============================= CHAPTER VII =============================
The mist went away. I was standing in a magnificent hall of a solid gold building. Around me hundreds of men sat and drank from tankards along tables. Tall blondes with braids and wings stood around the many iron tables with large pitchers. A few more stood up on a beam about twenty feet above the tables, their eyes closed as if meditating.
Me and Christopher stood alone. The others sat in high chairs on a raised platform, except Tyr who was a few feet ahead of us.
"Follow me those of our battle." His eyes became thoughtful. "I think it might find better if you look not anyone in the eye. They might think you are offering a battle." Just after he said that two men with ridiculously long beards jumped up on the table, one grasping a spear while the other grasped a small ax. They lunged and started to swing and twirl, stabbing and swing. One's arm was sliced in half, the other had a spare go through his shoulder. The battle lasted a few minutes before the one with the spear keeled to the side, clutching his stomach, screaming softly, a black blob bubbling with blood protruded through his hands. The winner danced up and down, cheering loudly. He accidentally knocked over the mead a man was drinking. The man stood and slung his sword through the mans chest. A few people chuckled and cheered. Many others just continued to talk and drink. This didn't seem like bliss to me.
Tyr led us to a small table that was free of any others. "This is the table of the Flreinys. They are the newcomers of the warriors of Valhalla. It has been days since a Flreiny has graced us. The Valkyries have been laboring to find a warrior who shall grace our presence. We shall sit here." Tyr sat down on the long stone bench. Huge cushions sat their and small backings were set up to rest on.
"Hlathguth! Aye, Hlathguth!" called Tyr. A tall Valkyrie wearing armor and a bright ruby necklace fluttered, yes fluttered, over to our table. "Mead if you might be soest kind Hlathguth." The Valkyrie bowed deeply and pulled a pitcher from mid-air, pouring mead into tankards that only appeared after the liquid had been poured. Tyr took a deep swig of his with his left hand, naturally considering he had no right.
I glanced over at Christopher he had been very quiet this whole trip. He was now chugging the mead like he hadn't had a drink in months. "Are you sure this is the best time to be doing that?" I asked. It sounded like a more David thing to say. I usually had no objection to people drinking, but since it was just him and me and about a million drunken Vikings, I rather he be normal.
"Are you kidding? We just rode across the clouds, witnessed what easily could have been a god-slaughter-fun-hour, and now I am about to go out and face the freaking Nazi's pricks and your saying this isn't a good time to get inebriated? Your crazy, besides it's bang-up brew."
"Did you just say inebriated?" I said vapidly. He gave me a cheesy sardonic smile and chugged the mead. I picked my own tankard. The stuff looked normal enough. Knowing Vikings, it was probably 90% alcohol. It didn't smell too bad. In fact it smelled good. I took a small sip that turned into a deep glug. It was as Christopher called it, "bang up brew." It was delicious. I kept drinking, and the glass kept refilling itself. It tasted very sweet, completely unlike the stuff we had received when we first met the Vikings. That was bitter and like sour metal in a drink. But this was sweet, like Pepsi, or some other soft drink.
"Man, if I to choose what to take on our...err hem...journeys, I would take this stuff." Chris took another deep glug, a listened to the crescendo slosh in his tankard as it filled slowly.
"Yeah, maybe. But I don't think that being drunk of our asses during the final bout. I think we should just go with good old water."
"Nay," said Tyr loudly, somewhat red in the face. "Drunken is what you shall not be, if you wish not to be. This is blessed mead. Made by the Valkyries themselves and blessed by the very same. If one wishes to be given to drink, than one shall be."
"Good!" yelled Christopher. He took another drink. Made sense. Especially to the fact that I wasn't intoxicated after about twenty drinks. I had been expecting the buzz, but condemning it. Made sense that it didn't come.
I guess eventually I gave into the wanting of drunkenness, but it wasn't the kind that you get from Vodka and Juice. I was normal, but very happy and copious. It was fun watching the Valkyries flutter from table to table filling tankards. I didn't know why they would go from table to table if there was no need to do any refilling. It was even fun to watch the men pounce on the tables and slash at eachother. Their bodies would dissapear
After about an the Valkyries flew over the tables. Humongous silver platters appeared on the table. The Valkyries all joined eachother on the top beam. In seconds flat food blossomed from the plate into large piles. Plates and, odd misshapen forks, and knives now sat next to the plates. It was hard to make sense of it. The mead had gone to my head. I was now a bubbling slob. Waving my hand in front of my face gave my great pleasure. as did eating way more than my share of food. I barely had to reach. It just seemed to appear on my plate.
After the food disappeared I was more aware. I was able to think again. But I didn't want to. I wanted to leave. I was getting bored with this place. Fighting. That was what the fighting was for. Tyr had already challenged three people, and skewered them all. It must be hard buisness sitting in the same room day in day out must penned up frustration. Killing someone or being killed must get your mind off things.
I was getting frustrated. The sickly-sweet smell of mead mixed with the pungent musty smell of sweat was irritating my nose. I wanted to scream. Christopher looked the same. He looked angry and was now glugging mead like it was the only thing sustaining his life. It made me sick to think of. I was getting more and more annoyed.
"Time to go young ones!" called Tyr. Just in time. Christopher put down his tankard with a very angered look. No mist, just walking. Odin no longer sat at the tall chair, nor did Freya, Thor, Frey or Aegir. Tyr walked us through the giant golden doors and back out into the clouds of Asgard.
It made me think of that old fantasy show on TV-Land where the angel would bring the people up into the clouds to meet Saint Peter. But this was different. Beautifully crafted sculptures and buildings sat all around.
"Man, I lost my buzz. Now I am sad." called Christopher into my ear. He looked royally pissed. The cloudy mist around seemed to only hang in certain places. Very odd at first. Every now and than Christopher would trot ahead to gawk at a passing by woman. He would also stare at me and mouth a few thing, like he was trying to say something, but couldn't.
We continued down to Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. A silver castle loomed in the distance. My mind started to wander to who knows where, for the next time I looked straight we were standing in front of a large stone castle (a lot like Loki's) surrounded by soldiers like those of Valhalla. Along the wall farthest right stood the carriage with the cats, the two in back pawed the ground nervously.
"Wait, weren't we just in the clouds?" yelled Christopher. I guess not only my mind had been wandering. "I think the mead is kicking in again."
"Nay, young sir of the battle," called Tyr from far in front of us. "We stand before the Castle of Od, in the land of Folkvang. Seidr has brought you here." Christopher pushed towards me.
"Is it just me or do they keep talking about cider, If so, what kind! Spiced Cider, Apple Cider, Hard Cider. Hell, I'll take it all if someone would just explain what the hell is going on," yelled Christopher.
"We are to meet Freya to arrange the plans. We have located the enemy and have gathered forces. It is time to take flight to the dwarves, our strongest ally, and make those er...firearms." Merlin had been talking to these guys. "It is time that we set up the battlefield where we shall meet the warriors." He gave us a huge smile. The kind of smile you only get on your face when your about to shoot your first glass bottle with a .22 Magnum.
"Wait, wait...wait. We are going to our third meeting in twenty-four hours. Man this isn't what I signed up for!" yelled Chris. I agreed. This was getting tiresome. We were the hub of there plans. You know, for people who conquered so many lands and sent so many men to their knees, you would think they could kill a few Sennites by themselves. But of course, futuristic weapons were our expertise. But still, David was into this whole Command and Conquer thing, not me.
Tyr said nothing. He just laughed. Laughed harder than I have ever heard anyone laugh. He laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke ever heard. "Twenty four hours? A-ha-ha-ha-ha ha ha-ha-hah! You were not in Valhalla for merely a few hours. Time in Valhalla passes in day!" My stomach fell. That was not good. Who knows what might have happened to the others. They might be dead by now. We should have been with the dwarves by now.
I tried to speak, but it came out as a meek scream. This was not good.
The mist went away. I was standing in a magnificent hall of a solid gold building. Around me hundreds of men sat and drank from tankards along tables. Tall blondes with braids and wings stood around the many iron tables with large pitchers. A few more stood up on a beam about twenty feet above the tables, their eyes closed as if meditating.
Me and Christopher stood alone. The others sat in high chairs on a raised platform, except Tyr who was a few feet ahead of us.
"Follow me those of our battle." His eyes became thoughtful. "I think it might find better if you look not anyone in the eye. They might think you are offering a battle." Just after he said that two men with ridiculously long beards jumped up on the table, one grasping a spear while the other grasped a small ax. They lunged and started to swing and twirl, stabbing and swing. One's arm was sliced in half, the other had a spare go through his shoulder. The battle lasted a few minutes before the one with the spear keeled to the side, clutching his stomach, screaming softly, a black blob bubbling with blood protruded through his hands. The winner danced up and down, cheering loudly. He accidentally knocked over the mead a man was drinking. The man stood and slung his sword through the mans chest. A few people chuckled and cheered. Many others just continued to talk and drink. This didn't seem like bliss to me.
Tyr led us to a small table that was free of any others. "This is the table of the Flreinys. They are the newcomers of the warriors of Valhalla. It has been days since a Flreiny has graced us. The Valkyries have been laboring to find a warrior who shall grace our presence. We shall sit here." Tyr sat down on the long stone bench. Huge cushions sat their and small backings were set up to rest on.
"Hlathguth! Aye, Hlathguth!" called Tyr. A tall Valkyrie wearing armor and a bright ruby necklace fluttered, yes fluttered, over to our table. "Mead if you might be soest kind Hlathguth." The Valkyrie bowed deeply and pulled a pitcher from mid-air, pouring mead into tankards that only appeared after the liquid had been poured. Tyr took a deep swig of his with his left hand, naturally considering he had no right.
I glanced over at Christopher he had been very quiet this whole trip. He was now chugging the mead like he hadn't had a drink in months. "Are you sure this is the best time to be doing that?" I asked. It sounded like a more David thing to say. I usually had no objection to people drinking, but since it was just him and me and about a million drunken Vikings, I rather he be normal.
"Are you kidding? We just rode across the clouds, witnessed what easily could have been a god-slaughter-fun-hour, and now I am about to go out and face the freaking Nazi's pricks and your saying this isn't a good time to get inebriated? Your crazy, besides it's bang-up brew."
"Did you just say inebriated?" I said vapidly. He gave me a cheesy sardonic smile and chugged the mead. I picked my own tankard. The stuff looked normal enough. Knowing Vikings, it was probably 90% alcohol. It didn't smell too bad. In fact it smelled good. I took a small sip that turned into a deep glug. It was as Christopher called it, "bang up brew." It was delicious. I kept drinking, and the glass kept refilling itself. It tasted very sweet, completely unlike the stuff we had received when we first met the Vikings. That was bitter and like sour metal in a drink. But this was sweet, like Pepsi, or some other soft drink.
"Man, if I to choose what to take on our...err hem...journeys, I would take this stuff." Chris took another deep glug, a listened to the crescendo slosh in his tankard as it filled slowly.
"Yeah, maybe. But I don't think that being drunk of our asses during the final bout. I think we should just go with good old water."
"Nay," said Tyr loudly, somewhat red in the face. "Drunken is what you shall not be, if you wish not to be. This is blessed mead. Made by the Valkyries themselves and blessed by the very same. If one wishes to be given to drink, than one shall be."
"Good!" yelled Christopher. He took another drink. Made sense. Especially to the fact that I wasn't intoxicated after about twenty drinks. I had been expecting the buzz, but condemning it. Made sense that it didn't come.
I guess eventually I gave into the wanting of drunkenness, but it wasn't the kind that you get from Vodka and Juice. I was normal, but very happy and copious. It was fun watching the Valkyries flutter from table to table filling tankards. I didn't know why they would go from table to table if there was no need to do any refilling. It was even fun to watch the men pounce on the tables and slash at eachother. Their bodies would dissapear
After about an the Valkyries flew over the tables. Humongous silver platters appeared on the table. The Valkyries all joined eachother on the top beam. In seconds flat food blossomed from the plate into large piles. Plates and, odd misshapen forks, and knives now sat next to the plates. It was hard to make sense of it. The mead had gone to my head. I was now a bubbling slob. Waving my hand in front of my face gave my great pleasure. as did eating way more than my share of food. I barely had to reach. It just seemed to appear on my plate.
After the food disappeared I was more aware. I was able to think again. But I didn't want to. I wanted to leave. I was getting bored with this place. Fighting. That was what the fighting was for. Tyr had already challenged three people, and skewered them all. It must be hard buisness sitting in the same room day in day out must penned up frustration. Killing someone or being killed must get your mind off things.
I was getting frustrated. The sickly-sweet smell of mead mixed with the pungent musty smell of sweat was irritating my nose. I wanted to scream. Christopher looked the same. He looked angry and was now glugging mead like it was the only thing sustaining his life. It made me sick to think of. I was getting more and more annoyed.
"Time to go young ones!" called Tyr. Just in time. Christopher put down his tankard with a very angered look. No mist, just walking. Odin no longer sat at the tall chair, nor did Freya, Thor, Frey or Aegir. Tyr walked us through the giant golden doors and back out into the clouds of Asgard.
It made me think of that old fantasy show on TV-Land where the angel would bring the people up into the clouds to meet Saint Peter. But this was different. Beautifully crafted sculptures and buildings sat all around.
"Man, I lost my buzz. Now I am sad." called Christopher into my ear. He looked royally pissed. The cloudy mist around seemed to only hang in certain places. Very odd at first. Every now and than Christopher would trot ahead to gawk at a passing by woman. He would also stare at me and mouth a few thing, like he was trying to say something, but couldn't.
We continued down to Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. A silver castle loomed in the distance. My mind started to wander to who knows where, for the next time I looked straight we were standing in front of a large stone castle (a lot like Loki's) surrounded by soldiers like those of Valhalla. Along the wall farthest right stood the carriage with the cats, the two in back pawed the ground nervously.
"Wait, weren't we just in the clouds?" yelled Christopher. I guess not only my mind had been wandering. "I think the mead is kicking in again."
"Nay, young sir of the battle," called Tyr from far in front of us. "We stand before the Castle of Od, in the land of Folkvang. Seidr has brought you here." Christopher pushed towards me.
"Is it just me or do they keep talking about cider, If so, what kind! Spiced Cider, Apple Cider, Hard Cider. Hell, I'll take it all if someone would just explain what the hell is going on," yelled Christopher.
"We are to meet Freya to arrange the plans. We have located the enemy and have gathered forces. It is time to take flight to the dwarves, our strongest ally, and make those er...firearms." Merlin had been talking to these guys. "It is time that we set up the battlefield where we shall meet the warriors." He gave us a huge smile. The kind of smile you only get on your face when your about to shoot your first glass bottle with a .22 Magnum.
"Wait, wait...wait. We are going to our third meeting in twenty-four hours. Man this isn't what I signed up for!" yelled Chris. I agreed. This was getting tiresome. We were the hub of there plans. You know, for people who conquered so many lands and sent so many men to their knees, you would think they could kill a few Sennites by themselves. But of course, futuristic weapons were our expertise. But still, David was into this whole Command and Conquer thing, not me.
Tyr said nothing. He just laughed. Laughed harder than I have ever heard anyone laugh. He laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke ever heard. "Twenty four hours? A-ha-ha-ha-ha ha ha-ha-hah! You were not in Valhalla for merely a few hours. Time in Valhalla passes in day!" My stomach fell. That was not good. Who knows what might have happened to the others. They might be dead by now. We should have been with the dwarves by now.
I tried to speak, but it came out as a meek scream. This was not good.
