Eric bowed, but made no answer.
That night, as they sat at meat in the palace, the Lady Elfrida, beingbidden in jest of Edmund the King to fill the cup of the bravest, passeddown the board, and, before all men, poured wine into Eric's cup, and,as she did so, welcomed him back with short sweet words.
Eric grew red as dawn, and thanked her graciously; but after the feasthe spoke with Skallagrim, asking him of the Gudruda, and when she couldbe ready to take the sea.
"In ten days, lord," said Skallagrim; "but stay we not here with theKing this winter? It is late to sail."
"Nay," said Eric, "we bide not here. I would winter this year in Fareys,for they are the nighest place to Iceland that I may reach. Next summermy three years of outlawry are over, and I would fare back homewards."
"Now, I see the shadow of a woman's hand," said Skallagrim. "It is verylate to face the northern seas, and we may sail to Iceland from Londonin the spring."
"It is my will that we should sail," answered Eric.
"Past Orkneys runs the road to Fareys," said Skallagrim, "and in Orkneyssits a hawk to whom the Lady Elfrida is but a dove. In faring from illwe may hap on worse."
"It is my will that we sail," said Eric stubbornly.
"As thou wilt, and as the King wills," answered Skallagrim.
On the morrow Eric went in before the King, and craved a boon.
"There is little that thou canst ask, Brighteyes," said the King, "thatI will not give thee, for, by my troth, I hold thee dear."
"I am come back to seek no great thing, lord," answered Eric, "but thisonly: leave to bid thee farewell. I would wend homeward."
"Say, Eric," said the King, "have I not dealt well with thee?"
"Well, and overwell, lord."
"Why, then, wouldst thou leave me? I have this in my mind--to bring theeto great honour. See, now, there is a fair lady in this court, and inher veins runs blood that even an Iceland viking might be proud to matewith. She has great lands, and, mayhap, she shall have more. Canst thounot find a home on them, thinkest thou, Brighteyes?"
"In Iceland only I am at home, lord," said Eric.
Then the King was wroth, and bade him begone when it pleased him, andEric bowed before him and went out.
Two days afterwards, while Eric was walking in the Palace gardens he metthe Lady Elfrida face to face. She held white flowers in her hand, andshe was fair to see and pale as the flowers she bore.
He greeted her, and, after a while, she spoke to him in a gentle voice:"They say that thou goest from England, Brighteyes?" she said.
"Yes, lady; I go," he answered.
She looked on him once and twice and then burst out weeping. "Why goestthou hence to that cold land of thine?" she sobbed--"that hateful landof snow and ice! Is not England good enough for thee?"
"I am at home there, lady, and there my mother waits me."
"'There thy mother waits thee,' Eric?--say, does a maid called Gudrudathe Fair wait thee there also?"
"There is such a maid in Iceland," said Eric.
"Yes; I know it--I know it all," she answered, drying her tears, andof a sudden growing cold and proud; "Eric, thou art betrothed to thisGudruda; and, for thy welfare, somewhat overfaithful to thy troth. Forhearken, Eric Brighteyes. I know this: that little luck shall cometo thee from the maid Gudruda. It would become me ill to say more;nevertheless, this is true--that here, in England, good fortune waitsthy hand, and there in Iceland such fortune as men mete to their foes.Knowest thou this?"
Eric looked at her and answered: "Lady," he said, "men are not born oftheir own will, they live and do little that they will, they do and go,perchance, whither they would not. Yet it may happen to a man that onemeets him whose hand he fain would hold, if it be but for an hour'stravel over icy ways; and it is better to hold that hand for this shorthour than to wend his life through at a stranger's side."
"Perhaps there is wisdom in thy folly," said the Lady Elfrida. "Still, Itell thee this: that no good luck waits thee there in Iceland."
"It well may be," said Eric: "my days have been stormy, and the gale isstill brewing. But it is a poor heart that fears the storm. Better tosink; for, coward or hero, all must sink at last."
"Say, Eric," said the lady, "if that hand thou dost desire to hold islost to thee, what then?"
"If that hand is cold in death, then henceforth I wend my ways alone."
"And if it be held of another hand than thine?"
"Then I will journey back to England, lady, and here in this fair gardenI may crave speech of thee again."
They looked one on another. "Fare thee well, Eric!" said the LadyElfrida. "Here in this garden we may talk again; and, if we talk nomore--why, fare thee well! Days come and go; the swallow takes flightat winter, and lo! at spring it twitters round the eaves. And if it comenot again, then farewell to that swallow. The world is a great house,Eric, and there is room for many swallows. But alas! for her who is leftdesolate--alas, alas!" And she turned and went.
It is told of this lady Elfrida that she became very wealthy and wasmuch honoured for her gentleness and wisdom, and that, when she was old,she built a great church and named it Ericskirk. It is also told that,though many sought her in marriage, she wedded none.
XVI
HOW SWANHILD WALKED THE SEAS
Within two days afterwards, the Gudruda being bound for sea, Eric wentup to bid farewell to the King. But Edmund was so angry with him becauseof his going that he would not see him. Thereon Eric took horse and rodedown sadly from the Palace to the river-bank where the Gudruda lay. Butwhen he was about to give the word to get out the oars, the King himselfrode up, and with him men bearing costly gifts. Eric went ashore tospeak with him.
"I am angry with thee, Brighteyes," said Edmund, "yet it is not in myheart to let thee go without words and gifts of farewell. This only Iask of thee now, that, if things go not well with thee there, out inIceland, thou wilt come back to me."
"I will--that I promise thee, King," said Eric, "for I shall never finda better lord."
"Nor I a braver servant," said the King. Then he gave him the gifts andkissed him before all men. To Skallagrim also he gave a good byrnie ofWelsh steel coloured black.
Then Eric went aboard again and dropped down the river with the tide.
For five days all went well with them, the sea being calm and the windslight and favourable. But on the fifth night, as they sailed slowlyalong the coasts of East Anglia over against Yarmouth sands, the moonrose red and ringed and the sea fell dead calm.
"Yonder hangs a storm-lamp, lord," said Skallagrim, pointing to theangry moon. "We shall soon be bailing, for the autumn gales draw near."
"Wait till they come, then speak," said Eric. "Thou croakest ever like araven."
"And ravens croak before foul weather," answered Skallagrim, and just ashe spoke a sudden gust of wind came up from the south-east and laid theGudruda over. After this it came on to blow, and so fiercely thatfor whole days and nights their clothes were scarcely dry. They rannorthwards before the storm and still northward, sighting no land andseeing no stars. And ever as they scudded on the gale grew fiercer, tillat length the men were worn out with bailing and starved with wet andcold. Three of their number also were washed away by the seas, and allwere in sorry plight.
It was the fourth night of the gale. Eric stood at the helm, and byhim Skallagrim. They were alone, for their comrades were spent and laybeneath decks, waiting for death. The ship was half full of water, butthey had no more strength to bail. Eric seemed grim and gaunt in thewhite light of the moon, and his long hair streamed about him wildly.Grimmer yet was Skallagrim as he clung to the shield-rail and staredacross the deep.
"She rolls heavily, lord," he shouted, "and the water gains fast."
"Can the men bail no more?" asked Eric.
"Nay, they are outworn and wait for death."
"They need not wait long," said Eric. "What do they say of me?"
"Nothing."
Then Eric groaned aloud.
"It was my stubbornness that brought us to thispass," he said; "I care little for myself, but it is ill that all shoulddie for one man's folly."
"Grieve not, lord," answered Skallagrim, "that is the world's way, andthere are worse things than to drown. Listen! methinks I hear the roarof breakers yonder," and he pointed to the left.
"Breakers they surely are," said Eric. "Now the end is near. But see, isnot that land looming up on the right, or is it cloud?"
"It is land," said Skallagrim, "and I am sure of this, that we run intoa firth. Look, the seas boil like a hot spring. Hold on thy course,lord, perchance we may yet steer between rocks and land. Already thewind falls and the current lessens the seas."
"Ay," said Eric, "already the fog and rain come up," and he pointedahead where dense clouds gathered in the shape of a giant, whose headreached to the skies and moved towards them, hiding the moon.
Skallagrim looked, then spoke: "Now here, it seems, is witchwork. Say,lord, hast thou ever seen mist travel against wind as it travels now?"
"Never before," said Eric, and as he spoke the light of the moon wentout.
Swanhild, Atli's wife, sat in beauty in her bower on Straumey Isle andlooked with wide eyes towards the sea. It was midnight. None stirred inAtli's hall, but still Swanhild looked out towards the sea.
Now she turned and spoke into the darkness, for there was no light inthe bower save the light of her great eyes.
"Art thou there?" she said. "I have summoned thee thrice in the wordsthou knowest. Say, Toad, art there?"
"Ay, Swanhild the Fatherless! Swanhild, Groa's daughter! Witch-mother'switch-child! I am here. What is thy will with me?" piped a thin voicelike the voice of a dying babe.
Swanhild shuddered a little and her eyes grew brighter--as bright as theeyes of a cat.
"This first," she said: "that thou show thyself. Hideous as thou art, Ihad rather see thee, than speak with thee seeing thee not."
"Mock not my form, lady," answered the thin voice, "for it is as thoudost fashion it in thy thought. To the good I am fair as day; to theevil, foul as their heart. _Toad_ thou didst call me: look, now I comeas a toad!"
Swanhild looked, and behold! a ring of the darkness grew white withlight, and in it crouched a thing hideous to see. It was shaped as agreat spotted toad, and on it was set a hag's face, with white lockshanging down on either side. Its eyes were blood-red and sunken, blackwere its fangs, and its skin was dead yellow. It grinned horribly asSwanhild shrank from it, then spoke again:
"_Grey Wolf_ thou didst call me once, Swanhild, when thou wouldst havethrust Gudruda down Goldfoss gulf, and as a grey wolf I came, and gavethee counsel that thou tookest but ill. _Rat_ didst thou call me once,when thou wouldst save Brighteyes from the carles of Ospakar, and as arat I came and in thy shape I walked the seas. _Toad_ thou callest menow, and as a toad I creep about thy feet. Name thy will, Swanhild,and I will name my price. But be swift, for there are other fair ladieswhose wish I must do ere dawn."
"Thou art hideous to look on!" said Swanhild, placing her hand beforeher eyes.
"Say not so, lady; say not so. Look at this face of mine. Knowest thouit not? It is thy mother's--dead Groa lent it me. I took it from whereshe lies; and my toad's skin I drew from thy spotted heart, Swanhild,and more hideous than I am shalt thou be in a day to come, as once I wasmore fair than thou art to-day."
Swanhild opened her lips to shriek, but no sound came.
"Troll," she whispered, "mock me not with lies, but hearken to mybidding: where sails Eric now?"
"Look out into the night, lady, and thou shalt see."
Swanhild looked, and the ways of the darkness opened before herwitch-sight. There at the mouth of Pentland Firth the Gudruda labouredheavily in the great seas, and by the tiller stood Eric, and with himSkallagrim.
"Seest thou thy love?" asked the Familiar.
"Yea," she answered, "full clearly; he is worn with wind and sea, butmore glorious than aforetime, and his hair is long. Say, what shallbefall him if thou aidest not?"
"This, that he shall safely pass the Firth, for the gale falls, and comesafely to Fareys, and from Fareys isles to Gudruda's arms."
"And what canst thou do, Goblin?"
"This: I can lure Eric's ship to wreck, and give his comrades, allsave Skallagrim, to Ran's net, and bring him to thy arms, Swanhild,witch-mother's witch-child!"
She hearkened. Her breast heaved and her eyes flashed.
"And thy price, Toad?"
"_Thou_ art the price, lady," piped the goblin. "Thou shalt give thyselfto me when thy day is done, and merrily will we sisters dwell in Hela'shalls, and merrily for ever will we fare about the earth o' nights,doing such tasks as this task of thine, Swanhild, and working wicked woetill the last woe is worked on us. Art thou content?"
Swanhild thought. Twice her breath went from her lips in great sighs.Then she stood, pale and silent.
"Safely shall he sail the Firth," piped the thin voice. "Safely shall hesit in Fareys. Safely shall he lie in white Gudruda's arms--_hee! hee!_Think of it, lady!"
Then Swanhild shook like a birth-tree in the gale, and her face grewashen.
"I am content," she said.
"_Hee! hee!_ Brave lady! She is content! Ah, we sisters shall be merry.Hearken: if I aid thee thus I may do no more. Thrice has the night-owlcome at thy call--now it must wing away. Yet things will be as I havesaid; thine own wisdom shall guide the rest. Ere morn Brighteyes shallstand in Atli's hall, ere spring he will be thy love, and ere autumnGudruda shall sit on the high seat in the hall of Middalhof the bride ofOspakar. Draw nigh, give me thine arm, sister, that blood may seal ourbargain."
Swanhild drew near the toad, and, shuddering, stretched out her arm,and then and there the red blood ran, and there they sealed theirsisterhood. And as the nameless deed was wrought, it seemed to Swanhildas though fire shot through her veins, and fire surged before her eyes,and in the fire a shape passed up weeping.
"It is done, Blood-sister," piped the voice; "now I must away in thyform to be about thy tasks. Seat thee here before me--so. Now lay thybrow upon my brow--fear not, it was thy mother's--life on death! curlinglocks on corpse hair! See, so we change--we change. Now thou art theDeath-toad and I am Swanhild, Atli's wife, who shall be Eric's love."
Then Swanhild knew that her beauty had entered into the foulness of thetoad, and the foulness of the toad into her beauty, for there before herstood her own shape and here she crouched a toad upon the floor.
"Away to work, away!" said a soft low voice, her own voice speaking fromher own body that stood before her, and lo! it was gone.
But Swanhild crouched, in the shape of a hag-headed toad, upon theground in her bower of Atli's hall, and felt wickedness and evillongings and hate boil and seethe within her heart. She looked outthrough her sunken horny eyes and she seemed to see strange sights. Shesaw Atli, her lord, dead upon the grass. She saw a woman asleep, andabove her flashed a sword. She saw the hall of Middalhof red with blood.She saw a great gulf in a mountain's heart, and men fell down it. And,last, she saw a war-ship sailing fast out on the sea, afire, and vanishthere.
Now the witch-hag who wore Swanhild's loveliness stood upon the cliffsof Straumey and tossed her white arms towards the north.
"Come, fog! come, sleet!" she cried. "Come, fog! come, sleet! Put outthe moon and blind the eyes of Eric!" And as she called, the fog rose uplike a giant and stretched his arms from shore to shore.
"Move, fog! beat, rain!" she cried. "Move and beat against the gale, andblind the eyes of Eric!"
And the fog moved on against the wind, and with it sleet and rain.
"Now I am afeared," said Eric to Skallagrim, as they stood in darknessupon the ship: "the gale blows from behind us, and yet the mist drivesfast in our faces. What comes now?"
"This is witch-work, lord," answered Skallagrim, "and in such thingsno counsel can avail. Hold the tiller straight and drive on, say I.Methinks the gale lessens more and more."
So they did for a little while, and a
ll around them sounded the roar ofbreakers. Darker grew the sky and darker yet, till at the last, thoughthey stood side by side, they could not see each other's shapes.
"This is strange sailing," said Eric. "I hear the roar of breakers as itwere beneath the prow."
"Lash the helm, lord, and let us go forward. If there are breakers,perhaps we shall see their foam through the blackness," said Skallagrim.
Eric did so, and they crept forward on the starboard board right to theprow of the ship, and there Skallagrim peered into the fog and sleet.
"Lord," he whispered presently, and his voice shook strangely, "what isthat yonder on the waters? Seest thou aught?"
Eric stared and said, "By Odin! I see a shape of light like to theshape of a woman; it walks upon the waters towards us and the mist meltsbefore it, and the sea grows calm beneath its feet."
"I see that also!" said Skallagrim.
"She comes nigh!" gasped Eric. "See how swift she comes! By the dead,it is Swanhild's shape! Look, Skallagrim! look how her eyes flame!--lookhow her hair streams upon the wind!"
"It is Swanhild, and we are fey!" quoth Skallagrim, and they ran back tothe helm, where Skallagrim sank upon the deck in fear.
"See, Skallagrim, she glides before the Gudruda's beak! she glidesbackwards and she points yonder--there to the right! Shall I put thehelm down and follow her?"