"--Unless you bring about a quarrel between two kings, each of whom has twenty kings subject to him; so that they shall fight under the influence of such spells and charms that as fast as they fall they shall start up again and fight on--unless there be some Christian man so brave and so much favoured by the great good fortune of his liege lord that he shall dare to take arms and enter among the combatants and slay them. Then and not till then shall the labours of those princes be brought to an end--whoever may be the chief who is destined to free them from the oppression and toil of their disastrous lot." Freyja agreed to this and recovered the necklace. III. Four and twenty years after the death of Frithfrothi a King called Erling ruled over the Highlands of Norway. He had a wife and two sons, of whom the elder was called Sˆrli the Strong, and the younger Erlend. They were promising young men. Sˆrli was the stronger of the two. As soon as they were old enough they took to raiding, and fought against the viking Sindri, the son of Sveigir, the son of Haki, a sea-king in the Skerries of the Elf. There fell Sindri the viking, and with him all his host; and Erlend the son of Erling also fell in that battle. After that Sˆrli sailed into the Baltic and harried there, and performed so many great deeds that it would take too long to recount them all. IV. There was a King called Halfdan who ruled Denmark; and his capital was at Roskilde. He married Hvethna the elder, and their sons were Hˆgni and Haakon. They were distinguished for their stature, strength and ability. As soon as they were old enough they took to piracy. Now we must return to Sˆrli and relate how one autumn he set sail for Denmark. King Halfdan had been intending to go to a gathering of kings. He was far advanced in years at the time when the events related here took place. He had such a fine warship that for strength and excellence of every kind it had no equal in all the countries of the North. It was riding at anchor in the harbour, but King Halfdan had gone ashore to give orders for a carousal before starting on his voyage. And when Sˆrli saw the warship his heart was consumed with a burning desire to possess it at all possible hazards. And indeed it is generally agreed that there never was a greater treasure of a warship than this in all the countries of the North, except the warships Ellithi and Gnˆth and the Long Serpent. So he ordered his men to prepare themselves for battle-- "For we must slay King Halfdan and seize his warship." A man called SÊvar, his fo'c'sle-man and marshal, made answer: "That is not advisable, Sire, for Halfdan is a great chief and a famous man. Moreover he has two sons who will be certain to avenge him, for they are both very famous men already." "Though they be superior to the very gods," said Sˆrli, "yet we shall fight just as we have done before."