stood a man by the mast, who was clad in a silken kirtle, and had
a gilded helm, and his hair was both fair and thick; that man had
a spear inlaid with gold in his hand.
He asked, “Who have here such an uneven game?”
Helgi tells his name, and said that against them are Gritgard and
Snowcolf.
“But who are your captains?” he asks.
Helgi answered, “Bard the Black, who lives, but the other, who
is dead and gone, was called Olaf.”
“Are ye men from Iceland?” says he.
“Sure enough we are,” Helgi answers.
He asked whose sons they were, and they told him, then he knew
them and said, “Well known names have ye all, father and sons
both.
“Who art thou?” asks Helgi.
“My name is Kari, and I am Solmund’s son.”
“Whence comest thou?” says Helgi.
“From the Southern Isles.”
“Then thou art welcome,” says Helgi, “if thou wilt give us a
little help.”
“I’ll give ye all the help ye need,” says Kari; “but what do
ye ask?”
“To fall on them,” says Helgi.
Kari says that so it shall be. So they pulled up to them, and
then the battle began the second time; but when they had fought a
little while, Kari springs up on Snowcolf’s ship; he turns to
meet him and smites at him with his sword. Kari leaps nimbly
backwards over a beam that lay athwart the ship, and Snowcolf
smote the beam so that both edges of the sword were hidden. Then
Kari smites at him, and the sword fell on his shoulder, and the
stroke was so mighty that he cleft in twain shoulder, arm, and
all, and Snowcolf got his death there and then. Gritgard hurled
a spear at Kari, but Kari saw it and sprang up aloft, and the
spear missed him. Just then Helgi and Grim came up both to meet
Kari, and Helgi springs on Gritgard and thrusts his spear through
him, and that was his death blow; after that they went round the
whole ship on both boards, and then men begged for mercy. So
they gave them all peace, but took all their goods. After that
they ran all the ships out under the islands.
84. OF EARL SIGURD
Sigurd was the name of an earl who ruled over the Orkneys; he was
the son of Hlodver, the son of Thorfinn the skullsplitter, the
son of Turf-Einar, the son of Rognvald, Earl of Moeren, the son
of Eystein the Noisy. Kari was one of Earl Sigurd’s bodyguard,
and had just been gathering scatts in the Southern Isles from
Earl Gilli. Now Kari asks them to go to Hrossey (1), and said
the earl would take to them well. They agreed to that, and went
with Kari and came to Hrossey. Kari led them to see the earl,
and said what men they were.
