en the
sun hath arisen, and the sail tuggeth hard on the sheet, and the ship
lieth over and the lads shout against the whistle of the wind? Has the
spear fallen from thine hand, and hast thou buried the sword of thy
fathers in the grave from which thy body hath escaped? What art thou, O
Warrior, in the land of the alien and the King? Who shall heed thee or
tell the tale of thy glory, which thou hast covered over with the hand of
a light woman, whom thy kindred knoweth not, and who was not born in a
house wherefrom it hath been appointed thee from of old to take the
pleasure of woman? Whose thrall art thou now, thou lifter of the spoil,
thou scarer of the freeborn? The bidding of what lord or King wilt thou
do, O Chieftain, that thou mayst eat thy meat in the morning and lie soft
in thy bed in the evening?"

"O Warrior of the Ravagers, here stand I, Hallblithe of the Raven, and I
am come into an alien land beset with marvels to seek mine own, and find
that which is dearest to mine heart; to wit, my troth-plight maiden the
Hostage of the Rose, the fair woman who shall lie in my bed, and bear me
children, and stand by me in field and fold, by thwart and gunwale,
before the bow and the spear, by the flickering of the cooking-fire, and
amidst the blaze of the burning hall, and beside the bale-fire of the
warrior of the Raven. O Sea-eagle, my guester amongst the foemen, my
fellow-farer and shipmate, say now once for all whether thou wilt help me
in my quest, or fall off from me as a dastard?"

Again the maidens shrank before his clear and high-raised voice, and they
trembled and grew pale.

But the Sea-eagle laughed from a countenance kind with joy, and said:
"Child of the Raven, thy words are good and manly: but it availeth nought
in this land, and I wot not how thou wilt fare, or why thou hast been
sent amongst us. What wilt thou do? Hadst thou spoken these words to
the Long-hoary, the Grandfather, yesterday, his ears would have been deaf
to them; and now that thou speakest them to the Sea-eagle, this joyous
man on the Glittering Plain, he cannot do according to them, for there is
no other land than this which can hold him. Here he is strong and stark,
and full of joy and love; but otherwhere he would be but a gibbering
ghost drifting down the wind of night. Therefore in whatsoever thou
mayst do within this land I will stand by thee and help thee; but not one
inch beyond it may my foot go, whether it be down int