Dragons of Asgard

by Logan Jacobs

satisfied smile on her face. “The dragons don’t, and Asta will get her turn

  soon enough.”

  “Fair enough.” I carried the blonde over to the bed then and laid down

  with her. I could see through the open door that the fire was still going

  outside, and it was summertime, so it wasn’t cold out. Asta and the dragons

  would be fine outside. Besides, it gave me an opportunity to sleep next to Kas, just the two of us, and I didn’t mind that one bit.

  The curly-haired sorceress fell fast asleep in my arms, with her red

  mouth slightly parted to take in deep, heavy breaths. I stroked her soft cheek

  with my thumb, kissed her on the forehead, then closed my eyes to join her.

  The next morning, I woke up early and put on my tunic while Kas

  continued to sleep. I headed out to the fire and found Asta and Uffe awake,

  but Blar and Inger still slept curled up next to the flames Asta must have

  restarted.

  The elf girl sat crossed legged by the fire with Uffe in her lap, his little

  red body took up most of it, and Asta unconsciously stroked down his spiked

  back as she looked up at me.

  “Good morning,” she said with a bright smile. Her yellow eyes were

  clear and well rested, and her long, white hair was pulled back into several

  long braids. She wore the same white tunic she had the day before, but she

  looked nearly naked without her armor, weapon, or even shoes on.

  “Good morning,” I echoed.

  “Would you like some tea?” she asked. “I just made it.”

  “That would be great,” I agreed with a smile.

  The elf girl poured me a cup of tea, and as I brought it to my lips, I

  could already smell the floral and sweet flavors that were about to hit my tongue.

  “What are we doing today?” Asta asked as I took a sip of the honey

  colored drink.

  “We’ll do some training today,” I answered.

  “Tomorrow is the tournament, right?” the elf girl asked, and her pale

  eyebrows furrowed with worry.

  “Right,” I sighed, and I looked over at Blar, still asleep by the fire.

  “Are you concerned about him?” Asta asked in a small voice.

  “Yes and no,” I chuckled. “He is well trained, brave, and smart. But

  he’s also still so young.”

  “I understand,” the white-haired woman said. “He seems so small, still,

  though I know he will grow to be giant.”

  “Sooner than we think, too, I’m sure,” I snorted.

  “He has already gotten bigger since I met him,” Asta commented.

  “I think he gets a little bigger every day,” I said. “I just don’t notice as

  much anymore.”

  “I think you’re right,” the elf girl giggled.

  As I took another sip of my tea, I thought about the tournament that

  would take place soon. It was going to be an intense situation, and I wanted to make sure Blar was prepared. I would have him practice for several hours

  then take the rest of the day off, since I didn’t want to overwork him the day

  before a big fight.

  Going into battle was nothing short of terrifying, though it was

  exhilarating as well, but Blar didn’t have any outside weapons or armor, he

  only had himself.

  The thought of armor gave me an idea, and I knew what my task would

  be for the day. I needed to get Blar some armor of his own. I’d feel better if

  he was extra protected during battle, and since regular warriors wore armor, I

  didn’t see any issue with him having some of his own.

  Asta and I sat and drank our tea while the world warmed up for the

  day, and all the stars disappeared from the sky so it was left with only the

  bright sun and some white, fluffy clouds. After everyone woke up and we ate

  some breakfast, I had Blar go up against each of the girls and myself for

  another practice round of training.

  We each sparred with the little blue dragon three times, and I gave him

  pointers and instructions between each round. It was early afternoon by the

  time we finished with the practice session, and I sent Blar, Inger, and Uffe to

  get some water and rest for a bit while I spoke with Kas and Asta.

  “How did we do?” Asta breathed, since she had been the last to go up

  against the little dragon.

  “You did great,” I chuckled. “That’s not why I called you over here.”

  “What’s wrong?” Kas asked, and her blonde eyebrows pulled together

  with concern.

  “Nothing,” I whispered. “I just need you two to watch the dragons

  while I run into town.”

  “Oh,” Kas said, and confusion spread over her face. “Why is this so

  secretive?”

  “I’m going to get something for Blar,” I murmured.

  “Of course, we’ll watch them,” Asta said with a smile.

  “What are you going to get for him?” the sorceress asked, and a wide

  grin spread across her face.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” I told her and winked.

  “You and all these surprises lately,” she complained with an eye roll.

  “I’ll be back in no time,” I chuckled and headed into the house to

  gather my things. I put on my old battle axe instead of my new sword, then I

  quickly found the secret spot in my wall where I kept my coins.

  I pulled out a few gold coins and some silver, hoping that would be

  enough, but I also went out to the garden and filled a basket with fresh fruits

  and vegetables to add to the trade.

  After I finished, I waved to the girls and the dragons and headed out. I

  was surprised Blar hadn’t tried to follow me, but we’d all worked him pretty

  hard during our practice session, so I knew he had to be exhausted. It looked

  like he was already asleep by the fire when I left.

  It had already been a long day for me as well, and I was quite tired

  from sparring with the little dragon, but it was a beautiful day as I made my

  way to the market and my favorite blacksmith. I’d bought a couple of items

  from him before, but nothing too fancy, definitely nothing like I was about to

  buy. Still, I’d wandered around the market for years and examined the work

  of all the smiths who put out armor and weapons, and I always found his to

  be the best.

  I walked slower than usual, since I was tired from our practice battles,

  and the weight of the fruits and vegetables in the basket weighed on my arm.

  Once I reached the market, I slid through the people around and smiled

  slightly at them as I passed by.

  The smith’s shop was located in the busy part of the market with the

  rest of the wares sellers, and I slowly made my way through the crowd and

  up to his stand. The guy’s name was Tonk, though I figured that was just a

  nickname, but it was what everyone called him. He was bald but had a thick

  red beard and large eyebrows that sat above his small green eyes. He was a

  large man, and though I considered myself well built, his arms were easily double the size of mine, which made sense for his weight and the fact he

  swung a hammer all day while he worked.

  Tonk was currently in the process of selling a dagger to a young man,

  and I hung back and watched as the boy turned the weapon over in his hands

  and stabbed it out into the air with the worst form I’d ever seen. He was

  obviously a trainee,
and he’d have to go through vigorous training before he

  was allowed on the battlefield, but the way he held the dagger almost made

  me cringe.

  Tonk rolled his eyes at him, too, but the boy was excited, and he

  quickly set some coins onto the table. Then he walked away as he continued

  to examine the blade with no regard to anything else around him.

  “Newbies like that must make great customers,” I joked as I

  approached the counter.

  “They’re definitely easy to sell to,” Tonk chuckled and offered me a

  smile. “You’ve been here before, right?”

  “A couple of times,” I agreed with a nod. “I don’t often need things

  made, but you’re the best around as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Flattery will only get you so far.” The man smirked. “What do you

  need?”

  “I need a back and breast plate,” I said. “For my dog, Blar.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tonk grunted, and his huge red eyebrows pulled together

  as he leaned forward. “Did you say for a dog?”

  “I did,” I agreed.

  The man just stared at me as if I were kidding, but I pushed the basket

  of fresh fruit and vegetables toward him before I pulled out a gold piece and a

  silver piece and set them onto the table, too.

  “You’re serious,” he said with a nod. “But that’s an odd request. I’ve

  never made a breast plate for a dog before, I might have to charge you a bit

  more for the oddity.”

  “He’s a small dog,” I informed him. “It won’t need to be that large.”

  “Hm,” Tonk hummed and narrowed his green eyes. “I wonder if this is

  worth my time.”

  I set another silver coin onto the counter and raised an eyebrow at the

  man, but he shook his head, so I put another silver one up.

  “Alright,” the huge behemoth agreed. “Tell me how big this thing

  needs to be.”

  I smiled wide and started to go over the details with the smith. He

  agreed to make it right then since it wasn’t a huge job, and I’d have it within

  an hour or so.

  The smith set to work, and I thanked him again and perused the market while I waited. As I walked around, I caught the smell of some meat cooking

  and decided I would get us something special for dinner tonight. I found a

  meat vendor that had some nice cuts and chose a deer backstrap to take home.

  The woman wrapped it up for me, and I put it into my satchel. Then I

  continued to walk around the market since I still had some time.

  I hadn’t planned on buying anything else, but something caught my

  eye. One of the clothing vendors sold ribbon behind the counter, and there

  was a beautiful yellow colored one, so I pulled out some copper coins and

  bought a small length of it for Inger. I figured she could use a different,

  prettier ribbon. The bow she currently had on was just made from Asta’s old

  torn dress, and I figured the little dragon would find this one much prettier

  since it matched the elf-girl’s eyes. I also picked out a small leather band for

  Uffe since I didn’t want him to be the only one who didn’t get something.

  I walked around the market for a while longer, then I headed back to

  Tonk’s forge and watched over the counter as he finished up Blar’s armor.

  He took the newly formed pieces of metal and dunked them into a large vat

  of oil to quench them. Fire splayed up out of the oil for a second, but it

  quickly dissipated, and when he lifted the armor out of the vat, he ran a piece

  of steel across them to check their strength.

  The smith saw me then, and he smiled before he wiped off the armor

  and walked it over to me.

  “It’s finished,” he chuckled. “It was strange, but it’s done.”

  “I appreciate it,” I told him with a smile as I inspected the work he’d

  done. It was exactly what I’d asked for. The metal of the plates was a nice

  bright silver, and they came in two separate pieces with holes to tie them

  around Blar’s body so they would last him for a while as he grew.

  “I threw in something else, too,” Tonk said, and he pulled out a small

  leather band from his pocket and set it onto the table. It was black leather

  with a small buckle and a bright silver rectangle that had the word ‘Blar’

  etched into it.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I breathed with wide eyes.

  “I wanted to.” The big guy shrugged and flashed me a small smile. “I

  love my dog.”

  “I love mine, too,” I chuckled. “Thank you.”

  “Bring him by sometime,” Tonk said with a grin. “I’d love to see how

  this armor fits.”

  “Will do,” I promised as I shoved the pieces into my satchel.

  I was completely elated as I walked home. Not only did I get Blar the

  armor I wanted, but Tonk had thrown in a complementary collar. I wasn’t

  sure how Blar would feel about the collar since he didn’t particularly like

  wearing the leash, but I thought it was quite fancy personally, and I was eager to try it on him, along with his new armor.

  I arrived back at the house just after dark, and I saw the girls and the

  dragons spread out in the grass with some books in the middle of them. They

  had some lanterns lit so they could read easily, and they leisurely turned the

  pages while their other hands absentmindedly stroked the little dragons next

  to them.

  “Hey,” I called out as I walked toward the group.

  “Hey,” Kas echoed, and she rolled over to look at me.

  Blar came running over to me then, and he put his front two paws on

  my leg and sniffed at my satchel.

  “I know,” I chuckled. “I got us some meat for dinner tonight.”

  The little dragon looked up at me and smacked his lips together.

  “Sorry we’ll be eating so late,” I said with a frown.

  “We had some fruit earlier to tide us over,” Asta told me.

  “That was the surprise?” Kas asked. “Meat?”

  “Hardly,” I told her with a smile. “Inger, Uffe, come here, please.”

  The little dragons all came over and lined up in front of me while Kas

  and Asta came to stand behind them and watch.

  “This is for you,” I told Inger as I pulled out the pretty yellow ribbon from my satchel and held it out for her to see.

  The little red dragon lifted up into the air and let out a little squeal as

  she pushed her face against my hand.

  “I think she likes it,” Kas chuckled.

  “It’s beautiful,” Asta said, and I handed the ribbon to her.

  “Asta, would you tie it on her, please?” I asked.

  “Of course,” the elf girl said, and Inger landed on her shoulder.

  “Next is Uffe,” I said as I pulled out the small leather band that would

  serve as his own little fancy collar.

  The little boy twin inspected the piece in my hand, smiled at me, then

  straightened his neck for me to put it on him, but Kas was already crouched

  down and ready, so I handed her the piece to put on him.

  “Last but not least,” I said as I pulled out the collar for the little blue

  dragon. “Blar.”

  I held out the collar to him, and he grinned wide and preened as he

  exposed his neck for me to attach the collar.

  “They’re all so cute,” Asta giggled after they all had their new
collars

  on.

  “That’s not all, though.” I grinned. “Blar couldn’t go and fight without

  a little protection, so I got him these.”

  I pulled out the breast and back plate from my satchel, and the little

  dragon’s blue eyes went wide before he leapt up into the air and swirled

  around me as he squealed with excitement.

  I laughed and crouched down so I could put them on him, and once

  they were on, he strutted around like a peacock. Then he took off into the air

  and made a few laps around our little home.

  “That was a great idea,” Kas told me with a smile.

  “Yes,” Asta agreed. “He’s definitely ready now.”

  I nodded but inwardly was still terrified for my little dragon.

  He was as ready as he could be, now he just had to prove it.

  Chapter 30

  The next day, I woke up before everyone else and decided to make a

  large breakfast for the group, since it was a special day and I wanted to make

  sure Blar had plenty of energy. After some thought, I made some oats and

  fruit because I didn’t want to make anything too heavy that might make Blar

  sleepy instead of energized.

  Just as the oatmeal was done, Blar came out of the house and wandered

  over to me by the fire. He put his front paws on my knee, and I reached down

  and stroked under his chin.

  “You ready for today?” I asked the little dragon, and he looked at me

  and nodded his head.

  I was worried about the tournament, but I knew there was nothing I

  could do at this point. He was going to perform his best, and that was the

  most I could ask for. He was as prepared as I could have made him, and I had

  to have faith he would pull through.

  A lot was riding on this tournament. If we prevailed, then the council

  would bring Blar to Odin and pitch their idea about the dragons helping us

  with the war with the Frost Giants. I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen

  if Blar didn’t succeed, but I knew it would just make it take longer to get

  dragons back to Asgard, and with the dragon trade as it was, I didn’t want to

  wait any longer than I had to.

  “There you are,” Kas said as she and Asta came out of the house with

  Inger and Uffe at their feet.

  “I figured I’d get started on some breakfast,” I chuckled as the girls

  came over and sat down across from the fire.

  “Blar.” Asta smiled as she looked at the dragon. “Are you excited for