The competitions began early the following morning under gray clouds that hung thick and low, pregnant with moisture. The men gazed at the suspect clouds with bloodshot eyes and pounding heads, their bluster from the previous night forgotten now that rain threatened. More than a few commented on how much better they would be with a few more hours of sleep and some warm food in their bellies.
Sigurd ignored their gripes and organized the men into five groups according to their crews: Hakon and his crew, Sigurd and his crew, the crew of Halogalanders who had come with Astrid, Tosti and his warriors, and Sigge and his men. The chipper jarl then explained that each crew would pick among themselves to compete in a series of sports: spear toss, axe throw, stone toss, glima, long-distance runnin
