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Now Thrand and Onund met Eyvind the Eastman, and he received his brother well; but when he knew that Onund was come with him, then he waxed wroth, and would fain set on him. Thrand bade him do it not, and said that it was not for him to wage war against Northmen, and least of all such men as fared peaceably.
One will, I suppose, never know what hands did the deed, but Streone's doing it was when all is told. There is more in my mind about this than I will say. But Thrand, who had been with me, begged that he might go to Colchester for a while; and I let him go, for he waxed restless, though I knew not what he would leave me for.
"Will the king suffer us to keep captives?" he said. "Aye," one answered, in some Jutland speech that was new to me, though one could understand it well enough, "there is word that we are to take any chiefs alive but that is a new word to us. Who minds it?" "I do," said Thrand. "Here is one who will pay for freedom, and he has yielded to me." "That is luck for you," they said, and passed on.
Then fell many of the viking-folk, and others were hurt so that they might not bear weapon; and withal they were fain to draw back, and might not, because their ships were even then come into the narrowest of the sound, and they were huddled together both by the ships and the stream; but Onund and his men set on fiercely, whereas Vigbiod was, but Thrand set on Vestmar, and won little thereby; so, when the folk were thinned on Vigbiod's ship, Onund's men and Onund himself got ready to board her: that Vigbiod saw, and cheered on his men without stint: then he turned to meet Onund, and the more part fled before him; but Onund bade his men mark how it went between them; for he was of huge strength.
As soon as Onund had recovered from his wound, Thrand went with his party to Geirmund Swarthyskin, who was the most eminent of the vikings in the West. They asked him whether he was not going to try and regain his kingdom in Hordland, and offered to join him, hoping by this means to do something for their own properties, for Onund was very wealthy and his kindred very powerful.
All that had happened came back to me in a moment then, and my ears woke to the sounds round me. I knew them only too well, for they were the awesome sounds of the time after battle. "Where is the king?" I said. "Safe enough, they say," Thrand answered. "Is it well with you, master?" I sat up, and the maze passed from me.
"He Egil!" they answered, laughing loudly. And at that Thrand turned and went away quickly, and I sat down and said: "What will Earl Edric do with me?" One said one thing and one another, and I did not listen much. But they all thought in the end that Edric's lust for gold would make him hold me to heavy ransom.
"He did so," the Danes said, for they loved Egil, and Streone was a stranger of no great reputation, though high in rank. "Set him loose," said Egil. "I will have no man interfere with my captives." Then Streone hid his anger, and took Egil aside while the Danes and Thrand set me free. Presently Egil broke out into a great laugh. "Want you to hang him for slaying men of yours!" he cried.
His son was Solmund, the father of Kari the Singed; father and son dwelt abroad a long time afterwards. Thrand bade Onund and Olaf to his house, and so did Thormod Shaft, and they backed Olaf's wooing, which was settled with ease, because men knew how mighty a woman Aud was. So the bargain was made, and, so much being done, Onund rode home, and Aud thanked him well for his help to Olaf.
When the battle was over there came up his son Thrand, his brother Ingjald's son Thorgils, Finnbogi the son of Thorgeir, the son of Thorhadd of Hitardal, and Steinolf the son of Thorleif of Hraundal. They set on their men and there was a hard struggle. Grettir saw that there was no choice left but either to flee or else to do his utmost and not spare himself.
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