Silver and Scales
Chapter Five: Madness
The sun was ready to set upon Asgard when Thor entered the feast hall, enraged. What had transpired between he and Odin All-Father had set his temper ablaze. Vyperia and Loki had disappeared from the hall by the time that the god of thunder stormed through the empty silence. His fury bottled and boiled in his blood; and after several minutes of trying to contain it, Thor took the underside of the table in a death grip—
With a powerful, furious cry of frustration, Thor upturned the entire table; from each corner flew every dish that had been perfectly organized by the hand-maidens of the palace. Silver goblets spat out glistening, bubbling wine; plates shattered under the weight and velocity of the upturned foundation; and the legs of the entire table flew up simultaneously by the power of Thor's strength. Thor's face reddened, a contemptuous rage filling the finest features of his beautiful cheeks as he thundered in his frustration of the foolish idling of his father.
This had been act of war, the Jotuns entering Asgard to steal back what had been theirs. Ill-rightfully theirs. With the Casket of Ancient Winters, they could unleash a whole new ice age as they had done upon Midgard when the world was made by their ancestors. Balance was a necessity; and they had broken the balance by intruding upon a safe barrier of Thor's people and the agreement that had been forged between Laufey and Odin. While Odin had calmly dismissed the matter—as the trouble had been contained and there were minor casualties—Thor reveled, still, in his belief that Laufey had intentionally destroyed the truce between the two realms. While Odin believed that the three Frost Giants had been acting on their own accord—mere rebels who had been terminated at the climax of their plight—Thor disagreed.
Thor panted in unimaginable frustration. With all his strength, he could do nothing but destroy materialistic things, seeing his father's face on each glass and plate.
Unable to do much more than to upturn the establishment, Thor relinquished his battle upon the materialistic field to sit down upon the stairs behind him. He didn't calm down. His entire being shook with anger.
As the room fell quiet with only his breath heavy in the air, light footsteps approached him from behind. Although they were quiet foot falls, Thor sensed the body striding calmly behind him; and he looked up to see who exactly was attempting to comfort him through his raw temper tantrum.
His blue eyes fell upon the quiet contemplation gaze of his brother, Loki, who said not a word as he quietly sat down beside Thor on the stairs. Thor's teeth clenched. His anger was not to be trifled with, though he believed that his brother would somehow poke and prod at his rage—as was Loki's habitual custom.
However, when Loki said nothing, Thor uttered a shaking breath.
"It is unwise," said Thor in a low but rattled voice, "to be in my company right now, brother."
"Who said that I was ever wise?" Loki returned calmly.
Thor glanced at him through the corners of his vision.
"This," Thor sighed, indicating the empty hall with loss, "was to be my day of triumph."
Loki nodded.
"It will come...in time."
Thor looked up to see Vyperia rounding the corner of the entrance, appearing slightly dismayed as she saw the result of Thor's temper tantrum. She side-stepped the fallen plates and shattered goblets. While she had been robed in an attire of a goddess, she now had taken a more persona that was closer to her personality: she was dressed in a green and white warrior's uniform. Loki swiftly examined her appearance as a Midgardian would look upon his wife after she dressed down from a beautiful evening gown to a comfortable pair of slacks and relaxed blouse: beautiful but more down to earth.
Behind her back, she had donned her weapon of choice: A bow and a quiver of arrows—arrows, Loki assumed—that were tipped with the poison from her tongue.
Vyperia merely nodded at Loki and Thor quietly, desiring to not interrupt their moment. She made a gesture of one who would not intervene in their discussion but to walk through the trashed hall only to accompany them.
Loki turned to Thor.
"If it is any consolation," he admitted, "I think that you're right: about the Frost Giants, about Laufey...about everything. If a few of them could penetrate the defenses of Asgard once, who is to say that they won't try again—next time with an army?"
"Yes, exactly!" Thor boomed in eager agreement.
"There is nothing that you can do, Thor," Loki said adamantly, "without defying Father."
Thor considered his brother's words. He glanced at the hammer in his hands, a familiar gleam in his eye. Loki's face descended from mere comfort to one of concern. He shook his head.
"No. No," Loki uttered. "No, no, no, no, no, stop there. I know that look!"
Thor rose to his feet.
"It's the only way to ensure the safety of our borders."
"Thor, it's madness."
Vyperia straightened and turned to look behind her where the Warriors Three had appeared. At some point while Vyperia was focused on Thor and Loki's conversation, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, and Lady Sif had entered the feast hall—they all shared the same look of surprise as they gazed at the tormented feast table that lay crumpled on the floor.
Vyperia, knowing Thor's lack of intuition, had already picked up what Thor wanted to do; and this time, it was not a whimsical skirmish in a settled land or a hilarious rescue mission on Midgard. What Thor was planning was something else entirely—no better than what the Jotuns had done a few hours ago.
"It will be folly, Thor," advised Vyperia quietly.
Thor looked at her, as if she had spoken out of place.
"You have an odd rank to tell me what is foolish," said Thor, though his voice was not offensive. It was one, however, that provoked a slight curiosity to appear on Loki's face as his brother stepped toward the goddess of guardianship. While he towered over her, Vyperia's eyes remained stoic, unafraid of Thor's intention to intimidate her.
"Your actions could be considered high-risk themselves," Thor told her plainly.
"I defend them upon reason that I had no intention of bombarding through a realm with the intentions of starting a war, Thor—and that is what you're wanting to do, is it not?"
"Not war," Thor told her strongly. "I want to know why they came to Asgard."
"The only reason why they would enter the chamber was to retrieve what was stolen from them a thousand years ago," Vyperia replied.
The Warriors Three exchanged uncertain glances. It was in Vyperia's force of habit to get rather defensive when someone approached her in close vicinity. She didn't like to be cornered, especially by someone whose strength outmatched her own.
"It is their birth right," Vyperia said calmly. "It is their relic, their piece of history—that the All-Father took from them."
"To say such a thing is treason."
Loki's voice came from the stairs, directly toward Vyperia. She was suddenly stifled by the serious accusation in his voice. She looked at Loki as if he had insulted her. The calm strength in Loki's features silenced her.
What she had said, although accurate, had come out as to say that Odin was wrong to guard the Casket of Ancient Winters—not out of an act of spite toward the Jotuns—but to keep the nine realms safe from another dictator like Laufey had been. He had intended to kill all mortals in Midgard by freezing them in another Jotunheim. While Odin's reasons were somewhat vague to the lot of them, it was undeniable to know that the All-Father cared for his country and its citizens. And to say that Odin was a mere thief and had plunged the Frost Giants into a reasoned fury to attack Asgard was wrong. It was blunt treachery, and Loki did not like what Vyperia was indicating.
Vyperia waved a hand, indicating her silence in the conversation. She didn't intend to agree with Loki; but she wasn't going to directly defy the prince of Asgard.
Loki, however, slowly rose to his feet to confront the intentions of his brother.
"While she assumes that Father is wrong in his decision," he said calmly, "what Vyperia is saying is true. This is mad."
Volstagg, who had become reprimanded by the destruction of the ample amount of food left to rot on the floor, had begun to prepare himself a hearty meal made from, what it looked like, a vast array of cheeses topped with almost every meat known to Midgard.
"Madness..." Volstagg pondered with simple curiosity. "Thor, what exactly do you want to do?"
"Nothing," Loki answered for his brother swiftly, intending to wipe the idea completely. "Thor was making a jest."
"It is no jest, brother," Thor retorted. "We're going to Jotunheim."
The Warriors Three were caught up to speed; and now they knew the strength of the conversation between Vyperia and Thor. Their reactions were less hostile and indignant than Vyperia, but beheld the same incredibility of the impending danger that would follow Thor's plan.
"What?" Fandral gasped, his mouth agape.
"Thor," warned Sif strongly, "of all the laws of Asgard, this is one that you must not break."
Loki looked on, intrigued by the proceedings. He sat quiet upon the stairs. His glance toward Vyperia was surreptitious, one of mild observation. She held his gaze for a minute before turning from him with resignation. It was easy to understand that look: she had accepted him dutifully; but in her mind, she claimed him to be disloyal for not backing her up on the matter.
Thor's gaze didn't smolder at his friends when they expressed their surprise. He merely smiled in sour amusement. Fandral approached the god of thunder; his armor made small metal-on-metal chink sounds as he walked up to his friend.
"This isn't like a journey to Earth where you summon a little lightning and thunder and the mortals worship you like a god. This is Jotunheim."
"And," Volstagg added while creating the masterpiece of a sandwich of the gods, "if the Frost Giants don't kill you, your father will."
"My father," Thor said, "fought his way into Jotunheim, defeated their armies, and took their casket! We'd just be looking for answers."
Vyperia shook her head in silent incredibility. Thor's expression hardened when he heard the familiar scathing noise emit from her mouth as she walked away from him to sit down beside Loki. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Thor ignored her and turned to Lady Sif, who nodded her head in agreement to Volstagg's argument.
"It is forbidden." Thor sized up his friends and smiled.
He proceeded to make his argument valid with the hopes that his case was far more credentialed with friendship and charismatic conviction.
"My friends," he told them all, "have you forgotten all that we've done together?"
He turned to Fandral.
"Who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all of Yggdrasil?"
"You did," Fandral admitted.
To Hogun, he continued,
"And who led you into the most glorious of battles?" He turned to Volstagg. "And to delicacies so succulent, you thought that you had died and gone to Valhalla?"
In quiet, though understanding resolution, Volstagg and Hogun answered with broad smiles,
"You did..."
He turned to Sif, the second-to-last warrior to persuade in his attempt to go forward with his plan.
"And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this Realm has ever known?"
"I did," Sif retorted.
"Yes," said Thor quickly, amused, "but I supported you, Sif."
He turned to the rest of them.
"My friends, trust me now. We must do this."
The Warriors Three exchanged concerned looks.
While he had brought up valid points of his past reasoning, they still felt small tidings of worry. There was no convincing him otherwise.
"Come on," he said in further words. "You're not going to let my brother and me take all the glory, are you?"
Loki looked startled,
"What?"
Vyperia glanced at him, dismayed.
"You are coming with me..." Thor said quietly, in a voice that silently bargained for such a privilege.
Loki passed a hand over his face, quietly regretting the answer that would surely follow. Considering the brotherly bond in their friendship, Loki resigned.
"Yes, of course," Loki said, waving a hand to Thor. "I won't let my brother march into Jotunheim alone. I will be at his side."
"And I," Volstagg said proudly with a raised his fist.
"And I," Fandral chorused.
"And I," Hogun followed the song.
"The Warriors Three fight together."
Vyperia scoffed,
"And I think that you all have gone absolutely mad," she stated abruptly, rising to her feet.
Loki's eyes followed her as she stepped away from him. Thor looked at her, though not at all shocked at this revelation. Thor glanced at Loki in distilled inclination. Loki made a small nod and rose to his feet. Vyperia had only made it from the small band of friends within two feet before Loki grabbed her wrist and pulled her back—she uttered a surprised gasp when she halted mid-step only to fly back against Loki's chest.
Regaining her balance, Vyperia looked at him incredulously. While she sounded distinctly upset, she was well out of ear shot from the others.
"Have you lost your senses completely?" she hissed at him.
"My brother seeks answers. I would grant him that. He isn't going alone. He'll die there."
"And," she remarked, pushing him away with little force, "what makes you think that you won't? The Frost Giants do not easily bend to the will of negotiation. They are humanoids, like the mortals, and they are stronger—more fierce barbarians that I have ever seen in my life...and that's a lot to see."
Loki smiled at her.
"No," Vyperia declined, noticing his initial expression. "No, no. That isn't going to work with me this time. No..."
"Vyperia, do you trust me?" asked Loki seriously, though his smile was stimulated by honest delight.
"With my life," she answered without hesitation.
"If it should get too chaotic in Jotunheim, we will turn around and leave," Loki explained gently.
"They are brutes, but they have made a truce with Asgard. This is diplomacy. Their king will understand."
Vyperia sighed.
"We will surely regret this day," she muttered.
"If we get out alive," Loki added.
Her shocked expression made Loki laugh quietly.
"Sorry. That was meant to be a joke," he said, though still smirking.
"Fine..." Vyperia muttered. Loki led her back to the group by her hand.
"Damn you...and damn your smile."
Thor smiled at his conjured task force.
"We're going to Jotunheim."