Earl Svein sent men out to Gaulardal to his brother-in-law, Einar
Tambaskelfer; and when Einar came the earl told him how it had been with
him and King Olaf, and that now he would assemble men to go out against
King Olaf, and fight him.
Einar answers, "We should go to work cautiously, and find out what King
Olaf intends doing; and not let him hear anything concerning us but
that we are quiet. It may happen that if he hears nothing about our
assembling people, he may sit quietly where he is in Steinker all the
Yule; for there is plenty prepared for him for the Yule feast: but if he
hears we are assembling men, he will set right out of the fjord with his
vessels, and we shall not get hold of him." Einar's advice was taken;
and the earl went to Stjoradal, into guest-quarters among the bondes.
When King Olaf came to Steinker he collected all the meat prepared for
the Yule feast, and made it be put on board, procured some transport
vessels, took meat and drink with him, and got ready to sail as fast as
possible, and went out all the way to Nidaros. Here King Olaf Trygvason
had laid the foundation of a merchant town, and had built a king's
house: but before that Nidaros was only a single house, as before
related. When Earl Eirik came to the country, he applied all his
attention to his house of Lade, where his father had had his main
residence, and he neglected the houses which Olaf had erected at the
Nid; so that some were fallen down, and those which stood were scarcely
habitable. King Olaf went now with his ships up the Nid, made all the
houses to be put in order directly that were still standing, and built
anew those that had fallen down, and employed in this work a great
many people. Then he had all the meat and drink brought on shore to the
houses, and prepared to hold Yule there; so Earl Svein and Einar had to
fall upon some other plan.