Færeyinga Saga
Part 4
[17] Now Sigmund came to talk with Sweyn, the Earl's son; many feats of skill also he did before him, and the Earl's son took great pleasure in his company. And Sigmund brought his case before Sweyn, and begged him to lend him his help that he might find favour in his father's eyes. Sweyn asked him what he sought at his father's hands. "I would fain go a warring," said Sigmund, "if thy father would help me."
"That was well thought of," says Sweyn.
So the winter passed on till Yule, and at Yuletide Earl Eric, Hacon's son, came there east from the Wick, for there his Earl's seat was, and Sigmund fell into talk with Earl Eric, and set forth his desire to him. Eric promised him his goodwill with his father Hacon, and said that he would give him no less help than Earl Hacon did. And after Yule Sigmund brought the matter up before Earl Hacon, and begged him to give him some help, and favour his prayer for the sake of Breste his father, who was sometime his liegeman. Then answered Earl Hacon, "Surely, I took the loss of a good follower when Breste my henchman was slain, that was a right brave man, and right worthy of ill at my hands are they that slew him; but to what end dost thou speak now?" Sigmund said that he was most fain to go on a Wiking-cruise, and get thereby some good report before men, or else death. The Earl said that he had spoken well, "and thou shalt know in the spring, when men get ready for seafaring, what I think of thy words."
And when the winter was gone Sigmund begged Earl Hacon to make good his friendly words. And the Earl answered him, "I will give thee a long-ship, and on board of her forty weaponed men. But the crew will not be picked men, because few men will be willing to follow thee, an outland man and unknown." Sigmund thanked the Earl, and told Eric what help his father had given him. "That was not a great venture," said Eric, "yet it may bring thee gain, and I will give another ship and forty men aboard of her." Now the ship that Eric gave him was well found in every way. Then he told Sweyn what help his kinsfolk had given him. Sweyn made answer: "Things go so with me now that it is not as easy for me as for my kinsmen to venture much on my friends; nevertheless, I will give thee a third ship and forty men aboard of her, my own liegemen they shall be, and I think they will follow thee best of all the men that have been given thee for thy crews."
Sigmund fights with Randwer.
[18] Then Sigmund got him ready for his cruise, and his men with him, and set sail when he was bound, east to the Wick, and thence to Denmark and through Eyre Sound and right into the East Sea. And there he cruised all the summer and gat little booty, for he dared not, with the small strength he had, hold on his course where there might be much odds against him. Moreover, he let merchants go their way in peace.
As the summer passed on, he sailed eastward till he came under Elf Scaur, where is ever a great lair of Wickings. And when they had laid their ships in a berth under an island, Sigmund went upon the cliff to look around. He saw five ships lying under the island on the other side, and the fifth was a dragon-ship. With that he went down to his men and told them that five Wicking-ships were lying under the cliff on the other side. "And now I will tell you this," says he, "that I am no whit minded to fly from meeting them without trying their might; for we shall never win any renown unless we put our plans to the stake." They bade him look to it. "Then let us now get up stones aboard the ships," says Sigmund, "and make us ready in the best way we may. We will lay our ships on the outer side of the bay to which we are now come, for it is smallest there, and it seemed to me on the evening when we sailed in, that no ship could take up a berth inside near us, if we were to lay our three ships forward there side by side, for it may be good to us that they cannot lay at us on all sides." And this they do. On the morning, when they had laid their ships in the outermost part of the bay, there rowed in towards them the five Wicking-ships, and on the poop of the dragon-ship there stood a big strong-looking man, who called out to them, and asked who was the master of their ships. Sigmund gave him his name and asked for his. He said that he was called Randwer, and that he came of kindred east in Holmgard, and he told them they had now two ways to choose between, either to give up their ships and themselves into his hands, or to defend themselves. Sigmund said that was no fair choice, and they must needs first try their weapons. Randwer bade his men lay him alongside of the three ships, since they could not all come at them, and he would fain see first how things would go. Sigmund steered the ship that Sweyn Earlsson had given him, and Thore the one that Earl Eric had owned. Then they lay aboard of one another, and the fight began. And Sigmund and his men let fly with the stones so fast that Randwer's folk could do nothing but cover themselves, and when the stones were gone they kept up a shower of arrows hard and fast; and therewith a great many of the Wickings fell, and many were wounded. Then Sigmund and his men betook them to their cutting weapons. And the fight began to turn against Randwer's crew; and when he saw how ill it sped with his men, he told them they must be very worthless fellows not to get the better of men who, he said, were not men at all. They told him he egged them on enough but covered himself, and bade him venture forth himself. He said he would do so. Then he laid the dragon aboard, and another ship, on which were men that had rested awhile, and the third ship he manned with unwounded men. And now they lay aboard of one another for the second time, and the fight began. And this was a much more stubborn onset than before. Sigmund was foremost of all men aboard his ship, and he hewed both hard and fast, and Thore, his kinsman, went well forward. They fought long so evenly that no man could tell which side would have the best of it. At last Sigmund said to his men: "We shall never beat them thoroughly without we venture ourselves farther forward. I shall try to board the dragon. Do you follow me like men." Then Sigmund boarded the dragon, and eleven men with him, and there he slew man after man as quick as could be, and the men that were with him followed him up well. Thore also boarded the dragon, and four men with him, and all gave way before them.
Now, when Randwer saw that, he ran out against Sigmund, and they met and fought a good while. Then Sigmund showed his skill of fence, for he cast his sword up, flinging it into the air, and caught it again in his left hand and caught his shield in his right, and then hewed at Randwer with his sword, and took off his right leg below the knee. With that Randwer fell down. Sigmund gave him another blow on the neck that took off his head. Then Sigmund's men shouted the war-shout, and at that the Wickings fled in the three other ships, but Sigmund and they that were with him chased the dragon in such fashion that they slew every man born of woman that was on board. Then they told over their crew, and there were fallen of Sigmund's crew thirty men. After that they lay their ship in its berth, and bound up their wounds and rested there for two or three nights. Sigmund took the dragon for his own and the other ship that was with it. They took there great wealth both in weapons and other goodly gear. After that they sailed away for Denmark and so north to the Wick, and there they found Earl Eric; he greeted Sigmund kindly, and bid him stay with him. Sigmund thanked the Earl for his offer, but said that he must first go north to Earl Hacon. He left two of his ships there behind him in the Earl's keeping, as he was light-handed. When they got to Earl Hacon, he greeted Sigmund and his fellows kindly. And Sigmund stayed with the Earl through the winter and he became a very able man.
And at Yule-tide that winter Sigmund became one of Earl Hacon's house-carles and Thore with him, and there for a while they sat in peace with good welcome.
Sigmund slays Beorn.
[19] There ruled over Sweden at that time King Eric the Victorious, the son of Beorn, the son of Eric, the son of Eywind. He was a mighty king. One winter twelve Northern merchants had fared eastward over the Keel into Sweden, and when they came into Sweverick, they held a fair among the folk of the land, and at the fair men fell out and a Northerner slew a Swede. When the king was ware of it, he sent his Guests thither and let slay those twelve men. Now when the spring was come, Earl Hacon asked Sigmund where he was thinking of holding his course that summer. Sigmund said that it should lay with the Earl to fix that. Earl Hacon spake thus: "I wish this, that thou shouldst fare somewhat nearer to the Swede king's realm, and bear this in thy mind of the Swedes, that they slew twelve of my men in the winter not long ago, and there hath been no vengeance yet got for this." Sigmund said it should be done if he could bring it about. Earl Hacon then gave Sigmund a picked band of his own house-carles and of the fyrd, and all were now ready enough to follow Sigmund. Then he held on his course to the Wick, and found Earl Eric, and he gave Sigmund a fine band of men, and now Sigmund had full three hundred men and five ships well found. They sailed thence southward to Denmark, and so eastward off Sweden, till they laid their ships off Sweden east of the land. Then said Sigmund to his men: "We must make a landing here, and let us go up like men of war." Then they landed and went up three hundred men together and came to a land where men dwelt; and there they slew men and took gear, and burnt homesteads. And the country folk fled far away into the waste and the wood as far as they could go. Not far thence from where they followed those that fled there ruled a reeve of King Eric whose name was Beorn. He gathered the armed men to him when he heard of their harrying, and they came together a great host and got between Sigmund's men and their ships. And one day they were ware of this land-host, and they told Sigmund of it, and asked him what counsel they should take. "There are many counsels still, and good ones withal," said he; "often times they have not gotten the victory who were the most men, if only the others have gone briskly to meet them. Now we will take this plan, we will draw up our array and make a battle-wedge. I and my kinsman Thore will be the foremost men, then shall come three and then five, and so on, but the shielded men shall be outside on the shoulders of the host on either side. And this is the counsel I would have us take, to run right upon their array and try if we can get right through them in this way; and I think the Swedes will not stand fast in the field." And they did so. They ran at the Swedish array and went right through them, and there began a great fight, and many of the Swedes fell. And Sigmund went well forward and hewed away on either hand; and he got up to Beorn's banner-bearer and dealt him his deathblow. Then he egged on his men to break the shield wall that was shut round Beorn, and they did so. Sigmund got up to Beorn and they came to blows. But Sigmund soon got the better of him, and gave him his death-wound. Then the Wickings set up the whoop of victory and the country-folk's host fled. Sigmund told his men not to follow those that fled, for that they had not might enough for this in an unknown land, and they hearkened to him. They got much wealth there and fared with it to their ships; then they sailed away from Sweden and held eastward to Holmgard, and harried there round the islands and nesses.
There are two brothers spoken of that were of the Swede king's realm, the name of the one was Wandil, and of the other Aðil. They were landwardens of the Swede king's, and had never less than eight ships and two dragon-ships with them. Now the Swede king heard these tidings, that there had been a raid made in his land, and he sent word to these brethren and bade them take the life of Sigmund and his fellows. They told him they would do so. And about harvest-tide Sigmund and his men were sailing east, and came under an island that lies off Sweden. Then spake Sigmund to his men: "We have not got among friends here, for they are Swedes that dwell here; let us therefore beware of them. So now I will go upon the island here, and look about me." And he did so, and saw where ten ships lay on the other side of the island; two dragon-ships there were, and eight other ships.
Then Sigmund told his men to make them ready, and get all their goods out of the ships and get stones on board instead. And they made them ready so in the night-time.
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