Magnus spent the year after his defeat mostly in Bergen where he had many adherents, went thence to Viken, and made every effort to gather an army with which to destroy his enemies. He must have had considerable success, for when he went northward to Nidaros, he had a force much more numerous than the one Sverre could muster. Nevertheless he suffered an ignominious defeat at the Ilevolds (1180), near Nidaros, and had to flee head over heels to Bergen. Thither Sverre followed him, and came near being caught in a trap by one of Magnus' followers, Jon Kutiza, who came with an army of peasants to kill that "devil's priest." The devil's priest was, however, as usual, too clever for the Heklungs, and sent them flying, as soon as he lifted his sword. Magnus, in the meanwhile, had sought refuge in Denmark, where King Valdemar received him well, and this kingdom became the base of operations against Sverre. Long time did not elapse before the Heklungs were again on the way northward with thirty-two ships, and came within an ace of making an end of Sverre in the Saltö Sound; but as usual he slipped out of the trap by a daring stratagem. Soon after, Magnus overtook the Birchlegs at Nordness (1181), near Bergen, and this time Sverre, who was anxious not to lose his prestige, determined to stay and give battle, although his fleet was but half as large as that of his enemies. The Birchlegs were, as a rule, not good sailors, and never fought as well on the sea as on dry land. The Heklungs made a fierce onset, and were gradually gaining several advantages, when Sverre stepped forward where the fight was hottest, lifted his hands toward the sky, and sang in a loud, clear voice the Latin hymn, "Alma chorus domini." Hostile missiles beat like hail about him; but though he had no shield, he remained unharmed. Just then Magnus, flushed with warlike zeal, stormed forward and was on the point of boarding one of the hostile ships, when he received a wound through the wrist. The pain made him pause abruptly, and in so doing he slipped upon the bloody deck and fell backward. The Birchlegs sent up a tremendous shout of victory, and Orm King's-Brother (a half-brother of Harold Gille's sons), hearing that the king was slain, cried: "Then the fate of the realm is decided." Instantly he cut the ropes which held the ships together, and, breaking the battle-line, fled as fast as he could. Magnus, getting on his feet, called vainly to his men that he was alive, and begged them not to flee from a victory. But the confusion soon became general, and Sverre, who was quick to take advantage of it, captured ship after ship and forced the rest into ignominious flight.