15. ANSWERS.
Four young mutants made their way northwards through Jarnvith. Rahne, in wolf-form, led the way, sniffing the air for any sign of potential danger. Amara, Sam, and Jamie all followed her, Amara holding some fire in her hand to serve as a torch and provide them with light. Sam and Jamie were still wearing the dwarf-mail from Nidavellir's armories, though none had been given to either of the girls. Jamie was just raising that point now.
"So why don't Amara and Rahne have to wear this stuff?" he asked. He was still feeling anything but enthusiastic over being burdened with the mail- coat, helmet, and shield that he had to bear.
"Because the dwarves don't know how their mutant powers will affect the armor," said Sam, "and they don't want to take any chances. Rahne's armor might change with her, but we honestly don't know. And they're nervous that if Amara does any flaming while wearing armor - I mean, the really big sort - that the heat that she puts out could melt it."
"But her clothes don't burn up whenever she does it," said Jamie. "Why would the armor be any different?"
"That's what I asked them," said Sam. "And they said that, since the armor doesn't come from Earth, there's no telling how it'll respond to her powers. Besides, if she turns into her fire form, she obviously won't need armor. Any sword or spear would probably melt away before it ever reached her."
"Why couldn't I have gotten to have a cool power like that?" Jamie asked, almost wailing now. "Then I wouldn't have to be carrying this stuff around. I mean, it's so heavy."
"I know," said Sam. "You'd really think that those dwarves would have found some way of making a lightweight version."
"Could you two please speak a little quieter?" said Amara to them just then. "We don't want everyone in this wood to know that we're here. Especially not after what those dwarves said about this place being inhabited, and not everything in this forest is as friendly as Rahne's new boy-friend."
"He is nae my boy-friend!" cried Rahne, shifting back to human form just then, and blushing slightly. "He's just my friend, and nothing more than that!"
"Well, excuse me," said Amara sharply.
"Let's just move on, shall we?" said Sam hurriedly, before the two girls could enter a real argument. "I mean, the sooner that we get through this place, the sooner we can find the Volva."
They headed on through the woods, going ever deeper. The shadows drew closer about them.
* * *
She awakened and lifted her great head, then sniffed the air. What was that smell? She had thought that she knew every odor to be found in the Iron Forest, but the scent that reached her nose was one that she had never encountered before. And yet it was also - inviting.
"Prey," she murmured to herself. "New prey." And with those words, she rose to her feet, and began to make her way out of her den.
* * *
"Well, Hrothmar?" asked Heimir. "Have you seen anything?"
"There is no sign of movement at the gates to Nidavellir," replied the dark elf knight. "The dwarves must have chosen to remain in their underground city, and not stir from it."
"Very wise of them," said Heimir. "They know that they cannot hope to defeat us out in the open. Instead, they hide their heads in their delvings, where they have the advantage."
"And we have lost it, now that the fire-witch has been taken," said Edric. "How now may we breach their defenses?"
"I am still searching for a way," said Heimir sharply. "Have patience with me!"
"All that I will say," commented Edric, "is that you'd do well to recover her, and capture the other Midgarders, before Loki learns of this. For he will not receive the tidings well."
"I have no intent to let Loki learn of this setback," said Heimir. "And you would do well not to inform him behind my back, any of you. In the meantime, we must -". He broke off, as another dark elf joined them. This one wore no armor, but only a tunic, breeches, and mantle, with a dagger at his belt. "Yes, Heming?" asked Heimir, turning to the scout. "What have you to report?"
"There are a group of travellers coming this way," said Heming.
"Travellers?" asked Heimir. "What manner of folk are they? Elves, dwarves, trolls?"
"Midgarders, like the younglings whom we seek, my lord," said Heming. "But they wear strange attire. And one of them is covered with fur, as though he were a great beast from the forest."
"That is strange tidings, indeed," said Heimir. "Still, now that we know of them, we must deal with them at once. How far are they from here?"
"They are still passing through the woods to the west, my lord," said Heimir.
"Excellent," said Heimir. "Then we shall set an ambush for them. I know not whether they have aught to do with the youths whom Loki seeks, but even if they do not, we may still gain much by taking them prisoner. Let us make ready at once."
"And Nidavellir, my lord?" asked Hrothmar. "What of it?"
"King Eitri and his people will have to wait for a while," Heimir replied. "These Midgarders are of greater importance at present. We must find out all that we can about them. Follow me."
* * *
Wolverine motioned to the other X-Men. "Stop," he said. He sniffed the air, scowling as he did so.
"What is it, Wolverine?" Scott asked him.
"I can smell something coming closer," said Logan. "Kind of like people, but with an odd kind of odor to them. I haven't smelled anything like this before. But it doesn't seem friendly at all."
"Why am Ah not surprised?" commented Rogue, in a low voice.
"Do you think that it could have anything to do with the missing students?" Jean asked.
"I don't know, Red," Wolverine replied gruffly. "But whatever it is, I'd say that it's trouble. And we'd better get ready for it."
Even as he spoke, a net suddenly descended from the tree branches upon the nine X-Men. Or, to be more accurate, began to descend. Jean had enough time to slow its fall via her telekinesis for Scott's optic blasts and Wolverine's adamantium claws to quickly dispose of it, reducing it to fragments. "An ambush!" Logan growled.
Even as he spoke, several armored figures broke out from the trees, swords and spears in hand, to attack the mutants. The X-Men formed in a circle, to fight off their assailants.
"So who are these guys?" Kitty asked, phasing through one of the knights before he could strike her down.
"The welcome wagon, I'd say," said Scott, letting out a blast from his eyes that shot the sword from the warrior charging at him out from his hand. "And not a very friendly one, at that."
"You can say that again," said Kurt, teleporting onto a tree branch over his head just as two of the warriors ran at him from opposing directions - with the predictable result of their colliding with one another almost immediately afterwards.
"I must admit that I find this most fascinating," said Beast, throwing a couple of knights off him when they attempted to grapple him, sending them flying into the ones just behind them. "Their garb looks straight out of northern Europe in the 11th century, at the end of the Viking Age. The authenticity is amazing."
"Vikings?" said Evan, pinning another knight to the nearest tree branch by embedding his bone-spikes in the knight's cloak. "If these are Vikings, then where are all the horned helmets?"
"A popular misconception, young man," Beast replied, disposing of another attacker. "Vikings only wore horned helmets for religious ceremonies, never for battle."
"Can we save the history lesson for later, Hank?" asked Wolverine, his claws slicing through a spear-shaft. "I don't think that these guys came here to get an education."
In a couple more minutes, the knights turned and retreated, except for the one who was still pinned by his cloak to the tree trunk. The X-Men surrounded him, as he struggled to free himself.
"All right," said Wolverine, facing him. "Who are you, and why are you after us? We want some answers, bud, and we want 'em now!"
"I will tell you nothing, Midgarders," said the knight in a defiant voice. Now that they had a better look at his face, they could see its almost alien features, the over-large eyes, almost non-existent nose, and pointed chin. "And I demand that you release me at once."
"Oh, we'll let you go, all right," said Wolverine, waving his claws at him. "Once you start answering our questions. And I'm warning you, I can get pretty cranky if you don't cooperate."
The knight looked uneasily at the claws, and then spoke. "My name is Hrothmar, and I am a housecarl from Svartalfheim," he said. "We assumed that you were more Midgarders, like the ones that we were seeking."
"So you've seen others like us here?" asked Scott, moving forward. "What were they like?"
"Four of them, little more than children," said Hrothmar. "My lord Heimir and my companions were instructed to capture them." He looked at them more closely. "You are in league with them, are you not? They are your kinsfolk?"
"Well, kind of," said Scott. "So tell us everything that you can about them."
"I know little," said Hrothmar. "But one is a werewolf, and one a maid who can transform herself into fire, and one a youth who can hurl himself against walls and shatter them, and one a boy who can transform himself into a small crowd."
"Well, that accounts for Rahne, Amara, Sam, and Jamie," said Jean. "But what about the other four?"
"I know of no other four," began Hrothmar. Wolverine snarled slightly, and waved his claws in a threatening way before his face. "No, I do," the knight went on, nervously. "Loki has them."
"Loki?" asked Beast, looking startled. "Are you talking about whom I think you are?"
"I cannot say," said Hrothmar. "Not unless I knew more of what you know."
"What does Loki want with our friends?" Scott asked.
"He wishes to employ them in his cause, to overthrow Odin and seize control of Asgard," said Hrothmar. "I have told you all that you can! Now please, let me go!"
"Not so fast," replied Wolverine. "There's still one thing left. Where did you see those four kids last?"
"Three were in the dwarf-city of Nidavellir to the east, in the mountains, the last that we knew," said Hrothmar. "The werewolf girl fled into the forest of Jarnvith, to the north and east, where we cannot follow her. But whether they are still there or not, I do not know. Now let me go, I implore you! I have told you all that you can!"
Wolverine pulled the bone-spikes out from the tree. "All right, bub," he said. "You can go. But don't let us catch you giving us any more trouble next time, or I'm really not gonna take it well."
The knight hurriedly rushed off into the shadows. The X-Men turned and looked at each other.
It was Beast who spoke first. "Well, if what he told us was true, then the nature of this world is becoming much more apparent," he said. "It seems that Forge's device has transported us into another dimension, where Norse mythology is fact. And it appears, also, that the students have gotten themselves thoroughly involved in its local conflicts."
"Which means that we'd better find them before they get into worse trouble," said Scott. "At least we know where to start looking for four of them."
Storm nodded. "We will need to divide our forces, since they have apparently split up," she said. "Logan, Rogue, Evan, we will go in search of this forest of Jarnvith and see if Rahne is still there. The rest of you, seek out this dwarf-city of Nidavellir, and find out all that you can about the other students. When we have found out all that we can, we will reunite in this forest clearing, and decide our next move."
"Very well, then," said Beast. "And best wishes to you on your search."
The X-Men split into two groups, heading off in their separate directions.
Four young mutants made their way northwards through Jarnvith. Rahne, in wolf-form, led the way, sniffing the air for any sign of potential danger. Amara, Sam, and Jamie all followed her, Amara holding some fire in her hand to serve as a torch and provide them with light. Sam and Jamie were still wearing the dwarf-mail from Nidavellir's armories, though none had been given to either of the girls. Jamie was just raising that point now.
"So why don't Amara and Rahne have to wear this stuff?" he asked. He was still feeling anything but enthusiastic over being burdened with the mail- coat, helmet, and shield that he had to bear.
"Because the dwarves don't know how their mutant powers will affect the armor," said Sam, "and they don't want to take any chances. Rahne's armor might change with her, but we honestly don't know. And they're nervous that if Amara does any flaming while wearing armor - I mean, the really big sort - that the heat that she puts out could melt it."
"But her clothes don't burn up whenever she does it," said Jamie. "Why would the armor be any different?"
"That's what I asked them," said Sam. "And they said that, since the armor doesn't come from Earth, there's no telling how it'll respond to her powers. Besides, if she turns into her fire form, she obviously won't need armor. Any sword or spear would probably melt away before it ever reached her."
"Why couldn't I have gotten to have a cool power like that?" Jamie asked, almost wailing now. "Then I wouldn't have to be carrying this stuff around. I mean, it's so heavy."
"I know," said Sam. "You'd really think that those dwarves would have found some way of making a lightweight version."
"Could you two please speak a little quieter?" said Amara to them just then. "We don't want everyone in this wood to know that we're here. Especially not after what those dwarves said about this place being inhabited, and not everything in this forest is as friendly as Rahne's new boy-friend."
"He is nae my boy-friend!" cried Rahne, shifting back to human form just then, and blushing slightly. "He's just my friend, and nothing more than that!"
"Well, excuse me," said Amara sharply.
"Let's just move on, shall we?" said Sam hurriedly, before the two girls could enter a real argument. "I mean, the sooner that we get through this place, the sooner we can find the Volva."
They headed on through the woods, going ever deeper. The shadows drew closer about them.
* * *
She awakened and lifted her great head, then sniffed the air. What was that smell? She had thought that she knew every odor to be found in the Iron Forest, but the scent that reached her nose was one that she had never encountered before. And yet it was also - inviting.
"Prey," she murmured to herself. "New prey." And with those words, she rose to her feet, and began to make her way out of her den.
* * *
"Well, Hrothmar?" asked Heimir. "Have you seen anything?"
"There is no sign of movement at the gates to Nidavellir," replied the dark elf knight. "The dwarves must have chosen to remain in their underground city, and not stir from it."
"Very wise of them," said Heimir. "They know that they cannot hope to defeat us out in the open. Instead, they hide their heads in their delvings, where they have the advantage."
"And we have lost it, now that the fire-witch has been taken," said Edric. "How now may we breach their defenses?"
"I am still searching for a way," said Heimir sharply. "Have patience with me!"
"All that I will say," commented Edric, "is that you'd do well to recover her, and capture the other Midgarders, before Loki learns of this. For he will not receive the tidings well."
"I have no intent to let Loki learn of this setback," said Heimir. "And you would do well not to inform him behind my back, any of you. In the meantime, we must -". He broke off, as another dark elf joined them. This one wore no armor, but only a tunic, breeches, and mantle, with a dagger at his belt. "Yes, Heming?" asked Heimir, turning to the scout. "What have you to report?"
"There are a group of travellers coming this way," said Heming.
"Travellers?" asked Heimir. "What manner of folk are they? Elves, dwarves, trolls?"
"Midgarders, like the younglings whom we seek, my lord," said Heming. "But they wear strange attire. And one of them is covered with fur, as though he were a great beast from the forest."
"That is strange tidings, indeed," said Heimir. "Still, now that we know of them, we must deal with them at once. How far are they from here?"
"They are still passing through the woods to the west, my lord," said Heimir.
"Excellent," said Heimir. "Then we shall set an ambush for them. I know not whether they have aught to do with the youths whom Loki seeks, but even if they do not, we may still gain much by taking them prisoner. Let us make ready at once."
"And Nidavellir, my lord?" asked Hrothmar. "What of it?"
"King Eitri and his people will have to wait for a while," Heimir replied. "These Midgarders are of greater importance at present. We must find out all that we can about them. Follow me."
* * *
Wolverine motioned to the other X-Men. "Stop," he said. He sniffed the air, scowling as he did so.
"What is it, Wolverine?" Scott asked him.
"I can smell something coming closer," said Logan. "Kind of like people, but with an odd kind of odor to them. I haven't smelled anything like this before. But it doesn't seem friendly at all."
"Why am Ah not surprised?" commented Rogue, in a low voice.
"Do you think that it could have anything to do with the missing students?" Jean asked.
"I don't know, Red," Wolverine replied gruffly. "But whatever it is, I'd say that it's trouble. And we'd better get ready for it."
Even as he spoke, a net suddenly descended from the tree branches upon the nine X-Men. Or, to be more accurate, began to descend. Jean had enough time to slow its fall via her telekinesis for Scott's optic blasts and Wolverine's adamantium claws to quickly dispose of it, reducing it to fragments. "An ambush!" Logan growled.
Even as he spoke, several armored figures broke out from the trees, swords and spears in hand, to attack the mutants. The X-Men formed in a circle, to fight off their assailants.
"So who are these guys?" Kitty asked, phasing through one of the knights before he could strike her down.
"The welcome wagon, I'd say," said Scott, letting out a blast from his eyes that shot the sword from the warrior charging at him out from his hand. "And not a very friendly one, at that."
"You can say that again," said Kurt, teleporting onto a tree branch over his head just as two of the warriors ran at him from opposing directions - with the predictable result of their colliding with one another almost immediately afterwards.
"I must admit that I find this most fascinating," said Beast, throwing a couple of knights off him when they attempted to grapple him, sending them flying into the ones just behind them. "Their garb looks straight out of northern Europe in the 11th century, at the end of the Viking Age. The authenticity is amazing."
"Vikings?" said Evan, pinning another knight to the nearest tree branch by embedding his bone-spikes in the knight's cloak. "If these are Vikings, then where are all the horned helmets?"
"A popular misconception, young man," Beast replied, disposing of another attacker. "Vikings only wore horned helmets for religious ceremonies, never for battle."
"Can we save the history lesson for later, Hank?" asked Wolverine, his claws slicing through a spear-shaft. "I don't think that these guys came here to get an education."
In a couple more minutes, the knights turned and retreated, except for the one who was still pinned by his cloak to the tree trunk. The X-Men surrounded him, as he struggled to free himself.
"All right," said Wolverine, facing him. "Who are you, and why are you after us? We want some answers, bud, and we want 'em now!"
"I will tell you nothing, Midgarders," said the knight in a defiant voice. Now that they had a better look at his face, they could see its almost alien features, the over-large eyes, almost non-existent nose, and pointed chin. "And I demand that you release me at once."
"Oh, we'll let you go, all right," said Wolverine, waving his claws at him. "Once you start answering our questions. And I'm warning you, I can get pretty cranky if you don't cooperate."
The knight looked uneasily at the claws, and then spoke. "My name is Hrothmar, and I am a housecarl from Svartalfheim," he said. "We assumed that you were more Midgarders, like the ones that we were seeking."
"So you've seen others like us here?" asked Scott, moving forward. "What were they like?"
"Four of them, little more than children," said Hrothmar. "My lord Heimir and my companions were instructed to capture them." He looked at them more closely. "You are in league with them, are you not? They are your kinsfolk?"
"Well, kind of," said Scott. "So tell us everything that you can about them."
"I know little," said Hrothmar. "But one is a werewolf, and one a maid who can transform herself into fire, and one a youth who can hurl himself against walls and shatter them, and one a boy who can transform himself into a small crowd."
"Well, that accounts for Rahne, Amara, Sam, and Jamie," said Jean. "But what about the other four?"
"I know of no other four," began Hrothmar. Wolverine snarled slightly, and waved his claws in a threatening way before his face. "No, I do," the knight went on, nervously. "Loki has them."
"Loki?" asked Beast, looking startled. "Are you talking about whom I think you are?"
"I cannot say," said Hrothmar. "Not unless I knew more of what you know."
"What does Loki want with our friends?" Scott asked.
"He wishes to employ them in his cause, to overthrow Odin and seize control of Asgard," said Hrothmar. "I have told you all that you can! Now please, let me go!"
"Not so fast," replied Wolverine. "There's still one thing left. Where did you see those four kids last?"
"Three were in the dwarf-city of Nidavellir to the east, in the mountains, the last that we knew," said Hrothmar. "The werewolf girl fled into the forest of Jarnvith, to the north and east, where we cannot follow her. But whether they are still there or not, I do not know. Now let me go, I implore you! I have told you all that you can!"
Wolverine pulled the bone-spikes out from the tree. "All right, bub," he said. "You can go. But don't let us catch you giving us any more trouble next time, or I'm really not gonna take it well."
The knight hurriedly rushed off into the shadows. The X-Men turned and looked at each other.
It was Beast who spoke first. "Well, if what he told us was true, then the nature of this world is becoming much more apparent," he said. "It seems that Forge's device has transported us into another dimension, where Norse mythology is fact. And it appears, also, that the students have gotten themselves thoroughly involved in its local conflicts."
"Which means that we'd better find them before they get into worse trouble," said Scott. "At least we know where to start looking for four of them."
Storm nodded. "We will need to divide our forces, since they have apparently split up," she said. "Logan, Rogue, Evan, we will go in search of this forest of Jarnvith and see if Rahne is still there. The rest of you, seek out this dwarf-city of Nidavellir, and find out all that you can about the other students. When we have found out all that we can, we will reunite in this forest clearing, and decide our next move."
"Very well, then," said Beast. "And best wishes to you on your search."
The X-Men split into two groups, heading off in their separate directions.