I knew it didn't refer to Gunnar, just translated it too literally.
Grace

> Situr nú Gunnar í búi sínu og er nú kyrrt um hríð.
>
> Now Gunnar sits in his house and is now quiet for a while.

"...and *it* is quiet..."

Notice that 'kyrrt' is neuter. 'it' = life in general: all is quiet;
nothing much happens for a while.
Fred and Grace Hatton
Hawley Pa