Tartarus Beckons Page 8

  Tyndur’s eyes bulged, and his mouth opened. Then he turned to Habrok.

  “I should have dragged your naked butt out of that room, and carried you all the way here,” said Tyndur grimly.

  “Not my fault!” replied Habrok immediately as he got out of his chair and rushed to the door.

  “I’ll see if breakfast is ready!” came his parting shout.

  The day-meal, if one could call it that, considering the Gothi’s penchant for three meals a day as practiced on Earth, was lively. Ivar had joined them, and though he kept quiet most of the time, the Gothi ended up laughing like the rest. The camaraderie was one which Tyler missed. It made him feel that any future problems could be managed.

  Habrok was often held up by the einherjar the entire time as the one to blame for Tyndur missing out on what he called experiences of a lifetime. The missed opportunity to meet the kraken’s avatar was one topic which the einherjar kept on returning to over and over again. But it didn’t mean Kobu was spared from numerous questions from Tyndur.

  “Blue, huh? Dark blue? A lighter shade? How big did you say he was? How about his weapons? No tentacles?”

  The entire breakfast was continuously peppered with such questions. When Tyler finally told the einherjar he’d get his chance to meet the entity since the mage didn’t expect the kraken to leave soon, Tyndur shifted to the subject of the Demon Lord.

  “Powerful, eh? Do you think I could beat him at arm-wrestling? At glima? He does have to get down to human scale, of course. Otherwise, it would be cheating. You think I could convince him to spar?”

  Tyler smiled at the unfortunate exile, the target of the einherjar’s queries. Apparently, Tyndur didn’t feel that close to Ivar yet to include him in the excited barrage of questions. The absence of shared adventures and the Gothi’s status as a high priest of Odin made the einherjar avoid treating the priest as one of the company. The mage then noticed that everybody had finished eating. He clapped his hands.

  “Now, with davre over, I believe it’s time to go over the map that dokkalfr gave us. He did say time is of the essence. You too, Ivar, if you have the time. We’re in your region anyway,” declared Tyler.

  With Ivar leading, the group entered another room in the house, one which Tyler had not noticed before. It had no windows and had a central location in the structure. Before entering, they had to wait for a while as the exile had to get the map.

  “I didn’t notice this room the last time I was here,” Tyler told his friend.

  “You probably thought it was a storage room or something similar. It’s always locked. But it’s a meeting room heavily enchanted against eavesdropping,” came Ivar’s explanation.

  Once they were inside, the map was laid down on the table for everyone to examine. But Tyndur and Habrok were the ones actively scrutinizing it. The mage observed that at times, Habrok would lay his finger on a portion of the map, look at Tyndur, and the einherjar would either nod or shake his head. Ivar merely took a quick glance and waited with the others.

  Tyler also examined it for a while, but as expected, couldn’t form any conclusions on what he saw. Though the picture of drakes on a section of the chart nudged his memory about a similar icon on the map of Dionysus. But he repeated to the assembly what the dokkalfr mage told him and the objective of the coming journey.

  The map portrayed a section of the Dokkalfr Range, popularly known as the Dokkalfr Mountains. A blue outline marked their destination – an abandoned temple of Freyr – and the approach was through a forested area known as the Romsdal Forest. By now, Tyler knew how misleading maps could be compared to the reality waiting for them. Drawn clumps of woods and illustrated structures do not prepare one for the actual adrenaline rush of possible death and the distances involved.

  There would definitely be unpleasant bastards waiting in those woods and ruins, he mused. They would delay our progress.

  Depending on their approach, whether from the direction of the human towns of Half or Fargravik, the company will have to pass through an area of odd natural formations called the Fangs of Ymir, then through a series of valleys marked by a ruin. After that, they would have to cross a wooded expanse called the Battleworn Fields before reaching the temple.

  “What do you think?” Tyler asked the two when they finally finished. The duo looked at each other, and Habrok spoke up.

  “First off, we have to understand that this is a prepared map with a lot of features removed from it. The dokkalfr were known to be obsessive about keeping secrets, or matters they think are confidential, from other races. The absence of any reference to the town of Kalfa which lies midway between Half and Fargravik support that observation. Though approaching from Kalfa is also not recommended, the rocky and hilly terrain from that town to the mountains is difficult, and has more than the average number of predators,” said the ranger.

  “It appears that whoever prepared this map already took that into account and gave us the options of approaching either from Half or from the direction of Fargravik. From Maljen, the Fargravik approach would appear to be faster, as it would be a more direct one, but the route is marked with ruins. And you know what isolated ruins portend, especially ones near the Dokkalfr Mountains. The ones marked on the map are the more prominent ones,” added Tyndur. He stood up and laid his finger on a point on the map.

  “The old Alfar outpost is an ancient site, dating back when the Alfar were at the height of their power and had better relations with humans. If I remember correctly, they were allowed to build that overwatch to guard against the dokkalfr. The dokkalfr didn’t leave a stone when they captured that one,” he continued. Surprisingly, he had a thoughtful look on his face.

  The Gothi, who was seated with the two, and faced the map, took a look.

  “And Torvik? I admit I haven’t heard of that settlement,” commented the priest.

  “A human town which sprung up when the Alfar were still around. The jarl during that time believed it was time to expand in the direction of the mountains under the protection of the Alfar. Sadly, it might take decades or centuries, but the dokkalfr never forgot the threat the settlement posed to their lands, and finally acted when they deemed themselves strong enough. Setting up a settlement under Alfar auspices was a challenge the dokkalfr couldn’t ignore. See, this spot marked ruins? This one on the side of Torvik? That was a mighty bastion then, jointly manned by humans and the Alfar, and intended to protect the approaches to Torvik and the Alfar area. I’ve been there at the height of its might. Heard the dokkalfr swarmed over it like ants. It didn’t last three days,” explained Tyndur as he sat down.

  “I’ve hunted on the other side, sire,” said Habrok. “The approach from Half. It’s not as colorful as the part described by Tyndur. It is a difficult area, yes, but principally forest. The terrain is relatively flat too. As long as one avoided using the hills, progress would be faster.”

  Tyler turned the map towards him.

  “Then we have to decide which approach to take. We do have to take the presence of jotnar into consideration. The dokkalfr mage said the stronghold of Kunigunda had already fallen to Ymir’s forces,” said the mage.

  “That was a formidable fortress, sire,” commented Tyndur. “They built it after destroying the Alfar and Torvik. Ymir must have committed an absurd number of jotnar to the attack for that stronghold to fall.”

  “Let’s hope that those forces are now busy underground pressing their assault. I would hate to encounter a massive army on the surface. And I prefer that his legions don’t know about our presence until we are positioned where we want to be. Though I confess that without any additional information from that mage, we still have no idea on how to stop Ymir’s invasion,” said Tyler.

  “I noticed that, sire,” mentioned Tyndur with a grin. “It all means we are all blindly heading towards an on-going war.”

  “This would be the first time I would be doing such a thing,” remarked Kobu. “But as the wise say – there’s a first time for eve
rything.”

  “I don’t mind as long as it’s with you lot,” said Habrok. “Though Jorund would love this kind of venture – a foray into the unknown, not knowing what our chances of survival are. But I still don’t trust those dokkalfr. If we end up with our heads decorating pikes, chances are it would be dokkalfr pikes.”

  Tyler was about to comment while a knock on the door called their attention.

  Chapter Eight

  Astrid

  At the sound, the group immediately became quiet. Tyndur stood up, gripped his battleaxe, and moved to one side of the door. The ranger immediately followed and went to the opposite side. Ķobu positioned himself in front of Tyler.

  A disturbance of their meeting was highly suspect, as the Gothi had made it clear to the servants that the group shouldn’t be disturbed. Not that anybody could just barge in and catch them by surprise. Odin’s enchantments made that impossible.

  A knock came again. Ivar looked at Tyler who nodded. The problem with magically enchanted rooms such as where the party was gathered was that sound could go in, but nobody outside would be able to hear anything coming from inside the room. Ivar started to get up, but a hand signal from the einherjar told him to stay where he was. Tyndur apparently wanted to open the door himself. As soon as Tyler saw that, he immediately cast a barrier spell around the einherjar. In return, Tyndur gave him a lopsided smile of thanks.

  The einherjar looked around. Seeing everybody was ready, he quickly threw open the door, immediately shifting to an offensive battle stance. Habrok came out with his blade ready for a thrust, while the exile had shifted his weapon to a long spear, its deadly edge already quivering with the killing intent of its wielder.

  “Is this any way to greet me?” came a decidedly feminine shout from the opened door. “Put that thing away, Tyndur! Or I’ll shove it up your ass! And you, Habrok! Wait until I get my hands on you! And even Kobu?”

  It was Astrid.

  After the stunned reactions and ensuing raucous greetings from the party, Kobu excluded as the man merely smiled and bowed deeply, they were all back in their chairs. Ivar was restrained in his welcome as he didn’t know Astrid, only by name and reputation. Astrid got a lot of embraces and slaps on the back; the hardness of her armor be damned.

  Tyler happily watched as the Valkyrie took her place among them. She did look a bit different now, and the mage was not thinking about her new armor – more confident and wiser. But the two swords on her back still appeared to be xiphoi. Her presence removed one nagging worry in the mage’s mind and presaged good news about Asem’s condition.

  “I know what you’re all going to ask,” said Astrid after sitting down, her statement preempting any questions. “Asem is now fine, though still recovering.”

  “I am glad to hear that as we planned to drop by after Freyr’s quest. Incidentally, a venture to which I also had agreed to because of the transport stones – it’s a long way from Skaney to Kemet,” said Tyler. “But how? It was a problem which stumped a lot of deities. The Feathered Serpent even admitted it.”

  “It was because of Hedmark. Her father found that out after the divine treatments suddenly worked. Being Thaut, he immediately searched for the reason for such sudden improvement. Whatever you did in Hedmark also removed the barrier blocking Asem’s treatment,” replied Astrid.

  The astonished mage looked at Astrid. His mind trying to resolve the connection between Asem’s condition in far-off Kemet and the destruction of the undead hordes during the Hedmark siege.

  “X? Some help here?”

  “Very high probability, sire. The dimensional element which disguised the spell used in Hedmark must also have been used against Asem. With its removal from the magical matrix of this world, the powerful healing spells finally worked. It could have taken two to three days for the effect to spread to Kemet, but the primary cause preventing the treatment of Asem’s ailment was eventually removed. But Thaut must now have sufficient ground to suspect your access to an energy form which deities don’t know about.”

  “Now that would be worrying. That god is a seeker of knowledge, and might pursue his inquiries further,” reflected Tyler.

  “Sire?” Habrok’s voice brought him back.

  “Yes, Habrok?”

  “Does this mean Astrid can now join us?” asked the ranger.

  Tyler smiled and turned his attention to Astrid.

  “You feel like joining a venture to save a people who are most likely to stab us in the back?”

  Astrid unexpectedly laughed so hard; her eyes started to water.

  “Of course, sire! An interesting journey, to say the least. I was informed of Freyr’s request, but up to now, I am still wrestling with the idea of not drawing steel when we meet dokkalfr.”

  “My sentiments exactly,” added Habrok. The einherjar followed with a loud grunt.

  “Some factions will try something, that I expect. Hopefully, we can help them without being entangled in their internal politics. Or destroying an army. If ever it comes to that, remember that Freyr’s temples, priests, mages and champions are off limits,” replied Tyler.

  “That would be better, sire. Thaut did mention something about them, one along the line of one hand trying to stab what the other is attempting to save,” commented Astrid.

  “Exactly what that dokkalfr mage told me,” grinned Tyler.

  “Wait? A dokkalfr mage met with you? He didn’t try to attack? Or curse you? Set a plague of spiders against…” asked the startled Valkyrie.

  “Quite right,” said Tyler. “A relatively helpful fellow. I said relatively because of his stinginess with information. He did give us a map.”

  “He gave a map? Without asking something in return? Now that’s strange,” commented Astrid, still trying to come to terms with what Tyler described. At the Valkyrie’s reaction, the mage could help but wonder how vicious the battles and skirmishes were between humans and the dokkalfr.

  “I guess Freyr pushed him to do it. Actually, he didn’t look happy.”

  “Now that I could understand,” she grinned. “And I do have something to share with the company. I wouldn’t feel comfortable without you knowing a part of me which I have discovered. You treated me like family, we all risked ourselves for one another, fought creatures even I didn’t know existed, and stood together against odds we thought were impossible.”

  “Oh, you did miss a lot of fun while you were away,” said Tyndur.

  The look on Astrid’s face was priceless. A child’s expression, when told she missed buying the last available sample of her dream toy, couldn’t compare.

  “Battles against bizarre creatures of the Barrens, a lost civilization, endless hordes of the walking and flying undead, that sort of thing. Oh, and Kobu here was talking about a blue mountain, a kraken, a demon, a demon lord-hunter, beasties, and other things. I forgot the details. Habrok and I were away then,” he added casually.

  Tyler leaned over to Ivar and whispered that the lost civilization part was a confidential matter, even to Odin if he could manage to keep it a secret from the deity. The Gothi nodded. He hoped that was enough to keep Ivar quiet about that unfortunate people. Then the mage intervened in the discussion before it got seriously off-track.

  “These three could fill you in later, Astrid. And that includes what we have discussed so far. We still have the day anyway, as I was thinking of starting our journey tomorrow. So, what were you going to tell us?” said the mage.

  “I found out who my real grandfather was,” smiled the Valkyrie. “It does explain some of my abilities and the strange titles I have been called.”

  Nobody said anything. An expectant hush fell on the company as their attention was focused on the Valkyrie.

  “He’s Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds in the pantheon of Hellas. Eos, the Titan goddess of the dawn is my step-grandmother, though she wasn’t exactly happy when she learned about me. That makes the Anemoi, or the four wind gods of that pantheon, my uncles.”

  “W
hat are you looking at?”

  Tyler turned his head. It was Astrid, clearly irritated at Habrok. The ranger started to answer, but the Valkyrie cut him off.

  “Don’t deny it! You’ve been sneaking looks at me since we left Maljen. Now what is it?” demanded Astrid.

  “Ah… you see… uhm…”

  “Speak up, or I swear I’ll beat it out of you, even if you’re my brother-in-law!”

  “Does this mean I married into a family of demi-goddesses?” asked Habrok immediately in an uncharacteristically subdued tone.

  “What do you think? Though if you’re worried about my sister beating you up when she feels like it, don’t worry. The heritage manifested itself in me. But we do have to worry about grandma, she gave chase after grandfather fled. I don’t know what she’s thinking considering we’re living proof of her husband’s infidelity.”

  “What now?” queried Habrok.

  “We wait until things calm down and hope she doesn’t take it out on us. We are related by blood to Aeolus, but not to Eos.”

  At the reply, Habrok paled and kept quiet.

  Poor Habrok. No wonder he’s changed. From a carefree ranger to one who had encountered monsters and deities. Now, he just found out that he married into a family with divine roots. And an angry Titan in the mix, observed Tyler. Though I noticed Astrid’s personality had changed a bit. She’s more assertive and outspoken. More confident. I wonder what kind of training Thaut put her through?

  But seeing the ranger’s concern, the mage felt he had to say something. It was obvious that the ranger was stressed out.

  “Habrok, don’t worry too much about it. What will come, will come,” said Tyler.

  “That scares me more, sire,” replied the ranger.

  Habrok’s answer resulted in laughter. Tyler couldn’t stop himself from joining. Even Kobu was smiling.