Ivar thanked his father, and said that his gift pleased him better than if it had been gold in abundance, or large estates, and added he did not know what the Nornir had fated him, but that he hoped to die in the midst of victory. He thanked his father, too, for the good counsel he had always given him, and above all for the great love he had shown towards him; and, with great warmth of feeling, added that he would try to emulate him in all his actions, and hoped that none of his kinsmen in Valhalla would ever be ashamed of him.
After leaving his father he went to his mother, and said to her: “I want thee, mother, to show me the cloaks which Heid, the sybil, made for my father a long time ago.”
Sigrlin opened a large chest and answered: “Here they are, and they are almost as good as new.”
Ivar took them up. They were with sleeves, and a hood at the top, with a covering for the face; they were wide and long; it was believed that no iron could cut them, and that weapons could not damage them, for they had been made with cunning, witchcraft, and incantations. Ivar took the two which were the largest. Then he went to Hringstadir to see the halls and estate which his father had given him the day that he had “fastened” the name of Ivar upon him.
Ivar remembered all that his father had said to him, and was anxious to obtain renown and wealth, and so he and his foster-brother went one morning to Hjorvard and said: “Now tell us, father, of the Viking whom thou knowest to be the bravest and strongest.”
Hjorvard replied: “You are young men, yet you seem to think that no man can withstand you. But I will tell you of two Vikings of whom I know. They are called Sigurd and Sigmund; they are skilled in many things, and very great warriors.”
“How many ships have they?” asked Ivar.
“They have thirty ships,” replied Hjorvard, “and one hundred and twenty men on each ship.”
“Where have they land?” inquired Hjalmar.
“In the southern part of Svithjod,” replied Hjorvard. “They are on land in winter, and lie on board their warships in summer.”