King Olaf came to Tunsberg before Easter (A.D. 1018), and remained
there late in spring. Many merchant vessels came to the town, both from
Saxon-land and Denmark, and from Viken, and from the north parts of the
country. There was a great assemblage of people; and as the times were
good, there was many a drinking meeting. It happened one evening that
King Hrorek came rather late to his lodging; and as he had drunk a great
deal, he was remarkably merry. Little Fin came to him with a stoup of
mead with herbs in it, and very strong. The king made every one in the
house drunk, until they fell asleep each in his berth. Fin had gone
away, and a light was burning in the lodging. Hrorek waked the men who
usually followed him, and told them he wanted to go out into the yard.
They had a lantern with them, for outside it was pitch dark. Out in the
yard there was a large privy standing upon pillars, and a stair to go
up to it. While Hrorek and his guards were in the yard they heard a man
say, "Cut down that devil;" and presently a crash, as if somebody fell.
Hrorek said, "These fellows must be dead drunk to be fighting with each
other so: run and separate them." They rushed out; but when they came
out upon the steps both of them were killed: the man who went out the
last was the first killed. There were twelve of Hrorek's men there, and
among them Sigurd Hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little
Fin. They drew the dead bodies up between the houses, took the king with
them, ran out to a boat they had in readiness, and rowed away. Sigvat
the skald slept in King Olaf's lodgings. He got up in the night, and his
footboy with him, and went to the privy. But as they were returning, on
going down the stairs Sigvat's foot slipped, and he fell on his knee;
and when he put out his hands he felt the stairs wet. "I think," said
he, laughing, "the king must have given many of us tottering legs
tonight." When they came into the house in which light was burning the
footboy said, "Have you hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody?"
He replied, "I am not wounded, but something must have happened here."
Thereupon he wakened Thord Folason, who was standard-bearer, and his
bedfellow. They went out with a light, and soon found the blood. They
traced it, and found the corpses, and knew them. They saw also a great
stump of a tree in which clearly a gash had been cut, which, as was
afterwards known, had been done as a stratagem to entice those out
who had been killed. Sigvat and Thord spoke together and agreed it
was highly necessary to let the king know of this without delay. They
immediately sent a lad to the lodging where Hrorek had been. All the men
in it were asleep; but the king was gone. He wakened the men who were in
the house, and told them what had happened. The men arose, and ran out
to the yard where the bodies were; but, however needful it appeared to
be that the king should know it, nobody dared to waken him.
Then said Sigvat to Thord, "What wilt thou rather do, comrade, waken the
king, or tell him the tidings?"
Thord replies, "I do not dare to waken him, and I would rather tell him
the news."
Then said Sigvat, "There is minch of the night still to pass, and before
morning Hrorek may get himself concealed in such a way that it may be
difficult to find him; but as yet he cannot be very far off, for the
bodies are still warm. We must never let the disgrace rest upon us of
concealing this treason from the king. Go thou, up to the lodging, and
wait for me there."
Sigvat then went to the church, and told the bell-ringer to toll for
the souls of the king's court-men, naming the men who were killed.
The-bell-ringer did as he was told. The king awoke at the ringing, sat
up in his bed, and asked if it was already the hours of matins.
Thord replies, "It is worse than that, for there has occurred a very
important affair. Hrorek is fled, and two of the court-men are killed."
The king asked how this had taken place, and Thord told him all he knew.
The king got up immediately, ordered to sound the call for a meeting of
the court, and when the people were assembled he named men to go out
to every quarter from the town, by sea and land, to search for Hrorek.
Thorer Lange took a boat, and set off with thirty men; and when day
dawned they saw two small boats before them in the channel, and when
they saw each other both parties rowed as hard as they could. King
Hrorek was there with thirty men. When they came quite close to each
other Hrorek and his men turned towards the land, and all sprang on
shore except the king, who sat on the aft seat. He bade them farewell,
and wished they might meet each other again in better luck. At the same
moment Thorer with his company rowed to the land. Fin the Little shot
off an arrow, which hit Thorer in the middle of the body, and was his
death; and Sigurd Hit, with his men, ran up into the forest. Thorer's
men took his body, and transported it, together with Hrorek, to
Tunsberg. King Olaf undertook himself thereafter to look after King
Hrorek, made him be carefully guarded, and took good care of his
treason, for which reason he had a watch over him night and day. King
Hrorek thereafter was very gay, and nobody could observe but that he was
in every way well satisfied.