“A man was untied from the rope when he said this; the rope got a little entangled round his feet, so that he was not quite loose. This man was of large and handsome shape, young, and bold-looking. Thorkel asked him how he liked to die. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘if I might first fulfil my vow.’ Eirik jarl asked: ‘What is thy name? And what is thy vow, which thou desirest specially to fulfil before thou diest?’ He answered: ‘My name is Vagn; I am son of Áki, son of Palnatoki, of Fyen; so I have been told.’ Eirik said: ‘What vow didst thou make, as thou sayest thou wouldst like to die if thou hadst fulfilled it according to thy will?’ ‘I made the vow,’ said Vagn, ‘to get into the bed of Ingibjorg, the daughter of Thorkel Leira against his will, and that of all her kinsmen, and slay Thorkel if I came to Norway, and much do I lack if I cannot perform this before I die.’ ‘I will prevent thy doing this before thou diest,’ said Thorkel. He rushed toward him and struck at him, holding his sword with both hands. Björn the British, Vagn’s foster-father, kicked him with his foot away from the blow quickly. Thorkel missed Vagn, and hit the rope with which Vagn was tied and cut it asunder. Now Vagn was loose, and not wounded. Thorkel stumbled when he missed the man, and fell; the sword dropped out of his hands. Bjorn had kicked Vagn so strongly that he fell, but he lay not a long time, and soon jumped up. He seized Thorkel’s sword and gave him a deadly blow. ‘Now I have fulfilled one of my two vows,’ said Vagn, ‘and I feel a great deal better than before.’ Hákon said: ‘Do not leave him loose long; slay him first, for he has done us much harm.’ Eirik said: ‘You shall not slay him, if I have my will, before you slay me; I take him away.’ Hákon said: ‘Now I need not meddle with this; thou wilt have thy way alone, kinsman.’ Eirik said: ‘Vagn is a good man-bargain (= acquisition), father, and I think it a good bargain to let him take Thorkel’s place and honour; Thorkel might expect what happened to him, for now it is proved which often is said that “a wise man’s guess is a prophecy”; thou sawest already to-day that he was death-fated.’ Eirik took Vagn into his power, and then he was in no danger; Vagn said: ‘I will accept life from thee, Eirik, only on condition that all my comrades who are living are given their lives; otherwise we will all go the same way, we comrades.’ Eirik said: ‘I will speak to thy comrades, but I do not refuse what thou askest.’ Eirik went to Björn the British, and asked who he was, or what was his name. He answered ‘Björn.’ ‘Art thou the Björn who fetched the man in King Svein’s hall so boldly?’[166] ‘I know not,’ said Björn, ‘that I fetched him boldly, but nevertheless I took the man away.’ ‘What didst thou seek,’ said Eirik, ‘in coming hither, old man, or what induced thee, bald and white haired, to come on this journey? It is true that all straws want to sting us, the Noregs-men, since even the men who