treachery.  But Starkad drew his sword, leapt forward, thrust the king through, and struck him in the throat as he tried to rise.  One hundred and twenty marks of gold were kept for his reward.  Soon afterwards he was smitten with remorse and shame, and lamented his crime so bitterly, that he could not refrain from tears if it happened to be named.  Thus his soul, when he came to his senses, blushed for his abominable sin.  Moreover, to atone for the crime he had committed, he slew some of those who had inspired him to it, thus avenging the act to which he had lent his hand.

Now the Danes made Omund, the son of Ole, king, thinking that more heed should be paid to his father’s birth than to his deserts.  Omund, when he had grown up, fell in nowise behind the exploits of his father; for he made it his aim to equal or surpass the deeds of Ole.

At this time a considerable tribe of the Northmen (Norwegians) was governed by Ring, and his daughter Esa’s great fame commended her to Omund, who was looking out for a wife.

But his hopes of wooing her were lessened by the peculiar inclination of Ring, who desired no son-in-law but one of tried valour; for he found as much honour in arms as others think lies in wealth.  Omund therefore, wishing to become famous in that fashion, and to win the praise of valour, endeavoured to gain his desire by force, and sailed to Norway with a fleet, to make an attempt on the throne of Ring under plea of hereditary right.  Odd, the chief of Jather, who declared that Ring had assuredly seized his inheritance, and lamented that he harried him with continual wrongs, received Omund kindly.  Ring, in the meantime, was on a roving raid in Ireland, so that Omund attacked a province without a defender.  Sparing the goods of the common people, he gave the private property of Ring over to be plundered, and slew his kinsfolk; Odd also having joined his forces to Omund.  Now, among all his divers and manifold deeds, he could never bring himself to attack an inferior force, remembering that he was the son of a most valiant father, and that he was bound to fight armed with courage, and not with numbers.

Meanwhile Ring had returned from roving; and when Omund heard he was back, he set to and built a vast ship, whence, as from a fortress, he could rain his missiles on the enemy.  To manage this ship he enlisted Homod and Thole the rowers, the soils of Atyl the Skanian, one of whom was instructed to act as steersman, while the other was to command at the prow.  Ring lacked neither skill nor dexterity to encounter them.  For he showed only a small part of his forces, and caused the enemy to be attacked on the rear.  Omund, when told of his strategy by Odd, sent men to overpower those posted in ambush, telling Atyl the Skanian to encounter Ring.  The order was executed with more rashness than success; and Atyl, with his power defeated and shattered, fled beaten to Skaane.  Then Omund recruited his forces with the help of Odd, and drew up his fleet to fight on the open sea.