aid it against the rock,
which burst asunder, and half the men entered at Storbiorn's command.
Suddenly an icy blue stream poured upon them from the depths of the
cavern and drowned most of them before they had time to fly. Only
those behind escaped, and Storbiorn bade them go instantly to the King
and tell him what had befallen them. Then he went to the third troop
and marched with them to the rock, where he gave the golden key to one
of the men, and ordered him to try it. The rock flew open at once, and
Storbiorn told the men to enter, taking care, however, to keep behind
himself. They obeyed and found themselves in a lovely golden cave,
whose walls were lit up by thousands of precious stones of every hue.
There was neither sight nor sound to frighten them, and even
Storbiorn, when he saw the gold, forgot his prudence and his fears,
and followed them in. In a moment a red fire burst out with a terrific
noise, and clouds of smoke poured over them, so that they fell down
choked into the flames. Only one man escaped, and he ran back as fast
as he could to the King to tell him of the fate of his army.

All this time Wayland was working quietly in his island prison waiting
for the day of his revenge. The suit of golden armour which the King
had commanded kept him busy day and night, and, besides the wonderful
shield with figures of the gods, he had wrought a coat of mail, a
helmet, and armour for the thighs, such as never had been seen before.
The King had invited all his great nobles to meet him at the Palace
when he returned from the mountain, that they might both see his
armour and behold all the precious things he should bring with him
from the caverns.

When Nidud reached his Palace the Queen and Banvilda, their daughter,
came forth to meet him, and told him that the great hall was already
full of guests, expecting the wonders he had brought. The King said
little about his adventures, but went into the armoury to put on his
armour in order to appear before his nobles. Piece by piece he
fastened it, but he found the helmet so heavy that he could hardly
bear it on his head. However, he did not look properly dressed without
it, so he had to wear it, though it felt as if a whole mountain was
pressing on his forehead. Then, buckling on the sword which Wayland
had forged, he entered the hall, and seated himself on the throne. The
Earls were struck dumb by his splendour, and thought at first that it
was the god Thor himsel