When Yule-month was well past and the days began to lengthen, Styrbiorn began to come out some little from his black and sullen frame of mind. On an evening as they walked on the wall in the bright beams of the westering sun, he spake and said to Biorn his foster-brother, “There was one thing I was wrong to leave behind me. And I have not missed him until now.”
“What was that?” said Biorn.
“That was Moldi.”
“Moldi,” said Biorn, “hath followed thee all winter long. Thou hast never all winter walked abroad but he was behind thee.”
“Thou mockest me,” said Styrbiorn, staring at him.
“It is very truth I tell thee,” said Biorn. “ ’Twas thy man Erland brought him for thee out of Sweden.”
“Erland!” said Styrbiorn. “And thou!” And he turned away his face.
Now was winter over, and Jomsburg filled again, and Palnatoki according to his wont held council with the lords of the Jomsburgers to determine of their summer’s work. So they were met together on the seawall overlooking the open sea and the sea-gates and the harbour and the ships. Palnatoki took his seat on a high buttress top that jutted a little above the wall: Styrbiorn sat at the right hand of Palnatoki and Sigvaldi at the left, and the rest sat or stood round about on either side. Every man of them was helmed and byrnied and armed as if for battle, for in such array held they ever their councils of war.
When they were set, Palnatoki spake among them: “That hath been our custom until now, that I should ask each man in turn what seemeth likeliest and best to him, and what rede he hath to lay before us. But this summer I think we shall choose the rather to hear what Styrbiorn will do. For I think there is no man here in Jomsburg who will not wish to put aside his own enterprise, how needful soever it be, and give aid to Styrbiorn.”
So said Palnatoki, and they took his saying well. Only Sigvaldi leaned closer to Palnatoki and spake somewhat in his ear. “I care not for that,” said Palnatoki: “I will have no conditions.” And he said aloud, “And this is our mind, as it seemeth to me, that we shall give Styrbiorn aid not here nor there, nor for this or that, but freely and for what thing soever he will take in hand.”
Sigvaldi bit his lip but kept silence. And now he with the rest rose up, and every man that was at that council bared sword now and clashed iron on iron, sword on shield, crying aloud that he would aid Styrbiorn.
Styrbiorn swept his eye round from man to man. For a moment he scarce seemed able to speak word. Then in his eager and halting utterance he said, “ ‘Bare is back without brother behind it.’ And I see that shall not be said of me. And now there is but one man and one country I will not bear war against: every land else, but not against the Swede-King. Many will think wonders at this, but I will for no sake bear war against King Eric. This I say, that you may know. But if I fight not against him, fight I must with someone, or I shall burst.”
“What’s this?” said Bui then. “Must thou be cast out o’ the Swede-realm and thine own lawful right for a wench sake? And were it possible for any shame-swollen toad to have the spit-proof face to outlive this disgrace, and not make garters of the guts of him that put it on us?”
Styrbiorn met his scowling and staring look with that smile with which, once his mind was set on anything, he was wont to receive advice or protest or upbraiding. “I will not fight with the Swede-King,” said he.
Bui said, “Thou dost jest with us. This is but to try us. Come, I’ll go with thee. He shall find a hath laid for a pickrell and caught a firedrake. And I’ll ask no guerdon but this, that I may lay in the first brand at the burning of Upsala.”
“I’ll give thee quarry enough, Bui,” said Styrbiorn, “but never that.” Men might see, for all his holding of himself in hand, that this talk tried his temper over much.
Sigvaldi spake: “We have promised Styrbiorn this, to follow and uphold him this summer. And methinks there is little wisdom in this, to egg him on to so unhopeful and bad an enterprise as that should be, to go up against the King o’ the Swedes in Upsala. For many a man would find it a hard thing and an ill to keep to his oath, were it to draw us into suchlike folly.”
But the more part of them were of Bui’s mind, that they would back Styrbiorn, were it in this or in aught else beside.
After this Palnatoki spake to each apart, and said it would be best for men to speak no more to Styrbiorn of the ill turn things had taken betwixt him and the Swede-king, and most of all say naught, as Bui had said, of bearing war against the King; “For that is furthest from his mind, and the mere thought thereof is like a spark to a vetch-stack, to light up his grief and ruth anew.”
Styrbiorn sailed east now with the whole power of the Jomsburgers, and made war far and wide in the east countries and laid under him there many kings
