according to Irish law on ship strandings. Olaf, who is fluent in Old Irish, refuses to give up the ship. The Irish attempt to take the ship by force but Olaf and his men successfully resist. King Mýrkjartan happens to be nearby and arrives at the scene. Olaf tells the king that he is the son of Melkorka, his daughter, and offers him a gold ring from Melkorka as proof. Mýrkjartan had given his daughter the ring as a teething present. As the king examines the ring, his face grows red and he acknowledges Olaf as his kinsman. Olaf and his men spend the winter with the king, fighting with him against raiders. Mýrkjartan offers Olaf to inherit the crown but he rejects the offer and travels back home. Olaf's journey abroad has brought him great renown and he now settles in Iceland. He marries Þorgerðr, daughter of Egill Skallagrímsson. Olaf and Þorgerðr have a number of children, including the promising Kjartan. As Höskuldr dies, he gives Olaf, his illegitimate son, the ring and sword which King Hákon had given him. Olaf's half-brother, Þorleikr, takes offence at this. In order to make peace with his brother, Olaf offers to foster Þorleikr's son, Bolli, "as he who raises the child of another is always considered as the lesser of the two". Love triangle Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir is introduced as "the most beautiful woman ever to have grown up in Iceland, and no less clever than she was good-looking". Guðrún has dreams that cause her concern. A wise kinsman interprets the dreams to mean that Guðrún will have four husbands; she will divorce the first one, but the other three will die. And indeed, Guðrún marries her first husband (Þorvaldr Halldórsson) at the age of 15 and he turns out to be a man she cares little for. She makes him a shirt with a low-cut neck and then divorces him on the grounds that he wears women's clothes. Guðrún's second marriage (to Þórðr Ingunarsson) is happy but short; her husband drowns through the witchcraft of a Hebridean family, Kotkell, his wife Gríma, and their sons Hallbjörn slíkisteinsauga and Stígandi. Kjartan and Bolli grow up together as close friends, the affection between them "such that both of them felt something was missing in the other's absence". Kjartan and Guðrún start spending time together and are considered a good match. Kjartan and Bolli decide