I watched the faces of the Hrimthurssar, looking for any emotions that would play across their features. There was anger at the mention of the name Surtr. I saw nodding heads when he mentioned that the Fire Giants had turned on Loki and that the Frost Giants had remained loyal. What I didn’t see was confidence. In its place was more than one look of fear. Something had gone terribly wrong for them.
“Only Surtr acted too soon,” said Thrym, bitterly. “He unleashed his forces against the Hrimthurssar as soon as the Fimbul Winter began.”
I could see all of the Hrimthurssar bristling with anger at this statement. There were dark looks exchanged and more than one muttered curse.
“It is one thing to fall in battle with a worthy foe,” stated Thrym. “It is quite another to be attacked and slaughtered. We were struck by the Eldjötnar while we were in our camp, without warning or provocation. Many of our warriors fell before we made our escape. They have been hunting us ever since. That is why we came here, to the camp of our enemies, to seek allies against a common foe.”
“Why would you come to us for help?” I asked, frowning. “You said it yourself. We’re enemies.”
“All that we have learned of you,” replied Thrym, “and all that we have observed. You have always treated us honorably. You have never given us reason to think that you would attack us in such a cowardly was as the Eldjötnar have done. You were our only hope to defeat them.”
“How many of you are left?” asked Snake.
“We few are all that remain of the Hrimthurssar,” said Thrym. “Once there were more than a hundred of us, but now only a dozen warriors remain.”
“What makes you think that we can defeat them together?” asked Spec-4.
“Because your greatest warrior,” answered Thrym, gesturing at me, “has defeated many of our warriors single-handedly. Together, we can surely defeat the Eldjötnar.”
“How many of them are there?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“There were well over a hundred when they attacked us,” said Thrym. “Although we did not go down without a fight, we did not take as many of them with us as I would have liked. I fear that there may still be nearly a hundred of them, perhaps more.”
“That is why we came here,” added Vigdis. “Although we have fought each other in battle, you fought bravely. You treated us far better than we treated you and your people.”
“And you’re not angry that I killed Grimnir and your other people?” I asked, looking at Vigdis for any sign of her true motivations on her face.
“They fell in battle,” she answered, flatly. “What better honor is there than to fall in battle against a worthy foe? If I recall correctly, we were doing our best to kill you when you took out our helicopter.”
“I just wanted to make certain that you weren’t planning on stabbing me in the back when you got the chance,” I said, offering her a brief smile.
“A wise precaution,” she replied. “You would have been foolish to do otherwise. But rest assured that if I wanted to kill you, I would have already acted.”
“Fair enough,” I replied.
“Now it comes to this,” stated Thrym. “We seek to enlist your aid against the Eldjötnar. I think that we stand a better chance of defeating them together than we do on our own.”
“True,” I agreed, “but how do we know that you won’t turn on us the moment we defeat them?”
“I suppose that you do not have any assurances of that,” he answered honestly. “I believe that we would have had a difficult time defeating you and your people when we were at our strongest. I doubt that there are enough of us in this room to turn the tide against you. There is little doubt that the battle would be more costly than either of us is willing to pay.”
I didn’t answer him. Instead, I chose to ponder his words as well as the words of the Old Man. I wanted to take him at his word, but the Old Man’s words kept ringing in my head.
“Do not let them lure you into a trap. There will come a time when you will have to face them in battle.”
I had to listen to the Old Man. He hadn’t steered me wrong yet. I knew that his words were true and that they would betray us as soon as it was convenient for them. I couldn’t trust them to act honorably. Bergelmir seemed to be the only one of them that knew what honor actually meant. Well, perhaps Aurvandil, but I had no way to know for sure. I was going to have to be very careful about how we played this. There was also the nagging feeling that they weren't telling us the entire truth. Only a small part of it.
“Do you mind if I discuss this with my people before I decide?” I said to Thrym.
“Not at all,” he replied. “I would expect nothing less. “We will return to our camp and meet again when you call. Sound your horn when you are ready to speak to us.”
“Very well,” I replied.
“If you do not sound the horn in two days time,” he added, “I will assume that you do not wish an alliance and we shall prepare accordingly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Snake, standing and starting to reach for his hammer.
“It merely means that we will have to prepare to face the Eldjötnar alone,” replied Aurvandil. “We have enough of a battle ahead of us without fighting you, as well.”
“What do you plan to do when this is all over?” asked Spec-4. “What will you do once we defeat the Eldjötnar?”
“A fair question,” replied Thrym. “I believe that this world is big enough for us to exist without killing each other. The dead have left the bulk of the population dead or dying. We would find our own way.”
“We’ll let you know what we decide,” I said, standing.
With that, the Hrimthurssar gathered their gear and headed out the door. The Vargr were already outside, waiting for them. I didn’t hear anyone do anything to summon them. I found that to be rather odd, but decided not to comment on it. I just waited until they had all returned to their mounts and headed off into the snow.
Thrym was the last one to turn and ride away, but just before he left he looked to me and spoke.
“I will await your decision,” he said, calling loudly to be heard above the wind. “I hope it will mean that we will be working together. Both of our futures may depend on it.”
With that, he turned and headed off into the snow after his people.
“We’ll see,” I whispered. “We’ll see.”
Chapter Eight
Hard Decisions
“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the
acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
- Sun Tzu
Once they were gone, we returned to the cabin and shut the door. There was no sense in trying to make it back to the complex in this storm. We might make it, but we might not. Although the storm was raging outside, I had little doubt that it would blow itself out by morning. Once that was done, we would return home.
Taking my seat by the fire, I noticed that the others were following suit. With the heavy layers of snow and ice built up on the outside of the cabin, the room had warmed up considerably. The thick snow was acting as additional insulation and I had no doubt that we could stay warm enough to weather the storm. It might not be the most comfortable night we’d ever spent, but it wouldn’t even be close to the worst one.
“They never did answer your question,” began Snake.
“Which question was that?” I asked.
“When you asked them where they came from,” he replied.
“Actually, they did,” I said, frowning.
“He told us a story about the old Gods and the Giants,” said Snake, clearly confused.
“That’s what they are,” I replied. “The Hrimthurssar are Jotens. They’re Frost Giants.”
“No fucking way,” said Snake. “That can’t be true.”
“It is,” added Bergelmir. “The Giants, as you call them, were never truly giant. They were larger than humans and as the tales were told
and retold down through the generations, the descriptions of us grew, as well. Much like the tales of the Gods. Once, they were just great deeds that were done on the field of battle, but the tales of them grew and grew.”
“Are you saying that there are no Gods?” demanded Butcher, angrily.
“Not at all,” replied Bergelmir. “Just that they too, were once great heroes. As succeeding generations of men told their tales and worship of them spread, they were elevated to the status of Gods. Much like what will happen after Ragnarok is completed. The tales will be told and worship of the Gods will resume. They will return, but it will be through our deeds that tales of their accomplishments will grow. The deeds we do now in battle will become the legends that will follow. Each of us represents one of the Gods and our deeds will be attributed to them, continuing their legacy in the aftermath of Ragnarok.”
I could see that each of us was taking his words in, in different ways. Some more readily accepted them than others. Bridgett was shaking her head in disbelief, while Butcher stared at the leather wrap that covered the stump of his hand. He had long ago inscribed the leather with the rune of Tyr, the one handed God of Justice. For him, taking on the aspect of a God was all too real when he had sacrificed his hand to save us all, much like Tyr had done for the Gods.
I had already come to grips that my visions of the Old Man were manifestations of Odin. Or more specifically, they were manifestations of my belief in Odin. Whether or not I was having conversations with an actual God was up for debate. I had no way to know for sure, but I did know that the Old Man taught me lessons that I needed to know to survive in this world. He brought me wisdom. Maybe it was all of the things I had read in the old sagas, or maybe it was things I never knew before. All I knew for certain was that when I had needed his strength to survive, he had been there for me. That was good enough.
“Fine,” said Snake, frowning. “Let’s assume that they are fucking Jotens. How the fuck did they get here?”
“Bergelmir,” I said. “Would you mind answering that? I’m not sure I know how you got here, either.”
“Alright,” began Bergelmir, slowly. “I will tell you. When Loki unleashed the dead upon the world and Ragnarok began, the barriers between the worlds were weakened. We were able to use Yggdrasil to travel from our world to this one and the Eldjötnar were able to come here the same way.”
“And there are no more of your people left in Jotunheim?” asked Butcher.
“Not even close,” replied Bergelmir. “There are vast numbers of my people remaining in Jotunheim. Loki could only bring a small number through. There is a balancing force in the Nine Worlds. The Fates decreed that for every one of us that came through, the Gods of Asgard would be allowed an equal number of champions.”
“So there are more of the Einherjar,” said Marko.
“Some fell to the dead,” said Bergelmir, “while others fell to the Hrimthurssar. Some have yet to be called. The Gods do not like to interfere in the lives of men. They only chose enough that they believed would get the job done. There are others that will take our place, should we fall.”
“But what if we succeed?” asked Bridgett.
“Then we will be remembered in songs and tales for as long as the stories of the Gods are retold,” replied Bergelmir.
“So the Eldjötnar are Fire Giants?” said Snake, frowning.
“Yes,” answered Bergelmir. “Much in the same way that my people are Frost Giants. They are larger than humans, some of them large even among my kind. They are from Muspelheim, where the world is very hot and volcanic. They have adapted to life there much as my people adapted to the frozen wastes of Jotenheim.”
“So are they as strong as your people?” asked Bridgett.
“In many ways, they are stronger,” said Bergelmir, frowning. “They may be the most dangerous of all the giants.”
“Are there others besides them?” asked Spec-4.
“Yes, there are,” replied Bergelmir. “There are Mountain Giants and Ettins, but it is doubtful that we will see either of them. They do not follow Loki, nor will they fight for him.”
“That’s good news for us,” I said, standing up. “We have enough players on the field without them joining in.”
“Agreed,” said Bergelmir. “We do not need more enemies to join the battle.”
“So the question remains,” I said, pacing near the fire, “do we trust the Hrimthurssar enough to work with them?”
“I don’t fucking trust them at all,” answered Snake. “They’ll turn on us the moment we beat the Eldjötnar.”
“I won’t argue that,” I said, smiling. “Undoubtedly, they will betray us. But if the Eldjötnar are as powerful as they say, we’re going to need them.”
“Couldn’t we just take our chances against them ourselves?” asked Spec-4. “I mean, we know that if the Hrimthurssar face them without us, they won’t win. We can just take the fight to them after that.”
“We could,” I said, “but we have no knowledge of the Eldjötnar. They have first-hand experience fighting them. We could learn a lot from them. What do you think, Bergelmir?”
“I must admit that I have little direct knowledge of the Eldjötnar,” admitted Bergelmir. “However, the information I do have is that they are very dangerous. We could use all the help we can find if we are going to face them.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” muttered Spec-4. “We’re going to have to work with them, aren’t we?”
“I’m afraid so,” I replied. “We will just have to be ready for their move when they turn on us. If we play our cards right, we can turn that to our advantage and strike decisively. We’ll be familiar with our targets and know our plan, before hand.”
“So when do we call them back?” asked Butcher.
“We’ll let them think we’re taking our time,” I said. “We’ll sound the horn tomorrow when we’re back at the base. We’re not bringing the Vargr inside with us, but we will find room for them.”
“I don’t like them being inside with us,” added Spec-4.
“Me either,” I replied, “but what other choice do we have? We can’t agree to work with them, but refuse to let them inside our compound. We either trust them to fight alongside us, or we don’t trust them at all. They can’t afford to turn on us until the Eldjötnar are defeated.”
“We should all get some rest, while we can,” said Snake. “Looks like we’ll have to deal with these fuckers in the morning.”
With that, we all started bedding down for the night. We selected a guard and a schedule to rotate, so that we could all could get some sleep. Then, after stoking the fire, we got as comfortable as we could. We settled in to get some sleep, allowing for as much privacy as we could in one big room.
I made a pillow out of my coat and pack, and then rolled up in my cloak. Just as I was about to close my eye and try to get some sleep, I felt a hand on my arm. I slowly opened my eye to see Spec-4 kneeling beside me.
“Mind if I join you?” she whispered. “I’m cold. You guys seem to be immune to this stuff. I’m not.”
I opened the cloak and let her slip in beside me. I wondered if it was going to be a problem. The memory of the dream that I had in the dam came flooding back to me like erotic déjà vu. I had to force myself to think about something else. After all, the last thing I needed to be worrying about right at the moment was the tension between me and Spec-4.
We huddled in silence for a few moments before she nestled close to my ear and began whispering to me. The warmth of her breath and the occasional brush of her lips against my ear were almost more than I could take.
“I never really thanked you for bringing my parents back to me,” she breathed softly.
“You don’t have to,” I replied. “I was happy to do it.”
“It means the world to me to have them back,” she said. “I thought they were gone.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m glad I found them. It was almost like I was meant to do it.”
<
br /> “Isn’t that odd?” she asked.
“It’s not the strangest thing I’ve seen since this all started,” I said, smiling.
“I guess you’re right,” she replied. “The world is different now, more so than I ever thought it could be. I mean, not just the dead. It’s everything else, too.”
“I know how you feel,” I said. “Nothing turned out the way I thought it would.”
“I need to ask you something,” she said. “I’ve been trying for a while now.”
“Alright,” I said, turning to look her in the eye.
“I know that we can’t be together,” she began, hesitantly. “I understand that. But when I thought you were gone, I felt like part of me had died, too. Then you came back to us, but you’re different now. I barely recognized you. I mean, the eye and your hair. Even your demeanor is different.”
“After I fell,” I began, slowly. “I never expected to wake up. Just surviving that was nothing short of miraculous. But then I recovered from the bites and from my other wounds, too. It took everything I had to heal. It took a toll on me.”
“That must have been rough,” she said, gently touching my eye-patch.
“It was,” I replied. “But I learned something then. I learned that there were bigger things going on than I had known about before. Something truly epic was unfolding around us and I had a key role to play in it.”
She didn’t say anything, but looked at me with a deep sadness etched on her young features. Her intense blue eyes were tinged with tears.
“For good or for ill,” I began, “I still have a job to do. All of our fates may depend on the outcome. There is still a chance that we can stop what's happening. We can bring Ragnarok to an end.”
“How?” she breathed.
“We find out exactly what they are planning and put an end to it,” I said. “Once we stop their plans, things will begin to return to something close to normal.”
“Will the dead stop walking around?” she asked, frowning.
“I don’t know,” I said, with a sad shake of my head. “I hope so, but we have no way to know. All we can do is stop whatever it is the Hrimthurssar are trying to bring about. Once we do that, the rest should fall into place.”
Ragnarok Rising: Desolation: Book Five of the Ragnarok Rising Saga Page 11
