Next week I will do some patch notes, the week after will be another Kratos chapter, and Chapter 19 will probably take a couple weeks to finish. I plan on making that chapter longer than usual as it is pretty much a heist and I really want it to feel like one. So expect to wait for that chapter longer than usual. After chapter 19 I will take a week or two off from writing. As a reminder my profile page is where you can find any news about breaks or delays for Return to the Homestead. Again, thank you and enjoy.
Las Vegas Strip
"Everyone up!"
The sudden exposure of light made Atreus squint his eyes harder, he never seemed to get used to the abruptness of waking up like this. As his mind started to clear out the fog of sleep he could hear banging from outside the room he was in, no doubt one of the dwarves.
"C'mon out!" He shouted, his voice bouncing off the concrete walls.
As Atreus stood up he groaned and listened to the bones inside him pop, his mind turned back to the cabin bed he slept in back at Camp Jupiter. Despite its overly softness, it was still a decent bed to sleep in. What he just slept in could hardly be called a bed. It felt more like a few planks of wood considering how stiff it was.
Atreus made his way off the bed and clothed himself, by the time he was done there was banging on his door. "Get out now!" The dwarf yelled.
Atreus muttered to himself before approaching the door and opening it. Sure enough the dwarf from last night stood in front of him, Annabeth - looking as haggard as him - was standing beside the dwarf. His eyes drifted to her cap, which was still hanging around her waist. She must have noticed him looking at her cap because she gave a very slight nod, almost imperceivable. They still had an option, but it was only a matter of when to use it.
"Good, you're up, was about to bust your door down." He waved his button as he walked away, "Follow me, we've gotta job for you two."
Atreus and Annabeth wordlessly followed.
They made their way back up to the lobby, unlike last night the place was clear. The whole floor was empty save the other dwarves and Freya. The Boss Man was amongst them as well, all patiently waiting for Atreus and Annabeth. Gart stood up front, a big grin on his face and a smoke in hand.
"Well now that we are all here, it's time to get down to business kids." Gart clapped his hands together. Another dwarf walked over to Gart and handed him a scroll.
Gart unfurled the scroll on a nearby table, the edges were chipped and the paper a dank yellow-green to indicate how old it was. "Now listen close cuz I'm only gonna explain this once," Gart tapped on the paper, "This 'ere is the blueprints to elves club."
The top of the paper read 'Bright Hollow Club', one that looked much like the dwarves own club. It was big, from a quick glance he could see that it was at least six stories tall. The top three floors were much like the hall he was in now, relegated to guests and customers. But the bottom three were an entirely different matter. Beneath the ground floor was a maze of doors and hallways, some had labels saying the name of locations in Alfheim Atreus recognized. Some led to other places in Midgard, and even fewer led to other realms like Asgard or Vanaheim. But at the very bottom of the deepest floor was what looked to be a large room simply labeled 'Light'.
"What is that?" Annabeth asked as she scanned the scroll just like she did.
"That is light of Alfheim," Both she and Atreus looked up at him quickly, "Well, not the source. Strap in for a bit of a history lesson. See, back in the 40's, a contingent of elves left Alfheim cuz they were sick of things up in Alfheim."
Another dwarf scoffed, "Never thought I'd be agreeing with an elf." Everyone chose to ignore him and continue listening to Gart.
"So they came to Midgard, free to practice their magic and their old ways. But they didn't leave without nothin', y'see, the head of their family diverted some of Alfheims light to their new residence." He tapped on the scroll where the 'Light' was. "This is what generates the power for the entire strip, all of it. And if anyone wants to do business in the strip they have to talk to the elves, ever since then they've been makin' bank. All sortsa pantheons who have migrated here have been makin' deals with those elves. Today, that changes!"
Gart looked up from the scroll back to Atreus and Annabeth, "You two are gonna sneak in there and put this," Gart pulled out a rune, the symbols were just legible enough for him to make out 'Svartalfheim' on the face, "On one of their dimensional gateways," Again he tapped the scroll where the nearest dimensional gateway stood to the light of Alfheim, "Which will change the gateway to one we have pre-made, once done we will enter the generator room and take over the club." Gart smiled.
"If done correctly," The Big Man said after puffing some smoke, "The elves will no longer hold power over the entire strip." He puffed his smoke again, "And us dwarves will become the new heads of power. No longer under the heel of those stinkin' elves!" The whole room erupted in cheers, dozens of dwarves raising their arms in the air at the idea of ruling over the strip.
"You want us to hand you the keys to the Las Vegas strip? How will this even work, can't they just shut off the power from the light of Alfheim?" Annabeth asked.
"If they try, the authorities in Alfheim will learn what they've done and shut off their access, that means no strip for anyone and I don't think they're willing to go scorched earth that fast." Gart said. "Plus, once we take over the generator we will be able to close any other gateways to the other realms so no way in other than what we don't already control. The elves won't have any other choice but to leave the club once we push them out."
"And how are we," She motioned to herself and Atreus, "Going to get in?"
Gart smirked, "Well I'm glad you asked. Quick question, you two want a job?" As if on cue two dwarves walked up behind him with suits, which had a pin on the front that said "Hi I'm Windcatcher." the other read "Hi I'm Windweaver".
"We're going in as employees." Annabeth guessed.
"Yep, you Midgardians aren't so different from elves anymore, so it will be easy. Once you get inside, you make your way down to the dimensional gate nearest the generator and place this rune on the door." He shoved the rune to Atreus who held it in his hands.
"Now go get dressed, your shift starts in…" Gart pulled up his wrist to look at his watch, "Five hours." Gart handed them both their respective uniforms. Atreus looked down to the pin, it read 'Windcatcher'. He sighed before he was escorted to a nearby changing room.
Walking in these new clothes felt off. The fabric felt strange on his skin, it didn't have the familiarity his normal clothes had. Somehow it felt strict and loose at the same time. The shoes were the strangest part, his old boots were fitted to him over time so walking on even the most difficult terrain wasn't an issue, but walking in these shoes disconnected him from the feel of the ground beneath him. He had to measure each step to make sure he didn't fall.
As he exited the changing room he spotted Annabeth, sporting a very similar uniform. Black pants and shoes, a white shirt, and red vest on top, her pin read 'Windweaver'. Atreus quickly realized her cap was missing, he wanted to voice his concern but he had to save it for later.
"Ah good, they fit."
"When we get you what you want, will you let us go?" Annabeth asked.
Gart looked at her, "After your mission is successful we will release you…to Loki that is."
"That's not fair!" Atreus said.
"Neither is life," The Big Man chimed in, "But our deal is with Loki, not you. And don't go thinking of running off. We can find you wherever you go."
"We got people in most every realm, and they can find you fast." Gart claimed.
Atreus simmered down, they were in a bad position. Even if they did this favor, Loki would still take them.
"Now, let's go over the plan again, make sure you two know it in your hearts." Gart said.
The next hour was dedicated to them learning as much about the building and the plan as they could. Atreus only half paid attention, his mind currently worried about what would happen after they handed the power to the dwarves. Should they even do it? It didn't seem like the dwarves were particularly good people, without any frame of reference he couldn't tell if they were any better or worse than the elves here. He didn't particularly like the idea of the dwarves being the lesser of two evils. Right now all he knew was that at the end of the day the dwarves can't be able to take control.
"Alright you two, you got four hours before you're ready to go. Eat up and get ready to leave by then." Gart said, at this most everyone dispersed save The Big Man, Freya, and themselves.
The Big Man was the first to speak, "Do this right, and you'll live past today. I don't think I have to explain what happens if you don't." That got a grim nod out of Atreus and Annabeth. "Good, let's go your highness, we have lunch to attend. And we can talk about Odin's payment for your release."
Freya looked like she was going to kill the dwarf before looking at Annabeth and Atreus. Knowing their lives were forfeit if she took action, she relented and followed him.
Now alone, Atreus looked to Annabeth, "Do you still have it?" He asked in a hush tone.
She nodded, patting the side of her leg, he just noticed a small bump on her side, about the size of her cap. "Don't worry."
"I can't help but worry, even if we do this, we don't have a guarantee we won't be able to leave." Atreus shrugged, it seemed like an unwinnable situation.
Annabeth smirked, and by now Atreus knew that her smirk meant something, "What are you thinking?" He asked.
"Here's the plan…"
Atreus listened, and he listened well. Slowly as Annabeth whispered to him, things started to fall into place. He could see it how Annabeth saw it. The plan was risky, but if they could pull it off…
"Are you sure?" He looked her in the eyes, he needed to be sure how confident she was.
"It's the best we have." She told him.
Atreus nodded. Despite only knowing Annabeth for a short time, he's come to rely on her. If she said this was the best they had, he believed her.
"What about Freya?"
Annabeth faintly tapped her pocket, which held her cap, "Think you can keep watch for me? Just for a bit?" Her head slightly pointed to the dressing room she came out of.
"Sure." He said.
And so Annabeth went in, Atreus stood outside waiting. A bit of rustling told him she was fishing her cap out, and a sudden shift in the air told him she was gone. He stood there for a few minutes before he was met with his first roadbump. A couple of dwarves were cleaning up the place, probably getting ready for opening when they made their way to the changing rooms.
"Somebody in there?" They asked as they approached.
"Annabeth is fixing her uniform for tonight." He said.
The dwarves grumbled but relented, "We'll start with the mens first." And so they went ahead and entered the men's side. As he heard them start cleaning, Atreus increasingly got more anxious, when they were done they were surely going to the women's side, and if Annabeth wasn't there they'd know he was lying.
The dwarves stepped out, done with the mens side and approached him. "Move aside." They said.
"Wait, Annabeths still in there." He warned.
"How long does it take to change? Tell her to come out already." Again more grumbling from the custodial worker.
"Hey Annabeth!" He spoke loudly, hoping that wherever Annabeth was she'd hear him. "They staff are coming in, are you done!?" No response, she wasn't back yet.
The staff waited for Annabeth to respond, but there was nothing. "Look kid, we gotta job to do and we can't be held back for long. Tell your friend to get out so we can be ready for tonight."
Atreus shook his head, "If she's not out that means she's not ready." He stood in front of them.
This seemed to anger the dwarves, as the lead worker walked up to Atreus, "Look here, boy, I'm getting in there and kicking your friend out. If you're still in my way in three seconds, there's gonna be an issue."
Atreus stood his ground.
"Three…" The dwarf started.
"Two…"
"One…"
Before he could do anything Annabeth appeared right behind him, she looked a little winded - likely from rushing to get back. "Sorry, sorry!" She apologized as she straightened her uniform out.
Atreus got out of the way, letting a group of grumbling dwarves get to their work. A silent conversation between Atreus and Annabeth told him that Freya got the message. They were ready.
"Tonight," Annabeth started, "We crash the party."