“Dragons,” Kas breathed as she leaned forward to get a better look.
“I’m going to try and talk to him,” I said. “But be ready to pull out your weapons if necessary.”
“Alright.” Asta nodded.
“Excuse me, warrior,” I said as I moved toward the spirit.
The man startled and woke. He shook his head back and forth before his one good green eye landed on me. The other one was milky white and didn’t appear to move like the good one.
“Ehh, what’s this?” he slurred. “Who’re you?”
“I apologize for waking you,” I said. “But your armor, I see it depicts a dragon.”
“What of it?” he asked, and he picked up his flask and took a pull from it.
“I’ve never seen armor like that,” I said. “What does it mean?”
“What’s it to you?” He squinted his eyes at me.
“Do you know Nidhug?” I asked point-blank, since I didn’t think this man was a fan of beating around the bush, and neither was I.
“Yeah, yeah, I know that guy,” he slurred and took another drink. “He’s kind of a dick.”
At this point, I wasn’t sure if he was just drunk and had misheard me, or if he really thought the father of all dragons deserved to be compared to male genitalia.
“Nidhug sent me on a quest to come here,” I explained. “I’m supposed to find the man who was there when the dragons were banished.”
“We’re looking for the lowest dungeon here,” Asta said.
“We saw the castle off in the distance,” Kas added.
“Yeah, that’s where the dungeon is,” the man said casually. “But it’s at least a day’s journey away from here.”
The man took another pull from his flask and wiped his mouth. I wanted to press him more, but it didn’t seem like he had any truly valuable information, so I figured it was better to leave it be.
“Thanks,” I said, and I turned to walk away, but the man started to chuckle.
“So, he sent you on this quest, huh?” he asked. “I knew Nidhug would send someone eventually.”
“You know about the prophecy?” I asked as I whirled back around to face him.
“Know about it,” the man scoffed. “I tried to fulfill it.”
“What do you mean?” Kas asked, and her violet eyes widened. “You were the one it prophesied about?”
“Nope.” The man pointed his flask at me. “Clearly that was you there, pal. I tried to fulfill it, but it wasn’t the right time.” He took another drink here. “And I wasn’t the right man.”
“Trying to fulfill this prophecy seems like a good thing to do.” Asta frowned. “How did you end up in Helheim?”
“I was also there when the dragons were banished,” he sighed. “I went against Odin. I tried to talk him out of banishing the dragons, and when that didn’t work, I tried to lead a rebellion against his orders. The dragons had done nothing wrong, and we all knew it.”
Nidhug told me I needed to find the man who was there when the dragons were banished. Could this be him? His words so closely resembled Nidhug’s it was startling.
The man belched loudly and wiped his mouth, and I no longer questioned whether it was him I was looking for or someone else. Of course, it wasn’t this drunkard. He may have been there when the dragons were banished, but he wasn’t the man I was looking for.
“Your armor,” Kas said. “It was to honor the dragons?”
The man nodded. “Except Odin found out about the rebellion. And he banished me here.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” Asta gasped as she covered her mouth with a dainty hand.
“He felt he had no choice,” I said in a grim tone.
“That’s right,” the man agreed. “I was his right-hand man up until then. People were out for blood, though. All of Asgard was in an uproar after the dragons attacked. Odin felt like he had to do something, I suppose, and the only thing he could think to do was banish all dragons and kill anyone who stood in his way.”
“It’s so awful,” the elf girl whispered.
“I found out about the prophecy and thought I could fulfill it before the dragons had to suffer for so long,” the man sighed. “But that was only wishful thinking. There is no going against prophecy as there is no going against fate.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him, and I truly was. This man didn’t seem like he belonged here at all.
Blar hopped down from my shoulders then and ran over to the man.
“Well, aren’t you a beaut,” the man said, and he reached out to pet Blar’s head.
I could see he wanted to be happy to see Blar, but his time in Helheim had prevented that. Still, he tried to smile even though it didn’t reach his eyes.
It was nice to know there were others who cared about the dragons, even back when Odin had first banished them. Sadly, I didn’t know how to save this man from the fate he’d been condemned to.
Perhaps if I could save the dragons, then I could come back for him as well. Odin would have to see the error of his ways at some point, and once that happened, there would be no reason for him to keep this man here.
I wasn’t sure if his lack of joy could ever be reversed, but the least we could do was get him out of this terrible place.
“If you tried to fulfill the prophecy, then you must know what I need to do,” I said with realization.
“It won’t be easy,” the man sighed again. “And I didn’t get far, but I do know you’ll have to get water from three wells. The first step is to find Vinrar, though.”
“Why do I have to find him?” I asked. “You must hate him just as much as I do.”
“I’m not fond of him, that is for sure,” the man snorted. “But he is in the dungeon, at least I get to be out here. If I could, I would have gone to that damn castle and killed him myself the moment I got here.”
“Why didn’t you?” Asta asked.
“He’s already dead, for one.” The man shrugged. “But also, I knew someone would be along to save the dragons eventually. That must mean I’ve been in this place for a long time. It’s incredible to think it’s been so long already.”
“Do you know why I have to find the wells?” I asked. “What do I need to fulfill the prophecy?”
“You need the ultimate power,” the man said. “But I’m not sure what that is. Like I said, I didn’t get very far before I wound up here myself. And there’s not exactly a library I can go to.”
“I appreciate the information you’ve been able to give,” I told him, and I meant it.
It was sad he’d wound up here, but even if he couldn’t be the one to fulfill the prophecy, he had still been able to help me in my quest to do so.
“You said the castle is a day’s journey away?” Kas asked.
“At least,” the man said before he took another swig off his flask.
“What are we going to do?” Asta asked as she turned to me.
“Whatever we’re going to do, it will have to wait.” Kas frowned. “Our protection spell will wear off soon.”
“It’s been nearly six hours already?” Asta gasped.
“I’m afraid so,” Kas agreed.
“Does time move more quickly here?” I muttered.
“Maybe for the living,” the drunk man said. “For the dead it always remains the same.”
“You might be right.” Kas nodded. “It does seem like we haven’t been here long, but my spell clock doesn’t lie.”
“Shit,” I breathed.
We had just begun our journey, and yet it was about to end for the day.
Chapter 7
“Do we have any time left?” I asked Kas. I wanted to stay as late as we could. As much as I didn’t want to risk losing our joy, I also wanted to make the most of our trip, and it felt as though all we’d done so far was to walk without getting any closer to our destination.
“I’m afraid not,” Kas answered with a shake of her head. “A minute or so at most.”
“Alrigh
t.” I nodded and turned to Blar. “Can you make a portal for us, buddy?”
The little dragon rubbed his head against the man’s hand one last time, and then he ran over to me and hopped onto my shoulder.
A few seconds later, a portal appeared, so I turned to the man. He eyed us sadly, and he was clearly upset he couldn’t be the one to save the dragons he so obviously loved.
“Thank you for your help,” I told him.
“Fulfill the prophecy.” His lips pursed together tightly. “It’s up to you to save the dragons and the nine realms now.”
“I will.” I nodded.
“Wait,” Kas said, and she held her arms out as her brow creased with confusion. “The spell is holding.”
“How is that possible?” Asta asked, and she cocked her head to the side. “It’s only supposed to last for six hours.”
“I’m not sure.” Kas narrowed her eyes. “Maybe it’s because of our bond with Rath.”
“We are much stronger now because of it,” Asta agreed.
“Whatever the reason, it’s holding,” Kas said as she looked at the paper that indicated when the spell would fade. There were no signs of it dissipating like it had before when we’d used it to sneak into Odin’s castle.
“If that’s the case, then we need to make the most of it while we can,” I said.
“I agree.” Kas nodded. “We should try and get to the castle.”
“What if we have Blar try to focus on the castle and make a portal there?” Asta suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” I told the elf girl before I turned to Blar on my shoulder. “Do you think you can do that?”
The little blue dragon nodded, and a second later the portal in front of us disappeared. Blar turned to look at the castle off in the distance and closed his eyes to focus, and another portal appeared within moments.
“This is our chance,” Kas said. “Let’s go.”
I nodded one more time to the man, and then I grabbed the girls’ hands and stepped into the portal.
The familiar rush of wind surrounded me, and then I opened my eyes to new scenery. We were clearly still in Helheim based on the rotten foliage and green cast to the sky, but we were now in a clearing of sorts.
I glanced around to get my bearings and saw the black castle behind us. We were much closer now, and I could truly see how large it was. We would still have to walk some, but not nearly as far as we would have if we had stayed where we were at.
“Good going, Blar,” Kas praised, and she scratched under the little blue dragon’s chin.
“Yes, thank you, Blar.” Asta’s yellow eyes crinkled as she smiled at the small reptile on my shoulder.
“Good job, buddy,” I told him, and then I turned back to the girls. “We should get going. We can’t know for sure how much longer the spell will hold.”
“You’re right,” Kas agreed. “Let’s go.”
“It looks like it will only be an hour’s walk at most,” Asta said as she gauged the distance between us and the castle. “And I don’t see any dead people around here.”
“They probably avoid the castle.” Kas looked around. “It is a place of torment after all. I wouldn’t go there unless I had to.”
“I presume you’re right.” I nodded. “The dead would rather avoid the castle than wind up in it.”
We started toward the giant black structure off in the distance, and once again I made sure the girls were behind me. Even though I didn’t see any of the dead around at the moment, that didn’t mean there weren’t any, and I certainly didn’t want to get too comfortable here and think we weren’t in danger anymore. In a place like this, it was abundantly clear that danger could lurk around any corner.
The castle was up in the mountains, and the girls and I found a path that led up the hill toward the grand, black structure.
We’d been walking for a good twenty minutes or so when I heard a strange noise up ahead.
“What is that?” Asta asked quietly.
“I’m not sure.” My eyes narrowed on the path ahead of us as I stepped further in front of the girls.
We were surrounded by rocks on either side of the path, and there was a slight bend up ahead. It sounded like the noise was coming from there. It was a sort of wailing sound almost, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew it sounded all too familiar somehow.
“Stay here,” I told the girls, and Blar tensed on my shoulder, ready for action.
“We won’t leave you,” Kas insisted as her violet eyes flashed with determination.
“Yes,” Asta agreed. “We’re coming, too.”
I thought about it for a second and decided that was the best course of action. After all, if we separated, then they could be in more danger without me there.
“Alright,” I said. “But stay behind me.”
I drew my sword and headed around the corner, but just as I went to make the turn, something came at me full force, and another sword clanked against my own.
I pushed my sword out and sent my enemy flying, and only when it was a few feet away recovering did I see what it was. It was a Draugr, the same kind of creature I’d saved Asta from the day we met.
The undead monster was ghostly pale and nearly a skeleton. Its cheeks were gaunt, and its clothes were torn to bits and barely hanging on by a thread. It held a large greatsword and had an extremely dented breastplate across its chest.
I heard Asta gasp behind me. It was clear she remembered the thing, and I couldn’t imagine the memories were exactly fond. The last time we saw one of those, it had been attacking her for a coin purse.
The Draugrs let out a sort of growl as it got back up and lunged at us again, but I was quicker than it was, and I met its sword with my own while Blar let out a blast of fire at the undead.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem too bothered by the flames since it was already dead, and all Blar managed to do was catch the remaining bits of its clothes on fire.
The creature pushed hard against me, and I gritted my teeth as I tried to shove back with equal force. It was strange fighting an undead opponent because they had nothing left to live for so they fought with everything they had regardless of the consequences.
Suddenly, a large rock hit the Draugr in the face, and I glanced to my right to see Uffe on the ground. He stomped his little feet until another piece of earth lifted up into the air, and then he hit it with his tail to send it hurtling at the undead monster in front of me.
I smiled at his effort and took the opportunity to kick the Draugr away from me.
Before it could get up, Kas rushed over to it with her great sword and attempted to slice it in half. Draugrs were ugly sonsabitches, but they weren’t totally stupid, and this one used the last bit of intelligence he had to roll out of the way just in time. Kas’ sword came crashing down and got stuck in the ground.
The Draugr moved to thrust his sword into Kas, but before he could lift it completely, a dagger hit him right through the eye.
The undead creature screeched in pain, and I looked over to see that Asta stood next to me. She was still in a throwing stance with her arm outstretched and one finger pointing directly at the Draugr.
Then Blar let out another blast of blue flames as Inger flew over and retrieved Asta’s dagger for her.
The Draugr was still screaming about its eye, and Kas took that chance to pull her sword out of the ground and slice right through the Draugr’s neck. Its head came off and rolled toward me, and I had to smile at my group. They’d all worked incredibly well together, and I was proud of them.
“Good job,” I told them all with a smile.
I was especially impressed with how Asta and Inger had worked together. I would have to remember to have them train together more often. Inger listened to me just like Blar did, but I knew she had a soft spot for the elf girl, and they’d proven today they made a great team.
Asta’s daggers were a great weapon, but all daggers had the downfall of not springing back once they were th
rown. I wondered then if there were any spells Kas or Asta could put on the daggers so that wouldn’t be a problem.
I smiled when I realized I’d just thought about using magic to solve a problem. I was getting more used to having it in my life since the girls used it so frequently, and it was nice to be able to have that thought and know it could possibly become a reality.
I’d make sure to ask Kas and Asta about the spell later, but at the moment we needed to try and hurry up to the castle. The spell was still holding, but we couldn’t be sure for how much longer, and I wanted to try and get as much done as possible.
Once we found Vinrar, he would be able to tell me what it was I needed to do to fulfill the prophecy, though I wasn’t sure why he would. It seemed like a terrible idea to have him in charge of anything to do with saving the dragons.
The man had literally beat them into submission, why would he try and save them now?
A thought crossed my mind that I hadn’t considered before. Could Vinrar regret what he’d done? Regardless of if he did, it wouldn’t change what he’d done or how I felt about him, but it would make me feel better knowing he understood what he’d done was wrong. Then I would feel like he was truly being punished. As it stood, I didn’t feel as though a dungeon in Helheim was enough of a punishment for the sadistic bastard.
After we collected ourselves, we continued up the hill toward the castle. We rounded another corner, and I could finally see the monstrous structure just in the distance at the very top of the hill.
“Shite,” I cursed when I looked around and saw there were more Draugrs roaming around by the castle.
“There’s eleven of them,” Kas said after a second. “We should split up.”
I frowned at the thought of that. Draugrs were strong and fearless, not to mention they still had some of their intelligence from their humanity left. I didn’t like the idea of the girls going up against them alone. Especially Asta. The elf girl had already been attacked by one of the undead monsters, and I doubted she wanted to fight one alone.
“Yes,” Asta agreed to my surprise. “It will be quicker that way.”
I turned to look at the elf girl and saw she was glaring at the Draugrs off in the distance. Then I realized she might want vengeance for her previous encounter with one of the things, and I understood the feeling.
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