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.

   The oarsmen rested on their oars to await Karl Sverkersson's retainers, who came running down to the shore with crossbows and longbows in hand. They shot their arrows in vain, and King Knut held the holy relic of God over his head in triumph.

   Then they set a course for Forsvik, which lay against the wind. No pursuers in Western Götaland would be able to row against the wind like King Knut's Norwegian kinsmen.

The week after the martyrs Filippus and Jacob were remembered on the first of May, when all the livestock were let out to pasture and the inspection of the fences was complete, the late spring all at once changed to summer. The mild south wind continued for a long time, all the tender greenery appeared at once, and among the oaks on the slopes of Kinnekulle lay a thick white carpet of wood anemones. The cuckoo was heard first in the west.

   This time Arn came riding alone and at a leisurely pace toward Husaby. He seemed to want to draw out the sweet torment now that he knew that Cecilia would be his. He also had much to think about because recent days had been full of tasks in the service of Knut Eriksson. Much had happened, and he wasn't sure whether he understood Knut's intentions behind all of it.

   When they returned to Forsvik after their successful journey to Visingö, they were able to sail right into the harbor, such was the difference in the ice after only one day. Knut immediately dispatched a messenger relay to Arnäs and Magnus Folkesson, who would send word on to Joar Jedvardsson at Eriksberg. First their own kinsmen had to be informed about what had happened, for soon armies would be assembling for war.

   Arn had been prepared to ride with the news, thinking that it would arrive sooner that way. But Knut had said that there were important tasks that required Arn's assistance on behalf of his king; he could ride to Cecilia after everything that had to be done was done.

   First Knut and Arn had to sail across Vättern again with both horses and retainers, and then ride together to Bjälbo and let Birger Brosa know what had happened. There was not a single day to lose, for ignorance could be the same as death; all their kinsmen had to be rallied in time before the enemy attacked. Besides, it was only right that Birger Brosa be informed about what had happened by one of his own who had also been involved in the outlaw's demise on Visingö. Likewise it was important to meet with the next most important man, Archbishop Stéphan in Östra Aros. Knut had to win over both Birger Brosa and the archbishop to his cause, and both these men were close to Arn. Arn had nothing to say against this.