This is what's told of the orc-man Hes`ðri'ðr Randu'lvs'on, who became known as Ejnðri'ðr O'tamra1 (*1: /Ejn-dri'ð-r O'tam-ra/ ['ejn.dɾi:.ðɾ 'o:.tɑ.m.ɾa:]: Wild, Lonely Rider, or Lonely Rider the Untamed.*).
When Ejnðri'ðr awoke after being clubbed at Staðs Dy'rðfaksr, he went in the house and found the carnage there. It's said that he gazed silently at the corpse of his brother Bjarg for a long time before asking every person there for a detailed account of what happened, paying particular attention to the description each one gave of the one who killed Bjarg. Then, Ejnðri'ðr took Halþo'r's sword and left. Bjǫrnar had acquired a few horses since his were killed, and Ejnðri'ðr took one of these and all the grain and dried meat he could fit in the saddlebags.
He followed the trail of the Holtmaðar into the woods to their camp. When the village left their summer camp behind, he followed, always staying just out of sight. While the trees were turning colour but had not yet shed their leaves, the band made camp and all the men left for the annual caribou hunt.
As the men hunted caribou, so Ejnðri'ðr hunted the men. The band was following a river, the men going upstream in canoes while Ejnðri'ðr followed on land on his horse. There was a place where the river narrowed and then widened again, with the bottleneck covered by trees hanging over the water. Here, the Holtmaðar waited in their canoes for the migrating caribou herd, which they knew must pass that way.
On shore, Ejnðri'ðr found fences on both embankments along the narrow part of the river, too high and too close to the water for the caribou to jump over. He waited behind the fence as the men waited for the caribou. They all heard the caribou swimming up the river before they saw them. Ejnðri'ðr heard the men shouting and throwing their javelins. When the noise moved away, Ejnðri'ðr went around the fence and saw a lone canoe near the opposite bank with a young man it, barely more than a boy. The man saw him too.
Ejnðri'ðr knew a little pidgin, and called, “Throw that javelin at me, if you're not moist!”
The man hesitated, but threw his javelin at Ejnðri'ðr, who allowed it to come without flinching. It cut a groove through the orc-man's left shoulder, but it was only a flesh wound.
“Better luck next time, boy.” Ejnðri'ðr shouted. He picked up the javelin, threw it back, and impaled the young man through the chest.
Ejnðri'ðr returned to the Holtmaðar camp to watch from a distance and saw that only women, children, and elders were left behind. He stepped beyond the edge of the trees so those in the camp could see him. Those in the camp were paralysed in fear at the sight of him, but he merely said,
“I have killed a man by the caribou fences.”
As soon as the manslaughter was announced, Ejnðri'ðr disappeared again into the trees. When the men returned they posted guards around the village.
Women in the village were busy preserving the meat to be kept over the winter. More herbs were needed for this, so a group of women went out to gather some, accompanied by two men. Ejnðri'ðr followed them in the cover of the trees. They often cast furtive glances around them, and the men constantly scanned the bush in all directions.
As the women found the herbs they were looking for, Ejnðri'ðr threw a javelin at one of the men, piercing him through the upper right thigh. The other man threw a tomahawk back, which cut off Ejnðri'ðr's left ear, but missed his head. Ejnðri'ðr fell back into the trees and the man, whose name was Nehdu'di'qe'w2, gave chase until the two met in a clearing.
Ejnðri'ðr removed his blue cloak and drew his sword while Nehdu'di'qe'w approached with tomahawk in hand. They fought for awhile with neither gaining the upper hand. Ejnðri'ðr was much taller and had a longer weapon so Nehdu'di'qe'w couldn't get close, but the latter was so nimble none of Ejnðri'ðr's swings hit flesh.
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This continued until Ejnðri'ðr swung wide, missing Nehdu'di'qe'w by a significant margin. Nehdu'di'qe'w used this opportunity to come down with all his might on the end of Ejnðri'ðr's sword, knocking it right out of the orc-man's hand. He then stepped forward to bury the tomahawk in Ejnðri'ðr's belly, but the orc-man caught his hand and slammed his other fist onto it, forcing Nehdu'di'qe'w to drop his weapon too.
Weaponless, Nehdu'di'qe'w kicked Ejnðri'ðr's shin so he fell to the ground. He fell on him with a knee to the gut and tried to choke him, but Ejnðri'ðr broke his hold. They grappled in the grass and fallen leaves for some time until Ejnðri'ðr got the better of the smaller, weaker man. He threw the man onto his chest and put a knee to his neck.
At that moment, they heard shouting coming from not far away. While they'd been fighting, the women had gone to get help. From where he was, Ejnðri'ðr could reach both the sword and tomahawk, and he took each in one hand.
“You fought well.” He remarked, “Not every man can hold his own for so long against an orc-man unarmed, even one with a bad arm. Yet you're not the one I intend to kill. However, you did cut off my ear.” He brought down the tomahawk on Nehdu'di'qe'w's ear, cutting it off cleanly. The man made no sound. Ejnðri'ðr left him there and took the tomahawk with him.
After that, Ejnðri'ðr was barely seen all winter. It's said that when a member of the band went outside the camp to relieve themselves, they would often catch sight of a lone rider watching them, or just passing by. Men went out to hunt him down many times, but none were successful. When Na'nɨmyswa't went out, he would give them a good chase, but on his horse he was too fast to catch. None of their arrows ever hit him, but they ensured he couldn't get close enough to get at Na'nɨmyswa't.
* * *
Everything was quiet between Gi'sls'tað and Staðs Dy'rðfaksr that winter. When summer came, Þo'rvalðr went to Staðs Dy'rðfaksr and summoned Bjǫrnar to the þing.
At Tcise'gawþing, the two sides again assembled on the platform at the þing-place. Representatives from Wa'bu'n's band were on one side with U'scna'bew and Þo'rvalðr, while Bjǫrnar and his allies stood on the other side.
“The þing will now hear the case of Bjǫrnar and his allies against Wa'bu'n's band.” The law-speaker announced.
Bjǫrnar began by calling out witnesses to the manslaughters by the Holtmaðar and stating the case as it stood, all of which Þo'rvalðr and the Holtmaðar agreed was just as it had been stated.
“That is not correct.” Said a voice from the crowd. Ejnðri'ðr then appeared from the midst of those watching and stepped up onto the platform, leading his horse behind him. His horse wore a caribou skin blanket, his own cloak was faded, his garments were torn, his left ear was missing, and he had a tomahawk in his belt. This was when people began calling him Ejnðri'ðr O'tamra, for they said he looked and acted like a wild animal in the skin of an orc-man. “I have killed one more man and injured another,” he continued, “whether of Wa'bu'n's band or of U'scna'bew's, I cannot say. I got an injury from a third man, but I injured him back, so I consider that enough.”
This was corroborated by U'scna'bew. Both sides agreed and accepted the case as it stood.
“You killed nine members of the prosecution's side,” Þo'rvalðr said, “so they have killed eight of your people, and one more for the treatment of each of the captives. I would like to suggest that each manslaughter on one side stand for the manslaughters on the other side, and let those who were wounded stand for each other. The last four manslaughters should stand for the captives and their treatment. The last manslaughter should stand for the two wounded. That leaves the killing of the horses. If Bjǫrnar will name a price for that, then the case can be settled.”
When it was Bjǫrnar's turn, he said, “I will never accept that this case be settled until the man who killed my son is dead.”
“And I,” added Ejnðri'ðr, “will not accept a settlement until the man who killed my twin is dead.”
There was much talking back and forth after these things were said. Some of Bjǫrnar's allies thought they should settle the case by atonement, but many of Wa'bu'n's band members maintained the horses were hunted fairly and paying for them was unacceptable. The end of the matter, then, was that everyone went home without anything being settled. Everyone except Ejnðri'ðr, who rejected Bjǫrnar's offer of lodging and slept in the woods.