“That’s true.” Holgar came out to stand beside his fellow Wolfskin; the two of them together made an impressive sight with their great height, their broad, fur-cloaked shoulders, and their fierce eyes. “And he couldn’t have done it next day either, nobody went out searching alone. Eyvind had one of Engus’s men with him all morning, until he went off with Somerled. They called me when they found the body. Eyvind didn’t have the demeanor of a man who’d just murdered his chieftain.”

“And I did?” queried Somerled very quietly. A little muscle in his cheek had begun to twitch, something Eyvind had witnessed before from time to time. At long last, perhaps Somerled was worried.

“No, my lord,” Holgar said. “If I’d been asked, I’d have said neither of you could have done it. Eyvind was distressed, and you were…beside yourself with grief, it seemed to me, almost as if you’d have leaped off the cliff yourself. That was a terrible day.”

“A black day,” put in Erlend. “My lords, I cannot condone what Eyvind did at the Whaleback, for it runs contrary to a warrior’s code to turn against his own comrades, to defy his own leader. In mitigation, I’m obliged to say it was quite clear to the three of us that Eyvind didn’t intend to kill us, nor to inflict any serious injury. If he’d wanted to do that, he would have done it, war fetter or no. The man’s unparalleled in close combat. We knew he sought only to delay the attack. We didn’t understand why. Perhaps the revelations of tonight are the key to that. I can only tell you, Eyvind is well known to all of us, and all of us will say, Eyvind would never have slain Ulf. Not only had he no reason to do so, the manner of Ulf’s death rules him out as a suspect. Eyvind’s been an expert hunter since he was a boy, we all know that. A hunter kills efficiently, with compassion. With respect for the life he takes.”

“Theories, theories,” grumbled Harald Silvertongue, “no case was ever proven on speculations such as these. What about some hard facts? Say we accept the premise that Eyvind could not have done the deed that night. We must, of course, bear in mind that you are the accused man’s close comrades, bound by your oath to Thor, and that loyalty may play a greater part in your testimony than truth. However, say we accept what you tell us about that night. There is still the next day. You mentioned that no man went off alone in the morning. You say Eyvind had one of the islanders with him. In view of the king’s talk of treachery, of the poison these folk put in the Wolfskin’s mind, the presence of one of Engus’s men by his side scarcely constitutes an alibi.”