There was a man named Thorir dwelling in Gard in Adaldal. He was a son
of Skeggi Bodolfsson, who had settled in Kelduhverfi, on lands extending
right up to Keldunes, and had married Helga the daughter of Thorgeir
at Fiskilaek. Thorir was a great chief, and a mariner. He had two sons
whose names were Thorgeir and Skeggi, both men of promise, and pretty
well grown up at that time. Thorir had been in Norway in the summer in
which Olaf came East from England, and had won great favour with the
king as well as with Bishop Sigurd. In token of this it is related that
Thorir asked the bishop to consecrate a large sea-going ship he had
built in the forest, and the bishop did so. Later he came out to Iceland
and had his ship broken up because he was tired of seafaring. He set
up the figures from her head and stem over his doors, where they long
remained foretelling the weather, one howling for a south, the other for
a north wind.
When Thorir heard that Olaf had become sole ruler of Norway he thought
he might expect favour from him, so he dispatched his sons to Norway to
wait upon the king, hoping that they would be received into his service.
They reached the south coast late in the autumn and engaged a rowing
vessel to take them up the coast to the North, intending to go to the
king. They reached a port to the south of Stad, where they put in for
a few days. They were well provided with food and drink, and did not go
out much because of the bad weather.
Grettir also sailed to the North along the coast, and as the winter was
just beginning he often fell in with dirty weather. When they reached
the neighbourhood of Stad the weather became worse, and at last one
evening they were so exhausted with the snow and frost that they were
compelled to put in and lie under a bank where they found shelter for
their goods and belongings. The men were very much distressed at not
being able to procure any fire; their safety and their lives seemed
almost to depend upon their getting some. They lay there in a pitiful
condition all the evening, and as night came on they saw a large fire
on the other side of the channel which they were in. When Grettir's
companions saw the fire they began talking and saying that he who
could get some of it would be a happy man. They hesitated for some
time whether they should put out, but all agreed that it would be too
dangerous. Then they had a good deal of talk about whether there was any
man living doughty enough to get the fire. Grettir kept very quiet, but
said that there probably had been men who would not have let themselves
be baulked. The men said that they were none the better for what had
been if there were none now.
"But won't you venture, Grettir? The people of Iceland all talk so much
about your prowess, and you know very well what we want."
Grettir said: "It does not seem to me such a great thing to get the
fire, but I do not know whether you will reward it any better than he
requires who does it."
"Why," they said, "should you take us to be men of so little honour that
we shall not reward you well?"
"Well," said Grettir, "if you really think it so necessary I will try
it; but my heart tells me that no good will come to me therefrom."
They said it would not be so, and told him that he should have their
thanks.
Then Grettir threw off his clothes and got ready to go into the water.
He went in a cloak and breeches of coarse stuff. He tucked up the cloak,
tied a cord of bast round his waist, and took a barrel with him. Then
he jumped overboard, swam across the channel and reached the land on the
other side. There he saw a house standing and heard sounds of talking
and merriment issuing from it. So he went towards the house.
We have now to tell of the people who were in the house. They were the
sons of Thorir who have been mentioned. They had been there some days
waiting for a change of weather and for a wind to carry them to the
North. There were twelve of them and they were all sitting and drinking.
They had made fast in the inner harbour where there was a place of
shelter set up for men who were travelling about the country, and they
had carried in a quantity of straw. There was a huge fire on the ground.
Grettir rushed into the house, not knowing who was there. His cloak had
all frozen directly he landed, and he was a portentous sight to behold;
he looked like a troll. The people inside were much startled, thinking
it was a fiend. They struck at him with anything they could get, and
a tremendous uproar there was. Grettir pushed them back with his arms.
Some of them struck at him with firebrands, and the fire spread all
through the house. He got away with his fire and returned to his
companions, who were loud in praise of his skill and daring, and said
there was no one like him. The night passed and they were happy now that
they had fire.
On the next morning the weather was fine. They all woke early and made
ready to continue their journey. It was proposed that they should go and
find out who the people were who had had the fire, so they cast off and
sailed across the channel. They found no house there, nothing but a heap
of ashes and a good many bones of men amongst them. Evidently the house
with all who were in it had been burned. They asked whether Grettir had
done it, and declared it was an abominable deed. Grettir said that what
he expected had come to pass, and that he was ill rewarded for getting
the fire for them. He said it was thankless work to help such miserable
beings as they were. He suffered much annoyance in consequence, for
wherever the traders went they told that Grettir had burned the men in
the house. Soon it became known that it was the sons of Thorir of Gard
and their followers who had been burned. The traders refused to have
Grettir on board their ship any longer and drove him away. He was so
abhorred that scarcely any one would do him a service. His case seemed
hopeless, and his only desire was at any cost to appear before the king.
So he went North to Thrandheim where the king was, and had heard the
whole story before Grettir came, for many had been busy in slandering
him. Grettir waited several days in the town before he was able to
appear before the king.