Chapter 4

"Far to the west... across the sea... there is a place called Vinland. It is warm and fertile... far from slavery and the fires of war. No one can reach you there. What do you say...? Will you live there with us?"

- Thors Snorresson

Unbreakable Chains (解かれ得ぬ鎖, Tokare Enu Kusari) is the 4th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Halfdan disembarks to look for his runaway slave. Leif tries to keep the peace with him and the villagers, while Thors tries to save the slave's life. The dying slave starts to hallucinate and dreams of better places. Thors tells him of Vinland. Halfdan, who finds his slave in Thors' home, demands him be returned. Thors barters for the slave and ends up paying 8 sheep in exchange. Halfdan leaves and the slave dies. Thors and his family bury the slave and Thorfinn comes to terms with his ancestors running awayto Iceland in the past. He asks Thors where the people who want to run away from Iceland can go.

Summary
Halfdan and about thirty of his men march into town after landing without permission. Leif tries to smooth things over, but the visitors and villagers are tense. A village man has come to request Thors come to the harbour to help, but Thors is busy attending to the runaway slave, who has stopped breathing. The villager notices the slave, who he has never seen before, and Ylva tries to convince him it is a distant relative who has come from afar to visit and got sick in the recent chill. At the harbour, Halfan is coldly telling the villagers chains are the only neckwear that truly suit human beings and the only things that can turn them into something better. He tells them one of his slaves, a young Slavic man, cut his chains and escaped in the blizzard the night prior, and asks them if they have any ideas. Ari accuses Halfdan of using the story as an excuse to settle their old score. A villager explains to Leif that there has been several squabbles over grazing boundaries between their village and Halfdan's, with Halfdan's people coming into their village to harvest grass for their winter stock. This had led to people getting hurt on both sides, until things were settled at the last thing (Viking assembly). One of Halfdan's men starts escalating things with Ari, recognizing him as the person who chopped off most of his left arm with a scythe. Ari replies he recognizes him as the person who cut off his brother's leg. Leif tries to separate them, saying they should have settled it at the last thing, but they draw out their swords. Halfdan stops the fight before it begins by whipping his chain, taking the sword straight out of his man's hand with it. He then whips the chain around his man's face and pulls, bloodying him, and says he will not tolerate insults to the law, which is a chain that binds savages to turn them into men. The runaway slave hallucinates, dreaming he is in a peaceful warm field. Thors tries to snap him out of it, but he is dying, talking of seeing his mother and sister, from whom he was separated when they were sold off. He is confused about where he is and why he is there. Thors tells him of a place far to the west, across the sea, called Vinland; a place warm and fertile, far away from slavery and the fires of war, where no one can reach him. He asks the slave if he will stay there with them. Halfdan walks in and says he is here to retrieve his slave. Ylva, scared Halfdan will think they were trying to hide him, tells him Thors was considerately nursing the slave back to health and will give the slave back. Thors inquires about how much Halfdan paid for the slave and says he will buy it from him for three young ewes, one more than he bought him for. Halfdan refuses, as he wants to bring his runaway slave back and torture him to serve as a warning for his other slaves. Thors offers him four sheep and Halfdan asks him what he would say if he asked for twice as many. Thors proposes to buy the slave from him for eight sheep, all ewes under three years old. Halfdan agrees and asks if Thors really believes he has cut his chains, asking where he will take him now. Thors does not answer and Halfdan says his silence is all the answer he needed.

Under the aurora borealis, Thors and his family give the slave a proper burial. He buries the slave as Helga and Ylva carry in a burial stone. Thorfinn asks the crying Ylva if she is sad, but she specifies she is sad because they gave up eight sheep for a slave who died before the day was over, lamenting Thors' eccentricity. Thorfinn asks Thors if their ancestors really came to Iceland from the east because they were escaping too, as Leif told him. Thors confirms. Thorfinn asks his father where the people who want to escape from Iceland can go. Thors, looking solemn, does not respond and silently places his hand on his son's head.

Characters in order of appearance

 * Halfdan
 * Thors Snorresson
 * Ylva
 * Thorfinn
 * Helga
 * Leif Ericson
 * Ari