The biggest event for the game happened away from the table. Our player for Brynjolf (The Man) left the game due to real life issues. So Brynjolf has become a Threat to the other players.
Steinar, his wife Niall, his mother Ragnhild, and Mohammad the stranger went to Orm's farm to investigate the fire and review the condition of the remaining property. It was noticed that the fire seemed slightly unusual in that primarily burned the side of the longhouse with the sleeping area and not evenly spread from the fire pit in the center of the house. This made them suspicious to the origin of the fire.
As they investigated, the servants were burying Orm and his daughter Bera. Steinar noted that they were not being given an honorable burial. He ordered the servants to improve the grave to give Orm a proper burial. The servants grumbled as Orm was a drunk and died an ignoble death but complied with Steinar's wishes.
A group on horseback approached the farm. It turned out to be Brynjolf, his wife Godney, and some men from his farm. He had come to claim shares of the inheritance for himself and his nephew Snorri. Steinar and Ragnhild objected when he claimed the best field for himself. After some negotiation, they were able to convince him to take a rockier field that would be managed by Steinar until Snorri came of age to take over running the farm himself. Brynjolf advised Steinar to take as much from the farm as possible back to his and Niall's farm and then return in spring to begin to work Orm's land. Brynjolf then returned to his farm. Steinar and company spent the next couple days packing up what they could for transport.
After they parted, Niall approached Ragnhild asking for advice. She had learned from Godney that Brynolf had not been at home the night of the fire. She wanted to know what to make of this and if she should tell Steinar about this. Ragnhild advised her to wait. She was going to consult a seidkona before making any rash moves.
Ragnhild travels to visit Thorlaug Whitehair, Ingvar's older sister, widow, and seidkona. Ragnhild asks Thorlaug to help her find the truth of Orm's death. Thorlaug offers to prepare a potion for Ragnhild that will reveal the truth to her in a dream but warns her that the truth is not always what a person wants to know. Ragnhild decides to drink to potion despite the warning. She had a dream about 4 sheep. The first sheep is a big powerful ram. The second sheep is another ram. This ram is taken to be shorn. The wool comes off, but there is more underneath. As the additional layers are shorn, the ram gets smaller and smaller. By the time all of the wool is removed, the ram is completely gone. The third sheep is an ewe. It also is taken to be shorn. As the wool is removed, the ewe is black underneath. The fourth sheep is another ram. It is also big and strong. The first ram and last ram begin to fight and butt heads. As the fighting gets more violent, the ewe gets stuck between the two and gets crushed to death. Ragnhild then wakes up. She thanks Thorlaug, but before she can leave for Steinar's farm, Ingvar asks her to request Mohammad to visit him when she returns.
When Mohammad receives the message, he borrows a horse and sets off to Ingvar's. Ingvar needs help dealing with a delicate situation. His brother-in-law Hrolf is visiting from western Iceland. He arrive midsummer and requested hospitality. Ingvar gladly agreed to his company. He later learned that Hrolf had been declared an outlaw for killing a slave owned by Eid Vermundson. Eid is a close friend of Egil Skallagrimsson, a powerful chieftain in the west. Ingvar doesn't want to violate hospitality to a guest, but he doesn't want to lose honor by sheltering an outlaw. He asks Mohammad as an outsider to help deal with Hrolf. Mohammad agrees and sets off for the shieling where Hrolf is staying. When Mohammad confronts Hrolf, he tries to convince him to leave Iceland under an alias. Hrolf does not understand who this foreigner is and why he is trying to get him to change his name and leave. Mohammad gets frustrated. When Hrolf turns his back, Mohammad draws his sword and stabs Hrolf. It is a mortal wound. Mohammad returns to Ingvar and relates what happened. Ingvar thanks Mohammad for dealing with the difficult situation and presents him with a decorated helmet and fine cloak.
While Mohammad was away, Ragnhild visited Brynjolf. She confronted him about Orm's death. He confessed to her in private. He agreed that he needed to publicly announce that he had killed Orm due to the insult he received at his wedding from Orm. He promised to announce it at the Thing in the spring. He would then also offer compensation for the killing to Steinar. This placated Ragnhild, and she returned to Steiner's farm.
Steinar, however, was not satisfied with Brynjolf's commitment. He felt that Ragnar would convince Brynjolf to take action against Steinar before spring. Anyone who would set fire to a sleeping man's house in the middle of the night could not be trusted. Steinar and Ragnhild decided they needed to prepare a case against Brynjolf and present it at the autumn Thing. At the Thing, they try to rally godi to their case, but no one is willing to stake their honor on this case. Ragnar has too much influence. Steinar decides to confront Brynjolf directly at first before presenting the case. Insults are exchanged, and Brynjolf is labeled as a coward. Brynjolf attacks Steinar and Mohammad with superior numbers. Steinar and Mohammad prove themselves to be of great skill. They kill three of Brynjolf's men and wound Brynjolf while not taking any serious injuries themselves. Before more deaths occur, Bjarki the Learned has his men separate the two sides. Any fighting here should be done in court and not in the booths. Steinar agrees and prepares his case for the next day.
As the case is presented, it becomes obvious that Steinar has no support. Brynjolf has spread a story that Steinar had killed Orm and was framing Brynolf. Steinar wanted to kill Orm before the old drunkard drove the farm into ruin and drank away any remaining inheritance that Steinar would get. This became widely accepted. Steinar's only hope was to challenge Brynjolf to a duel to settle the case. Brynjolf accepted with the condition of either putting the duel off until spring to give Brynjolf's leg wound time to heal or to allow a champion to fight in Brynjolf's place. Steinar agreed to Brynjolf using a champion. Brynjolf selected Stuf Strongarm to be his champion. The duel would be the first to break three shields. Steinar gets the best of Stuf, but as he breaks Stuf's third shield, Stuf's axe comes down hard on Steinar's left shoulder. There is an audible pop as the side of the axe crashed down. Steinar's arm is dangling useless at his side. Fortunately, a wise man with some medical skills is available. The shoulder is only dislocated, and he is able to pop it back into the socket. With the duel won, Steinar presses Brynjolf for compensation for Orm's death. Brynjolf agrees to pay three cattle and a slave. Steinar accepts and goes off to celebrate. The next day, Steinar and family return to his farm. They settle in for the harvest and winter. Nothing else of note happens until spring. Niall is due to deliver her baby.
This ends chapter 4. Next week will be the final chapter. I need to take a break after that for family commitments. But at some point we will rejoin the saga of the Ragnhild's family.
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