The Road Home Snake attacks Thorfinn with his curved sword, but Thorfinn manages to evade it and even land some blows. They fight to a standstill with each aware of the other's fighting skills, but Snake reaches the cart containing Gardar and stabs him in the chest in payment for the five men he killed. While Snake tells Arnheid and Thorfinn that they will have to be punished, Gardar grabs Snake and begins to choke him. Arnheid convinces Gardar to stop and leave with her, telling him a lie that she sent their son to live with his brother. Sverkel offers his cart to Gardar, and he quietly leaves with Arnheid. However, Gardar is dying from his wounds, and in a delirium, recalls the birth of his son, his life as a warrior and a slave, and the futility of a life of adventuring while abandoning his family. As he dies in Arnheid's arms, retainers arrive to take them into custody.