Six Sagas of Adventure (18 page)

The king’s twelve berserkers all jumped up together, with Hrossthjof in the lead. He said to Thorir, “These words of yours are unmanly, even cowardly, to not help the king with all your might, and to not dare to fight one petty king. For such words, you are unworthy to receive honors from our lord. Even if our king had no more men than us twelve berserks, nonetheless he would send this one to Hel with all his men, and not one mother’s son would get away. I mean to marry King Halfdan’s daughter myself and butcher King Hrolf for the ravens and eagles. Go away quickly, you messengers, if you don’t want to be beaten and injured. Tell your king that he can expect a fierce battle from us, before King Halfdan would give his daughter to the man whom we know is the most wretched weakling and dullard in every way—if he makes the attempt. It’s incredible that Ketil would dare to present his suit again, when he was chased and beaten like a dog by a kennel.”

Asmund answered, “Hrossthjof, I can tell that you and all your fellows have spoken with the mouths of doomed men, for King Hrolf wouldn’t fear you even if you were men, but far less now that you’re screeching like nanny-goats cowering in the woods. You may expect evil from evil, if you urge your king to take the worst advice.”

Asmund turned away from the hall, but the berserks howled and bellowed at them. The king ordered them to be silent and quit shrieking and raising a racket, and he said that it was a manly deed to put forth a proposal from one’s own king.

Asmund came back to meet the king and told him how it had gone. He said that they had to prepare for battle. King Halfdan summoned his forces, and a huge host assembled in a few days. Both sides made preparations, and on the same day when they were to fight, King Halfdan sent his host against King Hrolf. The berserkers led the host, walking a bit in front of the other men, because they only wanted to make it known that they were superior to other warriors, because of their overbearing nature and great might.

King Hrolf spoke, ordering Ingjald and Asmund and Ketil to deploy their forces to meet King Halfdan, but he said that he wanted to find the berserks by himself. They called that unwise. The king said that he would decide that, and he went to meet them by himself. When they met, the king asked who they might be, shouting so loudly— “are you going out ahead of the king’s battle lines?”

Hrossthjof said his name.

Hrolf said, “I’m quite familiar with your family. Your father Hrosskel was a great friend of my father King Gautrek, and they used to exchange gifts. But since you’re threatening to fight me, I want to tell you a little story and make your lineage known to you. Your father came to Gautland once, as he often did. My father welcomed him warmly and invited him to a feast, and he accepted and was received most richly. He stayed there for a long time. My father had splendid treasures. One was a stud horse, a large and beautiful stallion, dapple-grey in color, along with four mares. At their parting, King Gautrek gave your father many splendid and costly treasures, and he gave him this stud-horse. Your father was very pleased with the treasures and gifts, but most of all with the horses, and he thanked King Gautrek for the gift with many fine words. They parted, and your father went home with the horses. He took care of them carefully and visited them every day. And it wasn’t long before men found out that your father didn’t find the stallion as good as before. Men also heard that he found the mares to be just as good, or better. One day, when he came to the horses, he found the stallion killed, run through with a spear. He didn’t care about this. Everyone was surprised that he didn’t take it hard, losing such a treasure as the stallion was. But he went to the mares all the more often, and all the more closely. One of the horses was pale in color. He found it the best of all the horses, and in springtime, everyone who saw the pale mare thought that she must be pregnant. They say that time went on until the mare foaled, and the result was quite unexpected; it was a baby, not a foal. Your father had the baby taken and raised, and it was big and handsome. He had this boy called Hrossthjof and called it his son. And it’s no wonder that you’re puffed up, since you’re the son of a mare.
[20]
Your father himself killed the stallion, and I don’t know whether he had more sons with these mares, but I’ve heard it said that he had another son named Hesthofdi, and he was also of horse-kin. But since you’re much like each other, all wicked and unlike other men, then it’s likeliest that you were all begotten that way.”
[21]

At the king’s words, all the berserkers leaped up, bellowing and howling. They all wanted to attack the king at the same time. Hrolf drew the sword Giant’s Gift and struck the leader first. The sword cut their bodies as if it were slicing water, because none of them were wearing armor, since no weapon had ever hurt them before. By the end of their encounter, King Hrolf had killed them all and wasn’t seriously wounded.

Then he saw that the battle lines of King Halfdan and those of the sworn brothers were crashing into each other. King Halfdan had much greater forces. King Hrolf turned to the battle against King Halfdan, which was both hard and long. The sworn brothers were the fiercest of fighters, and wherever King Hrolf advanced, King Halfdan’s ranks turned and fled, and a multitude fell.

As for Thorir Ironshield, it’s said that he didn’t want to fight King Hrolf because Halfdan didn’t value his advice. The princess went up into the highest tower and watched the battle. She saw her father’s brave men killed. She then went back and entered the hall. She saw that Thorir sat alone on the high seat, muttering with his head in his hands. He had been her foster-father. She came before him and said, “It would be best, foster-father, to arise and help my father, because I see that he needs your support.”

Thorir looked at her and didn’t answer and sat as before, and she went away. When a little time had passed, she came before him and said, “How can it be, foster-father, that you sit so still and don’t help my father, since he is in so much need? That is most unheard of, and it will be considered behavior unbecoming a warrior, since you sit on his high seat and have received many gifts from him and had your way in everything you wanted.”

He looked at her angrily and didn’t answer and sat as before. The maiden went away, and her foster-father seemed to be scowling. She went to look around, and she saw that King Halfdan and his ranks were advancing, and she saw King Hrolf striking to right and lefts. She doubted whether she should ask her foster-father again, but as before, she bravely turned back to him and laid her arms around his neck and said, “My beloved foster-father, I beg you to help my father and me, so that I may not be married against my will. You have sworn to grant me one favor, when I ask you. I want you to go into that battle now and help my father according to your strength, and I know that you’ll help him well.”

Ironshield shoved the maiden hard onto the hall floor. He looked so angry that she didn’t dare to talk to him. Then he leaped to his feet. She heard him sigh loudly. He seized his weapon and dressed himself quickly and deftly.

At once he strode into battle. There was no lack of terrible slaughter and hard fighting. Thorir advanced so fiercely that everyone recoiled from him. When some time had passed, King Hrolf looked around and saw that Ingjald and Ketil’s ranks were giving way. The king headed in their direction and ordered Asmund to fight under their banner until he came back. When the brothers met, the king asked how the fight was going. Ketil said it was proving to be difficult: “Such a terrible enemy has come here that no one can withstand him, and he’s more like a troll than a man.”

The king said, “He must be a man, but maybe he’s somewhat bolder than other men.”

The king struck to right and left with Giant’s Gift, and he met none so brave, strong, or proud that he didn’t quickly get death in exchange for life. Ketil followed him bravely and killed many men, and they broke right through the ranks. After that, Thorir disappeared, but the king got his lines back in order.

When they had fought for a while, the king saw that Asmund was falling back in disarray. The king returned at once to his own banner. King Hrolf had his banner brought forward and followed it, attacking mightily. King Halfdan advanced well and was the boldest in battle and the bravest of warriors, and he killed many men. Thorir had also arrived there, and he advanced boldly with mighty blows and quickly dealt with everyone who moved against him. As soon as he saw King Hrolf, he moved away quickly to face Ketil and his men. There he advanced vigorously and felled one man across another, so that no one withstood him. The battle quickly turned against the sworn brothers.

Ketil saw that things couldn’t go on as they were. He went to find his brother King Hrolf, and said, “I find it unbelievable that you’re not attacking that ogre who’s doing us such great harm. We would have had victory long ago if that troll hadn’t gone up against us. Up to now, we’ve never found you to be anything but completely bold, always rushing to where the greatest danger is—except for today, when your courage is failing against this blackguard. It looks to us as if each of you is avoiding the other. Now, since you don’t want to overcome this man—if I can call him a man— give me the sword Giant’s Gift and find out whether my courage will fail me if I get in reach.”

The king answered, “You’re a great man for boldness, and you’d advance well if you were as foresighted as you are eager. Do you think you could fight with this weapon, which I can hardly carry?”

Ketil answered, “I can clearly see that the sword is no weapon for me, but I had to encourage you somehow
.”

The king and Ketil returned to the fight. It wasn’t long before there was the fiercest battle and great attacks. Thorir Ironshield faced them; he struck to right and left and felled many men to earth. The king and some men turned to face Thorir, and there was a hard fight. The king saw that things couldn’t go on as they were, but he noticed that Thorir didn’t want to attack him and was always moving away. The king got so close to him that he struck down the man who stood in front of him, and in the next moment he stretched his hands out over Thorir’s shoulders and killed the man at his back. Then a man fell before the king’s feet, and he stumbled and almost fell.
At that, the king stabbed the sword at Thorir as the rush of battle pressed them together. Thorir turned away and wrapped his clothes around himself. A little later, the king didn’t see him anywhere. He had disappeared from the battle.

The king urged on his men to advance, and he himself attacked King Halfdan. It was easy to see what was happening everywhere: the survivors were fleeing one after another. King Halfdan fled to the fortress with the men who had gotten away, but a multitude had fallen. Many of King Hrolf’s men had also fallen. The king ordered his men who were wounded to go to the ships.

King Hrolf ordered Asmund to go with him. They went to the forest, but the rest of their men went to the ships. Asmund said, “What do you want to investigate in this forest?”

The king said, “When the battle was at its fiercest, I scratched a tall man with my sword, who was making the most terrible slaughter of our men. I very much want to find him, because I think he went into this forest.”

Asmund said, “Don’t you think that he’s dead of the wound? I know you must want to kill him.”

The king said, “That’s not it. I want to find him, and I very much want to heal him if I can, because I’d rather have him in my company than ten other men, even if they were champions.”

Asmund said, “It’s likeliest that that troll has gone into the crags and you won’t find him.”

The king said, “That can’t be. I’ll see whether he can be found.”

When they had walked through the forest for some time, they came into a clearing, and under an oak tree they saw a man lying. The ground all around him was very bloody. He was terribly pale. His weapons lay next to him. The king went up to him and said, “Who is this man who’s lying here?”

He answered, “I recognize you clearly, King Hrolf Gautreksson, on account of your size and your handsomeness. I realize that you must have come here because you must want to kill me. Maybe you can claim enough reasons. But I won’t hide my name from you. Men call me Thorir Ironshield.”

The king said, “Did you fight against us this day and kill many of our men?”

Thorir said, “That’s true, and I might well have done you more harm if I had wanted. But because I knew that King Halfdan would suffer defeat from you, I was unwilling to fight in this battle, because I realized that one of us would sink before the other. So I stayed away as best I could, because it seemed an irreparable harm to your kingdom if you should be overcome, so I didn’t oppose you with all my strength. And even though I took this wound, that wasn’t what you wanted.”

King Hrolf said, “You must be an excellent man in battle. Will you accept a truce from me?”

Thorir answered, “I don’t think that will be of much help.”

The king said, “Are you badly wounded?”

Thorir said that it was very slight. “I got a scratch from your sword that’s made me a bit stiffer than before, but I don’t suppose it’s serious
.
”

The king asked him to show him. He pulled off his clothes. The king saw that his entire belly was slit open, and everything was slashed down to the inner membrane.

The king said, “Your wound is so severe that you can hardly be healed. But since your guts haven’t fallen out, I will seek out healers for you and ask them to heal you, if you will become my man and render me help and service.”

Thorir said, “If I must serve a man, then I’d choose no other man than you.
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So I will accept life, provided that you grant a truce to King Halfdan and all his men, because he couldn’t withstand your attack.”

The king said that he would do that, if King Halfdan would submit to him. Then he cleaned the wound, and after that he took a needle with silken thread and sewed up the wound. He put on all the ointments that he thought would be most likely to do some good. He bandaged and treated it with everything that seemed most promising. That seemed to take away all the burning and pain. He thought that Thorir was almost able to travel wherever he wanted. They went to the ships and stayed there for the night.

Early in the morning, King Hrolf readied his forces and went to the fortress. There was no resistance there. King Halfdan was captured, but King Hrolf granted him a truce as a favor to Thorir, on the condition that King Hrolf alone should set all terms between them. Then King Halfdan agreed to grant Ketil his daughter.

King Hrolf went to the ships and had his men’s wounds bound, and buried the fallen in a mound. But King Halfdan had a feast prepared and invited many powerful men in his kingdom, and at the agreed time, King Hrolf came to this feast with all his men. Everyone drank together, happy and cheerful, in warm friendship and perfect concord. This feast lasted for seven nights, with the greatest magnificence. At this feast, Ketil took Alof to be his wife, with her full consent and also her father’s consent. As her dowry, her father gave much wealth in gold and silver and many costly treasures. At this feast, King Hrolf gave his brother all of Gautland, and the title of king along with it. When this feast came to an end, King Hrolf sailed away with all his retinue, honored by King Halfdan with many precious gifts. One of those treasures was a horn so magnificent that it was called Hringhorn.
[23]
Its nature was that if it were drunk dry, it howled so loudly that it could be heard for a Welsh mile, if important events were about to happen—but one couldn’t get any more drink out of it than before, if it wasn’t correctly drunk down. There was a huge gold ring on the horn’s narrow end. It was considered a great kingly treasure. King Hrolf would have nothing else but that Thorir should come with him, and King Halfdan felt it was best to allow it. The kings now parted in the greatest good cheer, and King Halfdan realized that King Hrolf was far superior to other kings. Everyone felt him to be a most worthy man, on account of his strength and hardiness, since he alone had beaten and overcome twelve berserks whom they’d thought he couldn’t hurt, and who had always won great victories before.

After that, they sailed away from Russia with the bride and many other fine treasures, and came home to Sweden. All the people were glad to see them and held a splendid feast to welcome them. Afterwards, Ingjald went home to Denmark, and Ketil went to Gautland. He established himself in his kingdom, arranging and ruling matters with much glory and honor. King Hrolf stayed in Sweden with Asmund.

That same winter, King Eirek died in Sweden. King Hrolf claimed all that kingdom, and became sole king over Sweden and all the kingdom that King Eirek had ruled. King Hrolf had fathered a son with his queen; he was named Gautrek. He was big and promising at an early age. All these kings ruled their own kingdoms for a while, at peace and in perfect concord, and so it went for several years.