Chapter Nine
The ground shook under your feet as rock and ice crashed onto the portal, even from over a kilometre away. You watched as snow plumed into the sky, hoping the princes would succeed in their quest safely. Standing between Hogun and Fandral, you kept your eye both on where you knew the Princes were supposed to come out from and for signs of any Jötnar which you felt may come to investigate the noise.
Finally the crumbling of rubble ceased, and there was silence for a moment before you heard a noise that sent a shiver up your spine. Your eyes darted side to side as you looked around.
"Bjórrson, is there a reason as to why you seem to be shaking like a leaf? You would swear you were after seeing the Valkyries with the look upon your face." Cnut sneered at you. You did not respond.
"Bjórrson, are you listening, Ragnar?" Fandral waved his hand in front of your face.
You turned toward the golden haired warrior slowly. "It's back." You whispered.
Not needing to be told what 'it' was, the warriors began to unsheathe their weapons and scanned the landscape for the great beast. Slowly, they too began to hear its growl.
Volstagg bellowed loudly on seeing Thor swinging Mjolnir through the air toward you all. A moment later, Loki appeared close by also. As soon as Thor landed, Volstagg turned to the Prince. "Call upon Heimdall now, we have company."
Not waiting to check what Volstagg was even talking about, Thor looked to the sky and called the guardian, as the clouds began to collect about the group, the Frost Beast came into view close by. You took a step backwards and prayed to the Norns that Heimdall would open the Bifrost in time. Just as it seemed the creature would reach the group, blinding light glared around you and you felt the nauseating sensation of being pulled between realms once again though this time you were filled with a relief as you landed in Asgard once more as well as the nausea.
"That was close." Fandral collapsed back against the side wall of the Bifrost in relief. "Ragnar I am forewarning you, I am going to remain in close proximity to you on Svartalfheim, as you are the closest thing we have to a guard dog."
"Woof woof." You responded dryly as your heart began to pace itself once again, earning a laugh from most everyone present.
"Are we to begin keeping tabs on how many times you save our skins Ragnar? I feel as though we should have a wager as to how many times you do so in this war." Volstagg joked; and again there was a chorus of laughter.
Out of the corner of your eye you could see that Loki had not joined in the laughter, and was instead glaring at you in a manner that made you anxious. "So what do we do now?" You asked boldly to no one in particular
"We need to head to Svartalfheim." Thor declared. "Heimdall," He turned to the great guardian. "Prepare the Bifrost to bring us to my father's camp." He ordered.
The guardian nodded and returned to his past in the centre of the room and placed his great sword Hǫfuð back into the ground and pulled it. You and the others watched as the direction of the Bifrost changed to where you suspected Svartalfheim was located. "There is one problem my prince." The guardian's deep voice resonated even in the full room. "I cannot see him, or any of those who are supposed to be with him."
The warriors and soldiers looked between the two princes, who, in turn, were looking at one another. "When did you last see them?" Loki queried.
"This morn, their camp was quiet, and with your plan to close the portal on Jötunheim being of far greater risk, I concentrated on your group. But now I cannot place their souls, on Svartalfheim or any other realm." The guardian informed them.
Thor stood forward, toward the entrance to the great portal. "Take us to their last known location." He ordered staring straight ahead, Mjolnir readied in his hand. The guardian nodded solemnly and activated the Bifrost, moments later, the group was pulled through, their weapons at the ready. The landing on Svartalfheim was no smoother than your previous two experiences. Looking around as its great beams of light faded, you gasped in horror.
All around you, scattered in pieces around the ground, were the remains of burnt tents, shattered armour and weapons, bodies and mere parts of bodies, charred, frozen or sliced, but all with one thing in common, all Asgardian.
"What in the Nine?" Cnut almost whimpered, not far to your right.
Everyone walked among the wreckage, trying to take in what they were seeing, there was a shout out and Hogun walked over to the princes, holding a large damaged helmet, larger than any other, that donned horns and wings.
So occupied were you with the destruction around you, you failed to see the weapon flying toward you. With a sickening crack, the wind was taken clean from your lungs and agony shot out from your chest as you fell to the ground, hitting your head hard as you did so. A mere moment later, a large hand seized your throat and pulled you up by it, your feet no longer touching the ground. Gasping for air, you struggled against the iron grip, and as the edges of your vision began to blur, you looked into the irate sapphire blue of Thor's eyes. "This is your doing, I warned you of the consequences Bjórrson." He growled viciously.
