Chapter 1 – Norse call

Chip Maplewood was left with no choice but to turn around and fight.

At his back was no more ground to escape or forest to hide, only a steep cliff and a long fall toward a nest of sharp rocks and the unmerciful current of the river Sienne.

The small ranger shifted his stance to a guard and took a deep breath in, a pair of longswords with dark purple blades firmly gripped in his paws, a juniper longbow dropped at his feet.

In front of him, a squad of three mice musketeers clad in black and white uniforms held their spears forward. However, as Chip soon noticed, one of them was blinking a bit too often, other had a case of shaking knees, and the last one was sweating cold, and not precisely from the frenetic pursuit that had finally come to an end in that solitary cliff, with a red setting sun as witness of the impending clash of weapons.

A whistle was heard on the distance, followed by a loud call. "Artus! Fabrice!... Ceasar!? Where are you, guys?"

One of the musketeers turned around, answered with another whistle, and waved his paws frantically. "Colombe, Over here, quickly! We've got him!"

Chip didn't dare to make a move, instead frowned as he spotted yet another musketeer, this one a gerbil, coming out from the forest's borders. The newcomer was carrying a huge crossbow in his arms. "Ugh" The chipmunk thought to himself. "How did I ended up in this situation?"

Then, from the depths of his mind, an otherworldly voice spoke. "Want me to remind you again of your hero complex?"

"Shut up Munnin" Chip muttered not so quietly, which in turn made the soldiers frown confused. "You are not helping" He added more subtly.

Colombe, the crossbow officer, ran uphill as fast as he could. "Caesar!" He yelled at his comrade from afar. "Why is he not dead yet!" "What are you waiting for?"

"But..." The musketeer stuttered, a bit afraid to look back at Chip. "He is the one who murdered Julien's entire squad! Where are our reinforcements?"

"You idiot!" The gerbil scolded him as he pushed him aside and aimed the crossbow at the disgraced ranger. "It was the blonde witch who murdered them! This chipmunk is just one of her servants. The four of us can take him down!"

Without further warning, he shot a bolt right at the ranger's heart.

One day ago, even one night ago, Chip Maplewood would have been killed from a shot at such close distance... but today, he swung his blades and deflected the bolt away in a movement so fast that left his enemies blinking speechless, unable to process the flashing motion or the reason behind the traces of purple feathers that steamed out from the ranger's blades.

"C-charge! Kill this demon!" The daunted musketeers finally ordered at each other.

"Here we go" Said Chip under his breath as he dug in his heels on the ground and got ready to defend himself.

"Roll for initiative!" The raven called Munnin shouted inside the Chipmunk's mind.

"What does that even mean!?" The annoyed host asked loudly, much to his opponent's befuddlement, as he met the first of the thrusting spears with a circling parry.

One day ago, one fateful night ago...

Chip went outside the ruins that were giving shelter to him and his friends, haunted by the hopeless words of the witch Gadget and her decision to honor the deal she had made with the demon called Mephisto up to the bitter end. But the ranger wouldn't have any of that, even if the witch herself had given up and resigned to her fate. Somehow, somewhere, there should be a way to break a contract with such a supernatural creature, and he was determined to find it!

To save a helpless victim from harm is an action expected from a woodland's ranger. It's almost written in stone. But there was something else that steeled the chipmunk's resolve and made him undertake that quest. He had finally accepted he was in love with Gadget. In love with that witch of blonde hair and blue eyes he had just met two nights ago. In love with that fountain of charm and kindness that comforted him at the doors of an excruciating and burning death. Now it was his heart the one burning with the will to save her from that wish merchant from hell.

Indeed, the vivid image of him releasing her from the chains and shackles of her infernal contract gave the hero the necessary strength to step forward and face his greatest fear: That the shady being in front of him could be nothing else but a figment of his broken imagination.

Because in front of Chip, barely illuminated by the moonlight, was the former god of Normandy. In a way, he seemed older than the chipmunk remembered. Shriveled, faded, leaning heavily and tiredly on his wooden staff. Struggling to to greet the chipmunk even with a slight bow of head. "Chip Maplewood..."

The small ranger looked up at him but answered nothing. The quick breaths and thumbing chest giving away hints of an internal struggle. The ancient viking god was familiar with these reactions, and hoped this tiny mortal had enough presence of mind to come to grips with the fact that other gods, besides the christian one, still lingered in this world. If barely.

Some tense moments later, Chip finally addressed the god in front of him. "We've talked before, didn't we? You, me... your ravens... two years ago, when I fell unconscious during a storm"

"You are correct" The one-eyed god nodded solemnly, and his body seemed to materialize further in consequence. "It was indeed me the one you talked to. Huggin and Munnin were there as well"

Chip's head reeled with that declaration. "All this time... I was sure I had some sort of dementia, that any given day I would be sent away to an asylum, embarrassing my friends and family. But it was really you... it was real. I'm sane!"

Odin chuckled amused, his whole figure now clearly defined. "Of course! If only, you are too skeptic for your own good"

"And... you helped us yesterday, didn't you? You gave Dale magical powers to help us defeat Gadget's sister!"

The raven on Odin's left shoulder, Huggin, replied with a raspy voice. "Your companion is no mage at all"

The second raven, Munnin, finished the sentence in a squeakier tone. "But we've know of his family's enchanted lute from centuries ago"

Chip almost couldn't believe it. "Enchanted lute!?" But then again, that would explain his friend's antics... most of them, anyway.

"All I did" The wanderer spoke again, causing his ravens to bow in solemn reverence. "Was to give Dale Oakmont a gentle push forward into the battle" A grin appeared on his wrinkled face. "Never underestimate the power of a bard, since the right song at the right time can turn the tide of a battle on your favor"

Somewhat relieved that Dale's involvement in the magic arts was merely circumstantial, Chip was now ready to ask the big question. "You know why I'm here... I need to save the witch, Gadget Hackwrench! Please, help me free her from that demon!"

"Devil" Huggin corrected.

"Huh? That's what I said!"

"No" The raven retorted, quite miffed. "You said demon. The correct name is devil. There is a difference" Then, he turned his gaze towards the old god. "Father, may I educate this mortal rodent?"

Odin nodded. Chip shifted his stance and clenched his teeth, obviously displeased by this unwanted turn in the conversation and that dismissive way he was called 'rodent'.

"Demons and devils are distinct in that demons are chaotic and devils are lawful" The raven lectured with gusto. "Both evil of course, but on opposite ends of an evil spectrum".

"Lawful?" Chip argued with an ironic grin on his face.

"Yes, lawful evil! It means devils play by rules and codes of conduct. Obviously, for diabolic goals, but even so... they usually loath to break their promises and twisted laws"

These last words made Chip fall in a deep thought. "That's why that devil, Mephisto, uses contracts..." Then, shaking his head, took a step forward with ignited determination. "I don't care about titles or behavior of beasts who trade on souls! Just help me save Gadget!"

"Save her?" Huggin raised his head at the ruins beyond. "I see her quite safe now"

"Save her from that devil Mephisto, I mean!"

"Oh that... unless you are a lawyer, there is nothing to do there"

"Not even a lawyer would do" Munnin chimed in. "She signed that contract willingly"

Chip threw the raven a killing gaze. "That's not true! Her sister convinced her to sign! She is an innocent victim!

"Nobody forced her paw, though" Huggin countered.

"And she got what she asked for. It was a fair trade" Munnin followed, clearly enjoying this game of arguments.

And as expected, the ranger raised his tone. "What about her soul! If we don't do something, the day she dies she will go directly to hell!"

But the pair of ravens just shrugged it off. "Just as the contract stipulates, in big enough words. No foul play there"

"Chill out, is not like that's gonna happen tomorrow..."

"Arghh, come on! Gotta be some way!" Chip blurted out exasperated.

"You must learn to let it go, chipmunk!"

Suddenly, an exasperated Odin pierced the ground with his staff. The thundering spark it caused was enough to stop the arguing parties dead on their tracks. "Enough!" The one-eyed god commanded, his voice echoing inside their very minds.

"Yes, father..." Both ravens shrunk apologetically .

The chipmunk, meanwhile, endured a jolt of blindness. Pain that made him rub his eyes and also bury the last threads of doubts about the reality of this encounter.

Then, without the need of a chant or motion of fingers, Odin made Chip levitate in the air. He didn't complain or struggle. By this point, the black-nosed chipmunk was quite hardened against the shocks of falling victim of magic tricks. All the contrary, it pleased him that this ancient god actually wanted to meet him eye to eye.

"She doesn't want to be saved" The god pointedly affirmed.

"I don't care!"

Odin was pleased to find these hints of defiance in the ranger's stern gaze and crossed arms, but Chip couldn't keep the tough stance for long. With a sigh, he admitted: "Even though I don't know how to save her... So please, Odin! Help me! I'll do anything!"

The clash of weapons resounded again, back at the present day. Chip's left purple longsword, Munnin's feather, had managed to pick off another spear aimed at his throat.

Another wave of memories came to the ranger.

"Longswords? I'm not very proficient with these... I usually wield knives" He had admitted on that night, to which the all-father only answered with a cryptic "You shall find they'll suit you good enough"

And indeed, these swords were as weightless as air itself.

"The christian god allows this silver-tongued serpent Mephisto to roam the Earth to test the believer's fidelity and devotion. But I won't let it prey on the descendants of my people within my own garden!" Odin had declared incensed. "Just like two years ago, I ask thee again, become my champion and wield these magical feathers! With them, you will not only be able to injure and kill the serpent, but you will also save your friend! Be the hero these terrorized lands need!"

And so Chip Maplewood signed his own contract. Not with blood, but with his own unwavering will and resolve. Now, armed with these purple ethereal blades and Odin's grace, the ranger was able to answer the inquisitor's furious attacks with incredible parries and counter thrusts. The tide of the fight turned around. Feathery strikes came in swiftly one after the other, and soon Chip found himself dancing around the spears in a flurry of spinning cuts that left the soldiers filled with astonishment as well as a growing sense of dread.

Fear gave way to desperation, and desperation gave way to a reckless action from Caesar.

For the first time in the whole encounter, the woodland ranger had turned his back on him, in order to block the spear of his comrade Artus with a left cross slash. Fabrice, by pure chance, thrusted forward as well, only to be stopped by a desperate parry of Chip's right longsword. As result, a window of opportunity less than a second wide opened for the rookie of the squad.

And he would use it. Sucking in his breath, Caesar came in for a quick stab at the spine of the chipmunk, just below the strapped quiver. But suddenly, miraculously, Chip stepped aside. Caesar's spear ripped through the green cloak, but nothing more. The musketeer's mouth fell open out of disbelief, and his own momentum forced him to take one step forward to regain balance. One step too close to Chip.

This entire time, it had been the voices of the norse ravens which helped Chip defend himself against the combined attacks of the entire squad of spearmice. Voices that made him lurch aside and away from the spear that ended up piercing his cloak. And now, these same voices told him to crouch and twist on his toe towards the attacker, and to send the right sword on a backslash under the length of the wooden weapon.

Indeed, these were not just warnings from the ravens anymore, but outright commands he had begun to follow blindly. Because by that moment, Chip was more than lost in the thrill of battle; in a lustful, supernatural excitement that reached new heights with every successful and overelaborate deflection of a deadly blow. His self-awareness almost washed away by waves of norse chants that promised glory and pleasure the moment their opponents made a mistake.

That moment arrived.

Only in the last heartbeat of the maneuver Chip realized what was about to do. His panicked mind sent orders down to his arm urging it to stop, but the arm – along with the blade – simply refused to obey.

He cut the musketeer down with a mighty sideways slash.

"Caesar!" His comrades cried in horror.

Time seemed to slow down as Chip witnessed this young mouse called Caesar drop his spear and plummet to the ground giving away a last agonizing breath. "No!" Chip's mind cried out aghast. "What have I done!?"

"One less!" Huggin celebrated.

"Wait! I didn't want to kill him! You... you forced me!"

"Kill or be killed, chipmunk!" Now raise your guard, there is still three of them breathing!"

The grip on the blades fastened, the body stood up awkwardly - jerking the head upwards and to the side - then turned around and raised the dual swords at the remaining musketeers. All of this happening against Chip's wishes. "What are you doing!? Stop it! Let me go!"

Munnin sighed exasperated. "I can't believe we are having this conversation right now... Didn't you said yesterday you would do anything to save your girl, Gadget?"

"What? I..."

"Oh yes, you said it! Now, let us help you keep that promise!"

The blades forced Chip to charge forward at the musketeers with an unnatural high jump. On that moment, the sun hid in grief, the sky turned red and the night in Normandy began with a series of spine-chilling screams.