live, if you come back from this journey—which won’t happen.”
Sturlaug said, “Where shall I look for it?”
The king said, “Figure it out yourself.”
Sturlaug said, “It’s unworthy of me to go on your quest. But I’ll stake my life on any task that you think is heavy to set before me.”
The king didn’t attempt to attack them, since he felt that the band of sworn brothers were tough opponents, both in strength and in armor. Neither one wished the other farewell, and they parted leaving matters as they stood. Sturlaug and all his men rode north to Namdalen together and stayed there through the winter.
CHAPTER XV
One day, Asa came to speak with Sturlaug, and she said, “Has a quest been laid on you?”
“It’s true,” he said. “What advice can you give me on where I should search for this horn?”
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