11
Loki found it hard to sleep as his mind was racing at light speed and he finally gave up and sat up in Odin's bed with a sigh. Glancing over at Amora he started to feel a might envious as she was sound asleep and dreaming as he could see her eyes moving under her eyelids. He thought of taking a peek of her dream using a spell Karnilla had taught him until she moaned and muttered his name. Wouldn't be necessary as he had a good enough imagination to figure out what she was dreaming about.
Putting his hands together he touched them to his lips and contemplated the events of the past week; Thor defeating the monster Mangog, the Vizier murdered, gold and precious gems being found in "the dragon's back" mountain range. An explanation of how the raiders were operating (if not who they were as they definitely weren't Norns) procuring Karnilla's help in trying to apprehend the raiders, and sending Thor to protect the inhabitants and act as a deterrent to any more raids. As well as getting him away from Asgard proper for as much time as possible before his idiot brother could see through his disguise. Loki doubted that the monster had anything to do with the other events; Mangog had been nothing more than an aberration, while he had the feeling that the murder of the Vizier, the attempt on his and Amora's life, and the near killing of the Vizier's man thrall were connected to these raiders and their master. As he reviewed the past week's events he realized that both attacks on his high councilor and his thrall had to do with scrolls…where had Amora said her father was found? In the hall of records dealing with land acquisitions, "Oh Amora, your father was sharper than the teeth of a Norn devil worm."
What if the brains behind these massacres had tried to purchase the land from the owners then ran them off by the raiders when they refused to sell. Then he purchased the land of those butchered by them. There would be records of each sale and the purchaser's name would be plain for all to see. The Vizier had learned the name of the traitor and the library thrall murdered him to protect his master and himself no doubt.
"You're not even half as clever as you think you are bastard" Loki said softly as he gently, slowly pulled the covers away from himself and the green and gold light dressed him as he eased himself out of Odin's bed so as not to awaken Amora. Uttering a spell of complete concealment as he left his step father's bedroom and then transformed into a bat and flew out the balcony of the antechamber.
The youthful thrall worked hard to remove the blood stain from the marble floor but he was not having much success as it had been too long on the floor and set into the stone. He still scrubbed at it as his master wanted it gone as it would be a remembrance of the High Councilor's death and blight upon the reputation of the royal library.
"What are you doing?"
The youth looked up from his toil to see a boy child, dressed in a gold sleep shirt standing in front of him staring at him with big hazel eyes.
Wiping his nose with the back of his right hand the youth answered back respectfully, "Cleaning up this blood spot as my master commanded my little lord."
"That's blood! How'd it get there? Did you cut yourself?" the child asked wide eyed with awe.
"No, I didn't cut myself my little lord" the thrall nearly started to cry but kept himself in control, "the High Councilor was stabbed here and this is his blood."
"Why are you crying?" the boy asked.
"The Vizier, when I would wait on him when he came to the library, was always kind to me" again the thrall brought himself back in control of his emotions, "I found him and had to tell the Lady Amora about what had happened."
Tears rebelled against his attempt to hold in his sorrow and they raced down the youth's cheeks as he wiped the drainage from his nose on the back of his hand.
"Was he reading these scrolls when it happened?"
"He may have been little lord…" the youth broke off speaking to stare at the stacks of scrolls on the shelf next to him. "These are stacked out of order."
The young thrall dropped the brush he was scrubbing the floor with and wiped his hands on his linen shirt before picking one of the scrolls up to look at its catalog number. He fingered through the other scrolls and his face became very perplexed as he checked number after number and he discovered that they weren't misplaced, there were scrolls missing.
"What's wrong? What's the matter with the scrolls?" the child continued to inquire of the thrall.
"There are scrolls missing" the thrall forgot the child's presence as he stood up to check the other stacks on the case and he discovered that there were scrolls missing from them as well.
"I must tell the head librarian" the youth stopped and his face scrunched in undecided anxiety for his master would be angry if awakened in the middle of the night and it wouldn't be an emergency.
"Why don't you tell him? Would he beat you if you did?" The boy's eyes widened and his face mirrored excitement.
"Maybe" the youth stopped to think and then thought out loud, "I could check the records log book as each scroll's number is recorded and who made the land purchase?"
"Can I go with you?"
"Yes little lord if you'd like to" the youth responded as he led the way to where the record books were kept and the child ran after him and took a hold of his larger hand to walk with the thrall.
The young man took the boy child to a book case that was located right in front of the head librarian's office and with his free hand the thrall began to look for the volume that the missing scrolls were recorded in. Finding the book he wanted he took it down from its place on the shelf and finding a small reading table he set the book down upon it. Letting loose of the child's hand he opened the book and went looking for the numbers of the missing scrolls. His eye's widened with surprise and confusion as he came crossed pages that were ripped out of the book and flipping through the volume he discovered more pages that had been removed.
"Somebody tore up your book! That's bad isn't it?"
"Yes little lord it is and now I really have to wake up the head librarian" the youth sighed with resignation, "and I will most likely get a beating until I can tell my master why I had to wake him."
While the youth hesitated, dreading what he knew he had to do, the child looked over the book and turned some pages while studying them with some interest.
"I have to get back to my parents quarters before my brother falls asleep as we were playing hide and search and it was my turn to search" the child scampered off leaving the thrall to his inevitable beating and when he was out of the thrall's sight the child transformed into a bat and flew out of the library.
A part of her was beginning to hate what she was about to do, but she had followed Loki down to the dungeons the last time he had disappeared on her (when he thought she was sleeping) and she discovered he went into a particular cell holding one prisoner. Under the guise of the complete concealment spell that Loki had taught her she had sneaked out of their bedroom. Leaving an illusion of herself in bed sleeping, and she walked to the cell she had seen him enter. She saw a ragged old man lying on the cell's floor and wondered if this old beggar was who she was seeking? She created an illusion of herself and appeared in front of the old man. It took several seconds for the elderly man to realize she was there and when he looked at her she gasped, "Odin!"
"Why have YOU come here? Are you going to torment me as well?"
"No" his weakened condition shocked her as she had always seen him as an all-powerful figure, "I have come to save your life."
His one eye widened with disbelief as he stared at her, "Why would you wish to save my life when you are about to marry my murderer and be duplicitous in his crimes against the crown?"
"You may not believe me, I care not, but you well deserve death for the misery you put him through all his life" Amora held her hands vertically and by a spell produced a small leather pouch and it floated to him. "Take that with your next meal and it will fake death. When Loki has your "body" disposed of, I will substitute another for you and have you moved to another cell to live out the rest of your life. I will make sure you have better care and food and I will disguise you with a spell I learned from Karnilla."
"Why would you do that for me?" Odin held the small pouch in his hand as he looked at her with distrust.
"All his life he wanted your love, your approval of his achievements and himself and you ignored him" Amora knit her fingers together as she walked around the fallen King, "You ignored me as well, but on the RARE occasion that you did notice me, you were kind to me and my beloved father considered you his most trusted friend. I will save your life ONLY for the sake of that friendship and nothing more. I will see to it that you have a proper funeral, and if fate is kind, you will see my beloved foster-mother in Valhalla."
She disappeared from Odin's sight and he pondered on her words and wept as she spoke the truth while he stared at the small pouch in his hand.
Amora breathed in a frightened gasp as she saw that Loki was not in bed with her illusion and she held her hands up and searched the rooms for any trace of magical spells. She closed her eyes as she breathed a sigh of relief that Loki wasn't there as he must have gone on some nocturnal wandering. He hadn't seen through her ruse, so she didn't waste much time musing about where he had gone. She waved her hand through the illusion dissolving it and then making her clothes disappear while she climbed back into bed.
She had drifted off somewhat but hadn't fallen entirely to sleep when she sensed that Loki had returned and with a muffled groan she picked her head up off her pillow, "Why aren't you in bed? Where were you off to now?"
"I went down to the library where your father had been attacked and discovered something very interesting" Loki sat down at the edge of the bed next to her. "It seems that there were scrolls dealing with land acquisitions that have gone missing and the records of what they were have also gone missing."
"Why would you go looking for mortgages and deeds?"
"It's only a supposition, but let's assume our traitor originally was play acting as a benevolent sympathizer. He purchases farms and entire villages in order to keep people out of the area while he mined the horde from the mountain and the waters. When the jingle of gold couldn't induce some of the people to leave he started hiring mercenaries to remove them in a more permanent fashion. So" he started to stroke her long golden hair, "who do we know that dwells in the western borders that would have the finances to purchase all that land?"
"Lord Ragnor, Lord Kolbjorn, Lord Thorbiartl, and there's also Lord Erlick and those are the ones that I can think of at the moment."
"Now out of those four Lords who would be our most likely candidate for traitor?" Loki quizzed her.
"Well we can dismiss Lord Ragnor as the only thing that fat fool can plan is his meals" Amora thought, calling upon her personal knowledge of the four Asgardian Lords. "Lord Kolbjorn can barely keep two copper coins together due to his gambling. Lord Thorbiartl has the wits of a common worm and Lord Erlick has lost a sizeable amount of crops and livestock to these raiders. If it weren't for the fact that he owns a son of Sleipnir he wouldn't make any money at all as the horse is unbeatable when it races."
"One of them may or may not be our traitor but it will be enough to have Heimdall keep an eye on all of them" Loki rose from the bed to go to the small dining table to pour himself a glass of wine "and in the morning the two of us should go down to the library to have a chat with the Head Librarian."
The Head Librarian was most congenial when he quickly met the King and Lady Amora when they entered the library and showed them where the High Councilor had been attacked. The youth was still there trying to scrub the blood off the floor and as Loki had surmised he'd received a beating for waking his master up to tell him of the missing scrolls.
"This is where the Lord Vizier was found my King" the Librarian stated "and may I offer my condolences to you my Lady for your loss."
Amora thanked the Librarian but her attention was on the blood stain, her father's blood, on the floor.
"What scrolls was the Vizier looking at when he was here as I assume that's why he was here?" Loki/Odin asked of the Librarian.
"We don't know my Liege as there are scrolls missing and the records of them were torn out of the record book."
"Who was it that first noticed that these scrolls were missing?" Loki/Odin questioned the Librarian who hesitated before he answered that he had. Which got a look of surprise from the thrall who was smart enough to remain silent and quick enough to look away before the Librarian saw him.
"What happened to your face boy?" Loki/Odin inquired and he saw the boy quickly glance at then look away from the Librarian with a worried look as he knew that the youth would surely receive another beating if he answered truthfully.
"Aren't you the thrall who found my father and came to tell me what had happened to him?" Amora finally noticed the boy on the floor.
"Yes my Lady" he answered back with his eyes respectfully on the ground.
"Who did this to you?" Amora reached down to cup the boy's chin in her right hand and raise it to look at her.
Fearfully the youth quickly glanced at the head Librarian then back to Amora before stuttering an answer, "No…no one my Lady…it is nothing."
Loki/Odin saw Amora's eye brows knit in anger as she cast her gaze at the Head Librarian, "For what reason was this thrall beaten?"
Without either of them noticing Loki/Odin motioned with his fingers and the same child that he used to discover the missing scrolls appeared from behind him. The child walked up to stand slightly in front of him to his right, "Oh, he did beat you for waking him up!" and then he had the illusion look up at him, "He found someone stole some scrolls from the shelf and tore up a book."
The child then asked Loki/Odin, "You're the King aren't you?"
"Yes child I am" it was proving hard for him not to burst out laughing; first at the look on the Head Librarian's face which was descending into abject fear of what Amora and he would do to him, and the shocked look of recognition on Amora's face as she knew who 'the child' was.
"This thrall comes to you with evidence concerning the murder of my father" her temper was flaring to volcanic proportions, "and you beat him!"
A short drover's whip appeared in her hand and she started beating the Head Librarian with it and he fell to his knees begging for mercy as she showed him none. After a score of welts appeared on the buffoon's face and arms Loki/Odin stopped her, "I believe he has learned the folly of his ways my dear and if you continue to lash him I may need to find another Librarian."
Amora was breathing hard from anger and the exertion of whipping the fool on the floor and Loki/Odin produced a small coin bag and threw it at the Librarian, "Write up a bill of sale for this thrall and have it sent to my quarters."
"Welcome to the King's household" Amora said kindly to the thrall, "now go to the Healing Room and have the healers do something about that face and make sure you tell them the Lady Amora sent you."
The youth stood up and bowing low he thanked her and left for the Healing Room as the whip disappeared from Amora's hand and Loki/Odin steered her out of the library before she did any more damage to the stupid fool.
"Go with the thrall and keep an eye on him while I talk further with this idiot as this little altercation may get back to our traitor. The boy's life may be in danger now and we cannot afford to lose any important information he may have" Loki/Odin whispered quietly to her in the doorway. She nodded her head silently agreeing with his logic and she left him as Loki/Odin tormented the Librarian further with 'the child'.
"There was a book" the child spoke up trying to sound helpful but only resulted in digging the Head Librarian's grave deeper which made Loki/Odin smile inwardly. "Somebody bad ripped out pages from it so that thrall couldn't find out what scrolls were missing."
"Show me this 'book' that this child speaks of" Loki/Odin commanded, "I wish to see it for myself."
"Yes…yes my King" The Head Librarian got up from the floor to lead the way to the book shelf where the record books were kept and after a brief check of the titles on the various books on the case. Pulling one off the case he walked it over to a small reading table and opened it up to where the first ripped out page was. Loki/Odin scanned the remaining pages and went looking for the other missing ones.
"Have you any idea what these missing pages pertained to and who it was that was recorded as seller and new owner?" Loki/Odin examined the jagged edges of the missing pages hoping he could gather at least an idea of who was responsible for the murder of the Vizier and the attempt on his and Amora's life as well. With a scowl upon his face he realized that what little was left on the jagged remains would do him no good.
"No my King, that was the duty of the thrall they found in the sewers."
"Have you no copies of these records, or of the missing scrolls?" Loki/Odin was seriously reconsidering his stopping Amora from beating this fool and felt like beating him himself.
"No my Liege" the Librarian said fearfully.
"From now on you WILL keep a second copy of the records of all scrolls dealing with land acquisitions and keep it under lock and key or I WILL find a replacement for you" Loki/Odin turned away from the idiot librarian and headed back to his quarters. When the thrall came back from the Healing Room he had questions that he hoped the youth could answer. He had the 'child' walk with him and he had the 'child' utter simplistic nonsense to make it seem that the illusion was telling him about its brother who was still playing search and hide. Loki/Odin told the 'child' he should go back to his parents now when he reached his/Odin's quarters.
The 'child' took off running and laughing that his brother would never find him and with a hint of a smirk Loki/Odin opened the doors of his antechamber and entered it, turned and shut the doors behind him. He would stay in Odin-form when Amora returned with the thrall and then he would question the youth to see what he knew of these missing scrolls. If he did know something useful, then he would have to keep the boy under careful guard as the traitor might try to kill him as well.
When Thor received his father's message, from the Einherjar he'd sent to Asgard, he had runners take a message to the three lower base command centers to set their scanners to look for small rodents and any mystic residue. Standing next to a warrior holding a scanner (who was searching the three valleys one quadrant at a time) and so far there didn't seem to any trace of either large mass gathering of vermin or magic. Still, if father was right, it would explain how these raiders could inflict so much brutality upon the people, so much damage to dwellings and livestock without taking any real casualties themselves. What had him totally flabbergasted was his father aligning himself with Karnilla of Nornheim? Karnilla who hated his father with an uncontrollable passion? While Karnilla was the reigning ruler of Nornheim, and she did have the right to defend her realm (for who-ever this traitor was it did seem as if he wanted to incite a renewed war between Asgard and Nornheim in order to distract his father from this culprit's treachery) could they really trust her not to side with this traitor against his father.
"My Prince I think I've found something" the Einherjar excitedly spoke up as he glanced in Thor's direction.
"What is it that you've spied?" Thor was jerked from his musings to discover just what the scanner had found.
"Just south of the lake there is a field of grass and it seems to be riddled with small holes. It also has a mystic residue just as the Allfather guessed it might."
"Send a runner to Hogun and to tell him to gather as many men as he can and have them all carry torches and whatever dried grass and dead wood they can find and meet me at this field" Thor cast his gaze at the field in question and had a feeling that for the first time since these raids started and the attempt on his father's life this evil was running out of time and justice was aborning.
Hogun, the grim, exited his command cabin to greet the runner from Thor and after listening to his friend and Prince's orders he turned and commanded the unit commanders around him to order every man to pick up dried wood or cut dried grass and follow him to the grassy field. One unit of Einherjar he ordered to bring torches and then he made for the field himself.
Hogun had his men surround the field and put up a barricade of dried grass, dead wood and sticks which began to encircle the field. To make the barricade higher he ordered Einherjar to cut down some dead trees, laying them upon the dried grass when there wasn't enough fallen wood available.
Einherjar with torches encircled the field waiting for orders to start the fires as Hogun looked up at the dragon's claws to see Thor standing at the ridges edge.
Twirling his hammer above his head the Thunder god took off and flew to the great lake where again he whirled his hammer but this time he rose straight up as he formed a wind funnel that sucked the water up from the lake. He directed it towards the field and tons of water came crashing down upon it as Hogun gave the order to light the barrier. Flames shot up and ran the length of the barrier as he saw mice run from the field to try and escape the crashing water but the fire forced them back. Many dived back down their holes trying to escape but rushing waters followed them and they drown in the small tunnels. While others swam about looking for any type of escape but they found none and the fierce power of the water overcame them. Those that braved the flames perished in them as the blaze grew ever skyward driving even the Einherjar back from it.
Thor calmed the winds and the storm dissipated as the flames gradually died down and they could now see that instead of dead mice there were the bodies of men floating in the still swirling waters.
"It seems father and the Lady Amora was correct in their assumptions" Thor said to his companion as he landed next to Hogun.
"We have struck a telling blow to this traitor's plans of usurping the Allfather's rule" Hogun replied, "but will he not retaliate when he discovers what we have done? He may make another attempt at assassination?"
"Perhaps" Thor sighed in consternation, "but gather up the dead and burn them when the water recedes, then line the roads with their armor. Should you find one still alive, bind him fast and guard him well for father will want to question him."
It took most of the day to cut down the trees needed for the pyre to dispose of the dead raiders. It peeved Thor that no survivor was found among the dead, so who it was that hired them was still unknown and they were no closer to apprehending this traitor. Hogun's men dug many bodies out of the drenched soil and from their armor identified them as coming from the same roving band of marauders that had attacked Vanaheim before the alinement happened.
Two more areas were discovered having mystic residue and Thor used water from the river and the fjord to drown them and he discovered that some of them came from other than the realms of Yggdrasil. He wondered, as the bodies were disposed of by fire, just how far this traitor's reach was. He came to the conclusion that he should leave earlier than he had expected to, in order to warn his father and the Lady Amora, that this treacherous usurper might take revenge upon them for loosing as many men as he had. As much as he had doubts about Amora's intentions towards his father he had no wish to see his foster-sister harmed just as he never would have liked to see Loki threatened in any fashion.
"We have struck the first blow against this traitor" Thor told his three friends thoughtfully. "No doubt we can expect some kind of retaliation soon. I will make my way back to Asgard proper tonight to report to father and join his body guards."
"Keep searching the grasslands and fields for more of these mercenaries and good hunting my friends" clasping Hogun's arm in friendship Thor bade farewell to them all. Whirling Mjolnir over his head he flew back to the dragon's claw to inform the legion commander of his plans and encouraged them to continue the hunt for more mercenaries. Taking a small boat Thor lifted off and headed home, to Asgard.
Despite his desire to help find the Vizier's murderer the youth was very little help in revealing what was on the missing pages of the record book or on the stolen scrolls as it wasn't a part of his duties to know what was on them. He only cataloged them properly on the appropriate shelves and maintained a clean environment in the library. The only one he had witnessed the writing of was a purchase of a small farm by Lord Erlick that bordered his property that would gain him access to one of the smaller rivers in the middle valley.
"Well it was worth the try" Loki/Odin poured himself a glass of wine when he realized he was no closer to discovering this scoundrel's identity. "Now, what do we do with our latest acquisition?"
"Leave that to me" Amora teased and grinned when she saw his eye pop slightly with a hint of jealousy since the boy was a comely youth. She walked over to pull the cord to summon a thrall and when Odin's man thrall appeared she ordered him to fetch her father's man thrall, who had just been released from the healing room to attend her and the King, and the thrall bowed and left.
"Old Ake was like a mother hen to me as a child and he still fusses over me" she explained to Loki/Odin "so he never asked to take a wife and at least as far as I know never sired a child."
When the old thrall appeared Amora warmly greeted him with a smile, "Ake, the King has purchased a new thrall for his household. I wish you to train him to be as great a man thrall as you had been to my father."
"My Lady" the old man cast a fearful glance at her, "am I amiss in my duties to the King that I should train my replacement?"
Loki/Odin wondered at the familiarity of the thrall as he doubted Odin would have tolerated such behavior from a thrall.
"No you silly old thing" Amora laughed, "I give him to you as a son to raise properly."
"A son?"
"Yes as a son, you silly old bird" Amora grinned at her old caretaker "and he shall look after you in your old age as a father should be looked after."
"Well, have you a name boy?" Ake inspected the young thrall and the boy seemed to be sufficient to gain his approval.
"Magnus…" the boy replied and quickly added "…my father."
"There, all is settled" she grinned satisfied "now off you go and get him settled in and have him fed. Tomorrow I wed the king and both of you will be dressed in your finest livery to wait upon your Liege."
The youth Magnus followed Ake from Odin's chambers and Amora went to the table to pour herself a glass of wine, "Tomorrow I become the wife and Queen of Loki, King of Asgard but I see no reason to delay any celebration until tomorrow."
She took a sip of her wine and then set the glass down to embrace Loki/Odin and kiss him as he changed from Odin-form to his own and returned her kiss holding her closely to himself.
Upon arrival Thor made straight to his father's quarters and reported what had happened and his father seemed pleased with the results and congratulated him for service well delivered.
"Now mayhap this murderer will show his hand and my father can finally be avenged" Amora said fiercely as she clenched her fists which shook somewhat with inner rage.
"How many dead?" Loki/Odin inquired of the Thunder god.
"When I left father the count had reached a thousand and they were still pulling bodies from the mud and muck when I left. I gave orders to pile the armor of the brigands along the roadsides, as they burned the bodies, as a warning to this traitor as his time is now short."
"Well done my son and let us hope he understands your message."
"You'll need to replace the trees they're using to burn these scum" Amora directed to Loki/Odin "as the western borders have such beautiful forests it would be a shame to lose them."
"I will leave that to your capable hands my love" Loki/Odin replied, "It will be your first official duty as Queen."
"I would increase the guard around you and the Lady Amora, father as it can be expected that this malcontent will surely seek reprisal for this loss" Thor expressed his worry plainly, "as he has already made one attempt on your lives. Who is to say he won't make a second when he discovers we've dealt a telling blow to his lackeys."
"A wise decision my son and have extra guards for yourself as well as your life will now be in danger from this traitor as well" Loki/Odin thoughtfully spoke to his brother.
"I will see to it father" Thor saluted his father and turned to leave but Amora bade him wait. She cupped her hands and murmured softly and a charm appeared in her hands.
"Hang this from a bed post and it will protect you, brother, from harmful beasts as this traitor has used poisonous creatures before" she handed Thor the charm. "Sleep peacefully tonight to be ready for the feast tomorrow."
"My thanks, sister, and a peaceful rest for you as well" Thor graciously accepted the charm and exited his father's rooms.
"It seems your 'son' has finally accepted me as your future wife" Amora picked up her wine glass with a smile on her face, "he hasn't called me sister in ages."
"You useless Jotun cow!" the man in the black hooded cloak screamed enraged at the sorceress as he beat her with a club while she cowered on the floor of her dungeon room. "How many men did the Odinson kill? HOW MANY?"
"Ten thousand!" she cried out in pain and fear as she held up her arms to ward off his blows.
"And what of the others?" he bellowed as he struck her twice more.
"I transported them into the cavern, they now hide as bats. The Asgardians don't know of the cave and won't think of looking behind them as they're too busy looking in the fields."
"Well then, perhaps you still are useful to me and can continue your worthless existence" she could see his eyes glaring at her from under his cowl, "as long as you protect the rest of my mercenaries until I'm ready to strike at Odin.