Chapter 2.
A/N: Thank you to Theo (Starway Man) for his help working out a minor plot hole in this chapter. In fact, I didn't even get to what I had planned for Chapter 2 as I got side tracked. Hope you guys don't mind the slow build too much. Also... WOW! I don't think I've ever gotten such an awesome response to a teaser chapter before. Either I'm getting better as a writer or you guys really like the Captain. Yeah, I'm guessing it's probably the Captain.
The life savings of a high school kid do not amount to much no matter how hard he has worked. But luckily travel by bus was relatively cheap. Just $150 bucks got him from LA to New York. It also took 3 days, but airlines just weren't willing to sell a ticket to an unaccompanied minor. The buses probably weren't either, but Xander had already learned not to mention that bit by the time he bought his bus ticket.
New York just felt... bigger wasn't the right word. Neither was smaller. Tighter. Sunnydale was a small town but it had Los Angeles nearby. Up until last year, he'd gotten at least two trips to some attraction in LA per summer; once with Willow's parents and once with Jesse's. But LA was much more spread out than New York was. But that was good for Xander, he wasn't swimming in cash and couldn't afford to throw money away on a cab when he could walk. Or take the subway.
"More compact!" he said to himself as he finally remembered the word he was looking for. He looked around sheepishly for the stares of scorn but none came. Possibly because everyone was busy patently ignoring everyone around themselves. Or maybe it was because there were two other crazy people already talking to themselves far longer and louder than Xander had.
Either way, Xander arrived at the docks and set about finding a ship going to Greenland. There was no way he'd ever be able to get a plane ticket there, but he was hoping that there were some people on the docks willing to look the other way and give him a ride despite his age. The docks were a lot more open and airy than he'd been expecting. Sunnydale had docks too but he never dared go down there even in daylight without Buffy.
After asking around for a bit, Xander found a cargo ship that was going to Greenland. However the guy asked his age. Xander lied and told him he was 18 but the guy looked over at the Port Authority building and told him to try his luck in Brooklyn. So Xander trudged across the aptly named Brooklyn Bridge. This at least afforded him a distant view of the Statue of Liberty across the bay. He belatedly wished for a camera so that he could prove that he at least got this close once.
"Which city, kid?" the new guy he was talking to asked in reply to his question if he was going to Greenland. Xander didn't know if he was the captain or just a spokesman. At Xander's blank look he went on. "There are a bunch of cities in Greenland, which one you going to?"
"Uh, any, I suppose. I'm trying to get to the eastern part of the country, preferably more northerly."
The man blinked a bit as if trying to process that information. "Kid, there ain't nothing there. There's a giant sheet of ice that nothing lives on. So useless they made it the world's biggest National Park. No one lives there."
"I've got a friend. Kind of a recluse, hasn't been out in a while. But he wants me to visit. So can you help me?" That was actually pretty close to the truth.
The man gave a snort at Xander's story. "Sorry, kid. Don't know any ships here that visit the eastern side. Try dock 42 though. Look for a name you can't pronounce. They're going back to Iceland. Might be able to get a ride to the east side once you're there."
Xander thanked the man and headed off.
The next man, Jón Guðmundsson, was much friendlier. He had shoulder length, lanky, white hair that might have once been blond. Yes he was going to Iceland and had a spare cabin. Xander could use it for $200, or $100 if he brought his own food. Xander opted for the pricier option. His large bag was mostly filled with MREs for his trek and he didn't want to use them until he was out on the ice.
As Xander reached in for his money, he heard the man take a sharp breath. Looking down, he saw that one of his spare stakes had popped up. "Yeah... that's for my tent." it sounded lame even as he was saying it.
"You have no tent." Jón observed.
"I'm going to buy one." Xander insisted.
Jón looked around them then tilted his head back towards his ship. "Come." He ignored the proffered money. He led Xander up the gangplank and onto the ship. He then led the way to a small cabin. He turned to face Xander, suddenly holding a huge dagger in his hand.
Xander jumped back in a flash and had his stake poised and ready for the man to attack.
Jón looked a little a little surprised. "Oh! My apologies, Xander." he laid the knife on a desk and turned it so the handle faced Xander. "I had forgotten that we are still in America, where muggings are so common. You must have thought me to rob you!" he laughed. "No, I merely wished to show you that you are not alone." He stepped back and waved towards the knife, clearly indicating that Xander was supposed to look at and/or handle the knife.
Xander tucked his stake away and picked up the knife. It was very beautifully made and absolutely huge, just shy of being called a sword but far too light. The blade was longer than his forearm and intricately engraved. It was nice, but Xander didn't see what the big deal was. Xander looked up at Jón who was practically dancing on his toes.
"You see? You are not so alone." Jón said.
"It's a very nice knife." Xander said diplomatically.
Jón's face fell just a little. "You do not recognize?" He sighed. "I had hoped one such as you would recognize Dwarfen-made weapons."
"You hired a little person to make that for you?" Xander asked, confused.
"Not small human. A dwarf. One of the Huldufólk. Hidden People."
Jón shared a few stories about elves and dwarfs and eventually Xander felt obliged to share a few stories about vampires and the Hellmouth.
"You have a Hellmouth where you grew up?" Jón asked.
"You know about Hellmouths?" Xander replied. Jón was the first person outside of Sunnydale who also knew about them. Granted, he didn't go around saying the word for fear he might get locked away as a loon.
"Depending on whom you ask, Icelanders are either very knowledgeable about the supernatural or terribly silly and superstitious." Jón said with a smile on his face. "Also, our island has a Hellmouth, Hekla. Outsiders know it simply as a volcano, but the rest of us know better. It is the gateway to Hell. Every couple hundred years, someone tries to open it. The effort usually blows up in their face." He laughed at his own joke then stood up. "Forgive me, it is nearly time for us to launch. We will talk later, yes?"
Xander was content to let Jón do most of the talking on the trip. Jón explained about the various hidden races in Iceland. Most of them weren't aggressive unless provoked and all except Trolls were known to be helpful if you were kind to them. Which was where Jón got his knife from. He'd done a favor for a dwarf and gotten a very nice knife as a reward.
"I've never heard of a town actually being built on a Hellmouth before." Jón said warningly. "When you get home, it would be good to research who built it and why. Because there must be a why for someone to do something so foolish."
They sat in silence for sometime.
Finally Jón spoke. "Do you wish to tell me the true reason for your journey? Perhaps I can help you?"
Xander explained that via a spell, he received memories of a man who crashed in Greenland during WW2. He didn't tell them that he was looking for Captain America or that he felt he could be revived.
"I see. I will have to speak to the elders when we get back and we shall see if we can work out a deal. Before I do, I must clarify. You are a vampire hunter, yes? I had guessed as much from the stake and crosses in your bag."
"I've killed a few." Xander nodded. Non-commitment was the way to go. Saying no might leave him stranded in Iceland. Saying he was a great hunter might put him up against an impossible foe and leave him dead in Iceland. Neither of which would help Steve.
The ship they were on had to make a few stops at small towns (and calling them towns was being generous in Xander's opinion) to drop off supplies before they made their final stop in Reykjavík.
After refusing Xander's payment one last time, Jón led Xander to a car where he drove them to what looked like an apartment building. Inside, Jón left Xander alone to talk animatedly in Icelandic with a group of older men.
Finally the group approached him. One of the older men spoke in very good English. "Jón tells us you're a vampire hunter. We were wondering if one so brave would be willing to do us a favor?"
"Maybe. But I gotta tell you, I don't know anything about killing elves or trolls." Xander said.
Most of the men looked slightly shocked. The spokesperson just smiled. "And we do not wish you to kill any of our Hidden Folk. They are few enough in number as it is. And though we do not wish him dead, there is a particular troll that has been causing trouble in the city of Ísafjörður. Ísafjörður is one of our most prosperous and successful towns in Iceland. Magic was no small part of getting it going, in particular, a magical net helped the town increase its fishing production and thrive. But that net was lost to us several years ago and now lies in the hands of a troll. Since the loss of the net the town has been shrinking as people leave for other oportunities. We wish you to steal back the net from this troll."
"That's it?" Xander asked, surprised.
"If it were easy, we could have found a local to do it. And the real cost will be that you will greatly anger the troll. So much that it won't be safe for you to set foot on Iceland ever again. Which is why we need a foreigner."
"And in exchange?"
"We will fund and supply your expedition." the man said. "The man you search for is on the ice sheet, yes? How were you planning on getting to him?"
Xander shrugged. "Dog sled team if I could find one. Skis if I couldn't." He'd been on Tony's Nordic Track a few times. More than Tony ever had. Cross country skiing wasn't so bad.
There was stifled laughter throughout the group. "I'm afraid a dogsled team wouldn't make it terribly far without food caches. And the crash site would have to be very near the edge of the ice to be able to make it on skis. We can offer you a snowcat instead. Able to travel 50 miles in an hour rather than 50 miles in a day. As well as food, water, fuel, and other supplies. And then a ride back to the states once you've found your man. As I said, it will have to be a direct trip back as you will not be able to set foot in Iceland ever again."
Xander didn't have to think long, this trip had turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than he had ever imagined and this much help in exchange for stealing a net was a godsend. "Where do you want me to deliver it once I've gotten it?"
"Jón will show you where."
Ísafjörður was not very big. And it was very low to the water, built on what was practically a sandbar. It looked like the town would be wiped off the map every high tide or the smallest storm. And yet Jón said it had been there for over a thousand years. Longer than America had been around, so who was he to judge?
Jón led him to a yellow house and took him inside. In the middle of the living room was a board where the shadow of the net could still be seen.
"So this is the brave warrior you've recruited to get us back our net. We're very grateful. Not every man is willing to risk the wrath of the Troll Nation for strangers."
"Yeah, I guess that's why I'm leaving right afterword." Xander shrugged. A look passed between the other men, but passed Xander by entirely.
"Well, I suspect you'd like to know where to find that net!" Jón said a little too cheerfully.
The other man fetched a topo map and laid it on his kitchen table. "Here is the troll's cave." he pointed. "We'll get you a four-wheeler to drive yourself there. We recommend killing the engine a good distance away and pushing it the rest of the way. If that troll is on your tail, you'll be glad you did."
Xander relaxed just a bit. Those were some impressively steep cliffs behind the town and he was glad he wouldn't have to walk the whole way there and run the whole way back. They spent another hour discussing logistics. The net would be safe once it was inside the house, wards similar to the one that worked on vampires would keep the trolls out. And Jón's ship would be ready and waiting for him when he got back.