Chapter 84

The first part of the trek was the usual long uphill slog and even Ildico and her fitness buff boyfriend, found themselves puffing and blowing while marveling at the endurance of their gigantic hosts.

Ildico between breaths, said to Freya, "I see now why our morning runs are so easy for you, they aren't anything like this. I'm getting a real cardio workout here!"

Freya smiled at her and replied,"Ah still enjoy th' runnin' an' it gets Roger out of th' hoose."

The three pups meanwhile were trotting about, sniffing at nearly everything in their path while their gigantic grandfather kept an eye on them, his newest grandchildren.

The great wolf Fenris, had sired many a litter of very healthy pups and now had many grandchildren and great grandchildren scattered across Canada and now, as far south as Portland, Oregon.

Where his daughter Sasha, was now alpha female of her own pack.

Cresting the final stretch, they enjoyed the level ground leading to the rocky dell while catching their breaths.

Phillip and Ildico strode along hand in hand, looking around in wide eyed wonder.

He said quietly, "This country is incredible, and these trees! D'you see how big and healthy they are?"

Roger smiled at them and said, "Wait'll you see the trees around their village, probably the biggest pine trees in the world, if not close to it."

Ildico chuckled and said, "That pine tree in your front yard is about the biggest in Portland. I could swear it's grown twenty feet since you two moved into the neighborhood."

Freya merely smiled and squeezed Roger's hand, she wasn't telling her secrets but Roger knew she had given the tree a potion she had made from an old recipe that came from old Jotunheim itself.

In fact, she had given that potion to a number of trees on the combined properties, namely the ones with tree spirits living in them.

Rounding a bend, they saw a group of guardian wolves lolling about while one remained alert.

At the watchwolf's signal, the rest got to their feet and watched as the Jotun party approached.

Their floofy tails began wagging and soon, the huge alpha was among them introducing his grandchildren to the rest of the pack.

Ildico and Phillip were introduced to the pack and the two laughed while making their acquaintances with the gigantic wolves from Jotunheim.

Roger naturally, waded into the pack freely dispensing ear rubs and rump scratchings to all of them, including the huge alpha who struggled to maintain his dignity while getting his furry rump thoroughly scratched.

Entering the tree covered dell was like stepping into a fairy realm to Ildico and Phillip, it was the closest they would ever come to entering the fae realm.

The trail became carpeted in a deep cushion of needles and they looked up and saw how the myriad branches intertwined overhead to form a green, pine scented canopy.

Walking along in near total silence, Phillip whispered, "I feel like I'm in a fantasy movie...Next we'll be seeing elves or something like them."

They heard a chorus of titters coming from overhead and when they looked up, they saw nothing but still heard tittering coming from further along the pathway.

This went on until there was a sudden high pitched squeal and a tiny form fell out of the branches overhead to land in front of them.

To Phillip's unbelieving eyes, he saw a tiny girlish humanoid form pick herself up, brush herself off, smile at him and scamper off into the woods.

Ildico started laughing at the look on his face and said, "I guess you've never seen Dena then? That child is likely related to her."

Phillip looked rather nonplussed and replied, "I remember you mentioning a 'Dena' but, no, I've never seen her. What did I just see then?"

Phillip looked over at Roger who was smiling knowingly and asked, "Was that one of 'Dena's' relatives I just saw?"

"Probably, though it's hard to be sure without knowing the child's name." replied Roger who grinned and said, "That 'child' could be older than either of us, wood elves are very long lived and age very slowly. To this day, I couldn't tell you how old Dena is, even though she looks about 25 or so."

Phillip lapsed into silence as they went further into the green canopied dell.

Before long he began to notice the older Jotun built houses that tunneled right into the mountain itself or were snuggled between two massive tree boles and covered with a deep carpet of mould and ferny growths.

One house was literally right under a gigantic pine tree and its front door was framed by two massive roots of indeterminate age.

Standing in front of it was a mature woman with a broom in one hand.

Their arrival had interrupted her sweeping off the stepping stones leading to her door, and she had paused in her labor to watch them passing by.

She smiled and called out,"Guid day tae ye, welcome tae uir village!"

Ildico smiled at her and called back, "And a good day to you too!"

While Phillip simply smiled and waved at her, not quite sure of what to say, he played it safe.

Leaning her broom against the deeply carved door to her home, the woman came over and said, "Hello, me nam is Greda. Rolf Haraldson is me guidman. Pleased tae meit yur!"

Ildico grinned at the giantess and replied, "Pleased to meet you too! I'm Ildico Swensen and this is my boyfriend Phillip Thorsen...He's a little tongue tied right now."

Greda smiled and said, "That's nae unusual, most wee fowk ur a wee o'erwhelmed by uir size at first."

Ildico chuckled and replied, "I'm kind of used to Freya's size because we're neighbors and all. Still, meeting her dad for the first time was an eye opener!"

Greda laughed and said, "If it's onie comfort tae ye, ye twa ur very tall fur wee fowk. Especially ye, Ildico."

Ildico laughed and said cheerfully, "Just call me Ildi, all my friends do."

Greda then grinned at Freya and said cheerfully, "Hoo lang ur ye haur fur thes time? It's a mite early fur th' summer feest."

Freya smiled and replied,"Ah'm oanly haur fur th' week end. We cam up tae deliver Sasha's pups."

"Och, sae she's hud 'er first litter 'en? That's guid. Hoo mony pups did she hae?"

"Five, twa ay them boonded wi' a coupla wee fowk Ah ken an' we brooght th' rest wi' us." replied Freya.

Greda smiled, "Well, Ah'd best be gettin' back tae me sweepin' afore Rolf gets back frae th' gardens."

Ildico smiled and said, "You should see the gardens around Freya's house! I swear she could get fruit out of solid rock, that girl."

Greda chuckled and replied, "Ay coorse she coods, she is a Jotun lassie isnae she?"

The two women shared a chuckle and Greda returned to her labors while Ildico followed along behind Phillip and the rest to Sigurd and Gudrun's house.

Gudrun was out in front of her house when they arrived.

Freya let go of Roger's hand and rushed to greet her mother who, as always, welcomed her youngest child with open arms and an open heart.

Enveloping her daughter with an immense hug, Gudrun smiled at Sigurd who smiled at his wife and child, "Ah see yoo've brooght haem some wee guests!" she said as she welcomed Roger in a similar manner, her matronly bosom engulfing him in its warmth and love.

Freya grinned and said, "Thes is Ildico, me neighbor an' Phillip, 'er boyfriend."

Freya smiled at the couple and said cheerfully, "Thes is me mom, Gudrun, an' thes is me haem!"

Gudrun smiled at them and said, "Welcome tae uir haem!"

Gudrun said to Freya, "Put them in Eric's auld room, he wullnae min'"

Freya led the way to her older brother's room while Roger lugged his and Freya's back packs into her room and tossed them on her guest bed.

Roger smiled to himself, poor Phillip, at 6 foot 8 inches tall, he was used to being generally the tallest man in the room.

Now, he was no taller than a Jotun child of 11 years in age.

Even being familiar with Freya's looming presence had not prepared him for the sheer presence of Freya's people.

Roger smiled when he heard Ildico exclaim, "That's not a bathtub, that's a hot tub!"

Freya was clearly showing her guests around the house.

He heard Phillip ask, "What did you do with all the rock you took out of here to make this house? All that stone had to go somewhere!"

Freya replied, "Th' stone was used tae build th' rock walls we used tae terrace an' protect uir gardens frae th' wildlife aroond haur. Ah'll show ye later oan whit we did wi' aw th' stone ootwith."

Leaving Freya to her guests, Roger ambled into the kitchen where he saw Sigurd and Gudrun quietly talking.

He waved 'hello' and hefted the water kettle before he got out a large mug to make himself some instant coffee.

He was about to reach for the jar of instant coffee he'd brought up earlier when Gudrun asked, "Roger, did ye see th' yoong lassie fa was wi' Leif doon at th' loch? Did ye meit 'er?"

Pausing a moment to collect his thoughts, Roger answered, "I did see a young Jotun girl at the lake, I thought she was a friend of Leif's but didn't actually meet her. By that I mean, we weren't introduced to each other. Truth be told, I was really more concerned with Barbara grabbing me up like she always does."

Roger smiled, "I was pleasantly surprised to hear she is now engaged to be wed."

He paused, "Why do you ask?"

"Ah was wonderin' if ye'd gotten an impression ay th' lassie." remarked Gudrun.

"Leif mit 'er when he was helpin' th' Peterson's move it haur an' she cam it efter heem wi' 'er things."

"And you're concerned about her, or Leif?" he asked.

"'er ay coorse, Ah troost me yoongest son. He's almost at marriageable age but she's oanly sixteen an' 'er fowks lit 'er cam it west tae be wi' heem." Replied Gudrun.

Roger paused to think a moment, then replied, "Some girls mature more rapidly than boys. It might be a case of her knowing he is the one for her, and she is following her heart, while he's still figuring out which end is up."

While he was saying that, he missed the brief exchange of knowing glances between Sigurd and Gudrun.

Roger had inadvertently described his own relationship with Freya to their bemusement.

Men could be so dense that way, sometimes.

Freya's voice saying, "An' thes is uir kitchen!"

Interrupted their conversation and a moment later, Freya led Ildico and Phillip into the heart of any Jotun home, the kitchen.

Ildico stood quietly, her blue eyes taking in the sight of Gudrun's domain.

The massive stove took up much of one wall and was a blend of stone, wrought iron and dully gleaming brass.

It had six burners, three ovens, two large and one small with a warmer built atop one of the large ovens.

One brass pipe ran from the stove body into the bottom of a stout wooden barrel while the other ran from the chimney flue to the top of the barrel.

This served as a hot water reservoir for washing and bathing purposes.

And could be replenished via a wooden spout sticking out of the rock wall behind the stove.

Phillip smiled at the sight of the simple hot water source and muttered, "Very clever, a thermo siphon powered water heater."

At the moment, the smells of bread baking and a hearty stew cooking teased their palates, dinner would be ready fairly soon.

Ildico slowly inhaled the cooking aromas and smiled, "It's been a long time since I've smelled fresh baked bread."

She grinned, "My grandmother in Sweden used to bake her own breads and when it came fresh out of the oven she had. I would beg her to cut me a slice and butter it up, with honey drizzled on it, it was better than cake, I thought."

Gudrun smiled at her comment and replied,"Well, Ah hope me breed wull be half as guid as ye remember hoo yer grandmother's tasted."

Ildico laughed and said gaily, "It smells wonderful, I'm sure my grandmother would be just a little bit envious of your bread!"

Gudrun chuckled and said, "Ah jist hope yoo'll enjoy me breed as much as ye enjoyed yer granny's."

Glancing at the wall clock, Gudrun declared, "Dinner wull be at six o'clock. If ye gie a wee guttin', Ah hae some dried fruits an' nuts tae tide ye ower."

Ildico smiled and replied, "We'll be fine until dinner, but thank you."

Freya grinned and said, "Cam, let me show ye th' village..." as she led them out of the kitchen.

Roger smiled at his gigantic hostess and said, "I'd better tag along, Old Harald can be a bit overwhelming."

Gudrun merely smiled at his comment and chuckled when she saw him tucking his firkin cask under his left arm.

She called out as he left, "P'raps yoo'll be needin' a kilderkin next?"

Roger laughed and retorted, "Perhaps you're right!" as he slipped outside.

With his firkin cask tucked under his arm, Roger toddled along behind Freya and her two guests, Ildico and Phillip.

She was chattering happily at the couple while she pointed out some of the amenities in her home village as they nodded in appreciation.

They stopped at one of the garden terraces Freya had mentioned earlier and Phillip remarked, "That's some pretty good dry stone work there. You say this came out of the houses that were cut into the mountain itself?"

Freya grinned, "Aye, thes one haur war built by me faither an' auldest brither, when Ah war a wee lass."

Phillip smiled and asked, "Where did they get the stone from, exactly?"

"Frae when they built me mah own bedroom, sae Ah coods hae me privacy."

Phillip grinned and remarked, "Yes, a growing girl would want her privacy, especially with a bunch of rowdy older brothers."

Freya just smiled, "Ah coods teel ye stories abit me brithers an' their teachin' me abit playin' roogh!"