At first, however, his prospects were gloomy; and in his restlessness, he had resolved to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when the band which Eystein had commanded solicited him to become their chief. After some hesitation he consented, was invested with the royal title, and enabled to take the field. [Sidenote: 1178 to 1186.] The early efforts of this adventurer were bold but unsuccessful. In an expedition through the southern provinces he was indeed joined by some hundred of followers, mostly bandits; but when he proceeded towards the north, where Magnus and Erling had their seat of government, he was abandoned by most of his adherents: the enterprise was too desperate even for them. With great difficulty did he save himself by penetrating through the mountain passes into Wermeland. To escape the pursuits of his enemies, no less than to recruit his numbers, the following spring he plunged into the vast forests of the modern Delecarlia, then called Jarnberaland, or the Iron-being land. The inhabitants knew little of Swedish kings, or of the rest of the world, or of Christianity; but they knew the value of freedom; and in the apprehension that he came to deprive them of it, they prepared a stout resistance. He had no difficulty, however, in persuading those sons of the forest, the mountain, and the river, that he had no design against them—that he wanted hospitality, guides, and troops. Of the last he seems to have obtained none; but he was well entertained, and conducted into Jamtland, where his little band was recruited. The hardships which he underwent in this expedition,—cold, hunger, fatigue—made him resolve to attempt some enterprise, the success of which would rescue him from this wretched mode of life. Appearing suddenly before Drontheim, he hoped to surprise the place; but he was repulsed, and again forced to seek a refuge in the mountains. His next object was to increase the number of his followers; and as he, or some about him, were well acquainted with the haunts of the banditti in the trackless forest, and the inaccessible cavern, he obtained a considerable accession. But a hardy band of peasant archers from Tellmark was his most valuable acquisition. Reappearing before the gates of the capital, he defeated the little army of Magnus, and captured the banner of St. Olaf. As both king and regent were at Bergen, their usual place of residence, he pushed his way into the city, assembled the inhabitants of the province, and was proclaimed king! His task, however, was not half accomplished. A numerous party, including all the churchmen, adhered to Magnus; and he was soon expelled from Drontheim, to seek a shelter in his mountain fastnesses. But with these revolutions he was now familiar: he knew how to recruit his forces—to advance when there was a prospect of victory—retreat when the danger was evident. During two years the civil war raged with violence, and the alternations of triumph and defeat succeeded each other with rapidity.