When King Olaf sailed into the Sound, with the Short Serpent and the Crane attending on him, the other boats were lying by under the island, following in the wake of the traitor, Earl Sigvalde, with their sails reefed, and drifting with the tide. On the other side of the Sound were the fleet of the enemy, trimmed and in full battle array, rowing out into the Sound; the fleets of Sweden and Denmark united together. When some of Olaf’s men saw this, they begged him to sail at full speed out of the Sound into the open sea again, and not risk battle with so great a force. But the King, standing on his quarter-deck, in view of all his host, exclaimed: “Strike the sails. No man shall ever learn of me to fly before the enemy. Never yet have I fled from battle, nor ever will. Let God dispose as He thinks best, but flight I never shall attempt.”
Then he ordered his war-horns to be sounded and the ships to close up to each other, and lash themselves together, side by side, under the island, as the Norse were wont to do in battle; thus no ship could forsake the others, but all fought side by side to the end. The King’s ship lay in the middle of the line, with the Crane on one side and the Little Serpent on the other, all fastened together at the head; but the dragon ship was so long that it stood out behind the others; and when the King saw this he called out to his men to lay his Long Serpent, the dragon ship, more in advance, so that its stern should lie even with the other ships behind.
“We shall have hot work of it here on the forecastle, if the King’s ship stands out beyond the rest,” said Ulf the Red.
“I did not think I had a forecastle man who would grow red with dread,” said the King, punning on Ulf’s name.
“I hope you will defend the quarter-deck as well as I defend the forecastle,” replied Ulf, who was vexed at Olaf’s sneer.
There was a bow in the King’s hands, and he fixed an arrow on the string to take aim at Ulf.
“Shoot the other way, King,” said Ulf, “where it is needed more; maybe you will need my arm to-day.”
King Olaf stood on the quarter-deck, high above all. He had a gilt shield and a helmet inlaid with gold; over his armour he wore a short red cloak, so that it was easy to distinguish him from other men. He asked one who stood by him: “Who is the leader of the force right opposite to us?”
“King Sweyn, with the Danish fighting-men,” was the reply.
The King replied: “We have no fear of those soft Danes, for there is no bravery in them. Who are the troops on the right of the Danes?”