Part 2 (1/2)

Just then Signy threw a gold ring to the Sybil. Heid was pleased with the gift, and she wanted to stop her divining. She said, 'This is how matters stand. What I said is only a lie, and now all my prophecies have gone astray.'

The king replied, 'If you do not choose more wisely, you will be tortured into speaking. Here among so many people, I still do not understand any better than previously what you are saying. And why is Signy not in her seat? Can it be that wolves are plotting with predators?'15 The king was told that Signy had been sickened by the smoke from the hearth. Jarl Saevil asked her to sit up and behave courageously, 'for it can have much bearing on keeping the boys alive, if that is what is meant to be. Act in such a way that your thoughts cannot be read. As matters stand, there is nothing that we can do to help them.'

King Frodi now pressed the sorceress hard. He commanded her to tell the truth if she did not want to be tortured. Her mouth gaped wide, but the spell became difficult. Finally she spoke this verse: 4. I see where they sit, sons of Halfdan, Hroar and Helgi, healthy both.

They will rob Frodi of life.

'Unless they are quickly dealt with,' she said, 'but that will not happen.'

Then she jumped down from the trance platform and said: 5. Hard are the eyes of Ham and Hrani; they are princes wonderfully bold.

The boys, now frightened, ran from the hall and headed for the woods. Regin, their foster father, recognized them and was much moved. The sorceress, who herself now ran from the hall, had given the boys good advice when she told them to save themselves.

The king ordered his men to rise and chase after the boys. Regin then extinguished all the lights in the hall. Men began to grapple with one another, and some of them held the king's men back. There were those in the hall who wanted to see the boys escape and, because of that intervention, the two reached the woods. King Frodi said, 'They came close this time, and many here have been plotting with them. When I have the time, I will take a fearful vengeance for their doing so. Now, however, we are free to drink all night long. The princes will be so relieved at having escaped that they will first try to save their lives.'

Regin began to serve the ale. In this task he was joined by many of his friends, and they plied the drinks so generously that men pa.s.sed out and fell, one on top of the other. Meanwhile, the brothers, as noted earlier, hid in the woods.

When the boys had been there awhile, they saw a man riding toward them from the hall. They soon recognized that it was Regin, their foster father. They were pleased to see him and greeted him well, but Regin ignored their greeting. Instead he turned his horse around, facing back toward the hall. The boys wondered at this, asking themselves what this action might mean. Regin turned his horse toward them for a second time, acting now so menacingly that he seemed likely to attack them at any moment. Helgi said, 'I think I know what he wants.'

Regin now rode back to the hall and the boys followed him. 'My foster father behaves in this way,' said Helgi, 'because he does not want to violate his oaths to King Frodi. For this reason he will not speak to us, yet he will gladly help us.'

Near the hall stood a grove of trees owned by the king. When they reached it, Regin said to himself, 'If I sought vengeance against King Frodi for great wrongs, I would burn down this grove.' He said nothing else.

Hroar said, 'What does that mean?'

'He wants us to go back to the hall,' answered Helgi, 'and set it afire, excepting one doorway that leads outside.'

'What can we do?' asked Hroar. 'We are just two boys facing overwhelming odds.'

'Still,' said Helgi, 'we will do it, because we will have to risk it sometime if we are to avenge our losses.' And so they carried out the plan.

The next to tell is Jarl Saevil's emergence from the hall with all his men. He said, 'Let's build up the fire and help these boys. I owe no obligation to King Frodi.'

King Frodi had two smiths who were master craftsmen. Both were named Var. Regin led his own men out through the door of the hall; he also saved his friends and his in-laws.

4. The Death of King Frodi King Frodi now awakened in the hall. Sighing loudly, he said, 'I dreamed a dream, lads. It is one that promises no fair wind, and I will relate it to you. I dreamed that I thought someone was calling to us, saying, ”Now you have come home, King, you and your men.” I answered, it seemed, angrily, ”Home to where?” Then the voice called out again, this time so near to me that I felt the breath of the one calling. ”Home to Hel. Home to Hel,”* said the one who called. Then, I awoke.'

Just then, they heard Regin speaking a verse outside the door to the hall: 6. Rain is without, and the warriors of Halfdan, tough adversaries, say this to Frodi.

Var the careful forged nails, and Var, the wary, formed the heads, but the smiths worked warnings for the wary.

Then the king's men, those who were inside, said that it was little news if it was raining outside or if the king's smiths were forging nails or doing other smithy work.

The king said, 'You do not find news in that? It strikes me otherwise, for Regin has told us of some impending danger. He has given a sign of warning and will be sly and cunning with me.'

Next the king, going to the door of the hall, saw that the enemy was in front. By then the whole hall was covered with flames. The king asked who was responsible for the fire. He was told that Helgi was in charge and that his brother Hroar was with him.

The king proposed a truce to the boys. He offered that they alone could set the terms, saying, 'It goes against nature's order that among us kinsmen each man should want to be the killer of the other.'

Helgi replied, 'No one can trust you. You will betray us no less than you betrayed my father Halfdan. Now you must pay for your actions.'

Then the king, turning back from the hall door, went to the entrance of his underground pa.s.sageway, intending to save himself by escaping into the woods. But when he entered the pa.s.sageway, he found Regin standing there. As Regin's intentions were not peaceful, the king returned to the hall, where he and most of his followers burned to death. Sigrid, the mother of the brothers Helgi and Hroar, also burned to death inside the hall, because she chose not to leave.

For their support the brothers thanked Jarl Saevil, their brother-in-law; Regin, their foster father; and all the company. To many they gave rich gifts. They took the kingdom, including all of King Frodi's wealth, his lands and his movable property.

The brothers were unlike in temperament. Hroar was mild and easy-going, whereas Helgi was a staunch warrior and was regarded as by far the more important of the two. Matters continued this way for a while.

Here ends the tale of Frodi and now begins the story of Hroar and Helgi, the sons of Halfdan.

5. King Helgi Rules Denmark and King Hroar Marries There was a king named Nordri; he ruled over parts of England. His daughter was named Ogn. Hroar spent many years with King Nordri and commanded the defence of the realm. Hroar was a trusted supporter of the king and a deep friends.h.i.+p grew between the two men. After a time Hroar married Ogn16 and settled there in the kingdom with King Nordri, his father-in-law. Helgi ruled over Denmark, controlling the inheritance from their father.

Jarl Saevil and Signy ruled their own lands.17 Their son was named Hrok. In Denmark, King Helgi, the son of Halfdan, was unmarried. Regin now took sick and died; it was regarded as a great loss because he was a much loved man.

6. King Helgi Attempts to Marry Queen Olof At that time a queen named Olof18 ruled over Saxland.* Like a warrior king, she dressed in a coat of mail, carried sword and s.h.i.+eld, and wore a helmet. This was her nature: beautiful in looks, yet cruel and arrogant in temperament. Those who knew about such matters said that Olof was the best match in all the northern countries, but she had no intention of marrying any man.

King Helgi heard about this proud queen. It seemed to him that marrying the woman, whether she was willing or not, would increase his fame and importance. So one day he set off with a large company of armed men and, without warning, he landed in the country ruled by the powerful Queen Olof. Helgi sent messengers to her hall, requesting that the queen be informed that he expected a feast to be prepared for him and his company. His messengers transmitted his request to the queen, who was taken by surprise and had no chance to gather her forces. Making the best of the situation, she invited King Helgi to a feast along with all his following.

Helgi arrived at the feast and had himself placed in the high seat beside the queen. The two drank together throughout the evening. Nothing was lacking and Queen Olof showed no sign of displeasure. King Helgi said to the queen, 'The situation is this: I want us to drink to our marriage this evening. There are enough people here for such a celebration and tonight we will share one bed.'

She answered, 'It seems to me that this plan has moved too fast. Yet I do not think that I could find a man more courteous than you, if I were of a mind to attach myself to any man.19 But I certainly do not expect you would want to undertake such a union with dishonour.'

The king replied that it was fitting, because of her pride and arrogance, 'that we remain together for as long as it pleases me'.

She answered, 'I would choose to have more of my friends here, but since I can now do nothing you must decide this matter. And I expect you to behave honourably toward me.'

The drinking continued throughout the evening and long into the night. The queen was so cheerful that no one noticed in her anything other than that she thought well of the marriage. Finally, when Helgi was brought to bed, she was waiting there for him.

The king had drunk so much that at once he fell down asleep onto the bed. Taking advantage of his state, the queen stuck him with a sleep thorn.* When the last of the men had left, the queen got up. She shaved off all his hair and smeared him with tar.

Next, she took a leather sack made for sleeping and placed some clothes in it. After that she grabbed hold of the king and stuffed him into the sack. Then she called her men and had them carry the king to his s.h.i.+ps.

The queen next awakened Helgi's men, telling them that their king had gone back to the s.h.i.+ps and, because of a favourable wind, was planning to set sail. They jumped up, each one moving as fast as he could, but, drunk and confused, they scarcely knew what to do.

When the men arrived at the s.h.i.+ps, the king was nowhere to be found. They did, however, see that a large sack was there. Curious about its contents, they decided to look while waiting for the king. They a.s.sumed that he would be coming a little later. When they untied the sack, they found their king, shamefully tricked. The sleep thorn fell away, and the king awoke, though his dreams had not been pleasant. He was now in a vile temper regarding the queen.

But about Queen Olof, there is more to be told: She spent the night gathering her men and there was no lack of numbers. Meanwhile King Helgi could not decide how to get back at her. When he and his men heard from the land the sound of trumpets and the blast of war horns, Helgi realized that it would be best to get away as quickly as possible. As it turned out, a fair wind was blowing at the time. King Helgi sailed home to his kingdom, bearing this dishonour and disgrace. He was filled with resentment about the outcome and often contemplated how to take vengeance on the queen.

7. King Helgi's Vengeance Queen Olof remained now for a time in her kingdom; her arrogance and her overbearing manner had never been greater. After the feast she had offered King Helgi, she kept a strong guard around her. News of their dealings spread far and wide throughout the different lands. Everyone thought it a flagrant misdeed to have mocked such a king in this way.

Not long afterward King Helgi again set sail in his s.h.i.+ps. This time he headed toward Saxland, making for the queen's royal residence. The queen had a large force ready, but Helgi landed his s.h.i.+ps in a hidden inlet. He told his men to wait for him there until the third day and, if he had not returned by then, to go their own way.

Helgi took with him two chests filled with gold and silver. He obtained some rags which he used for outer clothing. He then made his way to the woods and hid the treasure there.