FLOSI GOES ABROAD.
Now Flosi rides east to Hornfirth, and most of the men in his Thing
followed him, and bore his wares east, as well as all his stores and
baggage which he had to take with him.
After that they busked them for their voyage, and fitted out their ship.
Now Flosi stayed by the ship until they were "boun". But as soon as ever
they got a fair wind they put out to sea. They had a long passage and
hard weather.
Then they quite lost their reckoning, and sailed on and on, and all at
once three great waves broke over their ship, one after the other. Then
Flosi said they must be near some land, and that this was a
ground-swell. A great mist was on them, but the wind rose so that a
great gale overtook them, and they scarce knew where they were before
they were dashed on shore at dead of night, and the men were saved, but
the ship was dashed all to pieces, and they could not save their goods.
Then they had to look for shelter and warmth for themselves, and the day
after they went up on a height. The weather was then good.
Flosi asked if any man knew this land, and there were two men of their
crew who had fared thither before, and said they were quite sure they
knew it, and, say they--
"We are come to Hrossey in the Orkneys."
"Then we might have made a better landing," said Flosi, "for Grim and
Helgi, Njal's sons, whom I slew, were both of them of Earl Sigurd
Hlodver's son's bodyguard."
Then they sought for a hiding-place, and spread moss over themselves,
and so lay for a while, but not for long, ere Flosi spoke and said--
"We will not lie here any longer until the landsmen are ware of us."
Then they arose, and took counsel, and then Flosi said to his men--
"We will go all of us and give ourselves up to the Earl; for there is
naught else to do, and the Earl has our lives at his pleasure if he
chooses to seek for them."
Then they all went away thence, and Flosi said that they must tell no
man any tidings of their voyage, or what manner of men they were, before
he told them to the Earl.
Then they walked on until they met men who showed them to the town, and
then they went in before the Earl, and Flosi and all the others hailed
him.
The Earl asked what men they might be, and Flosi told his name, and said
out of what part of Iceland he was.
The Earl had already heard of the Burning, and so he knew the men at
once, and then the Earl asked Flosi--"What hast thou to tell me about
Helgi Njal's son, my henchman?"
"This," said Flosi, "that I hewed off his head."
"Take them all," said the Earl.
Then that was done, and just then in came Thorstein, son of Hall of the
Side. Flosi had to wife Steinvora, Thorstein's sister. Thorstein was one
of Earl Sigurd's bodyguard, but when he saw Flosi seized and held, he
went in before the Earl, and offered for Flosi all the goods he had.
The Earl was very wroth a long time, but at last the end of it was, by
the prayer of good men and true, joined to those of Thorstein, for he
was well backed by friends, and many threw in their word with his, that
the Earl took an atonement from them, and gave Flosi and all the rest of
them peace. The Earl held to that custom of mighty men that Flosi took
that place in his service which Helgi Njal's son had filled.
So Flosi was made Earl Sigurd's henchman, and he soon won his way to
great love with the Earl.