RECAP: King Agnar of Soemd refused to help the heroes in their desperate quest to save their clan, but there’s still a chance that Erik, with the help of his friends and the bounty hunter Hilda, can recover his stolen money, leave Midgard, and meet with the dwarfs. But will the dwarfs be any friendlier than the human king?
Hilda collected us from the inn the next evening and led us through the streets of Soemd. Only Trond and I went with her. Ragnvald stayed behind, consulting the Norns last I saw. The half-moon glowed brightly against the night sky. Dim compared to the streetlights, but I knew the moons true brightness couldn’t be found here.
There weren’t many speeders on the road or pedestrians on the sidewalks. The city slept. It was later than I’d realized. Past midnight. Would the thieves still be in their hideout? I guessed Hilda knew more about these matters than we did, so I elected to trust her judgment.
Hilda took a sudden turn into an alley and paused over a manhole cover. She grabbed a steel bar off to the side marked with the Prosperity rune and used it as a lever to pull the cover off. “Climb in.”
Trond groaned. “We don’t have to, right?”
“Prosperity is down there. Yes, you have to.”
Trond sighed and began climbing down the ladder. “And to think I showered before this.”
I followed behind my brother, and Hilda followed after me. She pulled the cover closed behind us. The silver light of the moon vanished, and the world around us was suddenly dark. Hilda lit a flashlight and strode through the dark tunnels, leading the way once again. I took the middle, and Trond reluctantly took the rear of the group. Our boots sloshed through sewage. The tunnel reeked. Trond gagged and struggled to keep the noise suppressed. Hilda turned and shushed him.
“I’m trying,” Trond whispered. “Do you know how hard it is to—? Gah!”
We continued on until a light shone before us. Hilda switched her flashlight off and turned the next corner. Beyond, the tunnel flowed down into the main sewer, which was a far larger tunnel that multiple people could stand in comfortably; and multiple people did.
There were several figures in the massive tunnel, all wearing the Prosperity rune somewhere on their person. Some wore cloaks, others armbands. Tunics, trousers, belts, gloves, and whatever else. There were seven people in all, and one stood out from the rest.
They were all teens save for this one. He appeared to be in his late twenties. He wore a bushy, blond beard that hadn’t been washed in ages. He had a steely gaze and wore a more elaborate cloak than the others. I had no doubt this was Thorarin.
“Do they all have weapons?” I asked.
Hilda kept her eyes on the thieves. “I’m not sure.”
“I hope not,” Trond said.
If it came to a fight, their numbers were greater than ours, even with the other thieves out on jobs. But Hilda was a bounty hunter. She knew this business. Her words would persuade Thorarin to surrender, no matter how prideful he was.
“Stay in the shadows,” Hilda said. “Keep out of sight.”
Trond made a mock salute. “Will do.”
Trond and I stepped back into the tunnel to be buried by shadow, but we were still able to see into the larger tunnel.
Hilda leaped into the main sewer. The thieves whirled around in an instant, drawing hidden weapons. Two had daggers, one had throwing knives, and the rest had pistols. The pistol in Thorarin’s hand seemed to be a plasma weapon.
The sewer was silent save for the gurgling of water flowing from the pipes. The air was electric. I didn’t like the look of things. I slowly and silently drew my pistol, but didn’t engage yet. I’d wait for Hilda’s signal.
“You’re Thorarin?” Hilda said.
“Yes. Who are you?”
“I’m here to offer you a deal. You can surrender now, or my people can shoot you.”
Thorarin barked a laugh. “What people?”
“The ones in the pipes, hidden by the shadows. All of the pipes.”
The thieves glanced at each of the sewage pipes leading into the main sewer. One glanced at me for a moment, but her bulging eyes bounced away from me immediately. Still hidden. Good.
Thorarin hadn’t taken his eyes off Hilda. “You’re bluffing.”
From under her cloak, Hilda drew a rifle with sharp blades running along the sides. I stared at the glimmering blades. The wings, the rifle. Why did it all seem so familiar?
“Do you want to find out?” Hilda said.
Thorarin’s cocky smile faltered briefly. “You cannot scare me into surrendering. I lead Prosperity. Everywhere I go, we flourish. It doesn’t matter how many grunts you brought with you, if any. We’ll kill you all.”
“No blood needs to be shed.”
“But it will be.”
“Even the blood of your own? These are your people. If it comes to a fight, at least one of them is bound to die. Would you really sacrifice one of them to save your own hide?”
“Do you want to find out?”
Silence filled the stiff air again. Trond gagged. I flinched, but none of the thieves seemed to notice. They shifted their weight from foot to foot, their eyes still flickering toward the pipes. But Thorarin held his ground, locking his gaze with Hilda’s. He wasn’t convinced. Hilda needed to change tactics.
“If you have so many with you,” Thorarin said, “why hide them? Why not ask them to come out? Make a show of force.”
“You think I’d show my hand and sacrifice my tactical advantage?”
“Your tactical advantage might be worth sacrificing if it means a sure surrender.”
“You can’t trick me with your games.”
“It’s no game. Show me your overwhelming force, and I will let you take me to the city guard.”
“I’m no fool, and you’re no Loki.”
“Then I say you have no force. You walked into a thieves’ den alone with nothing but a rifle to protect you.”
This wasn’t going well. My muscles were tense. My grip on my pistol tightened.
“Do you want to see what I can do with this rifle?” Hilda asked.
“I’d love to.”
He lifted his plasma pistol.
I leaped out of the tunnel as a plasma bolt zipped through the air, just missing Hilda. She looked over at me, and I realized my mistake. Thorfarin was trying to draw me out.
“Ha! That’s your overwhelming force? Sorry, but I’m not surrendering today. Get them!”
Trond jumped down behind me as the rest of the thieves lifted their weapons. I glanced around. No cover. Just running sewage up to my shins. This wasn’t going to end well.
“Get the ones with the pistols first,” Hilda said.
The sewer exploded in an exchange of fire. My pistol roared with each bullet shot. The muzzles of the thieves’ pistols flashed. Projectiles shattered concrete, pinged off iron bars, and splashed the water.
Hilda raised her rifle up and fired a green plasma bolt that slammed into one of the thieves with a pistol. He dropped under the running current and disappeared. The other thieves scrambled around, searching desperately for cover that wasn’t there while Hilda dropped another. The two with daggers crouched low and charged her, but I didn’t have time to see what happened.
A throwing knife sliced just above my cheek. I grimaced at the sting of the cut. I aimed my pistol at my adversary and fired. The first two shots went wide. It was hard to aim while off balance. More knives came my way. I stepped to the side to avoid them, planted my feet in the ground, and fired another shot. The bullet hit the thief in the chest. Another one down.
Thorfarin was gone. I hadn’t noticed him leave. He must have escaped through one of the tunnels. I glanced over to find Trond shooting at the other two thieves wielding pistols. He stayed low, reloaded his weapon, and kept firing. I lifted my own weapon to fire when movement to my right caught my eye.
The two thieves with daggers closed in on Hilda. They were going to overwhelm her. She needed help.
Hilda folded her rifle’s grip away and flicked the weapon. The two blades on the sides extended, turning the rifle into a battleaxe. She swung in a wide arc and forced the thieves to jump away. Hilda could handle herself. If she didn’t need help, that gave me the chance to help Trond.
More bullets splashed in the water and sparked against the concrete walls. I fired on the two remaining thieves. My shots missed. One of them whirled around and fired back at me.
The bullet found its mark in my side. I dropped to the rushing water. My head spun. The pain screeched. I cried out and grabbed at the wound. The white-hot pain wasn’t fading anytime soon, but I forced my mind to work again. I needed to get out of the sewage. Just from falling in, the bullet wound was at a high risk of getting infected. The longer I stayed in the water, the higher that risk became.
Bullets continued to zip through the air. I couldn’t attend to my wound yet. Trond still needed help. Our lives were still in danger. I lifted my pistol. My hand shook. The sounds around me were still muffled. I couldn’t tell if there was sewage in my ear or if it was the pain making it difficult to focus on anything else. My head began to spin again. I struggled to keep my balance, but I pulled the trigger anyway.
A cloud of red mist appeared behind one of the thieves, and he flew back into the water. His death distracted the other thief, and Trond took him down with his next shot.
Hilda had maimed one of the thieves with the daggers, but was still locked in battle with the other. I aimed my pistol, but their fighting was too fast. I couldn’t get a clear shot.
Hilda noticed my pistol in the air. “No!”
I complied and let my arm fall to my side. I kept my eyes on her duel with the last thief. I still couldn’t attend to my wound. If the thief won, I had to be ready to fight again. Maybe there’d be an opening to take advantage of. But would I be fast enough?
The thief drew back, then charged forward with both daggers aimed at Hilda. Hilda rolled out of the attack. One of the daggers cut across her shoulder. She moved straight into a swing that raked across the thief’s back, and she fell without a sound.
The blades on Hilda’s rifle retracted, and the grip extended. She rushed over to me. “You need to get out of here.”
“I’m fine. We still need to find Thorfarin.”
“I’ll find him. You need to take care of yourself first.”
“I’ll live.”
“You’re losing too much blood.”
I pulled off my cloak, tore the sleeve of my tunic, and wrapped it around my torso, tying it tightly. It wasn’t a perfect bandage, but it would have to do. “There. No problem.”
Trond shook his head. “Erik, you need to get out of here. That’s an open wound. It’ll get infected.”
“Here.” Hilda reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a disposable syringe. “Hold still.”
She slammed the syringe down on my right shoulder. I groaned at the sting, but that pain was nothing compared to the wound on my side. I felt a surge of energy race through my body. The pain died away to an annoying ache and nothing more. My mind tensed. It clouded for a moment. I couldn’t think clearly. Then the sensation slowly faded. The pain was still dulled, but my mind worked as normal.
“What was that?”
“Healing stim,” Hilda said. “It’s not a perfect fix, but your cells should repair themselves more rapidly. We’ll still need to get you to a doctor after this, but you should have enough strength to follow Thorfarin, as long as you remember that the wound is still there, even if you don’t feel it.”
“What about your arm?”
“It’s a scratch. I’ll manage. Let’s go.”
Trond pointed at one of the tunnels. “I saw him go through there.”
Hilda led the way. This time, I trailed behind while Trond took up the middle of our group. We raced through the tunnel as fast as we could. Thorfarin had too much of a head start. If we were going to catch him, we needed to move quick.
But the sewers were a maze of tunnels and pipes. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to figure out where he went, but Hilda zipped through the tunnels without halting as though she’d been down here all her life. She seemed to know where she was going, and I didn’t have much else to go off of but her guidance.
Finally, I heard splashing footsteps ahead of us. We were drawing closer, and a good thing, too. The pain in my side was worsening. My makeshift bandaged was soaked with crimson. It wasn’t good anymore, but I had nothing to change it out with. Even if I did, I couldn’t stop the bleeding while running. That’d have to wait until we caught our quarry.
A shadowy figure raced away from us in the distance. I wasn’t sure how we managed to catch up with the leader of the thieves’ guild, but there he was. He glanced over his shoulder, his smug expression replaced with wide eyes filled with terror.
It wasn’t much longer before we had almost caught up with him. He fired plasma bolts back at us. Hilda lifted her rifle and fired as well. The green and blue bolts lit up the dark tunnel, glowing bright against the shadows. Thorfarin turned a corner, and we followed after him.
He stood in front of a row of rusted iron bars and desperately shot his pistol at them one by one. We stopped short of him and raised our weapons.
“Thorfarin,” Hilda said, “I’m here to claim the bounty on your head. Don’t move.”
Thorfarin froze.
“Slowly turn around and throw your weapon to the ground.”
Thorfarin did as he was told and placed his hands on his head.
Then my vision went blurry. Trond shouted something muffled, I lost my balance, and the world went black.
****
I woke up in a bed that wasn’t the same as the one at the inn. This one had white sheets, and there was a beeping monitor off to the side. I realized that I was plugged into that monitor, and a tube fed some kind of yellow liquid into my veins. Trond and Ragnvald sat nearby. Trond perked up as I opened my eyes.
“Thank the gods, you’re awake.”
He stood up and almost patted my shoulder, then stopped himself and thought better of it.
Ragnvald adjusted his eyes. “These are ill omens. If the first part of our journey went this poorly, how can we expect the rest to be better?”
“Enough of your tattling, old man,” Trond said. “This is a happy moment.”
“Happy? Happy that you two were almost killed?”
I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain reminded me why I was in a bed. “We survived. That’s good omen enough. There’s still hope for Ravengard. Did we get the money?”
Trond nodded. “We did.”
I lay my head back and closed my eyes. “Then all is well.”
“It’s not gul that will save the clan,” Ragnvald said. “It’s the help of the dwarfs, and I fear that we won’t get that as easily as we got our money back.”
****
The medical technology in Soemd was a wonder. By the end of the day, I was allowed to go, and I found that the pain in my side had significantly dulled. It hadn’t vanished, but walking wasn’t too uncomfortable. The stitches were repairing quickly. It would only be a few more days before I was back to full strength.
We breakfasted in the inn the next morning when Hilda approached our table. I saw her with new eyes now, and paused my chewing as she sat.
“I wanted to thank you before you left,” she said. “I’m not sure I would have been able to collect that bounty without you.”
I swallowed my eggs. “We have our money back. Without you, we’d be stuck on Midgard. Ravengard would have no hope at all. We owe you a great debt.”
“Consider it paid. I’m sorry to have caused you trouble.” She eyed my wound hidden under my tunic.
“No trouble. Something like that was bound to happen on such a venture as this.”
Hilda nodded and stood from the table. “I’m off now. Best of luck on your journey.”
“Wait.”
She paused and turned.
I looked at Trond. He nodded. I returned my gaze to Hilda. “We were talking this morning, and we wanted to ask for your aid on our trip.”
“My aid? You said yourself that you only have enough money for transport.”
“We have more gul in our village treasury. Less than half of what we have with us now, but it’s something. I know we don’t have much, but what we have is yours. We brought Ragnvald here because of his knowledge of the cosmos, but you have more than that. You have experience. We need you.”
Hilda thought for a moment. The sounds of the inn filled the silence as the innkeeper brought out a tray filled with steamy, savory-smelling plates over to a table of roaring men.
“Keep your gul,” Hilda said.
I stood from my seat. “Please, Hilda. I know what you are. Or, rather, what you were. I know you can’t let us die.”
“And what was I, Jarl of Ravengard.”
“You were a Valkyrie, one of Odin’s warriors. He chose which side of battle to favor, and he sent you to ensure they won. Is this not true?”
Hilda’s eyes were downcast. “It is.”
“I don’t pretend to know why you left the order, but I do know someone of your background has a good nature. We need your help. We beg for it.”
Another long pause. Hilda thought for longer this time. The inn was quieter now that the mouths of those men at the other table were full of food. Finally, Hilda spoke.
“You can still keep your gul,” she said, “because I’m doing this one for free.”
I bowed slightly to not draw attention, but deep enough to show respect to one of Odin’s warriors. “Thank you, battlemaiden.”
“Do not bow to me. I’m not royalty.”
“But you’re a Valkyrie.”
She shook her head. “Not anymore.”
I sat back down at the table to finish my breakfast. Hilda sat with us, but didn’t eat anything.
Trond spoke through a mouthful of ham. “We’ll leave soon. We’ve already packed everything we brought with us. All we need to do now is finish breakfast and walk to the space port.”
“You’re still using public transport?” Hilda asked.
“We are,” I said, “unless you have a ship of your own we could use.”
“Never needed one. But then, I’ve never had to go to Nidavellir, either.”
“We’ll figure something out. We’re going to Alfheim. Ragnvald says the elfs are friendly. Maybe they’ll give us transport to Nidavellir.”
“Not likely,” Hilda said. “Your friend must not know about the gate.”
“Gate?” I faced Ragnvald.
He finished a long drink of water and set his mug down. “I know of Audhumla’s Gate. Is it not safe to fly around it?”
“The danger doesn’t lie in falling in,” Hilda said. “It’s in what comes out.”
“What is this gate?” I asked.
“It’s a gate to Ginnungagap. A tear in space that leads straight into an infinite void.”
Trond leaned back in his chair. “I thought space was already an infinite void.”
“Space infinite void with worlds and stars and nebulae. Ginnungagap has nothing. Only darkness and nightmares.”
“Tell me about these nightmares,” I said.
“They’re called Ginnunsons, and there are many kinds. We don’t know if they’ve all been recorded. We don’t even know if they’ve all been encountered. But they’re creatures who were born in the Great Gap. They vary in size, but they’re all fighting for food. There’s nothing for them to feed on in the void aside from each other. So, when they emerge from one of the gates, they consume any and all living things they can find.”
“There’s nothing to fear from the Ginnunsons,” Ragnvald said.
Trond blinked. “I beg to differ.”
“They’re rare and don’t emerge often,” the godi continued. “If the elfs are too terrified to pass the gate, then they’re fools. I believe we’ll find a pilot who has no trouble going to Nidavellir.”
Hilda leaned on the table. “That might be more challenging than you think.”
“Surely, the elfs trade with the dwarfs,” Ragnvald said. “We may find transport on a trade ship.”
“We’ll have to speak with one of their leaders, but that’s unlikely.”
I pushed my empty plate away from me and stood, adjusting my cloak. “Whatever the case, it is to Alfheim we’re going, and in Alfheim we will find an answer to our problem.”
“You’re so sure of this,” said Hilda.
“I am. We have no other options. It’s Nidavellir or the giants.”
Trond, Ragnvald and I went upstairs to grab our things, then we rejoined with Hilda below and marched across the streets to the crowded space port. According to Hilda, it was a slow day for them. I worry to see what a busy day is like.
The port was a large building decorated similarly to the other buildings in Soemd; light-colored stones and concrete with gold highlights. There were plenty of shops inside in case we’d forgotten something for our journey, which we hadn’t. Although Trond insisted on visiting at least one of the shops. He grabbed a bracelet to give to Eyedis when we returned.
Then there were the lines. Plenty of lines. We waited for an hour just to buy our tickets. Fortunately, there was a transport with five remaining seats. Hilda and Ragnvald would have to sit separately while Trond and I were together. We were directed to port 37, and found a ship waiting for us there. The ship hummed as though eager to take off as we joined the waiting passengers already seated inside. Trond’s lean, nimble build was perfect for fitting into the tight transport, whereas I struggled to squeeze between the seats.
After waiting for another half hour, the pilot announced that it was time to take off. The engines whirred louder and louder before the ship lifted gently into the air. The city around us was soon replaced with a sky full of stark, gray clouds. We shot forward. I was forced further into my seat from the sudden acceleration.
The clouds zipped past us. I’d never been in the air before. Somehow, even though we were in a pressurized spaceship, the air smelled fresher. The clouds began as dark gray, but grew lighter as we flew.
Then I saw it. The dancing blue, yellow, and green lights of raw Bifrost energy flowing across the sky. We flew straight into the swirling colors. They danced across my window, flowing like a flag on the wind. I couldn’t help but grin. I’d only heard stories of Bifrost energy. I never thought I’d see it in person.
As the colors faded, the world began to grow dark. The lights inside the transport turned off. I glanced around. The other passengers had their eyes closed as they tried to rest.
Then there was the young lad three rows ahead of me. His mother told him to sit back in his seat, but didn’t put much effort into the command. He ignored her and pressed his face against the glass, staring outside with a wide smile, looking much the way I felt inside.
I turned back to the window, and the stars I had seen every night from the village glimmered before me, no longer hidden by the brightness of Soemd. Midgard fell away before us. The ship turned gently, and my jaw fell away.
A long cluster of stars—more than I’d ever seen before—shined bright against the dark void. It stretched out across the shadows, glimmering against nothing. But it wasn’t the only cluster of stars. It was but one of many. I followed it across the window, more of the universe revealed as we slowly turned.
It was but one branch. It weaved across the darkness, around, over, and under the other branches of the great ash until it reached the trunk stretching across the black, its size incomprehensible. The stars glimmered, twinkled, and flickered. I saw one of the branches connected to Midgard, stretching all the way toward us. Just one little twig compared to the majesty of everything else.
Yggdrasil.
Thank you for reading chapter 5 of Ravengard!
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Got another warrior aboard. My guess about hiring the thief also proved incorrect. I'm a bit surprised that their scuffle went entirely unnoticed or unpunished by local law. I guess the mercenary was enough validity for their operation.
Vikings fighting with mostly guns is also somewhat surprising. I expected our boys to do some hand to hand or blade to blade. The ax rifle was a neat idea. Seems they use a blend of regular arms (pistols and bullets) along with plasma weaponry. Curious about space combat, shields, and other possible sci-fi items that may come up later.