The Berserk path story tells us about two Swedish berserks, Halli and Leiknir, who Vermundur the Slim, farmer at Bjarnarhofn, brought to the country from Norway in 982.  Vermundur’s brother, Styr the Slayer, was a powerful wretch, who he wanted to be able to stand up to.  The problem, however, was that Vermundur could not keep the berserks busy enough to subdue their rage and he saw no other solution than to ask his brother to take them off his hands.  Styr the Slayer obliged reluctantly and soon found himself in a dilemma in spite of continuous killings.  Halli, one of the berserks, fell in love with his daughter and asked for her hand in marriage.

Styr the Slayer went to his friend, Snorri the chieftain, at Helgafell to seek advice.  When he came back, he told the berserks that he would give Halli his blessing after they had finished the tasks of clearing a bridle path through the rugged lava field, building a boundary fence across it, and a sheep pen.  They went berserk and finished the tasks in a remarkably short time.  Before they did, Styr the Slayer prepared an underground sauna for them and covered it with thick boards with an opening to pour water down on a heated boulder in the hole to create hot steam.  When they returned tired and sweaty, he invited them to relax in the sauna and they accepted.  The hole was covered properly, big boulders put on the boards and excessive quantities of boiling hot water poured through the opening.  It soon became unbearably hot in the hole and the berserks managed to break out, but much too weak to defend themselves against Styr the slayer.  He had spread  wet and slippery bull hides on the ground around the hole and managed to kill them both.  Their bodies were taken into a depression in the lava field, where they were buried close to the bridle path as can be seen up to this date.

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