The spring after these things Frithiof departed from the Orkneys and
Earl Angantyr in all good liking; and Hallward went with Frithiof.
But when they came to Norway they heard tell of the burning of
Frithiof's stead.
So when he was gotten to Foreness, Frithiof said: “Black is my house
waxen now; no friends have been at work here.” And he sang withal:
“Frank and free,
With my father dead,
In Foreness old
We drank aforetime.
Now my abode
Behold I burned;
For many ill deeds
The kings must I pay.”
Then he sought rede of his men what was to be done; but they bade him
look to it: then he said that the scat must first be paid out of hand.
So they rowed over the Firth to Sowstrand; and there they heard that the
kings were gone to Baldur's Meads to sacrifice to the gods; so Frithiof
and Biorn went up thither, and bade Hallward and Asmund break up
meanwhile all ships, both great and small, that were anigh; and they did
so. Then went Frithiof and his fellow to the door at Baldur's Meads, and
Frithiof would go in. Biorn bade him fare warily, since he must needs go
in alone; but Frithiof charged him to abide without, and keep watch; and
he sang a stave:
“All alone go I
Unto the stead;
No folk I need
For the finding of kings;
But cast ye the fire
O'er the kings' dwellingly
If I come not again
In the cool of the even.”
“Ah,” said Biorn, “a goodly singing!”
Then went Frithiof in, and saw but few folk in the Hall of the
Goddesses; there were the kings at their blood-offering, sitting
a-drinking; a fire was there on the floor, and the wives of the kings
sat thereby, a-warming the gods, while others anointed them, and wiped
them with napkins.
So Frithiof went up to King Helgi and said: “Have here thy scat!”
And therewith he heaved up the purse wherein was the silver, and drave
it on to the face of the king; whereby were two of his teeth knocked
out, and he fell down stunned in his high seat; but Halfdan got hold of
him, so that he fell not into the fire. Then sang Frithiof:
“Have here thy scat,
High lord of the warriors!
Heed that and thy teeth,
Lest all tumble about thee!
Lo the silver abideth
At the bight of this bag here,
That Biorn and I
Betwixt us have borne thee.”
Now there were but few folk in the chamber, because the drinking was
in another place; so Frithiof went out straightway along the floor, and
beheld therewith that goodly ring of his on the arm of Helgi's wife as
she warmed Baldur at the fire; so he took hold of the ring, but it was
fast to her arm, and he dragged her by it over the pavement toward the
door, and Baldur fell from her into the fire; then Halfdan's wife caught
hastily at Baldur, whereby the god that she was warming fell likewise
into the fire, and the fire caught both the gods, for they had been
anointed, and ran up thence into the roof, so that the house was all
ablaze: but Frithiof got the ring to him ere he came out. So then Biorn
asked him what had come of his going in there; but Frithiof held up the
ring and sang a stave:
“The heavy purse smote Helgi
Hard 'midst his scoundrel's visage:
Lowly bowed Halfdan's brother,
Fell bundling 'mid the high seat;
There Baldur fell a-burning.
But first my bright ring gat I.
Fast from the roaring fire
I dragged the bent crone forward.”
Men say that Frithiof cast a firebrand up on to the roof, so that the
hall was all ablaze, and therewith sang a stave:
“Down stride we toward the sea-strand,
And strong deeds set a-going,
For now the blue flame bickers
Amidst of Baldur's Meadow.”
And therewith they went down to the sea.