After having grown up from the age of one in exile, Thorfinn Thordsson returns to Brygjafael in early spring of 1392. A bright lad of 16, he reports that his parents Thord and Katla and his older sister Thorgerd were killed by Redaxes. The family welcomes Thorfinn and mourns his family. Thord soon along well with his uncle Poul and his cousin Kjartan.
A week later, a band of Lagakin come to Brygjafael. Poul speaks to their leader, Metinwa, who explains that they are seeking justice. A Vinlander named Gest came to them to sell them two horses. They were a little jumpy, but they seemed reasonable enough. Soon after he left, though, the horses went wild and ran off. Many young braves ran after them to catch them. A group of them found them together with Gest. They were very angry, and a fight ensued where Gest killed eight of them before riding off. Two days later, a group of 17 braves were armed and out seeking this man Gest.
Several of the Brygjafael family agreed to help the Tappan braves. Killer-Gest, as he is known among the Vinlanders, is a relative of Tjaraholt across the river. Poul, Kjartan, Egil, Thorfinn, and a housecarl named Thorlak went across the river with the Tappans at night in the family longship.
The next day, three of the Vinlanders visited Tjaraholt to see if the horses were there. They feigned to be there simply for trade, and traded various goods. In addition, young Thorfinn boasted of his skill with horses -- leading to a bet over whether he could ride one of the unruly stallions of the Tjaraholt stable. In a public event, he tried riding one and almost made it across the meadow and back -- but during the return the horse suddenly stopped and bucked him, where he landed hard on his back. Kjartan observed that amidst the cheers, Gest made a particular whistle right at the time that the horse bucked Thorfinn. Kjartan made an innuendo about this to the Tjaraholters, and then the group left to secretly rejoin the braves with their information.