“I believe I died here,” said the warrior softly.
At those words, the other companions didn’t know what to say. It took a few seconds, but Tyler then walked forward and slapped the einherjar on the shoulder.
“I have a feeling you’ll get your chance to kill them all over again. Let’s see if we can find the one who killed you. You’ve improved beyond what you were before and now have that arsonist’s axe into the bargain.”
The einherjar chortled loudly.
“I think it was a big red drake. One of the wild ones from the Dreki Mountains,” replied Tyndur.
“It could still be alive, you know. They’re almost immortal, being magical creatures,” observed the mage.
“I sure hope so, but I remember it had a frosty breath. That’s what got me. Being red, I thought I was going to face fire.”
“Aren’t they supposed to range in the south? Deeper in that cluster of mountains?” asked Habrok.
“Not in those days. There was a lot of prey here then. It attracted predators of all kinds. Not that the creatures here were always the meal. Barren creatures were usually bigger and more ferocious,” came the explanation.
“And some are back from the dead. At least those which didn’t get eaten, bones and all,” remarked the ranger. “I should get myself the appropriate weapon. My longsword, even with its enhanced ability, seems more appropriate for cleaning their fangs after a meal.”
Chapter Fourteen
A Dipshit of a Day
Freyja spake:
31. “False is thy tongue, | and soon shalt thou find
That it sings thee an evil song;
The gods are wroth, | and the goddesses all,
And in grief shalt thou homeward go.”
Loki spake:
32. “Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch,
And steeped full sore in sin;
In the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee
When Freyja her wind set free.”
Tyler watched with apprehension as Habrok approached him at speed.
Bad news. The unbidden insight arose in his mind.
The group was hidden on top of a rise several feet from what Tyndur mentioned as the beginning of the flat area of Hedmark. The stone-paved road leading to the town would be visible the moment they started moving down the escarpment; there were thick shrubs and clumps of trees along the way but nothing which would prove to be a problem. Cultivated fields would also begin to be a common and welcome sight, the einherjar told the company. Unfortunately, now it seemed the ranger had seen some complication waiting for them.
“What is it?” he asked Habrok. Tyndur and Kobu were listening close by.
“Two undead drakes, sire. Make that two large skeletal drakes. They’re on the road. And right now, they’re just below us,” reported the man.
“Why can’t they go bother some other stretch of the road?” blurted the exasperated mage.
“This part of the road does connect with the hunting trail we used,” said Kobu.
“The thick woods on either side of this trail present a problem. And we don’t know where we might find a way down,” observed Tyndur.
“So the best way is down into a fight?” remarked the surprised mage.
“It seems that way, sire. The possibility of broken bones and cracked skulls resulting from traversing unfamiliar, rough terrain covered with large trees and thick underbrush would be the other option. I can’t say what Tyndur said won’t happen,” answered the ranger.
“There’s only two anyway,” contributed the einherjar helpfully.
“Ah, the hell with it. Let’s go down and fight. But keep your heads down. I prefer facing those bony relics on flat ground,” finally decided Tyler.
Guided by the ranger, the party made it undetected to the ground below the bluff. It did help that the drakes were roaming the far side of the road at that time. But Tyler knew that once the group left the cover of the trees, the unnatural predators would head straight for them.
“Ready?” he asked in a low voice. Nods answered him.
The four stepped out of the covering trees and walked in the direction of the now visible road. The two skeletal drakes saw them after several moments and as one, turned and directly went for them.
“Stop,” Tyler told his companions, “prepare for the bony bastards.”
“They don’t look hungry,” said Tyndur. “They’re not charging.”
The large undead drakes were approaching at a steady fast walk. It was difficult for the mage to imagine how they had looked when still alive. From what he had seen, numerous kinds of creatures could be found on Adar, and he had already seen different drakes.
“Prepare for a sudden rush. This kind of drake must have been a different kind with its own hunting behavior. Though they appear to be flightless versions. Multiple horns, though,” warned the mage.
The distance between the group and the two predators steadily narrowed. Then Tyler saw the telltale beginnings of a charge from both creatures – the head lowered and the four skeletal legs became slightly bent, positioning themselves for a burst of speed. The now-familiar verdant glow in the bony eye sockets blazed with an unnatural radiance.
Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning struck the ground between the two undead creatures, momentarily stopping them in their tracks. Where the lightning struck, a large ball of coruscating light remained, and from it, swiftly emerged a huge mace, wielded by large armored hands.
The studded round metal head of the weapon quickly smashed into a skeletal head and then into the other. The creatures immediately fell apart after their heads flew to pieces. The sphere of light disappeared, revealing a tall man wearing full body armor of a strange design. The ornate winged helm was of an open-faced version, revealing the seasoned facial features of a veteran warrior with an eye-patch.
It was Odin.
***
“By all the stars, it’s the Alföðr himself!” Habrok exclaimed in awe. Normally, the ranger was not easily daunted and surprised at the same time, but Tyler thought the unique circumstances warranted such a reaction. The ranger might have seen Odin in his Gangari persona, but there was nothing more startling than meeting your personal deity, in full glory, in the middle of nowhere.
But the mage’s reaction was totally different. Apprehension gleefully wrapped itself around Tyler’s mind. The arrival of the powerful head of the Nordic pantheon was unexpected, and to a mage beset by several major dilemmas demanding careful thought and reflection, the deity’s presence was disturbing. From experience, it was a prelude to a nasty and difficult request.
The group was quiet as they watched the powerful deity approach. As Odin walked toward them, his armor and weapon slowly faded. When he reached them, it was in the form of Gangari, the wanderer.
The powerful deity looked at the companions as he came closer. Habrok was on bended knee, Kobu gave a formal bow, but Tyndur merely nodded. If the god was insulted, he gave no such indication.
“Ah, my favorite First Mage!” he exclaimed.
“I am the only First Mage the last time I looked,” smiled Tyler, resigned to whatever was going to happen. “Unless somebody else got nominated, and if so, I would be very happy to give him or her all the burdens I seem to carry. For some reason, they breed like rats.”
Odin guffawed.
“Good. You still have that attitude of yours. Come, let’s talk for a while. The shade of those trees appears quite inviting. Walk with me.”
“Take five, guys,” the mage told the trio.
Blank faces, including that of the ranger, greeted his statement. Habrok apparently forgot what it meant.
“It means rest for a while. Just an expression from where I came from,” explained the mage.
“For the life of me, and it’s the second one, I can never understand why the expressions of your world are phrased in such a bewildering manner,” said Tyndur as he turned and joined the two already headed toward another cl
ump of trees.
“How did you know I was here?” asked Tyler as they walked.
“The ring I gave you, Havard. I did tell you it would enable me to determine where you were in Skaney,” answered his companion. “I suspected you would head to Skaney after the Void Lands. An excellent job there, by the way.”
“Thanks. It was… difficult. One of our companions, Asem, was wounded in an ambush.”
“I know. I was told about it. Astrid is with her. Thaut told me. But there’s something about her wounds.”
At the statement, Tyler whirled and looked at the deity.
“What do you mean? She wasn’t dead when her father arrived!”
“Calm down, Havard. Deities of four pantheons and other beings have looked at her condition. Her body had recovered, but there’s a strange wasting malaise affecting the magical side of her being,” said Odin.
“Thanks. That tells me everything.” A slight sarcasm marked Tyler’s tone.
“Why do I have to keep on saying this? – sarcasm really doesn’t fit you, First Mage. She’s in a magical coma. And her father is understandably way beyond furious. I have never seen Thaut so angry. I fear once he learns who’s responsible, another war is going to erupt in that part of the continent. The mood in the pantheon of Kemet is patently murderous.”
Tyler could say nothing. He was in shock. Confusion, concern, and fear all mixed in a nasty cauldron of emotions.
Magical coma? What does that even mean?
“Zeus was right. These are troubled times, and dark clouds have gathered on the visible horizon,” continued the deity, not noticing the mage’s reaction. But despite his dazed mind staggering under the emotional impact of the deity’s disclosure, the mage couldn’t fail to notice the use of the word visible by Odin.
“Can we go see her? asked Tyler, recovering some of his composure.
“I don’t see why not. But Skaney is itself at war. Hellas too. Kemet and the Dual Monarchy are also starting to be affected. You might have heard of the unholy and widespread blight which has affected the northern human realms.”
“A quick trip? You could do that, I know,” said Tyler, his mind focused on visiting Asem.
“I’d like to accommodate you and your companions, but Kemet is a long way from here. Quite the drain on my power, and I am in the middle of a war, as I said. My abilities are being tested. And what help could you offer? She’s already under the best healing hands this world could offer. You, on the other hand, have to make sure she has a familiar world to wake up to,” remarked Odin as he sat down under one of the trees. The mage followed.
“Reminds me of the time I met a young and inexperienced mage,” remarked Odin with amusement.
“A young and inexperienced mage who nearly died. If not for those elementals, I wouldn’t be here.”
“I was hoping you would meet them and elicit their help. Apparently, it did happen,” smiled the deity.
“You knew? And expected it to happen?”
This is a day for shocking—no, appalling—revelations, thought the mage. I feel so used. Again.
“Ah, only Fate could be so knowledgeable about what the future holds. For men and gods, you roll the dice and wait with dread or bated breath what its fickle tumbling would reveal,” answered Odin. “Though Huginn and Muninn helped. A fortunate chance encounter revealed the presence of those beings in the area. I sent them to keep watch on the mountains around Scarburg.”
“Those crows of yours? You brought them from the First World?”
“Ravens, Havard, not crows. Not the original ravens, of course. A mischievous boy with a bow, a hungry eagle or three, misfortunes of chance. But they always have the same names,” explained Odin. “Now to the problem…”
“Wait. Let my mind settle down first. This has been a day for unwelcome surprises,” requested Tyler. If Odin noticed the insolent inference, the deity apparently let it pass.
“Loved that armor though, it’s so…” the mage stopped himself from saying Gucci, a millennial slang his friend Karl was very fond of, thinking it made him sound cool. “I mean you look snatched.”
Damn it, Karl! Another of your favorites.
“Snatched?”
“A term meaning you looked good, excellent,” hurriedly explained Tyler.
“Mortals. Making things so complicated. It really doesn’t change, does it? I guess some group in your society came up with such things. It was the same in the past – first, it was the priesthood with their contrived terms, then royalty trying to emphasize their difference from peasants, then the wealthy, the young, secret societies, and so on. It’s all in the mind anyway. The need to shit and piss doesn’t distinguish between a king and a lowly woodcutter.”
The mage laughed. The deity before him could be earthy in his descriptions.
“But if you’re asking about the armor, it was mainly Ptah’s design. I told him what I wanted but emphasized it should look different. I knew he had another dimensional gate or viewing portal hidden somewhere. He’s the god responsible for your friend’s appearance in this world, if you want to know. I did mention before that I requested the pantheon of Kemet to help set it up. After he finished, the set went to Hephaestus, and then to the Sons of Ivaldi, the makers of my spear.”
“No wonder it looked similar to what I saw in entertainment materials, fantasy actually.” Tyler was going to say science fiction, but again caught himself in time. He remembered the aversion of Adar’s deities to the word science.
“By that, I assume it meets your First World standards? Appearance-wise, at least.”
“Surpasses it, actually, I never thought I’d see such armor for real,” emphasized the mage.
Odin grinned. “My thanks, First Mage.”
“By the way, how’s Jorund?” asked Tyler.
“Embroiled in the fighting. We had to utilize einherjar to help with the plague, though we’re on a war footing now given the quarrel between that pair of mad and temperamental jotnar. No telling what would happen. That reminds me, what did you do to that fellow Jorund? He’s starting to remember parts of his past! Mainly those adventures with you! Another mystery. But it stood him in good stead. I think he learned something from those battles. Jorund is turning out to be a better einherjar than most, and by that, I meant he uses his brains. Ah, if I could only get those fellows in the House of Gimli to lead the einherjar, what a force that would make!”
“But enough of my worries. Most of the monsters and creatures we found when we first arrived are now back as the undead. Mortals can’t handle them, and now, as it was before, we fight again for our place in this world,” continued the deity. “It’s the same in Hellas, though not as bad in Kemet. Some stirrings in the Dual Monarchy, but I heard their problem was manageable, well within mortal limits.”
“That bad?” asked Tyler. Hearing such a dire statement from Odin was yet another shock.
“Worse. Before, we could claim a portion of the land at a time and campaign accordingly, pushing back our opponents one stage at a time. Now, they’re all back. All at the same time, with abilities intact. Memories too.”
This really is a dipshit of a day, thought the mage.
“You mentioned Hellas. How are they holding up?” The mage was genuinely curious. It wouldn’t be in everybody’s interest to have an undead realm between Skaney and Kemet.
“The same as us, fortunately; holding their own. Hades was able to keep his realm under control. And that new god of war of theirs is doing a great job. Much better than his father,” Odin winked at him.
“And what has Ares been up to all this time? I am curious and you know the reason why,” asked Tyler.
“Ah, the god of cowardice. Of self-preservation. He’s gaining a number of followers in these dangerously uncertain times. Though you might have missed something in demanding such a punishment for him,” suggested Odin.
“Don’t you think being cast down from being the god of war to the deity of cowardice punishment enough?”
/>
This is going to be another fucking insight after the fact.
Noticing Tyler’s consternation, Odin pushed the mage’s shoulder with a finger.
“Don’t worry about it, Havard. What’s done is done. You did it with the best intentions at heart,” said the deity.
“I did not wish to take a life. Or lives,” maintained Tyler.
“Not that part. But you might have forgotten that treachery is a facet of cowardice.”
Oh, fuck. I just created the god of stab-in-the-back? The thought immediately blazed an incriminatory trail through his conscience.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” said Odin. “They do say cowards die a thousand deaths before they go to the underworld. It won’t be a happy experience for them.”
“But they also run away to attempt to knife your butt another day.”
The deity chuckled. “That they do. Put it this way; it’s good training to watch your back all the time.”
“Let’s change the subject. This is starting to make me uncomfortable,” requested Tyler. The topic was making him ill at ease – another threat to be extremely wary about, Ares was one deity not to be underestimated. “Now, what’s this plague all about?”
Odin didn’t look at him. Instead, the deity looked toward the faraway edge of the human territory bordering the Barrens.
“Loki might say that Ragnarok will never come to pass. It didn’t happen back in the First World,” said the deity softly. “Don’t look so surprised. You’re not the only recipient of his version of events. But you see, Havard, the prophecy is still alive. It will be a long unfolding process.”
“You mean it will happen here?” asked Tyler. Odin’s perspective was one he hadn’t thought about.
“Could be. Prophecies are intentionally vague, lest its actors are led into actions that might hasten it. Yet, it could be the misguided or drug-addled musings of a bored deity or a self-proclaimed seer.”
“You do have a colorful way of describing things,” remarked Tyler with a laugh.
The Accidental Archmage - Book Five Page 16
