Njal's Saga

by AnonYMous

  146

  To tell now about Kari: that same day he and his companions rode east across the Markarfljot and then on eastward to Seljalandsmuli. There they came across some women.

  The women recognized them at once and said to them, ‘You’re not as light-hearted as the Sigfussons, but you’re still quite careless.’

  Thorgeir said, ‘What makes you talk about the Sigfussons? What do you know about them?’

  They answered, ‘They spent last night at Raufarfell and plan to reach Myrdal this evening. It did us good, though, to see that they were in fear of you and asked when you would be coming home.’

  The women then went on their way, and Kari and Thorgeir gave the spur to their horses.

  Thorgeir said, ‘What do you have in mind now? Do you want us to ride after them?’

  Kari said, ‘I won’t stand in the way of that’

  Thorgeir said, ‘How shall we go about this?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Kari, ‘because it often turns out that men slain only with words live a long life. But I know how you want to go about it – you want to take on eight of them, but still that’s less of a feat than when you lowered yourself into a gorge with a rope and killed seven men.1 You and your kinsmen are like that, always wanting to do something outstanding. I can do no less than stay with you in order to be able to tell the story. Let’s ride after them, just the two of us, for I can see that this is your plan.’

  They rode east on the upper road and did not pass Holt, for Thorgeir did not want his brothers to be blamed for whatever might happen. Then they continued east to Myrdal, and there they came across a man with peat baskets on his horse.

  He said, ‘You don’t have enough men, my friend Thorgeir.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ said Thorgeir.

  ‘It means,’ he said, ‘that there might be some prey around here. The Sigfussons rode by and will be dozing all day in Kerlingardal, because they don’t plan to go any further than Hofdabrekka this evening.’

  Then they rode their separate ways.

  Thorgeir and Kari rode east on Arnarstakk heath. There is nothing to say about their trip until they came to the river Kerlingardalsa; it was high. They rode along the river, for they saw some saddled horses up there. They rode up to them and saw some men sleeping in a hollow, and their spears were standing upright just above them; Thorgeir and Kari took the spears and threw them into the river.

  Thorgeir said, ‘Do you want us to wake them up?’

  Kari answered, ‘Why ask? You’ve already decided not to attack sleeping men and kill them shamefully.’

  Then they shouted at them. The sleepers awoke and jumped up and grabbed their weapons. Kari and Thorgeir did not attack them until they were armed. Thorgeir Skorargeir rushed at Thorkel Sigfus-son. Another man came at Thorgeir from behind, but before he could get in a blow Thorgeir swung Battle-hag with both hands so fast and hard that on his back-swing the hammer of the axe hit the head of the man behind him and smashed his skull into small pieces; he fell down dead at once. And when he swung the axe forward it came down on Thorkel’s shoulder and chopped off his arm.

  Against Kari came Mord Sigfusson and Sigurd Lambason and Lambi Sigurdarson. Lambi came at him from behind and lunged at him with his spear. Kari caught sight of him and leaped up and parted his legs wide as the lunge came; the spear went into the ground, and Kari landed on the shaft and broke it in two. He had a spear in one hand and a sword in the other, but no shield. He lunged at Sigurd Lambason with his right hand. The spear hit him in the chest and came out between his shoulders;he fell down dead at once. With his left hand he swung at Mord Sigfusson and hit him on the hip, and cut through it and the backbone as well. He fell forward and was dead at once. After that he turned on his heel like a top and went at Lambi Sigurdarson, and Lambi took the only way out and rushed off.

  Then Thorgeir turned to face Leidolf the Strong, and each swung at the other at the same moment, and Leidolf’s blow was so strong that it cut off the shield where it hit. Thorgeir had swung his axe with both hands, and the lower point hit the shield and split it in two and the upper point split the collar bone and tore deep down into his chest. Kari came over and cut off Leidolf’s leg at mid-thigh. Leidolf fell down dead.

  Ketil of Mork said, ‘Let’s run for our horses. We cannot hold out against these overpowering men.’

  They ran to their horses and leaped on their backs.

  Thorgeir said, ‘Do you want us to chase them? We can still kill a few more.’

  Kari answered, ‘The one riding last, Ketil of Mork, is a man I don’t want to kill, since our wives are sisters, and he has always played very fair with us.’

  They mounted their horses and rode until they arrived home in Holt. Thorgeir made his brothers go east to Skogar – they had another farm there – because he didn’t want them to be called truce-breakers. 2

  Thorgeir and Kari kept a great many men with them after that, never fewer than thirty in fighting form. There was much joy there. It was thought that Thorgeir had gained in stature from this, and Kari too. People kept alive the story of their pursuit, when the two of them attacked fifteen men and killed five of them, and put the rest to flight.

  *

  To return now to Ketil and the others: they rode as hard as they could until they reached Svinafell, and they told that their journey had not been smooth.

  Flosi said this was to be expected – ‘and this should be a warning to you never to travel like that again.’

  Flosi was a very jovial man and an excellent host, and it was said that he was endowed with most of the qualities of a great chieftain. He stayed at home that summer, and the winter too.

  After Christmas that winter Hall of Sida came from the east with his son Kol. Flosi was glad at his coming, and they often talked about the lawsuits; Flosi said that they had already paid dearly. Hall said that he had expected things to turn out the way they did. Flosi asked him what course he thought best to take.

  Hall answered, ‘I advise you to make a settlement with Thorgeir, if you have a chance, but he will be difficult about any settlement’

  ‘Do you think that the slayings will end then?’ said Flosi.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Hall, ‘but you will have fewer men to deal with if Kari is alone. And if you don’t settle with Thorgeir it will be your death.’

  ‘What settlement shall we offer him?’ said Flosi.

  ‘One that will seem hard to you,’ said Hall, ‘but it’s one that he’ll accept. He’ll only be willing to settle if he doesn’t have to pay for what he’s done, and if he receives his share of the compensation for Njal and his sons – one third.’3

  ‘That’s a hard settlement,’ said Flosi.

  ‘It’s not a hard settlement for you,’ said Hall, ‘because you’re not obliged to take action for the slaying of the Sigfussons; that’s up to their brothers, and it’s up to Hamund the Lame to take action for the slaying of his son.4 But you can make a settlement with Thorgeir, for I’ll ride with you, and he’ll give me some kind of welcome. None of those involved in this dispute will dare to remain on their farms in Fljotshlid if they stay out of the settlement, for that will be their death – as is to be expected, given Thorgeir’s temperament’.

  Then the Sigfussons were sent for; the matter was put to them, and the outcome, thanks to Hall’s persuasion, was that they agreed with everything that Hall proposed and were willing to make a settlement.

  Grani Gunnarsson and Gunnar Lambason said, ‘It will be easy – if Kari is left on his own – to make him no less afraid of us than we are of him.’

  ‘Don’t speak like that,’ said Hall. ‘You’ll find it a bad bargain if you take him on, and you’ll have to pay dearly before you’re finished.’

  Then they talked no more about it.

  147

  Hall of Sida and his son Kol, six men altogether, rode west over Lomagnupssand and further west across Arnarstakk heath, and did not stop until they came to Myrdal. There they aske
d whether Thorgeir was home at Holt, and the people there said that he was and asked where Hall was heading.

  ‘To Holt,’ he said.

  They said he was on a good errand. Hall stayed there a little while and rested their horses. After that they took their horses and rode to Solheimar in the evening and were there overnight.

  The next day they rode to Holt. Thorgeir was outside with Kari and their men and they spotted Hall: he was riding in a black cape and carried a small axe inlaid with silver. When they came into the hayfield Thorgeir went to meet them and helped Hall off his horse, and both Kari and Thorgeir kissed Hall and led him between them into the main room and seated him in the high seat on the cross-bench and asked for news about many things. He was there overnight.

  In the morning Hall brought up the matter of a settlement with Thorgeir and told him what terms they were offering him, and he explained it all in pleasing and well-meant language.

  Thorgeir answered, ‘You must know that I have not wanted to accept any settlement with the burners.’

  ‘That was quite different,’ said Hall. ‘Then you were in a rage to kill, but you’ve accomplished much in the way of killings since then.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Thorgeir. ‘What settlement are you offering to Kari?’

  Hall said, ‘He will be offered honourable terms if he’s willing to settle.’

  Then Kari spoke: ‘I beg you to make a settlement, my friend Thorgeir, for your part in all this should not be better than good.’1

  He answered, ‘It seems to me a bad thing to settle and separate from you, unless you accept the same settlement that I do.’

  ‘I am not willing to settle,’ said Kari. ‘Even though I can say that we’ve avenged the burning, I have to say that my son is unavenged, and I plan to take that upon myself alone and do what I can.’

  Thorgeir was unwilling to settle, until Kari said he would be displeased with him if he did not. Thorgeir then gave his hand on a truce with Flosi and his men until the peace meeting, and Hall did the same on behalf of Flosi and the Sigfussons, as they had empowered him. Before they parted, Thorgeir gave Hall a gold bracelet and a scarlet cloak, and Kari gave him a silver necklace with three gold crosses on it. Hall thanked them kindly for the gifts and rode away with very great honour and did not stop until he came to Svinafell; Flosi welcomed him.

  Hall told Flosi all about his journey and his talk with Thorgeir, and how Thorgeir was not willing to settle until Kari stepped in and said he would be displeased with him if he did not, and how Kari was not willing to make peace himself.

  Flosi spoke: ‘Few men are like Kari, and what I would wish most is to have a character like his.’

  Hall and his party stayed there for a while. Then, at the time fixed for the settlement meeting, they rode west to Hofdabrekka, as had been agreed between them. Thorgeir came there from the west to meet them.

  They discussed the settlement, and everything went as Hall had said. Thorgeir made the stipulation that Kari should be allowed to stay with him whenever he wanted – ‘and neither side should harm the other at my home. And I don’t want to have to collect the compensation money from each of you separately; I want you, Flosi, to be responsible for collecting the money from your followers, and I also want complete adherence to the agreement over the burning that was made at the Thing. And I want you to pay me my third.’

  Flosi readily agreed to all this. Thorgeir did not remit the orders of exile or district banishment.2

  Then Flosi and Hall rode back east.

  Hall said to Flosi, ‘Keep to all the terms of this settlement, my son-in-law – the exile and the pilgrimage to Rome3and the compensation payments. You will be regarded as a brave man, in spite of the fact that you landed in this terrible business, if you carry out all these things manfully.’

  Flosi said he would do so.

  Hall then rode east to his home, and Flosi rode home to Svinafell. He stayed there for a time.

  148

  To tell now about Thorgeir: he rode home from the peace meeting. Kari asked whether the settlement had been worked out; Thorgeir said that they were fully reconciled. Then Kari wanted to take his horse and ride away.

  Thorgeir said, ‘You don’t have to ride away, because it was stipulated in our settlement that you should stay here whenever you wanted.’

  Kari said, ‘That cannot be, kinsman, for if I do any killing they’ll claim at once that you are allied with me, and I don’t want that. What I do want is for you to take over my property in trust and assign it to yourself and my wife Helga Njalsdottir and my daughters. Then it cannot be seized by my adversaries.’

  Thorgeir agreed to what Kari wished from him, and then he took over Kari’s property in trust.

  Then Kari rode away; he had two horses, his weapons and clothes, and some silver and gold. He rode west past Seljalandsmuli and up along the Markarfljot all the way to Thorsmork. Three farms are there, all with the name Mork. In the middle one lived a man named Bjorn, called Bjorn the White; he was the son of Kadal, the son of Bjalfi. Bjalfi had been the freed slave of Asgerd, the mother of Njal and Holta-Thorir. He was married to a woman named Valgerd; she was the daughter of Thorbrand, the son of Asbrand. Her mother was named Gudlaug, and she was the sister of Hamund, the father of Gunnar of Hlidarendi. She was married to Bjorn for his money and did not love him much, and yet they had children together. They had enough of everything at their farm. Bjorn was a man given to self-praise, and his wife hated that. Bjorn was sharp-sighted and swift of foot.

  Here it was that Kari came for hospitality, and they received him with open arms; he was there overnight.

  In the morning he and Bjorn talked together. Kari said, ‘I’d like you to take me in – I sense that I am in good hands with you. I would like you to be with me on my travels, because you’re keen-sighted and swift, and I suspect that you have great courage.’

  Bjorn answered, ‘I won’t question my keen eyesight or my courage or my other manly qualities. You must have come here because you had no other place to turn. But at your request, Kari,’ said Bjorn, ‘I won’t treat you the same as ordinary men. I shall certainly help you in everything you ask.’

  His wife heard this and spoke: ‘May trolls take your swaggering and strutting,’ she said. ‘You shouldn’t try to fool both yourself and Kari with such deceit and nonsense. I’ll gladly give Kari food and other good things which I know will be of use to him. But don’t count on Bjorn for bravery, Kari, for I’m afraid he may not turn out to be as reliable as he claims.’

  Bjorn answered, ‘You’ve often poured scorn on me, but I trust myself well enough to know that I won’t take to my heels for anybody. The proof of this is that few men pick a fight with me – because no one dares!’

  Kari stayed there in hiding for a time, and few knew about it. People thought that he had ridden north to see Gudmund the Powerful, since Kari told Bjorn to tell his neighbours that he had met Kari on the move and that he was on his way up to Godaland and from there to Gudmund the Powerful. This spread over all the country.

  149

  To tell now about Flosi, who spoke to the burners, his companions: ‘We can’t allow ourselves to sit still any longer. We have to think about going abroad and paying compensation and carrying out our part of the settlement as honourably as we can. Let each of us take passage wherever it seems best’

  They asked him to take charge.

  Flosi said, ‘We’ll ride east to Hornafjord, for there’s a ship waiting there owned by Eyjolf Nose, a man from Trondheim. He wants to get married, but can’t have the woman unless he settles down here. We’ll buy his ship from him, since we have little wealth but many men – it’s a big ship and will carry us all’

  Then they concluded their talk.

  A little later they rode east and did not stop until they came to Bjarnarnes in Hornafjord. There they found Eyjolf, for he had been a guest there that winter. Flosi was welcomed there, and they stayed the night. In the morning Flosi brought up the purc
hase with the skipper; he said he was not against selling it as long as he got what he wanted for it. Flosi asked him what kind of payment he wanted. The Norwegian said he wanted land, and nearby, and he told him everything about his agreement with the farmer. Flosi said he would work with him to secure the marriage, and then buy the ship from him. The Norwegian was pleased at that. Flosi offered him land at Borgarhofn. Then the Norwegian had a talk with the farmer, with Flosi standing by. Flosi put in a word, and the marriage agreement was made.

  Flosi turned over the land at Borgarhofn to the Norwegian and shook hands on the purchase of the ship. He also got twenty hundreds in homespun from the Norwegian, as part of the bargain.

  Flosi then rode back. He was so well liked by his men that he could have any goods from them as a gift or on loan, whatever he wanted. He rode home to Svinafell and stayed there for a while. Flosi sent Kol Thorsteinsson and Gunnar Lambason east to Hornafjord; they were to stay there with the ship and get it ready, set up booths, pack the homespun in sacks and gather supplies.

  *

  To turn now to the Sigfussons: they told Flosi they would ride west to Fljotshlid to see to their farms and bring homespun and whatever else they needed from there – ‘there’s no need to guard against Kari now, since he is up north.’

  Flosi answered, ‘I am not sure from such stories whether the truth is being told about Kari’s movements. I’ve seen stories collapse that came from closer sources than these. My advice is that you travel in a large group and split up rarely, and be as alert as you can. And you, Ketil – remember the dream I told you, which you asked that we keep secret, for there are many in your company now who were called out in that dream.’1

  Ketil spoke: ‘All things in the lives of men will come to their fated end – but your warning is well meant.’

  They said no more about this.