The next spring a flock of ships passed through the Sound and out into the Kattegat. No man aboard answered any Dane who rowed close enough to give.

War hail, but it was clear that the crews were Swedes. However, they did nothing hostile, not even camping ashore at night. Nor had they more than a few warcraft. Most of their vessels were knorrs and other kinds of freighters, lightly manned. Eirik Jarl dogged them from afar till he saw them head in for King Uffi’s Norse lands. Later Hadding got word that after resting for a while the sailors had set forth again, south around Agder and north along the coast.

He sent a swift ship to warn King Haakon. She brought back the news that the fleet had gone by the Niderings. Haakon had not learned what its errand might be, yonder where folk were first few and poor, then wild Finns. He would send out spies and scouts for whatever they could turn up.

Late in summer a messenger craft, ruthlessly rowed, came from him to Denmark. His searchers had found that a Norse chieftain by the name of Thuning, somewhat known to him, had gathered a host of Bjarmians and was bringing them back down from the White Sea. Since only a king was able to get together so many keels, belike they meant to fall on Denmark.

By the time Haakon’s men got to where the Dane-king was, little remained for marshalling warriors. Moreover, he could not lawfully call a levy now at harvest. He could only have the war-arrow carried from house to house as widely as might be, at horse-killing speed, asking for freely given help. Meanwhile he brought ships to Haven and stocked them for sea.

Even so, it was a goodly troop that fared north astern of Fired rake. Two score hulls were filled with fighters. All were well outfitted and hardened to battle. “I could almost feel sorry for the foe,” bragged Gunnar.

“They’ll outnumber us,” Hadding said.

“What of it? Woodsrunners and spearfishers. Maybe we’ll each have to cut down two.”

“Thuning is no fool, from what I’ve heard of him. He knows those folk. There go dark tales about them.” Hadding shook his head as if to throw off the thoughts perched on it. “Enough. We’ve sailing to do.”

Helped by fair weather and a full moon, the ships made a fast crossing to Norway. Thereafter Hadding took a day on an island at Boknafjord and another day off Hordaland, that men might stretch cramped limbs and have a sound sleep. In between, they rowed as hard as thews could drive oars, turn by turn by turn.