Egil said to his comrades that he would go on his way and abide no longer. Thorfinn had a son named Helgi, a valiant man. Father and son offered Egil their company through the wood. They said they knew for a fact that Armod Beard had put six men into the wood to lie in wait for them, and it was likely that there would be more ambushed in the wood in case the first should fail. There were with Thorfinn four that offered to go. Then Egil sang a stave:

'If four with me follow,
Thou findest not six men
With us bloody sword-blows
To barter in fight.
And if he with eight go,
Undaunted in courage
On twelve black-browed Egil
The battle will dare.'

Thorfinn and his men decided to go into the wood with Egil: thus they were eight in all. And when they came where the ambush was set, they saw men there. But these house-carles of Armod who were in ambush, on seeing that the travellers were eight in number, thought they were overmatched, and hid them away in the wood. And when Egil's party came where the liers-in-wait had been, they saw that all was not peaceful. And now Egil said that Thorfinn and his men should go back, but they offered to go further. However Egil would not have it, and bade them go home; so they did so and turned back.

But Egil and his men went on forward, being now four. And as the day wore on they perceived that there were six men in the wood, and they were pretty sure that these also were house-carles of Armod. Up leapt the liers-in-wait and made at them, and they met their charge: and the encounter ended in Egil's slaying two and the rest running back into the wood.

Then Egil's company went on their way, and nothing more happened till they got out of the wood and found lodging near the wood with a landowner named Alf, who was called Alf the wealthy. He was an old man, wealthy in money, of a strange temper, so that he could keep but few in his household. A good reception Egil found there, and with him Alf was talkative. Egil asked many questions, and Alf told him what he asked. They spoke much about the earl and the king of Norway's messengers, who had before gone eastward to gather the tribute. Alf in his talk was no friend to the earl.

Egill segir förunautum sínum, at hann vill fara ferð sína ok bíða eigi lengr. Þorfinnr átti son, er Helgi hét. Hann var vaskligr maðr. Þeir feðgar buðu Agli föruneyti sitt um skóginn. Sögðu þeir, at þeir vissi til sanns, at Ármóðr skegg hafði gert menn sex á skóginn fyrir þá, ok þó líkara, at vera myndi fleiri sátirnar á skóginum, ef in fyrsta slyppi. Váru þeir Þorfinnr fjórir saman, er til ferðar buðust. Þá kvað Egill vísu:

Veizt, ef ferk með fjóra,
færat sex, þás víxli
hlífa hneitiknífum
hjaldrgoðs við mik roðnum.
En ef ek em með átta,
esat þeir tolf, es skelfi
at samtogi sverða
svartbrúnum mér hjarta.

Þeir Þorfinnr réðu þessu, at þeir fóru á skóginn með Agli, ok váru þeir þá átta saman. Ok er þeir kómu þar, er sátin var fyrir, þá sá þeir þar menn. En þeir húskarlar Ármóðs, er þar sátu, sá, at þar fóru átta menn, ok þótti þeim sér ekki færi til at ráða, leyndust þá í brott á skóginn. En er þeir Egill kómu þar, sem njósnarmenn höfðu verit, þá sá þeir, at eigi var allt fritt. Þá mælti Egill, at þeir Þorfinnr skyldi aftr fara, en þeir buðu at fara lengra. Egill vildi þat eigi ok bað þá fara heim, ok þeir gerðu svá ok hurfu aftr, en þeir Egill heldu fram ferðinni ok váru þá fjórir saman.

Ok er á leið daginn, urðu þeir Egill varir við, at þar váru sex menn á skóginum, ok þóttust vita, at þar myndi vera húskarlar Ármóðs. Njósnarmenn hljópu upp ok réðu at þeim, en þeir í mót, ok varð sá fundr þeira, at Egill felldi tvá menn, en hinir, er eftir váru, hljópu þá í skóginn.

Síðan fóru þeir Egill sína leið, ok gerðist þá ekki til tíðenda, áðr þeir kómu af skóginum ok tóku gistingu við skóginn at bónda þess, er Álfr hét ok var kallaðr Álfr inn auðgi. Hann var maðr gamall ok auðigr at fé, maðr einrænn, svá at hann mátti ekki hafa hjón með sér nema fá ein. Góðar viðtökur hafði Egill þar, ok var Álfr við hann málreitinn. Spurði Egill margra tíðenda, en Álfr sagði slíkt, er hann spurði. Þeir ræddu flest um jarlinn ok um sendimenn Nóregskonungs, þá er fyrr höfðu farit austr þangat at heimta skatt. Álfr var engi vinr jarls í ræðum sínum.