Hall said that he would do all these things, and went at once; nor did he fail in his tasks.

Atli being dead, Eric loosed his hand and called to the men to take up his body and bear it to the hall.  This they did.  Eric stood and watched them till they were lost in the darkness.

“Whither now, lord?” said Skallagrim.

“It matters little,” said Eric.  “What is thy counsel?”

“This is my counsel.  That we take ship and sail back to the King in London.  There we will tell all this tale.  It is a far cry from Straumey to London town, and there we shall sit in peace, for the King will think little of the slaying of an Orkney Earl in a brawl about a woman.  Mayhap, too, the Lady Elfrida will not set great store by it.  Therefore, I say, let us fare back to London.”

“In but one place am I at home, and that is Iceland,” said Eric.  “Thither I will go, Skallagrim, though it be but to miss friend from stead and bride from bed.  At the least I shall find Ospakar there.”

“Listen, lord!” said Skallagrim.  “Was it not my rede that we should bide this winter through in London?  Thou wouldst none of it, and what came about?  Our ship is sunk, gone are our comrades, thine honour is tarnished, and dead is thy host at thine own hand.  Yet I say all is not lost.  Let us hence south, and see no more of Swanhild, of Gudruda, of Bjoern and Ospakar.  So shall we break the spell.  But if thou goest to Iceland, I am sure of this:  that the evil fate which Atli foretold will fall on thee, and the days to come shall be even more unlucky than the days that have been.”

“It may be so,” said Eric.  “Methinks, indeed, it will be so.  Henceforth I am Eric the Unlucky.  I will go back to Iceland and there play out the game.  I care little if I live or am slain—­I have no more joy in my life.  I stand alone, like a fir upon a mountain-top, and every wind from heaven and every storm of hail and snow beats upon my head.  But I say to thee, Skallagrim:  go thy road, and leave a luckless man to his ill fate.  Otherwise it shall be thine also.  Good friend hast thou been to me; now let us part and wend south and north.  The King will be glad to greet thee yonder in London, Lambstail.”

“But one severing shall we know, lord,” said Skallagrim, “and that shall be sword’s work, nor will it be for long.  It is ill to speak such words as these of the parting of lord and thrall.  Bethink thee of the oath I swore on Mosfell.  Let us go north, since it is thy will:  in fifty years it will count for little which way we wended from the Isles.”

So they went together down to the shore, and, finding a boat and men who as yet knew nothing of what had chanced to Atli, they sailed across the firth at the rising of the moon.

Two days afterwards they found a ship at Wick that was bound for Fareys, and sailed in her, Eric buying a passage with the half of a gold ring that the King had given him in London.