Chapter 3 Hero Time / Perspective: Robert Niles/ Mead Hall 5:00 P.M Day 2
We arrived at the mead hall in style. Fargor and Balthar both had their weapons unsheathed and were ready to protect me from anything. Apparently they were just doing this to imitate drunk goblins. I honestly didn't think those even existed. Well, safe to say that this time period is really odd. While I was fighting my own thoughts, the twin brothers were fighting over who had the better sword. Usually I'm the type of guy who would just let it happen, however; I felt myself being pulled towards them to try and break up the fight. You seriously are a wimp man. I mean...stop standing on the sidelines, please? Brain, I have no idea why you are calling me a wimp and then you expect me to stop standing on the sidelines after your insult? Well...I'm sorry, look just get back to them before I decide to put the replacement in again. WAIT YOU DID THAT? Duh...How else did you pass out...It wasn't the mead. Oh... Okay let me control myself now.
I headed over and decided to break up the fight. I yelled, "HOLD IT GUYS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" They both shrunk back at my voice. Do I really have a assertive voice? Man I need to use this more often back at home.
"We're deciding on what sword is better for our adventure...T-that's all," said Jaesen in a frightened tone. "Yeah t-that's what we want to do. You see we have four swords. We have the legendary Exerstor Sword; this blade sent many giants in a fiery blaze. Legend has it that it can turn anything in flames just by touching its flesh. The other three blades are from the village of Asroth. This village sells swords by the dozen, however; these swords came from exotic dealers that specialize in enchanted swords. The three here represent the three gems of Rothgard. The first one is Diamond Wrath. As you can tell, it's made of a rough diamond that's found out in the mountains over there." He points to the same mountain as Balthar did... Is that a coincidence? "It's called the Diamond Wrath because it can create a field that no one has ever seen before because no one has ever been able to tap into its magical shield..." They point at what seems to be a orb that surrounds the swords grip.
"Wait hand me the sword for a second. I have an idea on how to get the orb away," I stated in a firm tone. They handed over the magnificent sword to me. I felt some force that was drawn to me. I decided to perform the only protocol that could remove this 'shield'. SECOND HALF WAKE UP. Okay what do you want? Run Protocol twenty-nine dot fifty-seven hundred. You got it 'boss'. Why does this brain taunt me?
As I launched the protocol spell at the sword, it started to glow and then it what felt like a eternity; the orb was broken and allowed me to reach for its center piece. I never realized how breathtaking this sword looked. They were right about the sword being made of a rough diamond, but it was sharpened to the extent of being like a butcher's knife. At the grip of the sword was a button that had something engraved on it. I tried to pronounce it but it seemed such a native language to me. On this button the phrase "Dýrð og heiður." was shaped. I pressed it and I was startled by what happened.
The sword was glowing with a light blue aura. As I pointed it at a table, it shot out the strange aura. The table was turned into a pile of ashes. This sword is AWESOME. WELL ARE YOU GOING TO ASK THEM TO KEEP IT? Brain, For once you are actually a necessity. Congratulations! Shut up and go ask them about the sword. Fine...have it your way. I walked over to them and asked,
"Can I keep this sword? It seems that I'm drawn to it like some sort of element. I feel all the emotions and the history of this sword and what was killed by it. I even feel...a sudden relationship between the men who have held this sword in their grasp." I looked over to them with a 'I'm Serious Here' look on my face. They responded in unison, "S-Sure you can have the sword, but what about these other two?" I replied, "Just feel for the sword and put your emotions into it. It may break the spell barrier." They did this and the orbs around those broke as well. They were astounded and went outside to test these magnificent works of art. Balthar, now looking at his pathetic battle axe, looked over to me and said, "I think we should go get them in about an hour. Right now we should -" That's all he could say before the King entered the room. We kneeled in unison and waited for him to allow us to speak on our behalf.
"Rise my heroes. Let us talk about this 'quest'. I need you and your crew to head out to the mountain of Zagroth. There lies a certain scroll that I must acquire. It has the power to give man knowledge that we may never be able to tap into unless we get the scrolls. To get to this mountain you must follow the trail of Demons. This path seems unscathed for the most part; however, it has a strange aura to it. Only one person returned from this path and told the story. He said to us that it was occupied by a certain species that was never known to this land. Good luck my fellow heroes. You will need it." Both of us were stunned at this decree. We responded in unison, "Thank you my King. We must tell the other two about this quest." As Balthar was leaving, I turned back to the King and asked him, "My Leader, I needed to ask you about your identity. Are you just referred to as the King or do you have a identity that you conceal for the better of the village?"
He responds in a coarse tone, "I do have a identity, but I keep it safeguarded due to the last adventure I took part in. I felt that if my identity went about the village, that I could be overthrown with ease. That is why I can't tell you what my name is. They just refer to me as the King."
"Thank you my King. I also want to ask you about this quest. What reward are we going to receive for accomplishing this quest?"
He firmly states, "The reward will be paid in full. As Norsemen, we possess large amounts of gold and fine jewelry. I will give you as much gold as you can crave for and I will also give you any necessities you need that you will lose in the battles ahead." What battles was he talking about? Then the firm realization of the trail hit me like a brick. The Trail of Demons was the place where many men and women died by disease or by alleged demons that feasted on their bodies. I'm glad I paid attention in mythology class. Well at least I didn't sleep on the first day of school. Brain seriously? What is your problem with me today? I have no problem with you...I hate when you act stupid to others though. Hey I know I act like a toddler from time to time, but that doesn't make me a stupid person. Yeah well I should start calling you Robert the Toddler. It seems fitting for how you- Shut it brain I had enough of your silly talk. I overrode his code finally to give his half to me for a certain extent of time. I should've done this years ago.
I thanked him for answering my questions and I wanted to go outside to get some fresh air. As I walked outside, Fargor noticed me and followed me outside. It felt good to have some company outside. Together we walked in silence, until Fargor stopped the silence. With a odd demeanor, he says, "So how was your world like? I mean to us your a gift from Odin, but I feel this is much more."
"Well I'm glad you asked this Fargor. Well to start off, my world had a lot of more advanced weaponry and it was more...civilized."
"What does that mean?"
"Being civilized means that in our society, we follow a set of guidelines made by the people and not by a King. We do, however; have people who represent for us so that we can get what we want for our country. Being civilized also means that we behave in a polite manner and in a more likely state."
"So you're like Balthar then?"
I was puzzled by this response. Balthar does seem to have a polished mind and a strong heart for his crew. He also acts with a calm demeanor and has a vast sea of vocabulary and knowledge.
"I guess you could say so. Did he fall from the sky like I did?" I responded, chuckling at the idea.
"No but he did come from a different land and still behaves like them."
"Where did he come from?"
"He came from the land where many are scholarly and uptight about certain issues. I met him at his home there and he gladly took me in. We talked and he felt that I was kindhearted and needed someone to go home to. So he packed up his items and sailed with me to my homeland. Now he thinks of it as his, even though he still isn't like any of us at all."
"I had a feeling he was like that. When he mentioned the word Christian, I felt that he was from Greece. When he shrunk back when I criticized him, I felt a sense of loss and confusion from him. I wondered why he didn't counter my statements but I can now put two and two together."
"Well I'm glad you can do that because we need someone who can do that in this group other than me."
We both laughed at this. I'm glad I see another side of Fargor than a giddy version of him. He's very intelligent and I hope that this quest won't harm our relationship as friends.
We continued walking and talking about my world and how it differed to this time period. It seemed that he understood everything despite it not being his native tongue. I should stop under estimating this group of Norsemen...they seem to be more civil than the books depicted them to be. I'm back. I wonder why you shut me off? WELL? Glad your back. I'll tell you about it later. Right now I need to ask the King where I will sleep. I can't use the bed they put me in last time right?
I approached the King's throne and kneeled in front of the King.
"Hero Rise. What is wrong Robert?"
That's the first time he mentioned me by my name.
"Well I needed to ask about where I will be residing for the night."
"You can have the bed that you unfortunately collapsed on..." The King stated.
"Thank you for the offer, but won't I be impeding on whoever owned the room?"
"Robert, the person who owned that room has been dead for fifteen years."
That statement broke me. The look on my face was apparently priceless.
"My Men, I think Robert shifted into another trance again."
The rest of the men laughed and tried to snap me out of my trance. In a flash, I returned to normal and said, "Sorry about that. It happens every so often. Who owned the room before me?"
"It was my queen, my wife, my serenity. She passed after the Giant who came in here took her and bit her head off. I miss her a lot but I have a lot more women that are lining up to seduce me."
That hit me like a capital one airline. What the heck? These people have more than one wife just like the Mormons do? Well at least they don't have two halves of one brain... Wow your late to the party aren't you? It's better to be late than never. Yeah whatever brain. Look I need to get some sleep so let's go to the room and rest. Why are you telling me this if you can control it yourself? Because if I didn't you probably think of a override code and shut me down in a instant. You know me too well... Yeah, I guess I do.
"Well my King, I am going to go to the room and go to sleep. My crew and I have a big day tomorrow and we need our energy. Thank you for your hospitality."
"The pleasure is mine, Robert."
As we head to bed, Balthar came into my room and asked this question: "What happened with you and Fargor?"
"We talked about my world and how it differs from this one. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering... I felt a strange disturbance from Odin that I was the topic of discussion."
"Well I'll be honest with you, We did talk about you but it wasn't anything against you. Do not fray."
"At least you're honest unlike the rest of them here. Here take this as a token of my gratitude."
"What is this?" I asked in surprise.
"It's a tomahawk. As you can see it has a sharp blade on the top and it cuts threw flesh like a axe. I feel this will be useful on our trip."
"Thank you for this gift. Good Night Balthar."
"Good Night Robert."
As he departed, I drifted off to sleep.