At the beginning of the session, Niall, Steinar's new wife, approaches Ragnhild to apologize for the way she had been acting. She wants to make amends by making a bridal dress for Godney as a wedding gift. Niall also confesses that she is now pregnant. Ragnhild doesn't trust her but gets a sense that she is being sincere about making a beautiful dress. Niall agrees to let Ragnhild supervise the dress making. Niall turns out to be a very talented weaver and dressmaker. It is one of the best dresses Ragnhild has ever seen.
Steinar returns from his Viking raids with two handfuls of silver and a well paid crew. They get there just days before Brynjolf's wedding.
Mohammad continues to teach Snorri Arabic. This leads to trouble as the other children tease him for learning 'girl' stuff. Mohammad tries to teach the child to take the high road, which Snorri doesn't understand. Snorri continues to call Mohammad a Dark Elf and wants him to work his magic against the kids. Brynjolf interjects that the boy should just punch the other children in the nose if they continue to tease him. This makes Snorri happy.
Brynjolf, Ragnhild, Mohammad, Steinar, Niall, Snorri, and others from Brynjolf's household travel to Svenastadir, Ragnar's farmstead, for the wedding. They arrive a day before the rest of the guests who are coming from all over Iceland. A few are coming from as far away as Norway. Among the guests are Orm Nogood, Ragnhild's ex-husband, and their daughter Bera. Ragnhild sees the wedding as an excellent opportunity to find a husband for Bera. The first hurtle is that Orm and Bera are designated to sit at a table of low standing at the wedding feast. Ragnhild goads Ragnar into changing the seating to move Orm and Bera to a place of honor with Ragnhild and Steinar. Orm is thus given great honor which he thinks is what he deserves.
That night Niall presents Steinar with a gift. It is a new outfit to wear at the wedding. It is a work of art that will far surpass all others at the wedding. It also has some of the same patterns that the wedding dress has in it, which Steinar has not seen. The next morning he wears it with great pride. Ragnhild sees his fancy apparel and realizes it would not be appropriate for him to wear it. She goads him into wearing a vest to conceal the outfit. Steinar assesses the situation and realizes the most honorable thing for him to do would be to give the outfit to Brynjolf to wear at the wedding. Brynjolf is honored by such a handsome gift, but Niall is devastated. Brynjolf tries to console her and find out how to convince her to make another suit for Steinar. She agrees to this if there is an Icelandic court formed (the Althing), and Brynjolf and Steinar attend. Then she will make a suit for Steinar to wear at the Althing if Brynjolf will pay a handful of silver for materials.
The wedding is about to start, when a child is heard crying. It is Snorri, and he has obviously been in a fight. He was being teased again about learning girlish magic from the Dark Elf, Mohammad. Following Brynjolf's advice, he punched the other kid. Snorri, however, is outnumbered and undersized. He gets the worse of the fight. Ragnhild and Mohammad comfort Snorri and as a special treat give him some mead to drink. With the commotion settled down, the wedding commences. The ceremony is beautiful. Brynjolf presents Godney with a gold and silver pendent, and Godney gives Brynjolf Ragnar's sword to carry until they have a male son old enough to wield it.
The wedding feast starts, and things are going well until Orm decides that he needs to have Brynjolf serve him his drink like he did when he visited Orm's farm. Brynjolf tries to quiet Orm, but Orm's had too much to drink already and won't listen. Ragnar is not happy with Orm's behavior and starts to get mad at Brynjolf as well. Brynjolf recruits Steinar, and between the two of them physically carry Orm out of the hall and down to the river. They attempt to throw Orm in, but Brynjolf loses his footing and ends up falling in himself. Unfortunately, the dyes in his outfit were not completely set, and the water ruins his splendid gift. Orm starts back toward the hall to get another drink. Brynjolf climbs out of the river and runs up to catch him. He draws his new sword and threatens Orm's life if he returns to the wedding. Orm agrees to leave but quietly insults Brynjolf as he leaves. Bera begins to escort Orm to his tent. Ragnhild still wants Bera available for looking for a husband. She convinces Steinar to get Orm to bed. Steinar dutifully agrees. Before he gets there though, Niall approaches. She tries to convince Steinar to leave Orm to his own devices and join her in bed. He had been gone raiding all summer and she missed him. Steinar regretfully fulfills his duty to Orm and gets him to bed after having to regale him with stories of his summer raids which takes hours. When Brynjolf gets back to the feast, Ragnar scolds him that the main reason he allowed him to marry his daughter was because of his high honor. If Brynjolf allows a nobody like Orm to treat him that way on his wedding day, this marriage could have been a big mistake. Orm needs to be taken care of, and since the local godi is Ragnar's cousin, the consequences will be minor.
One of the topics of conversation during the wedding feast is the possible formation of a island wide council of lawmakers and judges, the Althing. The population of Iceland is getting large enough that independent actions of godi in the separate areas is becoming ineffective. When people are outlawed in one district, it is too easy for them to move into the neighboring valley and cause problems. Also more and more disputes are coming up between areas of different godi. Who rules on these cases is not clear. There is varying level of support for the Althing. Some larger landowners and godi, who basically rule their area, are against it as they will have to yield some of their power to the larger body politic. Some independent farmers feel that a larger system will lead to a central power or king. They left Norway to get away from the king and don't want that problem here. Many of the women support the Althing as a way to increase social networking and find better spouses for their children. Ragnar openly opposes the Althing. Brynjolf supports it when Ragnar is not around.
Mohammad meets a Norwegian Christian missionary at the wedding as well. They talk religion and their experiences with the pagans in Iceland. The leave on friendly terms. Nothing else of note happens at the wedding.
Brynjolf and family make their way back to their farms. A couple nights later, Brynjolf sneaks off to Orm's farm. He sets his hall on fire by the main sleeping area, and then rides off into the night. The next day some refuges from Orm's farm show up seeking shelter and help for Orm and Bera who were injured in a fire last night. Brynolf says everyone can stay except for Orm who is not welcome here. They decide to move along to find help else where. A hours later they return on their way back to Orm's farm. Orm and Bera have both died. Brynjold feeds and shelters them before they finish their journey so they can bury the bodies. When Steinar learns of his father's death, he goes to the farm to check the condition of it, and to see if he can find out what really happened.
This ended the night.
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