Now Asgrim Ellidagrim's son talks to Gizur the White, and Kari
Solmund's son, and to Hjallti Skeggi's son, Mord Valgard's son,
and Thorgeir Craggeir, and says, "There is no need to have any
secrets here, for only those men are by who know all our counsel.
Now I will ask you if ye know anything of their plans, for if you
do, it seems to me that we must take fresh counsel about our own
plans."
"Snorri the Priest," answers Gizur the White, "sent a man to me,
and bade him tell me that Flosi had gotten great help from the
Northlanders; but that Eyjolf Bolverk's son, his kinsman, had had
a gold ring given him by some one, and made a secret of it, and
Snorri said it was his meaning that Eyjolf Bolverk's son must be
meant to defend the suit at law, and that the ring must have been
given him for that."
They were all agreed that it must be so. Then Gizur spoke to
them, "Now has Mord Valgard's son, my son-in-law, undertaken a
suit, which all must think most hard, to prosecute Flosi; and now
my wish is that ye share the other suits amongst you, for now it
will soon be time to give notice of the suits at the Hill of
Laws. We shall need also to ask for more help."
Asgrim said so it should be, "but we will beg thee to go round
with us when we ask for help." Gizur said he would be ready to
do that.
After that Gizur picked out all the wisest men of their company
to go with him as his backers. There was Hjallti Skeggi's son,
and Asgrim, and Kari, and Thorgeir Craggeir.
Then Gizur the White said, "Now will we first go to the booth of
Skapti Thorod's son," and they do so. Gizur the White went
first, then Hjallti, then Kari, then Asgrim, then Thorgeir
Craggeir, and then his brothers.
They went into the booth. Skapti sat on the cross bench on the
dais, and when he saw Gizur the White he rose up to meet him, and
greeted him and all of them well, and bade Gizur to sit down by
him, and he does so. Then Gizur said to Asgrim, "Now shalt thou
first raise the question of help with Skapti, but I will throw in
what I think good."
"We are come hither," said Asgrim, "for this sake, Skapti, to
seek help and aid at thy hand."
"I was thought to be hard to win the last time," said Skapti,
"when I would not take the burden of your trouble on me."
"It is quite another matter now," said Gizur. "Now the feud is
for master Njal and mistress Bergthora, who were burnt in their
own house without a cause, and for Njal's three sons, and many
other worthy men, and thou wilt surely never be willing to yield
no help to men, or to stand by thy kinsmen and connections."
"It was in my mind," answers Skapti, "when Skarphedinn told me
that I had myself borne tar on my own head, and cut up a sod of
turf and crept under it, and when he said that I had been so
afraid that Thorolf Lopt's son of Eyrar bore me abroad in his
ship among his meal-sacks, and so carried me to Iceland, that I
would never share in the blood feud for his death."
"Now there is no need to bear such things in mind," said Gizur
the White, "for he is dead who said that, and thou wilt surely
grant me this, though thou wouldst not do it for other men's
sake."
"This quarrel," says Skapti, "is no business of thine, except
thou choosest to be entangled in it along with them."
Then Gizur was very wrath, and said, "Thou art unlike thy father,
though he was thought not to be quite cleanhanded; yet was he
ever helpful to men when they needed him most."
"We are unlike in temper," said Skapti. "Ye two, Asgrim and
thou, think that ye have had the lead in mighty deeds; thou,
Gizur the White, because thou overcamest Gunnar of Lithend; but
Asgrim, for that he slew Gauk, his foster-brother."
"Few," said Asgrim, "bring forward the better if they know the
worse, but many would say that I slew not Gauk ere I was driven
to it. There is some excuse for thee for not helping us, but
none for heaping reproaches on us; and I only wish before this
Thing is out that thou mayest get from this suit the greatest
disgrace, and that there may be none to make thy shame good."
Then Gizur and his men stood up all of them, and went out, and so
on to the booth of Snorri the Priest.
Snorri sat on the cross-bench in his booth; they went into the
booth, and he knew the men at once, and stood up to meet them,
and bade them all welcome, and made room for them to sit by him.
After that, they asked one another the news of the day.
Then Asgrim spoke to Snorri, and said, "For that am I and my
kinsman Gizur come hither, to ask thee for thy help."
"Thou speakest of what thou mayest always be forgiven for asking,
for help in the blood-feud after such connections as thou hadst.
We, too, got many wholesome counsels from Njal, though few now
bear that in mind; but as yet I know not of what ye think ye
stand most in need."
"We stand most in need," answers Asgrim, "of brisk lads and good
weapons, if we fight them here at the Thing."
"True it is," said Snorri, "that much lies on that, and it is
likeliest that ye will press them home with daring, and that they
will defend themselves so in like wise, and neither of you will
allow the others' right. Then ye will not bear with them and
fall on them, and that will be the only way left; for then they
will seek to pay you off with shame for manscathe, and with
dishonour for loss of kin."
It was easy to see that he goaded them on in everything.
Then Gizur the White said "Thou speakest well, Snorri, and thou
behavest ever most like a chief when most lies at stake."
"I wish to know," said Asgrim, "in what way thou wilt stand by
us if things turn out as thou sayest."
"I will show thee those marks of friendship," said Snorri, "on
which all your honour will hang, but I will not go with you to
the court. But if ye fight here on the Thing, do not fall on
them at all unless ye are all most steadfast and dauntless, for
you have great champions against you. But if ye are overmatched,
ye must let yourselves be driven hither towards us, for I shall
then have drawn up my men in array hereabouts, and shall be ready
to stand by you. But if it falls out otherwise, and they give
way before you, my meaning is that they will try to run for a
stronghold in the 'Great Rift.' But if they come thither, then
ye will never get the better of them. Now I will take that on my
hands, to draw up my men there, and guard the pass to the
stronghold, but we will not follow them whether they turn north
or south along the river. And when you have slain out of their
band about as many as I think ye will be able to pay blood-fines
for, and yet keep your priesthoods and abodes, then I will run up
with all my men and part you. Then ye shall promise to do as I
bid you, and stop the battle, if I on my part do what I have now
promised."
Gizur thanked him kindly, and said that what he had said was just
what they all needed, and then they all went out.
"Whither shall we go now?" said Gizur.
"To the Northlanders' booth," said Asgrim.
Then they fared thither.