Chapter 23

Loki

Fandral and Hogun waited for him at the designated point, along with the Rangers Bjarni had handpicked for the mission. There were five of them: Rangvald, Sigurd, Erling, Fástulfr, and Hámundr, all clad in the green and brown uniform of their division. Sunrise was almost upon them, and Thor would be at that moment preparing himself with his own escort to meet the Svártalfar's envoy.

They knew the stronghold they had as destination was deserted, probably taken and abandoned as the one they visited when they came back home. Nevertheless, they advanced very cautiously through it once they were inside. Loki and his companions expected to see the scenes they encountered, but not the five rangers accompanying them. They said little, but in his eyes one could read their anger.

Once outside, they slid as quickly and as cautiously as possible through the forest. The Svartálfar mothership blocked their sun, but the sky above them grew pale, signaling the incoming sunrise. Fandral suggested Loki to use his magic again to help them be invisible.

"I haven't rested," the Prince said. "And helping my brother with the ritual has drained me."

"What about the signal, then?" Fandral whispered with a hint of consternation that made Hogun turn his head to them.

"Don't fret," Loki smiled. "I will have enough energy to create that signal when the time comes."

The prince kept advancing, leaving the others behind, who looked at each other.

"He must be in an exceptional good mood," Fandral murmured to his friend. "Each time we have questioned his magic prowess he would shoot daggers at us in the literal sense."

"He has been away from home for a long time," Hogun offered as an explanation, though he didn't sound too convinced himself.

They kept advancing through the forest and towards the tower. The wind had picked up, making the rustling of leaves the only sound around them. All the birds had gone silent, as if the whole forest was holding its breath.

And as if sensing what the travelers were thinking, a bird cried out in the distance and to their right. The rangers froze, and Rangvald sent Hámundr in that direction, stopping the others until his explorer came back.

Meanwhile, the sky had darkened above them.

"A present from my brother," Loki said, looking at the dark grey clouds covering the pale sky. "The electricity will throw their instruments off for a while."

Hámundr came back after a few minutes.

"Our companions," he said excitedly. "They have seen us coming out of the tower and are waiting for us right now. Come, make haste!"

A numerous group of warriors waited for them in a small clearing, twenty of them at least, and one of them, the tallest and strongest-looking, walked up to the newcomers.

The Captain of the Rangers smiled at them, his grey eyes so pale they almost glowed in the forest's dim light, wisps of his platinum hair framed his pale and angular face under the dark green hood, mixing with his neatly trimmed beard of the same color.

"It's good to see Your Highness and my lords safe and sound," he bowed, along with his warriors.

Vidar "the Silent" was a man of few words, more inclined to seek the solitude of the forests than the bustling city. His physique was as impressive as Thor's and he was a fearsome warrior in open field and close quarters, though he preferred subtlety and silence to be his weapons. Far from what people would assume, his monicker didn't refer to his taciturn nature, but to his ability to move so silently, even the most keen-eared enemy couldn't detect him.

Loki immediately asked him for news of the forest, and Vidar revealed, to Loki and his companions' relief that, when the invasion started, Heimdall had been found ashore, badly wounded, the following day. He was still recovering from his injuries at one of the Ranger's hidden outposts, with Huginn and Muninn watching over his sleep. He also told them about how they had seen the invaders bringing prisoners into the nearby garrison,

"We saw the reactivation of the Shield and the brewing storm as signs of Thor returning. Little we knew we would be blessed with both Princes," Vidar said. "Our scouts have informed us that the number of guards has diminished once they have to divert units towards the front, and we were on our way to free the prisoners."

"And not a moment too soon," said Loki. "The Dark Elves threatened with executing a number of our citizens each day that their demands aren't met."

"Dark Elves?" Vidar echoed.

"Indeed," Fandral stepped forward. "And you thought patrolling the forests would be a quiet task."

Vidar chuckled at the joke, despite the severity of the situation.

"Let's see if their legends can hold up to our weapons, then," he said, still smiling, but with a savage glint in his grey eyes.

Then Loki ordered the five Rangers who had come with them to return under Vidar's command, and the planning of the assault began. The Rangers had already scouted the area and knew not only the exact number of guards, but also their shifts. They would take them one by one as discreetly as possible before the ones inside could notice anything, then cause a commotion and make them step out.

"That won't be necessary," Hogun predicted. "Their armors are hardy and with little openings. As keen-eyed as your men are, you won't fell them all before the ones inside notice what is happening. As soon as we attack, everyone at the tower will know."

"It's not the first time we have face a difficult enemy," Vidar said after a moment of silence. "We will switch the strategy to a more aggressive one. Thank you, my lord, for that piece of intelligence."

He bowed, briefly but courteously, and went to talk to his men. It wouldn't be any different from other assault mission, only this time the stakes were much higher.

Once the preparations were complete, Vidar took the lead, with Loki, Hogun and Fandral right behind him.

The trees in that area grew more densely, which helped them, but also didn't let them see the top of the tower as they approached. Quickly and without any sign or order, four rangers climbed the trees, quick as squirrels, without so much as disturbing the branches, and all Rangers kept advancing from there, while fanning out as they slowly surrounded the tower.

At one point the three companions heard the whistle of an arrow flying, but they kept creeping their way forward since there was no sign of combat. As they advanced, they saw the fallen body of a Dark Elf with an arrow protruding from the small wedge between the plate and the face mask. There were more arrows fired, from the left and from the right, and they guessed more scouts had been dealt with.

The already dim light of the sky deepened even more as the wind grew stronger. The trees murmured softly over them, making all the Asgardians thank whatever luck they might have that day, for the wind would help disguise any sound they would make as they advanced.

Once they reached the edge of the clearing, Loki, Hogun and Fandral remained behind and observed. From their post they could see that the stronghold didn't have a wall around it; it had served as a simple outpost and not as a defensive point. Now the old tower stood alone in the forest, abandoned and crumbling, with the top half missing large parts of its walls. However, it only had one entry point: a wooden door now guarded by two soldiers and, according to the life signal readings, the underground seemed quite spacious.

Now that they could see the sky, the clouds had completely covered it, and the air smelled of a coming storm.

At Vidar's sign, Loki, Hogun and Fandral approached him and hid behind the bushes. They could see the elves patrolling the area, aside from the ones guarding the door. A bird cried in the distance, breaking the silence of the forest, and the Prince and his companions knew it was one of the Rangers. Vidar put his fingers on his mouth to whistle back, and the arrows flew.

Three elves fell right away, one of them from the pair that guarded the door. The surviving ones were either injured or the arrows had hit their hard armors and bounced back.

The Sváltarfar turned their weapons towards the forest and shoot, but the arrows kept coming from the ground and from above. Two more fell before Vidar gave the order and the Rangers jumped from the forest to attack the elves while their companions kept shooting. The attack was so sudden the Svártalfar tried to retaliate, but they were swarmed by the Asgardians. Loki, Vidar, Hogun and Fandral ran as fast as they could towards the door. The guard fired at Loki once, but he dodged the energy beam before Vidar shoot an arrow that hit the elf in the hip; the soldier staggered and dropped his weapon when he went to grab at the arrow protruding from his body. When he tried to react, Loki was already upon him. The Prince grabbed the elf's head and slammed it against his knee, shattering the mask in two. The elf dropped to the ground as the door opened and more soldiers joined the battle.

"The legs! Aim for the legs!" Vidar shouted.

Fandral dodged a shot from one of the elves and threw a dagger at him, which lodged itself on the inner side of his left thigh. The elf fell to the ground, screaming in agony, but it was short-lived, as one Ranger was already upon him to slash his throat with his sword.

He searched for Loki in the battlefield and found him at the door, wrestling an elf off his heavy gun. For a split second, Fandral thought Loki had been wounded, for his cape seemed to sport a crimson stain. But it was only a mirage, because when he looked a second time it was of a spotless dark green.

The Svartálfar weapons had hit several trees, making them catch fire. Fandral looked around when he noticed the flames spreading around the tower, faster than he would have liked.

Hogun ran past him, skidding as he slammed his mace against another elf's legs, shattering a knee and making him slam heavily on the ground.

"Fandral, Hogun!" Loki bellowed from the door. He had an elven gun in his hands.

"The forest is burning!" Fandral screamed.

As if the clouds had been listening to him, it began to rain. The sudden and heavy downpour caught the elves by surprise, but not the rangers, more used to fight in their terrain. Soon the Dark Elves were overwhelmed when they had to fight the Asgardians and the muddy terrain.

Fandral and Hogun hurried after Loki, but not before the swashbuckler threw one last glance over this shoulder: The fires hissed as the heavy rain put them out, creating a wall of smoke around the tower.

He ran after Hogun and down the stairs to the basement. The hearts of the three warriors skipped a beat when they heard screams from down bellow.

An elf cut their way on the narrow corridor, shooting, but the Asgardians dodged and Loki shot at the elf, who fell back with a hole in his torso. There were four other guards in the small chamber ahead; one shot at them, but Loki, instead of using the elven weapon a second time, threw it against him, knocking him back for a second, enough time for the Prince to be upon him, grab the elf by the throat and punch him hard on his side. Though momentarily breathless, the elf tried wrestling Loki away, but to no avail, because, with his free hand, the Prince had grabbed him by a leg and, lifting him over his head, he threw him against one of his elven companions.

Hogun and Fandral were taken aback by those fight movements, but the three remaining elves had unsheathed their swords and were almost upon them. The scuffle was brief, and ended with the Asgardians covered in bruises and elven blood. Loki stood in the middle of the room, motionless, and soon his friends caught on the eerie silence that had fallen in the catacomb.

The Prince darted ahead, with the other two not far behind, but only Hogun had the presence of mind to light his own lightstone. There was a hallway ahead which opened to several storage rooms, all empty, and at the end there was a door, closed and bolted. Loki tried kicking it in, but it wouldn't budge. A second attempt with the three of them, and the door exploded inwards in splinters.

They heard several screams when the door broke, and much whimpering.

The chamber beyond the door looked more like a natural cavern, rather than a chamber built by their ancestors. It was spacious, and Hogun's lightstone could barely illuminate the walls, along which people huddled: small children and the elderly, all sitting down on the ground. The elder citizens had formed a barrier to protect the younger ones, and they were the ones looking at the door in silence while the youngest kids whimpered, until someone recognized the three warriors.

"It's Prince Loki!" a young voice yelled.

The sobbing ceased abruptly, replaced by a murmur of joy which spread through the chamber. Hogun and Fandral were quick to instruct them to not move yet.

Loki seemed to remember his lightstone at that moment and used it. Several older people got up and bowed to him. Loki explained to them that, while it was a rescuing mission, it was still dangerous to go outside, and that they would have to wait a bit more until they could be brought to Asgard.

A Ranger rushed in the chamber, informing them that all the elves were dead and the tower had been secured.

"It's time, then," Loki told his companions, after he had dismissed the Ranger. "I will go now to the top of the tower to signal my brother. You stay here with the people."

They nodded and wished him good luck; the Prince retraced his steps to the ground level to climb the tower, which wasn't an easy task. The missing parts they had noticed earlier affected the stairs and large parts of the upper floors; they wouldn't have been a problem, but the heavy rain made the stone dangerously slippery.

Down below, as his men gathered all the weapons from the elves, Vidar saw through the gaps on the wall how the Prince slowly made his way to the top. A thunder boomed above them, making the Captain and his men take refuge inside the tower. He then made himself busy arranging the defense of their position.

An explosion shook the tower. Quick of thought, Vidar arranged a defense and hurried his men to take positions with the elven guns, and they waited, looking at the grey sky.

Silence.

Rangvald, who had climbed to the upper levels of the tower, came down, his face pale.

"Captain, sir!" he exclaimed. "Sir, the Prince! He has disappeared! The stones atop the tower are burnt and there is no trace of his Highness!"

xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx

Sif

The morning air felt too still for her taste.

Sif adjusted herself on her saddle, unable to stop fidgeting. A weight had settled in her stomach since Thor had decided to parlay with the enemy. Someone who made prisoners only to slaughter them was bound to be unnecessarily cruel and unpredictable. She feared treason and a surprise attack.

The barrier was just ahead and, beyond it, everything that was outside the city. The Svartálfar had lain waste to the fields and the crops, but hadn't touched the forest. Odd. One would think they would burn everything down so the Asgardians wouldn't have a single piece of wood to reconstruct. But if they planned to exterminate the Asgardians, they might want to use the forest for their own amusement once Asgard was empty.

But...

Why it was so cloudy over the forest all of a sudden?

A voice pulled her out from her daydreaming.

"Sif?"

Thor smiled at her from his own saddle, as they slowly made their way towards the barrier's border. At the other side Volstagg rode in silence, his green eyes scanning the destroyed buildings, and under his beard, the muscles of his jaw clenched in silent fury.

Sif smiled back at Thor, trying that it didn't look forced. He looked the very image of the Crown Prince, even more than the day of his failed proclamation, because now he also wielded Gungnir, as a sign of his authority in Odin's absence. Many times his smile would bring a sense of reassurance over her, but not that day.

"How can you remain so calm?" she asked.

"Everything will go according to plan," Thor assured her. "Don't you trust me?"

"It's the Svartálfar who worries me."

"I trust they are untrustworthy," Thor said. "Hold on to your shield and everything will be fine."

She held her breath when they crossed the barrier into open air.

No one attacked them.

They slowly advanced through the wasteland. What had been golden fields in summer and a green and luscious valley was now a charred desert. The Einherjar behind them murmured a few words, which reminded Sif that some of them had homes outside the main city. She looked left and right, where she could see destroyed buildings where farms had stood a fortnight before.

The enemy encampment was ahead; they could see in the distance the Dark Elves waiting for them. As they approached, they could see their leader, taller and burlier than the rest, his face bare. The wind had picked up, carrying with it the scent of rain; it made the scene even more desolate as they dismounted and walked a few steps until they were at a suitable distance.

Sif and Volstagg glanced at each other when they saw, among the elven guards, two creatures like the one Thor killed in Asgard when he retrieved the Tesseract.

"Are you the new king?" the Dark Elf sneered, looking at Gungnir, his elegant facial features twisting subtly in a gesture of contempt.

"It depends on who is asking," Thor teased, not missing a beat and hiding his surprise at the elf being able to understand him. "Is it Malekith the one before me, an illusion, or a subordinate?"

"My name," the Svartálfr said slowly, his ice-blue eyes regarding the Prince carefully. "Is Algrim. I am lieutenant to our Sovereign Malekith and his envoy. I have full power to negotiate with you," when he said that, his mouth curved ever so slightly, which made Sif grip her shield even tighter.

"Why can't Malekith step down from his ship and fight his own battles?" Thor glanced at the mothership blocking the sunrise.

"It is not our custom to have royalty haggling with the lesser races," Algrim retorted, not tearing his cold stare from Thor.

Thor smiled.

"You only have one mothership," he said, gazing at the Dark Elf again. "With all the soldiers it can host. You needed the help of the Jötnar and still you couldn't subdue Asgard. Now the Jötnar have either died when the shield was expanded, or already know your alliance is not as profitable as they thought, and they are probably trying to return to their world. What did you promise Laufey for him to bend his knee to your king?"

"We had a common enemy," Algrim said. "And common interests. They do not mind darkness and we do not mind having them in their frozen world."

"And you have new allies, I see," Thor commented, pointing with his head at the two half-machine creatures. "Marauders from outside Yggdrasil?"

"They are of no concern to you," the elf said tersely. "Where is the Aether?"

Sif smiled, despite herself: Back in Midgard the half machine creature had the Svartálfar under his command, whereas the Jötun here were under Svartálfar command. The chain of command was clear now. Those creatures weren't there to serve, but to supervise.

"Where is Laufey, by the way? I expected him to be with you at least, given that he's your subordinate now."

For a fraction of a second, the Elf's face darkened, but he quickly recovered. Sif didn't look at Volstagg that time, realizing that the Elves didn't know where Laufey had gone. They knew he had taken the Casket of Ancient Winters and absconded with it, but not where. For all the Svartálfar knew, Laufey could be in Jotunheim with his price. She wondered what would they think if they learned that their ally was dead.

Sif's attention diverted to the sky behind the elves: The mass of clouds was thicker, discharging heavy rain over the forest below, while lightning could be seen flashing inside them. She wanted to know what was happening at the forest, but she had to force herself to pay attention to the conversation taking place in front of her.

"Are you mocking us?" the elf hissed. Sif hadn't been listening for the last minute; she wondered what had Thor said to anger the Elf.

"Mocking? Far from it! I am being very soft with you. You invade our land, kill and kidnap our people, destroy our dwellings, threaten the Nine Realms that we sworn to protect while you demand from us something we cannot give you. For this our laws would demand that you all would be put to death."

The elven guards readied their weapons, while the half machine creatures did nothing. Sif clenched her teeth, feeling how the guards behind her tensed.

"But we are lenient," Thor continued, unflinching. "Your world, Svartalfheim, has been kept untouched for these five thousand years. You can go back there and rebuild it, resurrect your civilization and live there in peace without the light bothering you."

Sif saw how the envoy's face darkened, and this time he didn't bother hiding it.

"We will not suffer the children of light," he growled after a long while, speaking slowly, as if he was fighting to rein in his wrath. "Why must we scrape in a wasteland while the other realms thrive? The light is an abomination that must be purged. Your universe was a mistake."

"We have a right to know at least what will become of the other realms."

"The Realms?" Algrim smiled. It was a gesture devoid of any mirth, filled with cruelty and anticipation. "When we snub every star in this system, all the weak creatures will wither and die, to give way to true life, as was before this madness, as it should be until the end of time. But we are lenient: you can board all your people in ships to search for another system to inhabit, and you will have our word that you will be allowed to go undisturbed."

Thor fell silent. The wind intensified; now the sound of distant thunder reached them from the forest.

"We would like to negotiate," said Thor. "But, you see, what you are looking for is not here. My grandfather took it from you, that is true, but he told no one of its whereabouts. We could have found out, however, where the Bifrost brought it, but all the data from all the travels was stored at the Observatory, and someone destroyed it a few days ago. You are free to search for the computer parts currently floating through the Astral Sea, then you will have to assemble them and guess the password, if and when you get it running. That last part will be a tad difficult, because the password changed every few weeks and apparently you killed the one in charge of it when you blew up the Bifrost."

Algrim sneered.

"Even if we knew where your precious Aether was, do you think we would handle it to you so easily?" now the Prince Regent grew serious. "We already cornered you into your world when you were at the peak of your power, do you think we can't repeat that feat? Unless," he pointed with his face at the half machine creatures. "Someone promised you an army."

Thor lifted Gungnir and struck the ground with it. A deep boom reverberated through the valley as a beam of golden light shoot upwards from the spear.

Quick as a viper, Algrim unsheathed his sword and swung at Thor, who blocked it with Gungnir. As she gripped at her shield, taking cover from the elven guards' shots, Sif saw in the distance a bolt of lightning falling in the forest.