10

Loki/Odin was at the launch of the long ships carrying the three legions of Einherjar, Thor, and his three idiot friends, to offer words of encouragement to them and to exhort them to perform their duty to Asgard with the utmost honor. He gave Thor orders to bring back any raider alive for the interrogators to question, as the Vizier murderer was still at large. The Thunder god saluted what he thought was his father and entered his long ship and it lifted off. Loki/Odin watched as it disappeared over the horizon then returned to the Golden Throne Room to hear more cases brought to him for his judgement. There weren't many so it would be a short day and he was glad of that as he wished to spend an uninterrupted day with Amora.

Thor had once again sent Hermodr to Jane to tell her he would be gone from her for some time and didn't know when he'd be able to get back to her. He told her he sorely missed her and hoped all would be resolved soon so he could rejoin her. He stood by the ship's prow and watched the miles sail under him as he headed for a plateau that was on the top of the "dragon's claw" which would give him an unobstructed view of all three valleys (and he could fly to any confrontation with raiders within seconds). The Einherjar with him had loaded food, supplies, building machines, tools and materials to build a command center which would also house his quarters. Upon his father's orders The Warriors Three would each take a valley and a legion to patrol at random times in order to avoid surprised attacks upon the people because of set timed patrols.

The people would be returning to their homes and lands after the feast commemorating the late Vizier and the men who perished on N'as-Keroth so it behooved him to get his and the other command centers up and running before he had to leave for the feast. He was isolated by his thoughts; about the monster Mangog, a sister he never knew he had (which would make Loki his nephew), Loki's life before his father brought him home to Asgard, his father's impending marriage to Amora, the murder of the Vizier, a possible traitor and these blood-thirsty raiders. There was too much going on and he could not see any possible answer to these frustrating questions.

Looking up he saw the "dragon's claw" in the distance and taking a deep breath he readied himself to start this mission given to him by his father.

The Einherjar started building the base camp as soon as they landed and quickly had trees cut down, branches removed and logs notched to build the camp command center and their Prince's living quarters. Thor meanwhile stood at the edge of the "claw" watching the other warriors setting up their own camps.

At his father's command the Einherjar legions were divided into companies and they set up camps at various places spaced around the lake, rivers, and the fjord but still well within distance of each other. Should one be attacked, another camp could come to their aid. His father had decided that each company would break up into units of ten to patrol (five units to actually patrol, three to help the people when they arrived, and two to protect the camp) at random times and areas least the raiders should grow bold enough to make an appearance.

Wooden buildings and tents sprang up with precision military quickness as the Einherjar set up their camps. With one unit from each company currently either hunting or fishing (in the lake, rivers, and the fjord) as fires were built to prepare their evening meals. It seemed to Thor that each company was having some success in their hunting and fishing endeavors so he and the men would eat well tonight. An Einherjar warrior with a scanner stood near him and was scanning the three valleys checking for any possible raider lurking in the scrub brush and trees to spy on them when the man called out to Thor that he'd discovered something unusual.

"What have you found? Is it a raider?" Thor queried, eager to catch one of these mass murderers and discover who was behind these atrocities and bring them to well-deserved Asgardian justice.

"I do not know my Prince" the guardsman glanced at Thor then turned his attention back to his squared scanner, "but there is something strange about that stag across the lake by that small grove of fruit trees. It doesn't completely register as a stag even though it gives all the appearance of being one."

"Is it an illusion?"

"No my Lord, it is real, but the scanner cannot tell me just what it is" the Einherjar replied back with some confusion coloring his voice.

Thor watched the stag and surmised that if he flew down to the stag; it would only run away and he'd never catch it a-foot, if he threw his hammer, it might avoid it and run away. Unhooking his hammer from the belt loop he held it skyward and the sky above them became dark and cloudy as lightning struck the hammer which Thor then directed at the stag. The brute tried to jump and dash away but the bolt followed it and quickly struck it down. Twirling the hammer above his head he flew from the "dragon's claw" to where the stunned stag lay and began to examine the beast. It did indeed look just like a stag, but since when did a deer have a charm hanging from its ear? Picking the beast up and draping it over his shoulder he whirled his hammer again and flew back to his base of command.

"Find rope and bind this changeling's legs and let us see what we have here" Thor commanded the Einherjar that gathered to see what he'd brought back with him as he dropped it to the ground. Two men left the group and dashed off to retrieve the rope requested by their Prince. They returned with them in only minutes, binding the fore and hind legs of it as another one threw a bucket of icy cold water upon the deer to awaken it. It jerked its eyes open and gasped from the shock of being hit by the frigid water.

It struggled to stand but Thor laid his left foot upon its neck to keep it on the ground, "Change to your true form and tell us why you are here and it will go well with you, otherwise you will face the interrogators tender mercies. At any rate we will discover why you're here spying out the land."

"My Queen commands and I obey Odinson" the stag became a Norn warrior that sneered back at Thor.

"Why would Karnilla send you to spy on us? Speak Norn!"

"I do not spy ON you Asgardian but FOR you because of these raiders impersonating us" the Norn growled back at him. "My Queen honors the treaty of blood and at the request of YOUR King she sent us hence."

"At my father's request?" Thor exclaimed confused. His father did not mention any of this to him when they set out to patrol the land. "How many are there of you here in these western lands?"

"That you do not need to know Odinson" the Norn sneered, "only know that it is not any of my comrades making these raids. Should one of these false Norns attack, we will alert you and you may deal with them as you see fit. We are loyal to our Queen and obey her commands."

Thor thought upon these words the Norn told him and turning to the nearest Einherjar ordered him to untie the Norn and free him. The Norn was quickly untied and rubbing his wrists to restore circulation he shifted into the shape of a great horned owl and flew away.

"Karnilla aligned with Asgard?" the Einherjar spoke up in disbelief as all knew that she was a sworn enemy to Asgard and hated Odin with an unreasoning passion.

"Take one of the small ships and fly back to Asgard proper and seek audience with my father" Thor commanded, "and tell him these raiders may be shape shifters or have some sort of charm or spell to disguise them which is how no one ever sees them before they attack."

"Yes my Prince" the Einherjar saluted and left to fulfill his orders.

Sighing with disgust Thor angrily pondered what the Norn had just told him. Why didn't father tell him that he'd allied himself with Karnilla and had gotten an agreement from her to help find these raiders? Karnilla was no friend to Asgard and no Asgardian, other than Balder, would be safe traveling there. So how could his father speak with her, request and receive her aid? He scowled as he thought of these things as well as all the other questions that bombarded his mind for the past few days. The more he sought for answers to these mysteries, the more questions sprouted to choke out any hope of getting them.

Loki/Odin was a bit miffed when a female thrall asked him not to enter his chambers as her mistress was trying on her wedding dress and it would bring ill fortune if he was to see her in it before the wedding.

Chuckling to himself he told the thrall that he would be in the late Queen Frigga's herb garden and when Amora was finished with her fitting someone was to inform him so that he could freely enter his own chambers. Loki/Odin turned and walked away with the thought that maybe he should cast a concealment spell and take a peek at this gown Amora was having made, but a second thought made him head for the herb garden instead. Why tempt fate any more than he'd already had.

The Asgardian sun was setting and made a beautiful sunset that he wished Amora was here to see. A gentle breeze swirled the scents from several herbs in the air about him. This place always made him feel peaceful, made him feel safe. Now however it also made him feel sorrowful as his mother taught him the many uses for these herbs and flowers as well as magic in this garden. She would enthusiastically congratulate him when he remembered what she taught him about the herbs or successfully completed a spell as a child. Without realizing it he wound up at the small clearing behind the oak tree where Amora found him so many lifetimes ago and gave him the white stag made of sticks. He smiled when the thought of bringing his and Amora's son to this garden and teaching the ancient knowledge to him, teaching him to be a great King, just as Frigga had with him.

"I was told you'd be found here" Amora spoke up from behind him.

Dressed in a dark green gown with large gold rings decorating it she walked up to him, slipped her arms around his neck and mumbled a spell of concealment before kissing him. He shifted back to his own form as he returned her kiss and dissolved their clothes as he lowered her to the ground where he made love to her like the first time, an age ago.

A figure cloaked in black stood next to the Jotun witch as she revealed the placements of the Asgardian camps based in the western borderlands and he cursed under his breath. Three legions of Einherjar equally spaced out in each valley and he watched as patrols set out in random directions at random times in the air as well as on the ground with the Odinson based on the "dragon's claw" to oversee all the valleys. Driving the people away again would not be easy and dealing with the Einherjar at the same time would be nearly impossible, but the witch, Angurbodi, assured him that she could deal with the Asgardians and Karnilla, should she interfere.

"See to it that you can" the cloaked man snarled, "I've put too much into this coup, risked too much to lose. I will sit the throne of Asgard, painted with Odin's blood, and use that witch whore of his as a footstool."

The tall lanky cloaked man turned and stalked away from the Jotun witch as he left the subterranean torch-lit room. Cursed be Odin and all his kin the cloaked man steamed with anger at being frustrated in all his careful planning. Climbing the winding stairs he attempted to calm himself down as it wouldn't do for anyone to see him in this foul mood as gossip travels far too fast to contain. With each step he took deep breaths and reminded himself of the great prize that would be his, once Odin was dead. When he reached the secret door to his great hall he opened it slightly and spied around the hallway where it opened up at. When he saw no one about he removed the cloak, tossing it over an unlit brazier, and the black-haired man in green leather and shiny brass body armor safely walked into the hallway shutting the secret door without glancing back.

Angurbodi silently raged at her "employer" and master while she waved away the images of the Odinson and the soldiers with him in the western border-lands. There were times she wished she had died at the hands of Helblindi, the son of Laufey, who betrayed her after her magic put him on his late father's throne. This Asgardian was no better than the Jotun scoundrel she had served but she wasn't idle in the times he left her alone in this dank dungeon hall. She had been spying on Odin and the witch called the Enchantress for some time now and she knew that something was more than unusual in Odin's behavior.

Why did he feel it so vital to cast spells of concealment when he was in his own chambers? This he did whether he was with the Asgardian witch or alone. Why did he also go down to the Asgardian dungeons to one particular cell on a regular basis? Who was in that cell and why were they so important to the Allfather? Frustrated because she could not break through the spells of concealment he was casting despite all her efforts, she none-the-less, kept spying on the Asgardian King. Soon, she hoped, he would make a mistake, and then she would have the means to his downfall as well as the possible means of gaining her freedom from the bastard she had to call "master" as she fingered the charmed shackle he'd used to enslave her and protect himself.

She called forth images of Odin in the smoke and saw him go into his late wife's herb garden alone. After some time the Asgardian witch joined him and then they both simply vanished from her sight. Damn, he had placed the two of them under concealment and Angurbodi could not penetrate it with spells of her own. Snarling she swiped her hand through the smoke and the image of the herb garden disappeared.

Amora had her female thralls cover up her wedding dress, as it had been sewn together and she'd done the final fitting before it was placed on a dressmaker's mannequin, to wait for her wedding day and so that Loki/Odin would not see it before the two of them returned to Odin's chambers. Arm in arm they walked passed the doorway guards and after closing the doors Loki/Odin cast a spell of concealment. Shifting back to himself, Loki headed for the pitcher of wine on the long table and poured two glasses of white wine.

"Here's to us" he grinned as he handed one glass to Amora, "to our wedding, to our son, and to our long rule in Asgard."

They, clinking their glasses together and with satisfied smiles, drank as Loki continued his toast, "And to the well-deserved death of Odin, which cannot come too soon as far as I'm concerned."

Amora was silent as she could see that Loki was earnest in his plan to kill Odin. She kept her thoughts from being revealed on her face as Loki's hatred of the Allfather made her uncomfortable.

"What shall we order up for dinner tonight my love?" Amora set her glass down and snaked her arms about Loki's neck. "Shall we call upon your cook or mine?"

"Why not use your cook for tonight's meal?" Loki grinned as he set his own glass down and wrapped his arms about her waist. "How does roasted hare sound to you?"

"Very well if I may say so, and my cook has a delightful recipe for hare that you should try" Amora smiled back at him as she kissed him teasingly, "so shift back into Odin-form and I shall call a servant to order our meal.

As he changed back into his step-father's form Amora released him to pull the summon cord which quickly brought a female thrall into the antechamber room. Amora gave the order and the thrall left to fulfill it as quickly as possible as Loki/Odin poured another glass of wine.

Thor held a mug of mead in his right hand as he stood at the ledge of "the dragon's claw" scanning the three valleys which was now dotted with tents and cooking fires as his legions of Einherjar settled in for the night. The command building, his as well as those for his three companions, were up and there was a good fire going in the center of his, to cook meals and ward off the night chill. There were Einherjar out patrolling, in the air in the small ships as well as foot patrols and so far there was nothing to report. His thoughts turned to Jane, wondering what she was doing at this very moment. He wished that he could have brought her along, but his father had banished all mortals from Asgard because of her.

His father might forbid him to bring Jane home with him but he could not banish his love for Jane from his heart. Even though Loki hated him, it had been Loki who tried to make him face logical reasoning. Jane was mortal, and she would age, wither and die in just a handful of decades while he would remain untouched by time. Would she still love him then? Would he still love her? Would it be kinder, to her, if he was to break off the relationship (as Jane called it) marry an Asgardian woman who would not only give him children, but spend the next several thousand years growing old with him? Instead of spending his days mourning for a mortal lover long turned to dust. He'd been happy with Jane, Darcy and Erik Selvig in New Mexico and if his friends hadn't come to Midgard to tell him of Loki's lie about his father being dead he would still be with Jane. Working with her, married to her having children with her and making a life with her. If he'd stayed on Midgard then perhaps Loki wouldn't have tried to destroy Jotunheim, he wouldn't have had to destroy the Bifrost. Wouldn't have the horror of watching Loki fall into the void and definitely would not have had to fight Loki and the Chitari to protect the Earth. Loki wouldn't have been given a life sentence in the dungeons, wouldn't be dead now because of him. And Loki would be King now, as he knew after the incident with Malekith that he didn't have the wits or the cunning to be a King. With Loki dead though, what other choice was there? Take up the throne, or, watch his father take another wife in the hopes that Amora could give him a son to take the throne after him.

The sun was setting and he could smell the fish and the stag that was cooking on turning spits over the great center fire in his cabin and his stomach growled at him. He would have a day's preparation for duty rosters and giving his next in command orders for while he was gone to the feast then, then he wasn't sure what he would do before he returned here. Taking a deep drink of his mead, he turned and walked back into his cabin and his dinner.

The young Einherjar warrior Thor sent finally made it to Asgard and was escorted to Odin's chambers by four palace guards. The guards at the doors to the Allfather's quarters knocked and heralded the young soldier's arrival from the western borders. Loki/Odin ordered the young man to enter and the guards opened the door for the soldier.

"I bring news from my Prince Thor for you my Liege" the Einherjar bowed his head then saluted as he came to attention.

"What does my son have to report?" Loki/Odin inquired.

"We found a Norn warrior guised as a deer who said that he spies out the land at your request and that the raiders may be shape shifters, either naturally or by charms or spells."

"That would make sense" Amora spoke up, "that could be why none were ever taken captive or their dead found."

Four thralls brought in their King's dinner, placed it on the small table in Odin's bedroom and left while Loki/Odin sat in a chair at the long dinner table chewing on his mustache. It was a while before he answered back, "Tell my son that I had Amora contact Karnilla for aid. Whoever is responsible for these outrages clearly wish Asgard to go to war with Nornheim and Karnilla has the right to defend her realm. After all, Amora here is her daughter-in-hosterage."

"According to reports these raiders came out of nowhere and seemingly disappeared into nothingness" Loki/Odin stood up and faced the Einherjar. "Tell my son that he should scan for large concentrations of small animals, rodents in particular."

"Rats, rabbits, hares or squirrels would be noticeable in great numbers" Amora joined in, "but a mouse can hide under blades of grass, even under the nose of the cat, and you'd never know they were there."

"This traitor must have a witch or warlock in their employ and to keep that many mercenaries in guise must be using great amounts of magical energy" Loki/Odin continued. "Tell my son to also scan for any mystic residue and hunt down these butchers, give them no rest, and send some back alive for the interrogators."

"Yes my King" the warrior saluted, bowed and exited the room. The guards at the door opened them to let him pass then closed them behind him.

Muttering a spell of concealment Loki shifted back to his own form and refilling the wine glasses he gave one to Amora as he motioned her to the dinner table, "I'm actually feeling good about this nuisance for once and the faster it gets resolved the better. I thank you for your insight my dear and I'm also thankful for the fact that we both think alike."

Loki pulled her chair out from the table for her to be seated then pushed it in for her and they enjoyed the roasted hare in wine sauce.