"Nay, lord, nay; set no faith in witchcraft or evil will befall us."
As he spoke a great gust of wind shook the ship, the music of thebreakers roared in their ears, and the gleaming shape upon the waterstossed its arms wildly and pointed to the right.
"The breakers call ahead," said Eric. "The shape points yonder, whereI hear no sound of sea. Once before, thou mindest, Swanhild walked thewaves to warn us and thereby saved us from the men of Ospakar. Ever sheswore she loved me; now she is surely come in love to save us and allour comrades. Say, shall I put about? Look: once more she waves her armsand points," and as he spoke he gripped the helm.
"I have no rede, lord," said Skallagrim, "and I love not witch-work. Wecan die but once, and death is all around; be it as thou wilt."
Eric put down the helm with all his might. The good ship answered, andher timbers groaned loudly, as though in woe, when the strain of the seastruck her abeam. Then once more she flew fast across the waters, andfast before her glided the wraith of Swanhild. Now it pointed here andnow there, and as it pointed so Eric shaped his course. For a whilethe noise of breakers lessened, but now again came a thunder, like thethunder of waves smiting on a cliff, and about the sides of the Gudrudathe waves hissed like snakes.
Suddenly the Shape threw up its arms and seemed to sink beneath thewaves, while a sound like the sound of a great laugh went up from sea tosky.
"Now here is the end," said Skallagrim, "and we are lured to doom."
Ere ever the words had passed his lips the ship struck, and so fiercelythat they were rolled upon the deck. Suddenly the sky grew clear, themoon shone out, and before them were cliffs and rocks, and behind thema great wave rushed on. From the hold of the ship there came a cry, fornow their comrades were awake and they knew that death was here.
Eric gripped Skallagrim round the middle and looked aft. On rushed thewave, no such wave had he ever seen. Now it struck and the Gudruda burstasunder beneath the blow.
But Eric Brighteyes and Skallagrim Lambstail were lifted on its crestand knew no more.
Swanhild, crouching in hideous guise upon the ground in the bower ofAtli's hall, looked upon the visions that passed before her. Suddenly awoman's shape, her own shape, was there.
"It is done, Blood-sister," said a voice, her own voice. "Merrily Iwalked the waves, and oh, merry was the cry of Eric's folk when Rancaught them in her net! Be thyself, again, Blood-sister--be fair as thouart foul; then arise, wake Atli thy lord, and go down to the sea's lipby the southern cliffs and see what thou shalt find. We shall meet nomore till all this game is played and another game is set," and theshape of Swanhild crouched upon the floor before the hag-headed toadmuttering "Pass! pass!"
Then Swanhild felt her flesh come back to her, and as it grew upon herso the shape of the Death-headed toad faded away.
"Farewell, Blood-sister!" piped a voice; "make merry as thou mayest, butmerrier shall be our nights when thou hast gone a-sailing with Eric onthe sea. Farewell! farewell! _Were-wolf_ thou didst call me once, andas a wolf I came. _Rat_ thou didst call me once, and as a rat I came._Toad_ didst thou call me once, and as a toad I came. Say, at the last,what wilt thou call me and in what shape shall I come, Blood-sister?Till then farewell!"
And all was gone and all was still.
XVII
HOW ASMUND THE PRIEST WEDDED UNNA, THOROD'S DAUGHTER
Now the story goes back to Iceland.
When Brighteyes was gone, for a while Gudruda the Fair moved sadly aboutthe stead, like one new-widowed. Then came tidings. Men told how OspakarBlacktooth had waylaid Eric on the seas with two long ships, dragons ofwar, and how Eric had given him battle and sunk one dragon with greatloss to Ospakar. They told also how Blacktooth's other dragon, theRaven, had sailed away before the wind, and Eric had sailed after it ina rising gale. But of what befell these ships no news came for many amonth, and it was rumoured that this had befallen them--that both hadsunk in the gale, and that Eric was dead.
But Gudruda would not believe this. When Asmund the Priest, her father,asked her why she did not believe it, she answered that, had Eric beendead, her heart would surely have spoken to her of it. To this Asmundsaid that it might be so.
Hay-harvest being done, Asmund made ready for his wedding with Unna,Thorod's daughter and Eric's cousin.
Now it was agreed that the marriage-feast should be held at Middalhof;for Asmund wished to ask a great company to the wedding, and there wasno place at Coldback to hold so many. Also some of the kin of Thorod,Unna's father, were bidden to the feast from the east and north. Atlength all was prepared and the guests came in great companies, for nosuch feast had been made in this quarter for many years.
On the eve of the marriage Asmund spoke with Groa. The witch-wife hadborne herself humbly since she was recovered from her sickness. Shepassed about the stead like a rat at night, speaking few words andwith downcast eyes. She was busy also making all things ready for thefeasting.
Now as Asmund went up the hall seeing that everything was in order, Groadrew near to him and touched him gently on the shoulder.
"Are things to thy mind, lord?" she said.
"Yes, Groa," he answered, "more to my mind than to thine I fear."
"Fear not, lord; thy will is my will."
"Say, Groa, is it thy wish to bide here in Middalhof when Unna is myhousewife?"
"It is my wish to serve thee as aforetime," she answered softly, "if sobe that Unna wills it."
"That is her desire," said Asmund and went his ways.
But Groa stood looking after him and her face was fierce and evil.
"While bane has virtue, while runes have power, and while hand hascunning, never, Unna, shalt thou take my place at Asmund's side! Outof the water I came to thee, Asmund; into the water I go again. Unquietshall I lie there--unquiet shall I wend through Hela's halls; but Unnashall rest at Asmund's side--in Asmund's cairn!"
Then again she moved about the hall, making all things ready for thefeast. But at midnight, when the light was low and folk slept, Groarose, and, veiled in a black robe, with a basket in her hand, passedlike a shadow through the mists that hang about the river's edge, andin silence, always looking behind her, like one who fears a hidden foe,culled flowers of noisome plants that grow in the marsh. Her basketbeing filled, she passed round the stead to a hidden dell upon themountain side. Here a man stood waiting, and near him burned a fireof turf. In his hand he held an iron-pot. It was Koll the Half-witted,Groa's thrall.
"Are all things ready, Koll?" she said.
"Yes," he answered; "but I like not these tasks of thine, mistress. Saynow, what wouldst thou do with the fire and the pot?"
"This, then, Koll. I would brew a love-potion for Asmund the Priest ashe has bidden me to do."
"I have done many an ill deed for thee, mistress, but of all of them Ilove this the least," said the thrall, doubtfully.
"I have done many a good deed for thee, Koll. It was I who saved theefrom the Doom-stone, seeming to prove thee innocent--ay, even when thyback was stretched on it, because thou hadst slain a man in his sleep.Is it not so?"
"Yea, mistress."
"And yet thou wast guilty, Koll. And I have given thee many good gifts,is it not so?"
"Yes, it is so."
"Listen then: serve me this once and I will give thee one last gift--thyfreedom, and with it two hundred in silver."
Koll's eyes glistened. "What must I do, mistress?"
"To-day at the wedding-feast it will be thy part to pour the cups whileAsmund calls the toasts. Last of all, when men are merry, thou wilt mixthat cup in which Asmund shall pledge Unna his wife and Unna must pledgeAsmund. Now, when thou hast poured, thou shalt pass the cup to me, as Istand at the foot of the high seat, waiting to give the bride greetingon behalf of the serving-women of the household. Thou shalt hand thecup to me as though in error, and that is but a little thing to ask ofthee."
"A little thing indeed," said Koll, staring at her, and pulling with hishand at his red hair, "yet I like it not. What if I say
no, mistress?"
"Say no or speak of this and I will promise thee one thing only, thouknave, and it is, before winter comes, that the crows shall pick thybones! Now, brave me, if thou darest," and straightway Groa began tomutter some witch-words.
"Nay," said Koll, holding up his hand as though to ward away a blow."Curse me not: I will do as thou wilt. But when shall I touch the twohundred in silver?"
"I will give thee half before the feast begins, and half when it isended, and with it freedom to go where thou wilt. And now leave me, andon thy life see that thou fail me not."
"I have never failed thee yet," said Koll, and went his ways.
Now Groa set the pot upon the fire, and, placing in it the herbs thatshe had gathered, poured water on them. Presently they began to boil andas they boiled she stirred them with a peeled stick and muttered spellsover them. For long she sat in that dim and lonely place stirring thepot and muttering spells, till at length the brew was done.
She lifted the pot from the fire and smelt at it. Then drawing a phialfrom her robe she poured out the liquor and held it to the sky. Thewitch-water was white as milk, but presently it grew clear. She lookedat it, then smiled evilly.
"Here is a love-draught for a queen--ah, a love-draught for a queen!"she said, and, still smiling, she placed the phial in her breast.
Then, having scattered the fire with her foot, Groa took the pot andthrew it into a deep pool of water, where it could not be found readily,and crept back to the stead before men were awake.
Now the day wore on and all the company were gathered at themarriage-feast to the number of nearly two hundred. Unna sat in the highseat, and men thought her a bonny bride, and by her side sat Asmund thePriest. He was a hale, strong man to look on, though he had seen somethree-score winters; but his mien was sad, and his heart heavy. He drankcup after cup to cheer him, but all without avail. For his thought spedback across the years and once more he seemed to see the face of Gudrudathe Gentle as she lay dying, and to hear her voice when she foretoldevil to him if he had aught to do with Groa the Witch-wife. And now itseemed to him that the evil was at hand, though whence it should come heknew not. He looked up. There Groa moved along the hall, ministering tothe guests; but he saw as she moved that her eyes were always fixed,now on him and now on Unna. He remembered that curse also which Groa hadcalled down upon him when he had told her that he was betrothed toUnna, and his heart grew cold with fear. "Now I will change my counsel,"Asmund said to himself: "Groa shall not stay here in this stead, forI will look no longer on that dark face of hers. She goes henceto-morrow."
Not far from Asmund sat Bjoern, his son. As Gudruda the Fair, his sister,brought him mead he caught her by the sleeve, whispering in her ear."Methinks our father is sad. What weighs upon his heart?"
"I know not," said Gudruda, but as she spoke she looked first on Asmund,then at Groa.
"It is ill that Groa should stop here," whispered Bjoern again.
"It is ill," answered Gudruda, and glided away.
Asmund saw their talk and guessed its purport. Rousing himself helaughed aloud and called to Koll the Half-witted to pour the cups thathe might name the toasts.
Koll filled, and, as Asmund called the toasts one by one, Koll handedthe cups to him. Asmund drank deep of each, till at length his sorrowpassed from him, and, together with all who sat there, he grew merry.
Last of all came the toast of the bride's cup. But before Asmund calledit, the women of the household drew near the high seat to welcome Unna,when she should have drunk. Gudruda stood foremost, and Groa was next toher.
Now Koll filled as before, and it was a great cup of gold that hefilled.
Asmund rose to call the toast, and with him all who were in the hall.Koll brought up the cup, and handed it, not to Asmund, but to Groa; butthere were few who noted this, for all were listening to Asmund's toastand most of the guests were somewhat drunken.
"The cup," cried Asmund--"give me the cup that I may drink."
Then Groa started forward, and as she did so she seemed to stumble,so that for a moment her robe covered up the great bride-cup. Then shegathered herself together slowly, and, smiling, passed up the cup.
Asmund lifted it to his lips and drank deep. Then he turned and gave itto Unna his wife, but before she drank he kissed her on the lips.
Now while all men shouted such a welcome that the hall shook, and asUnna, smiling, drank from the cup, the eyes of Asmund fell upon Groawho stood beneath him, and lo! her eyes seemed to flame and her face washideous as the face of a troll.
Asmund grew white and put his hand to his head, as though to think, thencried aloud:
"Drink not, Unna! the draught is drugged!" and he struck at the vesselwith his hand.
He smote it indeed, and so hard that it flew from her hand far down thehall.
But Unna had already drunk deep.
"The draught is drugged!" Asmund cried, and pointed to Groa, while allmen stood silent, not knowing what to do.
"The draught is drugged!" he cried a third time, "and that witch hasdrugged it!" And he began to tear at his breast.
Then Groa laughed so shrilly that men trembled to hear her.
"Yes, lord," she screamed, "the draught is drugged, and Groa theWitch-wife hath drugged it! Ay, tear thy heart out, Asmund, and Unna,grow thou white as snow--soon, if my medicine has virtue, thou shalt bewhiter yet! Hearken all men. Asmund the Priest is Swanhild's father,and for many a year I have been Asmund's mate. What did I tell thee,lord?--that I would see the two of you dead ere Unna should take myplace!--ay, and on Gudruda the Fair, thy daughter, and Bjoern thy son,and Eric Brighteyes, Gudruda's love, and many another man--on them tooshall my curse fall! Tear thy heart out, Asmund! Unna, grow thouwhite as snow! The draught is drugged and Groa, Ran's gift! Groa theWitch-Wife! Groa, Asmund's love! hath drugged it!"
And ere ever a man might lift a hand to stay her Groa glided past thehigh seat and was gone.
For a space all stood silent. Asmund ceased clutching at his breast.Rising he spoke heavily:
"Now I learn that sin is a stone to smite him who hurled it. Gudruda theGentle spoke sooth when she warned me against this woman. _New wed, newdead!_ Unna, fare thee well!"
And straightway Asmund fell down and died there by the high seat in hisown hall.
Unna gazed at him with ashen face. Then, plucking at her bosom shesprang from the dais and rushed along the hall, screaming. Men made wayfor her, and at the door she also fell dead.
This then was the end of Asmund Asmundson the Priest, and Unna, Thorod'sdaughter, Eric's cousin, his new-made wife.
For a moment there was silence in the hall. But before the echoes ofUnna's screams had died away, Bjoern cried aloud:
"The witch! where is the witch?"
Then with a yell of rage, men leaped to their feet, seizing theirweapons, and rushed from the stead. Out they ran. There, on thehill-side far above them, a black shape climbed and leapt swiftly. Theygave tongue like dogs set upon a wolf and sped up the hill.
They gained the crest of the hill, and now they were at Goldfoss brink.Lo! the witch-wife had crossed the bed of the torrent, for little rainhad fallen and the river was low. She stood on Sheep-saddle, the waterrunning from her robes. On Sheep-saddle she stood and cursed them.
Bjoern took a bow and set a shaft upon the string. He drew it and thearrow sung through the air and smote her, speeding through her heart.With a cry Groa threw up her arms.
Then down she plunged. She fell on Wolf's Fang, where Eric once hadstood and, bouncing thence, rushed to the boiling deeps below and was nomore seen for ever.
Thus, then, did Asmund the Priest wed Unna, Thorod's daughter, and thiswas the end of the feasting.
Thereafter Bjoern, Asmund's son, ruled at Middalhof, and was Priest inhis place. He sought for Koll the Half-witted to kill him, but Koll tookthe fells, and after many months he found passage in a ship that wasbound for Scotland.
Now Bjoern was a hard man and a greedy. He was no friend to EricBrigh
teyes, and always pressed it on Gudruda that she should wed OspakarBlacktooth. But to this counsel Gudruda would not listen, for day andnight she thought upon her love. Next summer there came tidings thatEric was safe in Ireland, and men spoke of his deeds, and of how he andSkallagrim had swept the ship of Ospakar single-handed. Now after thesetidings, for a while Gudruda walked singing through the meads, and noflower that grew in them was half so fair as she.
That summer also Ospakar Blacktooth met Bjoern, Asmund's son, at theThing, and they talked much together in secret.
XVIII
HOW EARL ATLI FOUND ERIC AND SKALLAGRIM ON THE SOUTHERN ROCKS OFSTRAUMEY ISLE
Swanhild, robed in white, as though new risen from sleep, stood, candlein hand, by the bed of Atli the Earl, her lord, crying "Awake!"
"What passes now?" said Atli, lifting himself upon his arm. "Whatpasses, Swanhild, and why dost thou ever wander alone at nights, lookingso strangely? I love not thy dark witch-ways, Swanhild, and I was wed tothee in an ill hour, wife who art no wife."
"In an ill hour indeed, Earl Atli," she answered, "an ill hour for theeand me, for, as thou hast said, eld and youth are strange yokefellowsand pull different paths. Arise now, Earl, for I have dreamed a dream."
"Tell it to me on the morrow, then," quoth Atli; "there is smalljoyousness in thy dreams, that always point to evil, and I must bearenough evil of late."
"Nay, lord, my rede may not be put aside so. Listen now: I havedreamed that a great dragon of war has been cast away upon Straumey'ssouth-western rocks. The cries of those who drowned rang in my ears. ButI thought that some came living to the shore, and lie there senseless,to perish of the cold. Arise, therefore, take men and go down to therocks."