noon
If it breaks , he will sup like the rest of us with Odin . '' Then came days of bustle and preparation . Biorn was agog with excitement and yet solemnised , for there was strange work afoot in Hightown . The King made a great festival in the Gods ' House , the dark hall near the Howe of the Dead , where no one ventured except in high noon . Cattle were slain in honour of Thor , the God who watched over forays , and likewise a great boar for Frey . The blood was caught up in the sacred bowls , from which the people were sprinkled , and smeared on the altar of blackened fir . Then came the oath-taking , when Ironbeard and his Bearsarks swore brotherhood in battle upon the ship 's bulwarks , and the shield 's rim , and the horse 's shoulder , and the brand 's edge .