In his dreams, Hárekr saw a beautiful woman with reddish hair, a slender body, and the wild appearance of one who dwells deep in the forests.
The trance continued. In his delirium, he believed that vision was the transition to the other world: he was convinced he had fallen.
What he did not know was that a woman had saved him. She lived apart on that same mountain and knew the great serpent well, though she had never tried to approach it. The day Hárekr fell unconscious, the woman was gathering herbs while it was still daylight. Seeing him lying on the ground, she came to his aid.
Now the young man lay resting on the ground, surrounded by a circle of protective runes carved into the earth. On his shoulder, a poultice of medicinal herbs covered the open wound.
The woman was chanting mystical songs when he woke with a start. Hárekr exclaimed, confused:
"What is this?"
Fixing his gaze on her, he was fascinated to find she was identical to the figure from his dream. He observed the runes marked on the ground, recalling the echo of the chants, and asked, keeping his distance:
"Are you a v?lva (witch or seeress of the seier)?"
She looked at him sternly and snapped:
"Is this how you thank me?"
Hárekr did not smile. He contemplated her seriously and questioned:
"If my fate was to die, why do you prevent it?"
She answered without flinching:
"I thought you were not so fervent... But you are mistaken: it was not your fate to die here. That is why I saved you."
Without adding more, she stood, revealing her slender figure. Hárekr sighed and, observing his battered shoulder, asked:
"Will it take long to heal?"
"A few weeks... or perhaps more," she replied. "For now, you should think about how you will pay me for saving your life."
She walked away into the thicket of the forest. Hours passed and Hárekr remained without crossing the circle of runes traced on the ground, respecting the woman’s magic. When night fell, he tried to light the fire himself, but his body, weakened by fever and the bite, would not allow it.
She returned shortly after. Seeing him struggle in vain, she approached and said:
"Lean on me."
Hárekr nodded and rested his weight on the woman’s shoulder. She let out a soft laugh and remarked with some admiration:
"You don’t weigh that much... How did you manage to kill such a beast?"
"Want to find out?" Hárekr returned.
She fell silent at the provocation. She guided him to her hut, a modest wooden dwelling discreetly hidden beside a spring that flowed straight down from the peak.
Upon entering, she indicated:
"Wash yourself well."
Hárekr let out an exhausted laugh:
"And how do you expect me to do that in my state?"
Without answering, the woman watched him remove the remains of his blood-soaked clothing. She helped him settle at the water’s edge and began pouring fresh water over his skin while asking:
"Where do you come from?"
"From Gauldal," Hárekr answered.
She nodded slowly. Then it was he who asked, noticing that the hut was perfectly stocked for a long stay:
"And have you always lived here?"
"I was raised in these mountains," she replied calmly.
Hárekr nodded, understanding that this woman had spent her entire life in the solitude of the heights, fully integrated into the spirit of the forest.
Minutes later, once clean, she helped him into the hut. She had prepared an improvised bed for him, the reason she had returned hours earlier, located near her own bed. She indicated that he should rest there.
Hárekr watched her and asked:
"What is your name?"
She, fixing her eyes on him, replied:
"Huld."
And immediately added:
"Do not ask me more questions."
Hárekr nodded in silence, but spoke to her again with a direct and blunt tone:
"What do you want as payment, Huld?"
She hesitated for an instant, not knowing what to answer. Hárekr proposed:
"I will give you all the gold you desire..."
Huld let out a soft laugh upon hearing him and replied:
"Why would I want gold? That does not matter to me. You will think later about how to settle your debt."
Hárekr, noticing that she truly had no interest in riches, ran his gaze over her and suggested:
"I can pay you with something more mundane..."
Huld sighed, contemplated him for a second, and simply ignored him.
Hárekr settled into the bed to prepare for sleep. As he closed his eyes, he reflected in the darkness.
’Why did I dream of her before meeting her?... And what exactly was she doing in that place when I fainted?’
He glanced at her one last time before succumbing to fatigue, with the sole certainty that this woman had healed his wounds and, for the moment, had saved his life.
The next morning, Hárekr woke and noticed that Huld’s bed was empty. He rose with difficulty and advanced slowly, supporting himself on whatever he found along the way. Stepping out of the hut, he saw her washing his blood-soaked clothes by the water.
Huld, noticing he had woken, gestured to indicate she had left him a hot stew.
Hárekr began to eat quickly without taking his eyes off her. When he finished, he said:
"I must return for what remains of that beast."
She looked him up and down and replied with irony:
"Yes, of course. In your state you are going to carry it..."
Hárekr sighed. He knew he did not have the strength to transport the entire body, but at least he wanted to take the head as a trophy. He was about to ask her if she could help him get it when he distinguished, to one side of the house, the colossal head of the serpent: it was covered with a thick layer of sea salt and aromatic herbs to preserve the skin and neutralize the putrefaction.
Hárekr looked at her again, impressed. This woman seemed to anticipate his every move; if it were not for the fact that she lived in this isolated hut in the mountains, he would have sworn she came from the court of some important fylki.
She, noticing him silent, took the word:
"Besides... in three moons you must leave. The spirits have told me I should not help you further."
Hárekr looked at her, let out a sigh, and answered:
"So you truly are a v?lva..."
He said it recalling the rumors that ran through the fylkis: the v?lvur were women who practiced the seier, feared for their magic and considered dangerous; dealing with them usually attracted great evils and misfortunes.
However, Hárekr noticed that Huld transmitted a serenity. He decided not to press further on the subject and said:
"Very well. I myself will come down the mountain when the time comes."
She merely nodded and stepped out of the hut for a moment.