After half a day's toil they came to a channel leading toward the open water in the middle of Lake Vättern, and from there they could already see Visingö. The wind was westerly as usual at this time of year, and they were soon able to set sail. The farther south they sailed, the more the channel widened. In the dusk they saw that the southern tip of Visingö lay surrounded by open water, and they understood then that God was with them. Had they come a day earlier they would have been forced to leave their ship out on the ice, fully visible as soon as day broke. A day later and the ice on Lake Vättern would have dispersed, and a guard would have been posted on the walls of the royal fortress of Näs to watch for dangers approaching from the sea.

   They lowered their sail and rowed slowly toward Näs, reaching the shore only after it had long been dark. There they pulled in to wait in a little cove with dense alder thickets. They pulled the sail over their ship and lighted fires in two iron braziers, sending scouts ashore to make sure the fires weren't visible. For they did need heat, since the spring nights in the North were still bitterly cold.

   Knut was in a good mood, as if all the difficult things had already been accomplished. He sat close to Arn and said that this was either their last night together or their first on a long journey.

   Then he talked about the man who had murdered his own father, and who had tried to murder Arn's father with trickery and unfair single combat, but Arn interrupted him at once, saying that these words were unnecessary. He knew all this already and had given it much thought.

   And yet he felt doubt, he admitted to Knut. He had sworn a holy oath not to raise his sword in anger or for his own benefit, and now it seemed that he was on his way to doing just that. He would gain much from Karl Sverkersson's death. He said that he understood that it was not merely a question of taking back the holy relic that rightfully belonged to his good friend Knut, and which hung unjustly around Karl Sverkersson's neck. He understood that this neck should be severed when the cross was freed.

   Knut said nothing to release Arn from his anguish, because what Arn had said was entirely true. Instead Knut spoke in a low, warm tone about Cecilia and what a joy it would be as their king to bring them together in any church they liked, even before the archbishop in Östra Aros if they so desired. Arn then grew warm with tenderness despite the raw, damp late winter night, and replied that any church at all would be fine as far as he was concerned, as long as it was close by. And then they laughed together. As their laughter died away, Knut said that if he liked, Arn could borrow one of several good Norwegian swords that were not bound by a holy oath.

   Then Knut lowered his voice and explained what was going to happen. In Skara they had bought much information, but most importantly from a man who a short time ago had left Karl Sverkersson's service at Näs. They had found out that when there was no danger at Näs, such as now when the ice could neither bear nor break, Karl Sverkersson took a short walk down to the beach each morning, to be by himself. Why he did this no one quite knew, but he always followed the same route in the early morning, just at dawn, when the first light allowed him to see where he set his foot.

   For this important information, Karl Sverkersson's traitor had received the wages he so justly deserved.

   If God was now with them, all this would happen by the time the night was over. All that remained now was to pray and then try to get some sleep.

   A watch was set out. The ship was well hidden in the darkness behind the alders near the beach.

   Arn did not sleep much on that cold night, and perhaps the other men didn't either, even though they were Norsemen and did not seem frightened that the next day might be their last.

   But everything went as though God were standing by them. Arn stood ready with bow and arrow when it was still pitchdark. With the very first light he moved to a somewhat better position. Next to him stood Knut himself and Jon Mickelsen and Egil Olafsen of Ulateig, and they all were wearing thick wolfskins and double leggings against the cold. They stood so near the royal fortress that they could have easily reached the top of the wall with an arrow-shot. Arn wore a Norwegian sword at his side. They didn't say much to one another.

   When the heavy oak gate in the wall of Näs opened, however, it was as if all the cold in their limbs vanished, and they seemed to glow with excitement. They saw a man come out with two men by his side. They watched the three come walking toward the strand quite near to the place where they were standing. Arn made a move to draw his bow, but the other three stopped him at once.

   In the faint light of dawn it was hard to distinguish colors. But when the three men from the castle walked past at a distance of a couple of paces, it seemed that the one in front was wearing a red mantle and a golden cross that gleamed at his neck. Knut Eriksson held up his hand in warning so that no one would act before he did, although they all knew it was the king walking past.

   King Karl Sverkersson went all the way down to the shore of Lake Vättern. There he stopped and bent down to the water, cupping some it in his hand. He drank the water before he fell to his knees, and for the last time he offered a prayer of thanksgiving because this water had saved his life for another night.

   There was no frost on the ground, so Knut Eriksson was able to stride forward as soon as the three men by the water had knelt down, and they could not hear him coming. He chopped off the head of the king at once and then did the same to one of the retainers. But he did not kill the other man. Instead he held his sword to his throat and waved for Egil and Jon to come forward at once, which they did swiftly after whispering to Arn to stay where he was.

   Arn now saw how his dearest childhood friend leaned down to pick up the golden chain and rinsed it clean of blood in the water of Lake Vättern. He then walked quickly toward Arn after whispering something to his Norwegian retainers, and they dragged the survivor off with them, holding a hand over his mouth.

   They pulled the ship into the water and got on board. The Norsemen sat down at the oars and Knut stood at the tiller in the stern holding the captive with one hand and the golden chain with God's holy relic in the other. When they were ready to cast off he released his prisoner and spoke to him in a loud voice.

   "Now I say to you, captive, that you are free. You have been given your life, but you shall also know who, other than God, has given you life. I am Knut Eriksson and I am now your king. Go to the mass of St. Tiburtius tomorrow and thank God for your life, for just as He saved your life, it was He who led us here. But make haste so that no one thinks you were the one who killed Karl Sverkersson!"

   Then Knut signaled with his hand for the rowers to pull away, and with powerful strokes of the oars they moved swiftly out into clear water farther than an arrow-shot could reach. The captive, who had been released like a kitten into the water by King Knut Eriksson, now ran as fast as he could toward the halfopen oak gate in the walls of the royal fortress, the fortress that was built so securely that no one could ever have succeeded in killing the king inside.