Power Play: Act 1 Svartalfheim (Ragnarok on Ice) (22 page)

We were all outside sitting in the grassy area around the very large well.  Sigyn called for a servant to go get Loki.  In the meantime, she had a great many questions for us.  Dad and Garm answered most of them while Rumil and I just sat there quietly.  Thor was pacing quite a bit a few feet from the rest of us.  I was picking something up with him when Sigyn called him out on it.

“My husband will be most amused that his brother has finally come to visit.  After the escapades in Midgard, he figured you would have been here much sooner.”

Wait a minute here, “Loki is your brother?”

“Yes he is my brother.  We have not always had what you would call a healthy relationship.”

Sigyn laughed.  “Oh Thor, Loki knows you never meant him ill will.  If anything, Baldr is the one who has caused him the most heartache.  I do think he hopes one day to return the favor tenfold.”

“Umm Miss Sigyn,” I completely felt out of place here, “Loki won’t be able to even up with Baldr.  He’s kind of dead.”

It was then that a very loud high pitched laugh broke through the yard.  I remembered the face from that night in the bar, so I knew this was Loki. 

Instead of looking like a deranged cowboy this time, he looked more like I would picture someone called the Trickster to look.  His bright blue eyes still showed signs of insanity and without that ridiculous hat, I could see the full extent of his scraggily flame like hair.  He came right up to me and I wondered if he remembered our first meeting.  It was really hard to tell. 

“So the rumors are true!  I must be introduced to the man that slew the ever insufferable Baldr!  Tell me young one, who are you?”

“My name is Jack, from Midgard.  I was brought along when you brought Thor here back.”

He continued to laugh; I could see why people thought he was insane.  “I remember that night, such fun!  And it is not lost on me that a human killed Baldr!”

“Well he isn’t really a human father.”  My dad finally decided to join in.

“Ahh Fenrir!  It is good to see you are as dark and brooding as ever.  If he came from Midgard he must be a human, correct?”

“No father, Jack he is my son.  I’m surprised you didn’t notice the family resemblance.”

“You have a son?  Well thank The Norns he does not look like a wolf!”  He laughed at his own joke for a minute.  Just when I thought this was a terrible idea to come here, he snapped out of it and became deadly serious.  “All of you have no idea what dangers all the realms are in.”

“Brother, why did you bring me back?  I would like the truth this time and not Odin’s nonsense that the dark elves need to be stopped.”

“The Allfather, brother, truly believes the dark elves need to be eliminated.  However, it is only a shield over the true machinations at work.  Someone or something has him hoodwinked into blindly doing what they say.”

Thor did not seem pleased by this news.  “The only group that truly benefits from us going to war with the dark elves is the light elves and no one has seen them in cycles.”

“Oh they are most definitely here brother, even if they hide their presence.  After all, what a better way to sneak down from Alfheim then position your own sleeper agents as Odin’s most trusted lieutenants?”

“No more speaking in riddles brother!  What is going on?”

“I am referring to Freyja and Freyr of course!  While you were off in Midgard playing with your humans, I discovered the two of them sneaking off to Alfheim from time to time.  A little research and quite a bit of deception later, I discovered their mother is actually a light elf!”

I didn’t know about everyone else, but I was pretty confused at this point.  They were throwing off names like crazy along with conspiracy theories and hidden parentage.  “Hey guys, for those of us who don’t understand, namely me, could we simplify what is going on here?”

Loki looked at me and for a moment I thought he was going to spit fire or something.  Then he laughed his crazy laugh.  “I like him!  I hope all of your children are this amusing Fenrir!”

Dad just signed and shook his head.  Thor though could see the confusion on my face.  “Jack, I do not think there is an easy way to explain all of this that would make sense.  Suffice to say that there appears to be a faction of Aesir who seem intent on doing harm to the realms.  For you, the only thing that we need to concern ourselves with is getting you to the Bifrost Bridge and home.”

“While you all talk about this, might I take Jack on a tour of our family’s vineyard and gardens?  It may do him so good to actually see the beauty of our lands instead of listening to this drivel.”  I’d decided that Sigyn was a wonderful person at that point and that getting as far away from this headache would be wonderful.

“Yeah, you guys don’t need me interrupting with my confusion all the time.  Miss Sigyn, I’d be honored to go with you.”

I gave Rumil a quick kiss and waved to everyone else.  I was ready for a bit of peace and some quality time with my brain turned off.

****

I felt joy in my heart when Jack left with Lady Sigyn.  He did not need to hear more talk of deception and betrayal.  Masters Thor, Loki, and Fenrir continued to discuss the latest rumors and speculation that came out of Valhalla and it was most depressing. 

I knew that getting Jack to the Bifrost was the most important part of our journey, but before we left if we could help father diffuse this absurd conflict with the Aesir, we had to try.

“Lady Elf, is there something on your mind?”  Even though Garm was as menacing a creature in all the realms, I had learned from our time together that he is a very intelligent and compassionate being.

“All the rumors and hear say only prove that father and the rest are walking into a trap.  We need to put an end to this.”

“I understand your fears as they are the same as my mistress.  I will continue to communicate with her and if anything suspicious or strange is reported, I will inform you.”

I smiled at him and petted him on the head.  I recoiled my hand in horror when I realized what I had done, but Garm didn’t seem to mind.  “It is quite alright Lady Elf.  I enjoy a good rub once in awhile.”

We sat there in silence, just listening to the others continue to talk.  Apparently the siblings Freyja and Freyr were the contacts the light elves were using to influence Odin.  The one thing that no one had figured out was who the traitor in the dark elf ranks was.

“Excuse me, may I ask a question?”

Fenrir looked to me, “Of course Rumil, what is on your mind?”

“There is one thing that has been sitting at the back of my mind and now it seems as if it may be important.  When Jack and I first went to Svartalfheim, right before Baldr attacked us for the first time, an ice giant came off the mountains of Jotenheim and in the direction of Asgard.  Why would he do that?”

Thor was immediately shaken by this.  “Are you sure?  I can tell you no ice giant came within the area of Valhalla or Heimdall would have alerted the security force.”

Fenrir snapped out of his thoughts.  “Not even Odin would fall in league with them.  I figured it was just bad luck the dark elf emissaries ran into one on their way to Valhalla.  Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence after all.”

“I am sorry that I did not bring the situation up sooner Master Fenrir, but with everything else that has happened…”  I put my head down in shame.  Had my worry for Jack and lust for revenge blinded me that badly to forget to warn everyone about this?

“It is alright Rumil.  There has been much going on lately and none of us are immune from guilt in this situation.”

“Oh you are all most entertaining!”  Loki, for his part seemed to be enjoying himself greatly.  “I can only hope we get to see what mischief he is up to!”

****

“This whole area is great!”  I said it with as much dignity as someone crunching into an apple could do.  “These apples are delicious!”

“I am glad you are enjoying yourself.  The hardships you have faced here are not to be wished upon anyone.”  Sigyn, even as breathtakingly beautiful as she was, reminded me more of a mother than anything else.  I guess it took a special sort of person to stand by Loki in all of his quirks.

“I look at it this way; a lot more has gone right than has gone bad.  It’s an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

“You are wise beyond your years.  Fenrir has done well in raising you.  Even though he is not my child, I have always felt a connection to him.  The Allfather did a great wrong when he made Loki’s children suffer for a fate they did not choose.”

“What do you think about everything that has happened?  Is this just normal life for everyone?”

“No, this is not normal, even for us.  Aesir are always trying to gain the Allfather’s favor at the expense of another.  What is happening now however is most extreme, even for one of us.”

“Do you think a war is inevitable?”

“I truly hope not.  If war were to break out between the Aesir and dark elves, everyone would suffer.  The dwarves would be forced to choose a side, the ice giants would take advantage of the chaos to reignite their flames of war, and Odin help us all if the fire giants were to escape their prison.”

I had heard of all the other races, but no one had mentioned anything about fire giants before.  I guess it made sense if there were ice giants, but still I was intrigued.  “Sigyn, can you tell me about the giants?  I briefly heard an ice giant on my way to Svartalfheim, but I was hidden in a cave at the time and didn’t see it.”

“The giants are the most dangerous beings in all the realms.  Most males of either species exceed twenty feet in height and are well known for their savagery.  The ice giants of the north are ruled by the Bane of Asgard, Thrym and the fire giants of the infernal depths are ruled by the Burning Sword, Surtr.”

Those names gave me quite the chill.  The Bane of Asgard and the Burning Sword sound like names that are probably reserved for only the most bad-ass of creatures.  “What stops the giants from just invading and destroying everything in sight?”

“The ice giants are, for the most part, a collection of individual tribes who do not agree on anything.  Thrym never forces the issues because they all pay tribute to him.  Their other problem lies in the fact that only the most powerful of them can create their own ice.  As for the rest, the best they can ever hope to do is manipulate ice that is already covering the ground.  They would have no advantage away from their mountain ranges.”

A severe handicap would put a damper on most invasion opportunities.  “Are the fire giants the same way too?”

Sigyn’s face turned very dark.  “No, the fire giants most certainly are not like the ice giants.  Their skill and coordination is something to be admired.  They suffer no limitations on their abilities to create fire.  Even the weakest of fire giants can create a flame.  If it was not for the seal the Allfather was able to close off their realm with, I am afraid of the outcome of a war with them.  However, enough talk about terrible giants, let me show you some more of our orchards.”

The rest of our tour was much happier.  I got to taste test a great many different fruits and by the end I was pretty well full.  It’d been a long time since I had the pleasure of fresh fruit and I’d made the most of it.

“I do believe it is time we went back to the well to see how the others are doing.  If I keep you here any longer you may eat our entire winter crop and my husband would be most disappointed he did not get the pleasures of doing that.”  She gave me a wry smile and we ventured out back towards the well. 

It was a beautiful day out, not nearly as cold as it had been in the mountains and forest.  The sun was out with just enough clouds in the sky, the perfect day.  As we passed back through the orchards it even started to snow a little bit, which was awesome to see.

“Hey snow, isn’t that pretty cool?”

“That is strange.  The air temperature is not quite cold enough for snow to form.”  The look on her face changed immediately, with her eyes widening.  “We need to hurry back and warn the others!”

“Warn them about what?”

****

A plan was in place.  We were going to continue on from Idavoll and head towards Valhalla to hopefully catch up to the dark elf delegation.  We were all convinced the traitor was traveling in that group and if we were lucky we still had time to piece together the puzzle.

“Lady Elf, is it not strange that it is starting to snow?”

Hmmm - Garm was right, now that I thought about it.  The air temperature was a little too warm for snow to fall.  The others were not paying attention it seemed and had not yet noticed the oddity of the snow.  What in the realms could possibly be causing this?

“Master Garm, do you have any idea what could be causing this?”

“No, I am afraid not.  Let me see if my mistress has any answers.”

While Garm was in contact with Lady Hel, I wanted to ask the others but they seemed so wrapped up in their own conversation.  It could be nothing, so I would just wait and see.

Garm’s eyes snapped open, “Lady Elf, we must leave the area immediately!”

“What is it Garm that has you so exasperated?”

“Lady Elf, the scent I just detected belongs to the ice giant Geirrod!”