10. WAR COUNCILS.
Loki stood before the large tapestry-map that had been hung upon the wall of the council chamber, a long pointer-stick in his hand. He coughed slightly, to bring the crowd assembled in the room to attention.
"Ahem!" he said. "Is everyone who should be here present?"
The various giants, trolls, and dark elves in the room all nodded, their clamoring now over. Four not-particularly-enthusiastic-looking young humans in the front row also nodded, in silence.
"Very good," said Loki. "Now, then, much of what I am going to state here, a great many of you are already familiar with. But, for the benefit of those of you in the audience who are newcomers-" - he glanced at the New Mutants as he spoke - "- I will be engaged in a considerable amount of explaining. I request that those who do know this material be patient with me, while I bring our most recent recruits up to date."
He tapped a portion of the tapestry-map with his stick. "Here is Utgard, where we are now," he said. "And here," he continued, tapping another portion of the map, not too far away, "is the starting-point of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge leading to Asgard. It is the chief avenue to Asgard and the home of the Aesir. It is also the least ideal route of attack, thanks to two reasons. First, the red portion of the rainbow bridge is actually fire so intense as to keep the frost giants at bay. If we had the help of Surtur and his people, we could solve that particular problem, but at present, we do not, so we must find another means of dealing with it.
"The larger reason why Bifrost makes such a poor road for us to take in order to assault Asgard is Heimdall, the watchman of the Aesir. He stands at the other end of Bifrost, a tireless, ever-faithful sentinel, never once deserting his post or letting his gaze wander." He gave a yawn at that point. "In other words, a very boring fellow - and also an extreme nuisance to us, not only because of his eternal vigilance, but because of his skill. His gaze is so keen that not even a flea could approach Bifrost without his being aware of it, and his ears are so sharp that he can hear the grass grow. We can never take him by surprise - and believe me, I have made the attempt before, and failed." His eyes flickered resentfully, before he continued.
"So we must choose a different way in which to approach Asgard than by Bifrost," he said. "That is the reason why all of your past assaults upon Asgard have failed; Bifrost is impregnable. The only way to lay siege to Odin's citadel is to reach its walls by another path."
He looked over the faces of his audience, and nodded. "Yes, you," he said. "The dark elf in the third row. What do you have to say?"
"With all due respect, Loki," said the dark elf, "there is no other means of reaching Asgard. We all know that. Bifrost is the only entrance to it."
"A popular conception, my friend," said Loki, smiling. "Popular, but utterly inaccurate. There is another means of access, although far less well-known."
"Then name it, Loki!" said King Geiroddur of the trolls. "You have kept us waiting long enough!"
"Patience is a virtue that you trolls have yet to achieve, I see," said Loki, glancing in his direction. "But, no matter. Now, there is a second way to reach the walls of Asgard, though one that many of you have not heard of. On the side of Asgard opposite the great gates, to which Bifrost leads, there rolls the great river Kerlaugar. It is a constant churning torrent, half water, half cloud, that separates Asgard from the rest of the world. Odin has few guards posted there, and none that are Heimdall's equal in ability. It is here that we must come up to the citadel's walls."
"The river Kerlaugar, Loki?" cried Utgard-Loki in astonishment. "Have you entirely taken leave of your senses, trickster?"
"Ah, so you know of it, then," said Loki, looking in his direction and nodding approvingly.
"Aye, that I do," said Utgard-Loki. "And one thing that I know concerning it is that Odin knows what he does when he leaves that way unguarded. That river's current is so strong that none of us could ever cross it. Only Thor is able to wade through it and withstand its force. The rest of us cannot."
"True," said Loki. "So this is my plan. We freeze the river solid. Then we can walk across it, straight for the walls of Asgard."
"And how are we to do that?" asked one of Utgard-Loki's captains. "Odin has warded that river against us. Neither our magic nor our chill breath can freeze the Kerlaugar, not as long as it remains under his protection. That is why we cannot pass over that river."
"Again, true," said Loki, nodding. "Odin's arts have rendered the Kerlaugar proof against the might of the frost giants. But only the frost giants. He neglected to protect that river against humans. And we have in our midst the very human who can take full advantage of that mistake on Odin's part. Master Bobby Drake, if you would care to demonstrate?"
Bobby reluctantly stood up, and pointed one hand at the window. A sheet of ice shot out from his finger-tips, extending all the way to the window- sill.
"Thank you," said Loki, in an off-hand manner. He turned back to face the rest of the assembly. "You see?" he said. "We have our means of crossing that river."
"That boy only produced a small shaft of ice," said King Geirrodur of the trolls. "To cross the Kerlaugar, we will need more than that. Much more." The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement.
"True, true," said Loki, nodding. "He is, of course, still young and not at the height of his abilities. But I do have a solution for that as well." He reached into the pouch at his belt, and fumbled about in it until he pulled out what appeared to be a golden medallion at the end of a long golden chain. A fox was engraved upon the medallion's surface, gazing out at the viewer with a sly wink. Loki turned to Bobby, and motioned to him. "Step forward, Master Drake, if you please."
Bobby hesitated. Loki snapped his fingers, and said to him, with all the strictness of an algebra teacher who had just noticed that his students were late in turning in their homework, "I gave you a command, young man. And I expect you to follow it."
Bobby sighed, and walked up to the trickster-god. "Thank you," said Loki. He placed the medallion around Bobby's neck. "Now, if you will kindly repeat your display for us," he said.
The lad pointed his fingers at the window again, as he had done before. This time, the blast of ice from it encased the entire section of the wall that the window was set in, plus that part of the room up to three feet away from it. Bobby staggered back, staring in astonished disbelief at what he had done. Everyone else was staring in amazement as well, except for Loki, who merely nodded in a pleased fashion.
"Thank you, Master Drake," he said. "Very well done."
"What - what is this thing?" Bobby asked. He tried to take the medallion off, but the moment that he touched it, he withdrew his hand at once as if it had been stung.
"An enhancer for your abilities," answered Loki. "I thought that you might find it useful."
"An enhancer?" asked Bobby. "You mean, like those Gems of Cytorrak that the big kids told us about?"
"Well, I have never heard of those particular jewels that you name," said Loki, in an off-hand fashion, "so I cannot comment on that. But, yes, this medallion has tripled your abilities tenfold, so long as you wear it - and you certainly will not be taking it off. Most useful, do you not agree? Which reminds me," he added, glancing over at Roberto, Jubilee, and Ray, "that I'll need to have extras made for you three."
The three young mutants looked distinctly apprehensive upon hearing that particular remark. None of them dared speak up in protest, however. They remained almost dejectedly silent.
"Now, where was I?" said Loki. "Oh, yes. Once we are across the Kerlaugar, we will be at the very walls of Asgard. That will be when we launch our assault. The usual train of siege engines, not to mention our own abilities, and those of our young recruits. Recruits whom I trust are going to be cooperative," he added, looking at the four New Mutants in a meaningful fashion as he spoke. "We will bring down the walls, swarm inside through the breach that we have made, and battle the Aesir hand to hand. Without Thor and his hammer to oppose us, they will barely be able to withstand us, and Asgard will fall to us within a few hours. After which, of course, we can proceed to conquer the rest of the nine worlds, without Odin and his people to interfere."
He stepped back, with a slight bow. "Well, that is my plan," he said proudly. "What do the rest of you think of it?"
"Not bad," said Utgard-Loki, after thinking it over for a moment. "But you had better not let anything befall those four. It does seem that you have made them into the cornerstone of your plan. If they fall out of our hands -"
"They will not," said Loki. "I will keep too close an eye on them for it. Of course, we really ought to do something about their friends, too. We can scarcely have them running about. Fortunately, Heimir has already captured one of them, so that means that we only have three more to worry about."
"One of the others has been captured?" blurted out Bobby in alarm. "Which one?"
"I don't believe that I gave you permission to speak, young man," said Loki, turning and fixing the lad with a very disapproving stare. "But, if you want to know, it was that haughty young princess from - what was the name again? Ah, yes, Nova Roma. Amara was her name, I believe."
"You've got Amara?" Bobby cried.
"That is correct," Loki replied sharply. "But as I told you before, you are overreaching your proper bounds in speaking back to me like that. Do that again, and I will have to take proper disciplinary measures. Such as...." He paused, knitting his brows in thought. "Well, I'll think of something," he said. "Preferably something truly unpleasant."
* * *
King Eitri seated himself at the council table, and looked over the faces of the dwarf lords present. Then he coughed sharply, and spoke.
"My friends, these are troubled times. After many long years of peace, Nidavellir finds itself threatened, by Loki Laufeyson and his forces. Even now, it seems, he is making common cause with the dark elves of Svartalfheim, at the least - and I would not be greatly astonished if I was to learn that he had forged an alliance with the frost giants and the trolls, as well. But even if he has not, the situation as it stands is serious."
"Before we proceed any further, my liege," said one of the clan-lords at the table, "might I ask why you have invited these two young Midgarders to this council?" He was looking closely at Sam and Jamie, who were standing behind King Eitri's throne, both of them looking not quite at home amid this gathering. "Only dwarves are welcome at dwarf-councils."
"That has been the custom for a long while, Jari," said King Eitri, "I will admit. But this is an unusual situation. These boys are the ones who discovered this apparent alliance, and warned us of it. I have asked them to be here for that purpose."
"Ah, yes," said Jari, nodding, a sour look still upon his face. "Those two. There's scarcely a dwarf in Nidavellir who hasn't heard of their coming."
"Indeed," said another dwarf clan-lord. "There's not been this great a stir since the contest between Your Majesty and the sons of Ivaldi over who was the greater smith."
"But surely it takes more than such dubious renown and having been the quarry for dark elves to lead to their invitation to a council," Jari argued.
"That I can agree with you upon," said King Eitri. "But there is indeed more about the two lads here than this. It was they who encountered the dark elves face to face, as none of us have. And it was they who, with their absent companions, met the old man, Ivar Hakonson, whom I suspect and even fear to be truly Loki in disguise. I have bidden them here, so that they may tell their tale to you all." He nodded to Sam. "Speak up, boy, and tell us all."
Sam narrated his story and that of the other New Mutants again, Jamie occasionally putting something in when Sam forgot to mention it. The dwarves listened attentively until the end. At last, Jari spoke.
"So," he said, "it appears that all of this trouble has come about because the dark elves have decided, for reasons best known to themselves, to capture these two youths and hold them prisoner, just as they have already done to at least one of their friends. They are only near Nidavellir because they wish to take the two young Midgarders prisoner."
"That appears to be the way of it, Jari," said Eitri. "But what precisely are you getting at?"
"Only this," said Jari. "I see no reason why we should be risking war with the folk of Svartalfheim for the sake of two outsiders. Why do we not simply surrender them both to the dark elves, for the sake of peace, if the dark elves want them? It would certainly save us a considerable amount of trouble."
A couple of the dwarf-lords at the table nodded eagerly, but others protested, speaking in heated voices. A loud argument broke out at the table, which only came to an end when King Eitri pounded his fist on the table. "Order!" he shouted. "Order!"
When silence fell, he spoke to Jari. "That is the one option that is out of the question," he said grimly. "These two lads may not be of our kind, but still, they are under our roof, and have become our guests. As such, we may not yield them up without breaking the sacred laws of hospitality, and thereby forfeiting all our honor."
"And what would you suggest, King Eitri?" Jari asked. "If the dark elves discover that these two Midgarders are here, it is only a matter of time before they assault us. Then if we do not deliver them up to the dark elves, it will be war. Is this the fate that you will subject us to, my liege? A pointless struggle with the folk of Svartalfheim, over two youths who are not even of our kind?"
"And what would you have us do?" the king asked sternly. "Deliver them up to who knows what fate, at the hands of the dark elves?"
"It is better that they undergo that fate, than we ourselves, and all Nidavellir," said Jari. "Why must we suffer over a struggle that is none of our concern?"
"I beg to differ with you there, Lord Jari," said Hlevang, the Chancellor, speaking up. "If the war that we suspect is about to take place, then we are indeed concerned in it. From these youngsters' story, it would appear that Loki - and I agree with my king that it was most likely him in disguise whom they encountered as Ivor Hakonson - is plotting against Odin himself, intending to topple him from his throne, and usurp the rule of Asgard."
"That is Odin's problem, and the Aesir's, not ours," said Jari, with a shrug. "Let them deal with it."
"If Asgard falls, it will not be the Aesir's problem alone," Hlevang continued. "Asgard is the linch-pin of the nine worlds; if Loki and his allies rule over it, then how long will it be before we ourselves are conquered? And do not think that they will ignore us if we simply lie low and do nothing. We dwarves have a reputation as the finest smiths and armorers of all, and Loki most certainly knows it, especially since he has sought us out in the past when he needed fine craftsmen to assist him. He'll turn his gaze towards us, hoping to find some way of using our services again, and this time not as a customer, but as a master. Indeed, he may well wish to conquer Nidavellir first before he marches on Asgard, both to enlist us in forging weapons of war to use in the assault, and also to deprive Odin of our aid. All that these lads from Midgard have done is to bring us into the struggle a little earlier than might have been the case otherwise. Indeed, they might even have done us a favor, in warning us about it; now we can take precautions against the invasion, when it comes."
"I agree with Hlevang's counsel," said King Eitri, nodding gravely. "Indeed, I believe that we should place the entire dwarf-kingdom on a war footing now." He frowned. "It is a pity," he added, "that we cannot warn Odin of this likely conspiracy against his rule, but we have no means of sending a messenger to Asgard at present. Unless one of the Aesir comes seeking our aid, we must handle this on our own."
"Aye, and it's just like Loki to strike only shortly after Odin banished Thor to Midgard," said a dwarf clan-lord grimly. "Without him or his hammer to help them in the fray, the Aesir are all but sitting ducks. Unless one of these two Midgarder-lads can tell us where to find the Thunderer," he added, looking at Sam and Jamie hopefully.
"Sorry, but we can't help you out there," said Sam at once. "We didn't even know that Thor was in our world before we came here. And anyway, we don't even know how to get back home."
"Then we will have to manage without Thor," said King Eitri. "In the meantime, here is what I command. Have every dwarf of fighting-age ready to take up arms and armor at a moment's notice. Strengthen the watch at every entrance to Nidavellir, and inform our gatekeepers to keep a close eye out for hostile forces. War may indeed be well upon us."
Most of the dwarf-lords nodded at his words, and several of them cried assent eagerly. Jari remained silent, frowning sourly, but said nothing.
"There's still the matter of our friend, Your Majesty," Sam added. "Amara. I mean, if the dark elves have her prisoner -"
"I am afraid that we do not have the means to help you rescue her," said King Eitri. "Until we know more of what the folk of Svartalfheim are planning for us, all that we can do is wait, and prepare for their coming. Which, no doubt, will not be long."
* * *
"So the dwarves have two of our three runaways," said Heimir thoughtfully. "I must admit, I am surprised at this. Who would ever have thought that the earth-folk of Nidavellir would become involved so early in all of this?"
"Loki Laufeyson will be wanting both of those youngsters," said one of the other dark elves. "Which means that we will either have to persuade the dwarves to release them - and we know how stubborn they are - or invade Nidavellir to take them back. And we know what a difficult nut to crack the dwarf-realm is."
"Indeed we do," said Heimir. "But we have no reason to be discouraged. Not when you consider our new weapon."
"New weapon?" asked the dark elf. "And what might it be?"
"The only one of those four Midgarders whom we do have in our custody," Heimir replied, with a smile. He turned his head to look at a small, slight figure, asleep in a corner of the clearing, and snapped his fingers. "My lady Amara, it is time to awaken. We would that you honor us with your presence."
Amara opened her eyes, and then climbed to her feet. She walked in an almost wooden fashion over to Heimir, as though in a trance. "Yes, my lord?" she asked, in a flat, toneless voice.
"This is our weapon, my lord?" asked one of the dark elf knights to Heimir. "A mere child?"
"This maiden is more than that, I assure you," said Heimir. "She was one of the younglings from Midgard gifted with great powers, after all. And even now that she has become one of our kind, she still possesses them." He turned back to Amara. "If you would give us a demonstration?" he asked.
Amara nodded, then raised one hand. A ball of fire appeared in it, roaring and crackling. She threw it up in the air, where it detonated above their heads with a loud boom.
"So you plan to use her in the assault upon the dwarves?" asked the dark elf knight.
"Naturally, Vingi," said Heimir. "Think on it. She will serve as our champion, in breaching the defences of Nidavellir. A living siege engine, in fact."
"And you believe that she will perform well?" Vingi asked.
"Most certainly," Heimir replied, nodding. "Now, mount up, all of you. We have a battle to conduct."
The dark elves climbed up onto their steeds, Heimir providing a spare horse for Amara, who clambered up without a word. They then turned and rode out from the clearing, in the direction of Nidavellir.
Loki stood before the large tapestry-map that had been hung upon the wall of the council chamber, a long pointer-stick in his hand. He coughed slightly, to bring the crowd assembled in the room to attention.
"Ahem!" he said. "Is everyone who should be here present?"
The various giants, trolls, and dark elves in the room all nodded, their clamoring now over. Four not-particularly-enthusiastic-looking young humans in the front row also nodded, in silence.
"Very good," said Loki. "Now, then, much of what I am going to state here, a great many of you are already familiar with. But, for the benefit of those of you in the audience who are newcomers-" - he glanced at the New Mutants as he spoke - "- I will be engaged in a considerable amount of explaining. I request that those who do know this material be patient with me, while I bring our most recent recruits up to date."
He tapped a portion of the tapestry-map with his stick. "Here is Utgard, where we are now," he said. "And here," he continued, tapping another portion of the map, not too far away, "is the starting-point of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge leading to Asgard. It is the chief avenue to Asgard and the home of the Aesir. It is also the least ideal route of attack, thanks to two reasons. First, the red portion of the rainbow bridge is actually fire so intense as to keep the frost giants at bay. If we had the help of Surtur and his people, we could solve that particular problem, but at present, we do not, so we must find another means of dealing with it.
"The larger reason why Bifrost makes such a poor road for us to take in order to assault Asgard is Heimdall, the watchman of the Aesir. He stands at the other end of Bifrost, a tireless, ever-faithful sentinel, never once deserting his post or letting his gaze wander." He gave a yawn at that point. "In other words, a very boring fellow - and also an extreme nuisance to us, not only because of his eternal vigilance, but because of his skill. His gaze is so keen that not even a flea could approach Bifrost without his being aware of it, and his ears are so sharp that he can hear the grass grow. We can never take him by surprise - and believe me, I have made the attempt before, and failed." His eyes flickered resentfully, before he continued.
"So we must choose a different way in which to approach Asgard than by Bifrost," he said. "That is the reason why all of your past assaults upon Asgard have failed; Bifrost is impregnable. The only way to lay siege to Odin's citadel is to reach its walls by another path."
He looked over the faces of his audience, and nodded. "Yes, you," he said. "The dark elf in the third row. What do you have to say?"
"With all due respect, Loki," said the dark elf, "there is no other means of reaching Asgard. We all know that. Bifrost is the only entrance to it."
"A popular conception, my friend," said Loki, smiling. "Popular, but utterly inaccurate. There is another means of access, although far less well-known."
"Then name it, Loki!" said King Geiroddur of the trolls. "You have kept us waiting long enough!"
"Patience is a virtue that you trolls have yet to achieve, I see," said Loki, glancing in his direction. "But, no matter. Now, there is a second way to reach the walls of Asgard, though one that many of you have not heard of. On the side of Asgard opposite the great gates, to which Bifrost leads, there rolls the great river Kerlaugar. It is a constant churning torrent, half water, half cloud, that separates Asgard from the rest of the world. Odin has few guards posted there, and none that are Heimdall's equal in ability. It is here that we must come up to the citadel's walls."
"The river Kerlaugar, Loki?" cried Utgard-Loki in astonishment. "Have you entirely taken leave of your senses, trickster?"
"Ah, so you know of it, then," said Loki, looking in his direction and nodding approvingly.
"Aye, that I do," said Utgard-Loki. "And one thing that I know concerning it is that Odin knows what he does when he leaves that way unguarded. That river's current is so strong that none of us could ever cross it. Only Thor is able to wade through it and withstand its force. The rest of us cannot."
"True," said Loki. "So this is my plan. We freeze the river solid. Then we can walk across it, straight for the walls of Asgard."
"And how are we to do that?" asked one of Utgard-Loki's captains. "Odin has warded that river against us. Neither our magic nor our chill breath can freeze the Kerlaugar, not as long as it remains under his protection. That is why we cannot pass over that river."
"Again, true," said Loki, nodding. "Odin's arts have rendered the Kerlaugar proof against the might of the frost giants. But only the frost giants. He neglected to protect that river against humans. And we have in our midst the very human who can take full advantage of that mistake on Odin's part. Master Bobby Drake, if you would care to demonstrate?"
Bobby reluctantly stood up, and pointed one hand at the window. A sheet of ice shot out from his finger-tips, extending all the way to the window- sill.
"Thank you," said Loki, in an off-hand manner. He turned back to face the rest of the assembly. "You see?" he said. "We have our means of crossing that river."
"That boy only produced a small shaft of ice," said King Geirrodur of the trolls. "To cross the Kerlaugar, we will need more than that. Much more." The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement.
"True, true," said Loki, nodding. "He is, of course, still young and not at the height of his abilities. But I do have a solution for that as well." He reached into the pouch at his belt, and fumbled about in it until he pulled out what appeared to be a golden medallion at the end of a long golden chain. A fox was engraved upon the medallion's surface, gazing out at the viewer with a sly wink. Loki turned to Bobby, and motioned to him. "Step forward, Master Drake, if you please."
Bobby hesitated. Loki snapped his fingers, and said to him, with all the strictness of an algebra teacher who had just noticed that his students were late in turning in their homework, "I gave you a command, young man. And I expect you to follow it."
Bobby sighed, and walked up to the trickster-god. "Thank you," said Loki. He placed the medallion around Bobby's neck. "Now, if you will kindly repeat your display for us," he said.
The lad pointed his fingers at the window again, as he had done before. This time, the blast of ice from it encased the entire section of the wall that the window was set in, plus that part of the room up to three feet away from it. Bobby staggered back, staring in astonished disbelief at what he had done. Everyone else was staring in amazement as well, except for Loki, who merely nodded in a pleased fashion.
"Thank you, Master Drake," he said. "Very well done."
"What - what is this thing?" Bobby asked. He tried to take the medallion off, but the moment that he touched it, he withdrew his hand at once as if it had been stung.
"An enhancer for your abilities," answered Loki. "I thought that you might find it useful."
"An enhancer?" asked Bobby. "You mean, like those Gems of Cytorrak that the big kids told us about?"
"Well, I have never heard of those particular jewels that you name," said Loki, in an off-hand fashion, "so I cannot comment on that. But, yes, this medallion has tripled your abilities tenfold, so long as you wear it - and you certainly will not be taking it off. Most useful, do you not agree? Which reminds me," he added, glancing over at Roberto, Jubilee, and Ray, "that I'll need to have extras made for you three."
The three young mutants looked distinctly apprehensive upon hearing that particular remark. None of them dared speak up in protest, however. They remained almost dejectedly silent.
"Now, where was I?" said Loki. "Oh, yes. Once we are across the Kerlaugar, we will be at the very walls of Asgard. That will be when we launch our assault. The usual train of siege engines, not to mention our own abilities, and those of our young recruits. Recruits whom I trust are going to be cooperative," he added, looking at the four New Mutants in a meaningful fashion as he spoke. "We will bring down the walls, swarm inside through the breach that we have made, and battle the Aesir hand to hand. Without Thor and his hammer to oppose us, they will barely be able to withstand us, and Asgard will fall to us within a few hours. After which, of course, we can proceed to conquer the rest of the nine worlds, without Odin and his people to interfere."
He stepped back, with a slight bow. "Well, that is my plan," he said proudly. "What do the rest of you think of it?"
"Not bad," said Utgard-Loki, after thinking it over for a moment. "But you had better not let anything befall those four. It does seem that you have made them into the cornerstone of your plan. If they fall out of our hands -"
"They will not," said Loki. "I will keep too close an eye on them for it. Of course, we really ought to do something about their friends, too. We can scarcely have them running about. Fortunately, Heimir has already captured one of them, so that means that we only have three more to worry about."
"One of the others has been captured?" blurted out Bobby in alarm. "Which one?"
"I don't believe that I gave you permission to speak, young man," said Loki, turning and fixing the lad with a very disapproving stare. "But, if you want to know, it was that haughty young princess from - what was the name again? Ah, yes, Nova Roma. Amara was her name, I believe."
"You've got Amara?" Bobby cried.
"That is correct," Loki replied sharply. "But as I told you before, you are overreaching your proper bounds in speaking back to me like that. Do that again, and I will have to take proper disciplinary measures. Such as...." He paused, knitting his brows in thought. "Well, I'll think of something," he said. "Preferably something truly unpleasant."
* * *
King Eitri seated himself at the council table, and looked over the faces of the dwarf lords present. Then he coughed sharply, and spoke.
"My friends, these are troubled times. After many long years of peace, Nidavellir finds itself threatened, by Loki Laufeyson and his forces. Even now, it seems, he is making common cause with the dark elves of Svartalfheim, at the least - and I would not be greatly astonished if I was to learn that he had forged an alliance with the frost giants and the trolls, as well. But even if he has not, the situation as it stands is serious."
"Before we proceed any further, my liege," said one of the clan-lords at the table, "might I ask why you have invited these two young Midgarders to this council?" He was looking closely at Sam and Jamie, who were standing behind King Eitri's throne, both of them looking not quite at home amid this gathering. "Only dwarves are welcome at dwarf-councils."
"That has been the custom for a long while, Jari," said King Eitri, "I will admit. But this is an unusual situation. These boys are the ones who discovered this apparent alliance, and warned us of it. I have asked them to be here for that purpose."
"Ah, yes," said Jari, nodding, a sour look still upon his face. "Those two. There's scarcely a dwarf in Nidavellir who hasn't heard of their coming."
"Indeed," said another dwarf clan-lord. "There's not been this great a stir since the contest between Your Majesty and the sons of Ivaldi over who was the greater smith."
"But surely it takes more than such dubious renown and having been the quarry for dark elves to lead to their invitation to a council," Jari argued.
"That I can agree with you upon," said King Eitri. "But there is indeed more about the two lads here than this. It was they who encountered the dark elves face to face, as none of us have. And it was they who, with their absent companions, met the old man, Ivar Hakonson, whom I suspect and even fear to be truly Loki in disguise. I have bidden them here, so that they may tell their tale to you all." He nodded to Sam. "Speak up, boy, and tell us all."
Sam narrated his story and that of the other New Mutants again, Jamie occasionally putting something in when Sam forgot to mention it. The dwarves listened attentively until the end. At last, Jari spoke.
"So," he said, "it appears that all of this trouble has come about because the dark elves have decided, for reasons best known to themselves, to capture these two youths and hold them prisoner, just as they have already done to at least one of their friends. They are only near Nidavellir because they wish to take the two young Midgarders prisoner."
"That appears to be the way of it, Jari," said Eitri. "But what precisely are you getting at?"
"Only this," said Jari. "I see no reason why we should be risking war with the folk of Svartalfheim for the sake of two outsiders. Why do we not simply surrender them both to the dark elves, for the sake of peace, if the dark elves want them? It would certainly save us a considerable amount of trouble."
A couple of the dwarf-lords at the table nodded eagerly, but others protested, speaking in heated voices. A loud argument broke out at the table, which only came to an end when King Eitri pounded his fist on the table. "Order!" he shouted. "Order!"
When silence fell, he spoke to Jari. "That is the one option that is out of the question," he said grimly. "These two lads may not be of our kind, but still, they are under our roof, and have become our guests. As such, we may not yield them up without breaking the sacred laws of hospitality, and thereby forfeiting all our honor."
"And what would you suggest, King Eitri?" Jari asked. "If the dark elves discover that these two Midgarders are here, it is only a matter of time before they assault us. Then if we do not deliver them up to the dark elves, it will be war. Is this the fate that you will subject us to, my liege? A pointless struggle with the folk of Svartalfheim, over two youths who are not even of our kind?"
"And what would you have us do?" the king asked sternly. "Deliver them up to who knows what fate, at the hands of the dark elves?"
"It is better that they undergo that fate, than we ourselves, and all Nidavellir," said Jari. "Why must we suffer over a struggle that is none of our concern?"
"I beg to differ with you there, Lord Jari," said Hlevang, the Chancellor, speaking up. "If the war that we suspect is about to take place, then we are indeed concerned in it. From these youngsters' story, it would appear that Loki - and I agree with my king that it was most likely him in disguise whom they encountered as Ivor Hakonson - is plotting against Odin himself, intending to topple him from his throne, and usurp the rule of Asgard."
"That is Odin's problem, and the Aesir's, not ours," said Jari, with a shrug. "Let them deal with it."
"If Asgard falls, it will not be the Aesir's problem alone," Hlevang continued. "Asgard is the linch-pin of the nine worlds; if Loki and his allies rule over it, then how long will it be before we ourselves are conquered? And do not think that they will ignore us if we simply lie low and do nothing. We dwarves have a reputation as the finest smiths and armorers of all, and Loki most certainly knows it, especially since he has sought us out in the past when he needed fine craftsmen to assist him. He'll turn his gaze towards us, hoping to find some way of using our services again, and this time not as a customer, but as a master. Indeed, he may well wish to conquer Nidavellir first before he marches on Asgard, both to enlist us in forging weapons of war to use in the assault, and also to deprive Odin of our aid. All that these lads from Midgard have done is to bring us into the struggle a little earlier than might have been the case otherwise. Indeed, they might even have done us a favor, in warning us about it; now we can take precautions against the invasion, when it comes."
"I agree with Hlevang's counsel," said King Eitri, nodding gravely. "Indeed, I believe that we should place the entire dwarf-kingdom on a war footing now." He frowned. "It is a pity," he added, "that we cannot warn Odin of this likely conspiracy against his rule, but we have no means of sending a messenger to Asgard at present. Unless one of the Aesir comes seeking our aid, we must handle this on our own."
"Aye, and it's just like Loki to strike only shortly after Odin banished Thor to Midgard," said a dwarf clan-lord grimly. "Without him or his hammer to help them in the fray, the Aesir are all but sitting ducks. Unless one of these two Midgarder-lads can tell us where to find the Thunderer," he added, looking at Sam and Jamie hopefully.
"Sorry, but we can't help you out there," said Sam at once. "We didn't even know that Thor was in our world before we came here. And anyway, we don't even know how to get back home."
"Then we will have to manage without Thor," said King Eitri. "In the meantime, here is what I command. Have every dwarf of fighting-age ready to take up arms and armor at a moment's notice. Strengthen the watch at every entrance to Nidavellir, and inform our gatekeepers to keep a close eye out for hostile forces. War may indeed be well upon us."
Most of the dwarf-lords nodded at his words, and several of them cried assent eagerly. Jari remained silent, frowning sourly, but said nothing.
"There's still the matter of our friend, Your Majesty," Sam added. "Amara. I mean, if the dark elves have her prisoner -"
"I am afraid that we do not have the means to help you rescue her," said King Eitri. "Until we know more of what the folk of Svartalfheim are planning for us, all that we can do is wait, and prepare for their coming. Which, no doubt, will not be long."
* * *
"So the dwarves have two of our three runaways," said Heimir thoughtfully. "I must admit, I am surprised at this. Who would ever have thought that the earth-folk of Nidavellir would become involved so early in all of this?"
"Loki Laufeyson will be wanting both of those youngsters," said one of the other dark elves. "Which means that we will either have to persuade the dwarves to release them - and we know how stubborn they are - or invade Nidavellir to take them back. And we know what a difficult nut to crack the dwarf-realm is."
"Indeed we do," said Heimir. "But we have no reason to be discouraged. Not when you consider our new weapon."
"New weapon?" asked the dark elf. "And what might it be?"
"The only one of those four Midgarders whom we do have in our custody," Heimir replied, with a smile. He turned his head to look at a small, slight figure, asleep in a corner of the clearing, and snapped his fingers. "My lady Amara, it is time to awaken. We would that you honor us with your presence."
Amara opened her eyes, and then climbed to her feet. She walked in an almost wooden fashion over to Heimir, as though in a trance. "Yes, my lord?" she asked, in a flat, toneless voice.
"This is our weapon, my lord?" asked one of the dark elf knights to Heimir. "A mere child?"
"This maiden is more than that, I assure you," said Heimir. "She was one of the younglings from Midgard gifted with great powers, after all. And even now that she has become one of our kind, she still possesses them." He turned back to Amara. "If you would give us a demonstration?" he asked.
Amara nodded, then raised one hand. A ball of fire appeared in it, roaring and crackling. She threw it up in the air, where it detonated above their heads with a loud boom.
"So you plan to use her in the assault upon the dwarves?" asked the dark elf knight.
"Naturally, Vingi," said Heimir. "Think on it. She will serve as our champion, in breaching the defences of Nidavellir. A living siege engine, in fact."
"And you believe that she will perform well?" Vingi asked.
"Most certainly," Heimir replied, nodding. "Now, mount up, all of you. We have a battle to conduct."
The dark elves climbed up onto their steeds, Heimir providing a spare horse for Amara, who clambered up without a word. They then turned and rode out from the clearing, in the direction of Nidavellir.