Knowhere

The stench of Knowhere always appalled Loki but the loud flamboyant head floating in the middle of space always peaked his interest. He would sneak away there when he could get away from Odin's prying eyes and now that he was free he came here frequently to get information and frankly to get away from the Nine Realms.

However, today was not a social visit for the God of Mischief. Mangog had appeared from somewhere and Loki needed to know where he had come from. He knew of Odin so he could assume he knew of Thor and the rest of Asgard as well and he had never heard of any sort of dark magic capable of creating such a powerful beast.

Traveling from Alfheim had been more difficult since he had to work around Mangog to get to the secret path that lead to his small ship that he had stolen from some pirates soon after falling into the void so long ago. Loki turned down a side street and soon his destination came into view.

There was only one person who knew or could at the very least find out where Mangog came from and that person was Taneleer Tivan or as he was more commonly known as The Collector. Loki had dealt with the man before and enjoyed that the Collector did not accept currency but unique objects as payment for the various services he sold and despite being a businessman he was always fair.

The Collector lived in the largest building in Knowhere and he liked to call it his Museum it was filled with hundreds perhaps thousands of display cases all filled with various object and in some cases people deemed to be unique enough to be worth keeping and in the Collectors mind…saving. Some of the objects were fascinating, others were horrifying since several of them were former servants who had disappointed their master.

Loki entered and was quickly greeted by one of the Collectors servants, the pink skinned woman bowed and told Loki she would come to get him shortly. Loki nodded and began to look around the room and stopped when he saw a glint of light. He looked inside a glass case and looked at an elegant golden scepter that at the end broke into sharp points that surrounded some kind of blue crystal that was glowing as if it was somehow trying to get his attention.

"Find something interesting?" came the eccentric voice of the Collector who had managed to sneak up on Loki.

Loki was caught off guard but had managed to keep his composure as he turned away from the scepter and looked at the Collector. He was average height and build but his hair was tall almost adding half a foot to his height and it was white. He wore a very expensive outfit made from soft animal fur from some backwater planet nobody but him had heard of and he wore a pair of glasses that cleverly hid his eyes during a negotiation.

"I've never seen such a crystal before" remarked Loki shooting a quick glance at the scepter again while the Collector turned and walked away from the case.

"I was given a large box of the materials a few years ago, a dwarf managed to get his hands on a bit of Uru and other materials and attempted to escape Nidavellir with it…his ship made it…he didn't and know I have small useless nuggets of Uru laying around and then this Scepter. That scepter is the only piece he managed to create before whatever happened to him happened" explained the Collector who looked Loki over carefully.

Loki turned his attention away from the scepter and back to the task at hand "I need information" Loki stated staring into the glasses covered eyes of the Collector.

The Collector smiled "Nothing is free here…you know that" he replied as Loki summoned a weapon he had stolen from his time on Earth. The rifle had been stored magically by Loki for the last three months for the just this kind of occasion. The Collector nearly threw himself onto the table to look over the weapon.

"Primitive" he remarked as he went over every nook and cranny "but it is certainly the first of its kind that I have seen" he finished as he pulled the weapon up and handed it to his servant with a whisper of instructions. He then turned back to Loki "How may I help you?"

"There is a creature laying waste to Alfheim, I need to know where he came from and possibly how to stop him" Loki stated cutting to the chase.

The Collector narrowed his eyes "Since when does a would-be world conqueror worry about some kind of monster laying waste to an ally of his enemy?" he asked with a slight smile.

"The monster is clearly growing in power and if left unchecked he could do irreparable damage to not only Alfheim but many other worlds and it's hard to rule something if it's been destroyed" reasoned Loki as he nervously looked around, he felt as if he were being watched.

The Collector pulled out a log of some kind and searched the entries, "Well several of my looters end up on Alfheim but none reported a creature of note. What does it look like?"

Loki sighed "It's large, exterior of the beast is metal while the interior is some kind of energy or magic…called itself Mangog."

The Collector nodded "Hmmm, this is interesting one looter did mention seeing an Ulik the Rock Troll go off into an area of Alfheim that hadn't been explored in a long time."

"Where?" asked Loki almost shouting at the Collector. His mind flashed back to Mangog and his mention of Ulik, if the creature absorbed life forces and therefore memory Ulik very well could have been involved.

The Collector wrote down the coordinates for the woods on Alfheim and handed them to Loki who turned to leave "The Scepter is for sale at the right price", he stated bringing Loki to a stop. "It caught your eye and I bet you have plenty you could share with me" he said as Loki turned around a silent way of asking the price. "All I want is a map…a map to all those secret paths between worlds that you love to use so much, that kind of information is invaluable."

Loki thought for a moment, he could give the Collector what he wanted and get the Scepter as it had caught his eye. Those paths however were key to his survival and avoidance of Odin and the Frost Giants, selling the information to the Collector creates the possibility of someone purchasing or stealing it to get his location and that was something Loki could not risk. Loki shook his head "Have a good day Collector…I'm sure we will have business again" he said turning to leave his museum.

On his way out of the museum Loki spotted a slim alien with white skin and wispy brown hair with a large forehead and his skin was just starting to wrinkle. "Finally, it would seem the Collector is very busy these days" he remarked as Loki approached stealing another glance at the Scepter. The alien was standing next to the case and looked over as well, "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said causing Loki to look at him. "Very rare to see an Asgardian in this part of the universe."

Loki looked the alien over "Do I know you?" he asked stepping up and almost directly into the alien's face. The alien smiled with a toothy grin "It's never smart to comment on one within ear shot especially when he can easily throw you through a wall."

"Well, isn't this intriguing?" came the voice of the Collector. He strode out of the back and quietly slipped his arm between Loki and the alien. "The Trickster meets the Maw" he said as the two separated from each other. "Loki of Asgard, allow me to introduce you to Ebony Maw, a servant of a very powerful figure."

"That's enough Tivan" remarked Ebony Maw looking Loki in the eyes "I am here on business and I would see it done." Ebony looked as the Collector waved him to the main part of his museum. Loki scoffed and turned to leave, Ebony Maw turned and saw Loki steal another glance at the Scepter as he left. Ebony Maw smiled "Can't wait to see you again" he said in a whisper under his breath.

Asgard

Thor entered the throne room and found his father talking with a few of his advisors, he looked up and could tell that Thor had something on his mind. He waved off his advisors and Thor waited for them to leave, "This is about Niflheim I suppose" Odin stated as he stood and walked down the steps that led to the throne to stand next to Thor.

"Why didn't you tell me what happened?" Thor asked hoping that Odin would simply answer and they could move on.

"The Valkyries were sent by me to handle the Hela situation. What happened to them was not your responsibility but it was an opportunity to teach you something." Odin explained as he walked Thor around the throne room. "A King is responsible for all things and sometimes we must face consequences for things that we had nothing to do with…something happens and people blame you even if it isn't your fault. A king must still be willing to take responsibility for things such as this not because it is his fault, but because it is his duty to do so."

Thor nodded "But it is my responsibility, protection of Asgard and the Nine Realms falls upon my shoulders" he explained with a grin from Odin.

"You have already learned this lesson since I assume you spoke with Sif after the incident at the feast" Odin said looking Thor in the eyes. Thor nodded "You cannot change things that have happened, and as King decisions you make will affect the people whom you protect and those who follow your orders with loyalty. Right or wrong Thor, you must always make a decision, there can be no hesitation. Always be prepared son, the hands of fate are always moving and never in ways that you suspect."