Chapter 34 – Basic Training

We ate breakfast with Odin and Frijjo. It was a very pleasant view out the windows of the eating room. The food was excellent, although some of it was more than a little strange. I sort-of noticed in passing that the dark bread, a dark grey rather than brown, had a sharp liquorice taste to it. A poached, rose-coloured fruit tasted like trout. I would have marvelled at these new taste experiences, but my mind was elsewhere.

I was determined to protect my Questers from Odin, lest he try a repeat of his tricks with Adrienne. I watched Cho very closely, since Odin had ordered her to sit at his right hand. I was on his left, but he paid me almost no notice.

I was told "not to worry. Your Adrienne is fine and happy." Odin mentioned "You have most exciting day ahead of you. You will world-walk to the world-between-worlds, which lies between my world and Durmstrang."

Although I made polite replies to each of his comments and complimented him on the quality of the novel breakfast, he had provided for us, that's all he said to me and his head seldom turned my way. He spent all the rest of his time chatting up Cho.

At least Cho didn't look like she was in danger of giving in to Odin's charms and cheating on Viktor. She was polite. She answered all his questions. She made a polite comment or two. She even laughed once or twice. She never leaned in toward him and never displayed more than casual, polite attention to his words. She often looked away from him to focus upon her food. She conspicuously turned her attention to Tendra, who sat on her other side. These actions seemed to frustrate Odin. He spoke louder, loudly enough that I caught many of his words. Quite a few of his words complimented her intelligence, or courage, or beauty. He spoke of his delight at having her as his guest. He used expansive hand motions. He offered wine. Cho declined.

Odin finally gave up, announcing it was time to get to work. We had much practice to do, before we could go home, other than strapped across the back of a Unicorn or holding Odin's hand.

I thought we were off to the White Column, but Odin led us to his forge.

"You will do better with the world-walking, if you are fully charged. It is very difficult for an outsider to draw much magic on this world. The magic is tuned to we Aesir. You struggle to harvest the merest dregs of the available magic. I can give you a head start, by charging you up in my magical ovals. Everyone must spend time in my ovals. Frijjo will supervise here. I will go with the first two who finish in the oval. I supervise at the White Column. The rest of you must find your way there. Who will be first?"

Mafalda quickly volunteered. Hermione volunteered declaring "I want to complete this training as quickly as possible, so that I can spend the rest of the day in Odin's library. I have much research to do and Odin says the library is quite large."

They each spent twenty minutes in an oval, and then went off with Odin. Cissy and Cho were next into the ovals. Tendra and I would be next. Aagog would share the oval with me.

I chatted with Odin while this group was in the ovals, but he quickly turned to the serious. His opening gambit dealt with the design of the unusual tiny circle, which powered the forge and the two ovals: "I must tell you that you are not seeing my circle at its best. It was designed to be powered by my purple diamond, which was stolen some time ago. The ruby you see before you is a poor substitute - it limits the circle to not quite half of its potential strength. This is not just idle chatter or a lesson in what you call magical engineering. There is a circle, like this one, on Hel and it is powered by a purple diamond. Its power is what imprisons my Valkyrie. Your mission on Hel is likely to steal back that purple diamond and destroy the circle. The true heroes and my Valkyries should then be free to escape to Valhalla, where they belong. This effects all of us and not just because I must win the next Ragnarök and badly need the heroes trapped in Hel. A purple diamond is very powerful and should not be in evil hands. It should be an instrument of good to be used by those who Quest on behalf of the Light Guardian. A circle powered by a purple diamond can connect worlds. It is as good a means for traveling between worlds as are the White Columns. None of us should feel safe, while that diamond is controlled by the evil rulers of Hel."

"I wasn't even aware that diamonds came in purple. Judging from the size of the ruby in your circle, these diamonds must be quite large."

"Make a fist," I was ordered. I did so and Odin commented "the diamond is only a bit smaller. My father had three. He gave them to me; I gave one to Vili; one was stolen a very long time ago; the one in Hel was stolen more recently. I must have it back. I think that is the crux of your Quest to Hel. Talk with Hermione. Think among yourselves, before you discuss this broadly. I don't need you to attract dishonest treasure hunters."

Odin returned to light chatting, signalling an unwillingness to provide additional detail.

Just as I was about to enter the oval, Mafalda returned without Hermione. I gave the old priestess a questioning look, complete with shoulder shrug.

"Hermione world-walked on her first try. I tried for over ten minutes. Odin said that I had used up all of my magic and had to come back here to recharge."

I told Mafalda that she and Jaden were next into the ovals.

I enjoyed lying in the oval. It gave me a pleasant tingle and my mind instantly felt sharper. I just lay there and soaked up the magical energy. Of course, I had my wand with me. It would charge along with the rest of me. Twenty minutes might seem a long time to just lie in place, when you aren't trying to sleep, especially this early in the day. It wasn't a problem. My muscles relaxed. I was able to plan the rest of my day and think about what I wanted to do and what I must do during my time back on my own world. I reached for Harry. I was able to instantly establish contact. I promised him that I would be home in little more than a day. I told him what I was doing and how contented and alert it made me feel.

I broke content, when a voice entered my head, basically saying "times up, out you go and off to Odin."

I followed those instructions. It was just as I was getting to my feet and felt Aagog repositioning herself from my chest to my shoulder, that I remembered that I hadn't been alone in the magical oval.

"Did you feel yourself getting charged up in the oval," I asked her.

"Yes, I enjoy."

"It's strange that the same oval is tuned properly for both of us," I mused.

Aagog didn't respond. I walked us to Odin and the White Column, following Tendra, who was a dozen paces ahead of us.

Odin welcomed us. "I know that you all can do this. It's safe and it should be fun. You walk through the White Column at this point." Odin pointed. "Just walk normally, thinking you are going to walk into a different world. It helps to link with and draw power from a circle, but the true key is to just walk boldly, expecting that you will succeed. You'll feel some resistance, which you must smoothly push your way through. You'll feel a largely pleasant tingle. Then you'll find yourself in a very plain space in the world-between-worlds. The lighting will be dim. Do you understand all of that?"

The three of us told Odin that we understood and would follow those instructions.

"Now, here is the second part. There is no reason to linger in that uninhabited world. Just turn around and walk back here through the exact same spot where you walked out of the White Column. It's that easy. Look at the column as you approach it to walk back. Many can see the spot they are supposed to walk back through. I have heard it described as shimmering, glowing slightly, veiled as if by a fog, or even as a darker spot, which feels cool to the touch. It all depends on your nature, although members of the same community tend to experience the Column similarly. Don't be worried if you see nothing. About half of those who look see nothing. That doesn't mean you are any less capable of world-walking. Now, who wants to go first?"

I did, but Aagog was very fast and volunteered before I got a word out of my mouth. I felt her climb down me and scurry up to… and immediately through the column on her very first try. A minute later, Aagog returned and stood on the floor next to me.

I also made it through the column on my first attempt. As I turned around to look at the Column and to pick the spot through which I would return to Asgard, I saw a brighter, shimmering circle a little to the right of the centre of the Column. I walked right through that circle, or at least the middle of me was centered upon the circle. Odin smiled at me as I left the column.

It took two tries for Tendra, but she made it. She was gone for five minutes.

"I had a little trouble on the other side," she confessed. "I thought I saw a shimmering spot at the left edge of the Column and tried to walk through it. I decided that nobody would engineer the entry point at that spot. I finally just walked at the centre of the Column. That worked, although I slid to the right as I walked through."

"That's fine," Odin told her. "The actual spot is just a bit to the right of centre. Sliding into the proper spot is only slightly dangerous. The greatest danger is being spit back out by the Column. You are invariably spit back to the point you tried to enter the Column from, but - really, it's so rare as to be almost not worth mentioning – it is possible to be split into a third world. When it happens, your destination can be very unpredictable, and you may have to try and try again to find you way back to either your starting point or your intended destination. That's the greatest danger, especially if you need a strong charge-up in the oval to be able to walk into the column. It is possible to become…"

Odin stopped there, realising that Tendra was beginning to look really frightened.

"Go and recharge yourself. You'll do much better on your second try. Ginny will go through to spot for you."

Tendra was excused to do whatever she wanted to do back at our camp or in Odin's palace. I was asked to stay and help Odin provide encouragement to the others.

Next to join us were Mafalda and Jaden. Mafalda made four attempts, succeeding only in banging her nose and forehead against the stone on each attempt. Jaden did it in one.

"Back you go to recharge," Odin ordered Mafalda. "Think determined thoughts, whilst you charge up this time. I know you are a proud old priestess. It would be undignified for you to return to your world strapped across the back of a Unicorn. Try harder!"

I didn't feel that the half encouragement, half taunt was the proper approach. I told Mafalda that I knew she could do it. Unfortunately, Mafalda just couldn't do it. She made eight more tries. All this effort yielded nothing other than a very bruised nose. Perhaps we all needed to accept that Mafalda couldn't do it.

It was once again a day with no mid-day meal. I had stuffed some of the strange bread into my pockets. I consumed it with water. It got me to dinner, by which time most of my team had successfully world-walked. I had spotted for Tendra, but my help hadn't been needed. She had easily made her way back to Asgard.

Everyone approached dinner in a happy mood. Most of the crew had finished their training hours before dinner and spent the rest of the time packing up their belongings and assisting in packing up the rest of the camp. This preparation for home was just the thing to brighten moods.

Mafalda sat next to me at dinner. She was beaming. "Don't worry about me," she told me. "I really don't mind riding a Unicorn. All that time in the magical oval has left me feeling far better than I've felt in decades. If that is the penalty for failing to world-walk, then I would keep failing, even were I able to do otherwise. That device is a marvel for an old Witch. Both my mind and my body feel wonderful. I am really primed to tear into dinner."

Well, good, I had feared that her failures at world-walking would leave Mafalda moping in the depths of self-doubt. To find her in buoyant spirits was a gift to me.

Hermione was seated on my other side – the side farther from Odin. He had basically dismissed both of us for this meal and surrounded himself with Cho and Jaden. I used my Black Stone to beam a 'no alcohol – absolutely no alcohol' message into their minds. They gave me a nod, which I interpreted as 'message received' and I hoped 'will do.'

We started the meal with a most unusual soup. It wasn't all that spicy, just sort of an unflavoured peppery 'hot' without the pepper taste. It was purple in colour and had the consistency of a puree with lots of added cream. It was served cold, with more of the bread I had consumed throughout the day.

We had a salad with red 'greens', which likely came from the red-grass region of Asgard. It was quite bitter, more bitter than dandelion, but was covered with a sauce which must have been half Odin's special honey. The combination was tasty.

I noticed that Odin was locked in conversation with Jaden. Again, he was making the very expansive hand gestures, which he didn't use with me. Jaden didn't look like she was about to succumb to Odin's charm.

Seeing Odin tied up in conversation, Hermione leaned over to me and whispered "I am finding some interesting things in Odin's library. This was a day very well spent. I know you will want to quiz me when we go up to our room. Don't. I'll explain all when we return home. I suspect that we can be spied upon in our bedroom."

Why that dirty old God! I'd be much more careful, both in how much flesh I showed and in what I said. I was glad that Hermione had warned me. She also had piqued my curiosity. It was difficult not to question her. Well, it wasn't difficult at all, because Hermione had anticipated this problem and didn't look my way for the rest of our meal. She seemed to find Mafalda totally entrancing and me a total bore.

I dove into my own brain and my dinner. The main course featured something which looked like the chateaubriand I was so fond of, but this meat was never part of a cow. It was a little too tender, a little too spicy tasting, and not just on its surface. It was good, different but good.

Catta finally caught my attention, from across the table. I had been drifting. Catta's eyes moved my focus back to Odin. Cissy was leaning in toward Odin. She also held a goblet of wine.

I stood up and shouted at Cissy. "Catta tells me that you didn't pack all of your things. You just lazed around camp after you world walked. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Cissy responded, "I packed some things. I can finish tomorrow. I did help the others pack our common stuff. Well, I helped a little bit at least."

"Come here and tell Catta that she is lying about your behaviour," I demanded.

Cissy meekly walked to my place at the table. "Come with me, please," I spoke to Catta. We'll get this settled right now.

I led Catta and Cissy away from the hearing of the others.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked Cissy, getting right up in her face. "I specifically told you not to drink any alcohol around Odin. You were leaning in toward him, like he was your greatest friend ever. I won't have you turn into another Adrienne!"

"I'm sorry, I guess I just wasn't being careful enough. Odin put the wine in front of me and I just started to drink it. He suddenly seemed really attractive and interesting."

"I think you are another victim of spiked wine," I told her. "Now, when you return to the table to finish your meal, I don't want you to drink anything. Don't even trust the water this time."

"I really am sorry. I was stupid."

"Yes, you were, I mumbled under my breath."

We returned to table. It was time for dessert. Dessert was a two-level custardy affair. The bottom layer tasted like carrots, only sweeter and with a hint of red beets. This layer was yellow in colour. The top layer was like a glaze, but a bit creamier and three-quarters of an inch thick. It tasted a bit like raspberries, but with no seeds and a hard to place side note of flavour. It was a very different combination, certainly not my favorite dessert, but acceptable.

Odin offered coffee. I told him that my team needed to return to camp. We had a big day ahead of us and should get an early start in the morning. Odin seemed a little upset, but excused the others, before speaking to Hermione and me.

"Surely the two of you will want to sleep in your room here in the palace. The bed is far more comfortable than just lying on a couple of blankets in your camp."

"We have to maintain solidarity with our team," I responded.

We Apparated back to our camp. When we arrived, Adrienne was berating Cissy and Cissy was on the border of tears. I told both that the best thing we could do was to get some sleep. I suggested posting phoenix guards. The night was a little cool, but we had a huge campfire.

Scathach said that she would guard the rest of us. She wore a very fierce expression, which brooked no objection.