ordered Skopte to go himself to the roadstead. When Earl Hakon heard that his son thought himself too great to give place to Skopte, he called to them immediately that they should haul out from their berth, threatening them with chastisement if they did not. When Thorleif heard this, he ordered his men to slip their land-cable, and they did so; and Skopte laid his vessel next to the earl's, as he used to do. When they came together, Skopte brought the earl all the news he had gathered, and the earl communicated to Skopte all the news he had heard; and Skopte was therefore called the Newsman. The winter after Eric was with his foster-father Thorleif, and early in spring he gathered a crew of followers, and Thorleif gave him a boat of fifteen benches of rowers, with ship furniture, tents, and ship provisions; and Eric set out from the fiord, and southwards to More. Newsman Skopte happened also to be going with a fully manned boat of fifteen rowers' benches from one of his farms to another, and Eric went against him to have a battle. Skopte was slain, but Eric granted life to those of his men who were still on their legs. So says Eyolf Dadaskald in the Banda lay:—
"At eve the youth went out
To meet the warrior stout—
To meet stout Skopte—he
Whose war-ship roves the sea.
Like force was on each side,
But in the whirling tide
The young wolf Eric slew
Skopte, and all his crew:
And he was a gallant one,
Dear to the Earl Hakon.
Up, youth of steel-hard breast—
No time hast thou to rest!
Thy ocean wings spread wide—
Speed o'er the foaming tide!
Speed on—speed on thy way!
For here thou canst not stay."
