Bruni Aslaksson stood great among his folk. Ashore he held broad acres, where the crofters paid him rent in kind and backed him at the Thing and in trouble On the water he owned six fisher boats and a ship, which sailed in trade He of-feted to the gods on behalf of the whole neighborhood and dealt with chieftains like himself up and down the coast. Though his house was built more of turf than timber, it was of good size, and stood at the middle of its own stockaded thorp. There was no lack of food and drink, furs and stuffs, herds and hirelings, strong sons and shrewdly married daughter&

He had never met Hadding, but had heard enough to know that this was in truth the Dane-king. “Welcome, welcome!” he boomed. He was a burly, snub-nosed man with a ruddy beard, going gray, that curled halfway down his paunch. “What an amazement! What a troll-banging amazement! We’ve had some news out of Geatland and Svithjod. I feared you were dead. But here you are. Ha, we’ll gorge and swill this evening!”

“How fares Denmark?” asked Hadding.

“As far as I know, well. That jail of Zealand you left to keep care Eirik Björnsson, that’s the name, not—he seems like a worthy steersman. You’ll soon see for yourself. My ship’s at sea right now. But I’ll have two boats scrubbed clean, and ferry you across the ‘Gat with something like swagger. First, though, we’ll fire up the bathhouse You haven’t steamed in months, have you? And we’ll break out dean clothes for the lot of you. Won’t be anything rich, but whole and warm and no bugs in it. And we can’t make a rightful feast ready before tomorrow, but we’ll be killing the fattest beasts, and meanwhile we’ve no dearth of pork—or ale and mead, which matters more—and I can tell you we’ve lively lassies hereabouts.”

Hadding smiled on the left side of his mouth. “I think they’ll have to wait,” he said. “We’re not very lively yet. I’d have us abide a while”

“Ha? Not but what you won’t be welcome, in this house and in all. Fresh faces are well-nigh unheard of, you know. Fishers swarm in from everywhere during the herring run, but mostly they’re not much fun to meet unless it be in a brawl. Hardly anybody else ever stops by. However, aside from those wenches I spoke of when you feel a bit better, what have we here to lure you with?”