On their way south, Erling Ivar's son, Andrew Nicolas' son, and Harvard the Red had[16] "sailed into Scotland under Dyrnes, from which they went up country, and destroyed a castle and more than twenty hamlets." But on the return voyage the children of Heth were waiting for the invaders, and on the day[17] "of St. Simon and St. Jude, when Mass had been sung, some Scottish men, whom the Northmen had taken, came. King Hakon gave them peace and sent them up into the country; and they promised to come down with cattle to[18] him; but one of them stayed behind as a hostage. It happened that day that eleven men of the ship of Andrew Kuzi landed in a boat to fetch water. A little after, it was heard that they called out. Then men rowed to them from the ships, and there two of them were taken up, swimming much wounded, but nine were found on land all slain. The Scots had come down on them, but they all ran to the boat, and it was high and dry, and they were all weaponless, and there was no defence. But as soon as the Scots saw the boats were rowing up, they ran to the woods, but the Northmen took the bodies with them.
"On Monday King Hakon sailed out of the Goa-fiord and let the Scottish man be put on shore, and gave him peace."[19]
Such is the story, so far as Sutherland and Caithness are concerned, of Hakon's expedition as told in his Saga, which adds that after losing one ship in the Pentland Firth, while another was all but sunk in the Swelchie near Stroma, he sheltered for the night in the Sound north of Osmundwall, and finally landed again near Ragnvaldsvoe and went to Kirkwall. Retaining twenty of his ships, he let such of the rest of them as had not already gone home sail for Norway.
Deserted by his Jarl, the aged king found a home in the Palace of the faithful bishop, Henry of Orkney, who, alone of all Orkney men, had followed the fortunes of the fleet. Then King Hakon's health gradually failed, and after laying up his ships in Scapa Flow, and seeing to the welfare of his men, he lay down to die of a broken heart, listening as he sank to Masses indeed, but afterwards with greater joy to the Sagas of the Norse kings. "Near midnight" on the 15th of December "Sverri's Saga was read through. But just as midnight was past Almighty God called King Hakon from this world's life."