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Alvin looks around, lighting the corners of the gloomy stable with his light saber. There's nothing to see but a dirt floor strewn with straw, and solid wooden walls.
He sits on the ground, leans against the wall and puts down the light saber. He unsnaps the deflated neck pillow and flings it into a corner. He picks up a strand of straw, chews it experimentally, and spits it out, grimacing. He slaps his face.
> Alvin: Wake up. Wake up!
He stares at the light saber, then picks it up by the hilt. He gingerly touches the glowing blade with a finger. The saber goes "bzzt" and gives him a tiny shock. He jerks back his hand.
> Alvin: That can't kill anyone. The guy must've had a heart attack. No! It's all a dream anyway. I didn't kill anyone.
He switches off the light saber.
§
Alvin is dozing, still leaning against the wall. He hears a noise and opens his eyes.
Oskar, a young boy with curly red hair, is standing outside, his face pressed to the window slats and his arms thrust between them. When he sees Alvin looking at him, he gasps and tries to step backwards, but he can't get his elbows back through the slats.
Alvin tries to speak, fails, clears his throat and croaks.
> Alvin: Hey, kid! Can you get me some water?
Oskar strains his arms frantically, trying to free them.
> Alvin: Try turning your elbows to the side.
Oskar obeys and his arms slide free.
> Alvin: Wait! Water...
But Oskar has fled.
§
Alvin is curled up in a ball, with hay piled on top of him for warmth. He hears the door being unbarred. He struggles to sit up, but he's too weak. Panting with the effort, he fumbles for his light saber, but he can't reach it.
Solveig -- a striking young woman with flame-red hair -- enters the stable, with a sword in her right hand and a cloth-covered bundle in her left. She pulls the door shut and glances quickly through the window slats. She walks over to Alvin, pointing her sword.
Solveig and Alvin stare tensely at each other. Finally she kneels beside him, lays down her sword and opens the bundle. In it are a small loaf of bread, a hunk of meat and a waterskin.
Solveig uncorks the waterskin and holds it to Alvin's lips. He drains half its contents. She tears the bread into chunks.
> Solveig: Eat.
Alvin picks up the chunks one by one and eats. When the bread is gone, he manages to sit up and lean against the wall.
> Alvin: Thank you. Thank you so much. Can I ask your name?
>
> Solveig: Solveig.
>
> Alvin: I'm Alvin. Why...why are you here?
>
> Solveig: Oskar said you asked for water.
>
> The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
>
> Alvin: Oskar? The red-headed boy? Is he your brother?
>
> Solveig: My clansman.
Alvin drinks from the waterskin again.
> Alvin: I'm so grateful to you but...why are you helping me?
>
> Solveig: I too was captured by the South Shore clan. And I had no love for Ulf.
>
> Alvin: Ulf?
>
> Solveig: The man you killed. Jarl Ulf.
Alvin chokes on his water.
> Alvin: I killed the Jarl?
>
> Solveig: Did you not mean to?
>
> Alvin: Of course not! It was an accident. I would never kill anybody.
Solveig looks at him skeptically.
> Solveig: Eat your meat now. You must be starving.
>
> Alvin: I don't eat animal flesh.
Solveig looks baffled.
> Solveig: Don't expect food from anyone else. And I won't leave it here, or someone might discover it.
Alvin looks at Solveig, then at the meat. He whispers to himself.
> Alvin: It's a dream. It's all right if it's a dream.
>
> Solveig: What?
>
> Alvin: Nothing.
With an expression of utter disgust, he raises the meat to his lips, tears off a bite and chews, gagging as he swallows.
> Solveig: What have you got on your eyes?
>
> Alvin: It's...a device that helps me see.
>
> Solveig: How does the ice not melt?
>
> Alvin: It's not ice, it's glass. Kind of a clear stone.
>
> Solveig: Where are you from?
>
> Alvin: I came from Iceland. I was in a...I was flying...
>
> Solveig: You came from the Other Worlds?
>
> Alvin: I guess so. Has anyone ever come here from...off the island? Or left?
>
> Solveig: Of course not. How can a man leave Midgard? We are not gods, to travel among the Nine Realms. We cannot go beyond the World Snake.
>
> Alvin: The World Snake. Jörmungandr.
>
> Solveig: You do know! Then why do you ask a child's questions?
>
> Alvin: It's...never mind. None of this is real. You're not real.
Solveig gives a startled laugh. Alvin looks at her in surprise.
> Solveig: I disagree. In fact, I came here half convinced that Oskar had imagined you.
Alvin smiles in perplexity. He chokes down some more meat.
> Alvin: You said you were captured. When?
Solveig speaks with bitter hatred.
> Solveig: A few months ago, in a raid. Sten, son of Ulf, killed my brother and abducted me.
>
> Alvin: Sten is Ulf's son! No wonder he wants to kill me.
Alvin swallows the last of the meat, rinses his mouth vigorously with the last of the water, and spits.
> Solveig: It's a rare stranger that Sten doesn't want to kill. I must go now.
Solveig wraps up the empty waterskin in the cloth, and turns to leave.
> Alvin: Thank you, Solveig. If this were real, I'd say I owe you my life. You and Oskar, I guess.
>
> Solveig: I'm not sure you should thank me. Likely I have only delayed the inevitable.
Voices are heard from outside, faint but coming closer.
> Solveig: I must go, before someone finds me here.
Solveig hastens out of the stable and bars the door.
§
Gorm is sitting on the floor of his house. The only light comes from a small fire, whose smoke rises through a hole in the roof. In front of Gorm are a hunting knife, a cup of steaming brew, and a cow's shoulder blade.
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Gorm sips from the brew. He closes his eyes and chants, beating his staff rhythmically on one of the hearthstones.
> Gorm: Urth. Verthandi. Skuld. Sacred Norns. I thank you for your wise words this morning. Now I pray you, forgive an old man's ears and...speak a little louder.
Gorm drops his staff with a clatter, cocks his head, takes up the knife in one hand and holds the shoulder bone in place with the other. He closes his eyes in concentration, and starts carving shapes into the bone.
> Gorm: Yes...yes...slower, let me get that down.
Gorm accidentally cuts a finger on his left hand. He winces, but keeps going. Finally he stops.
> Gorm: Thank you, honored Fates.
Gorm opens his eyes. He rubs his bleeding finger across the bone. Mystic runes show up, etched in blood. Gorm studies the runes and his eyes widen.
§
The stable door creaks open. Alvin stands, switches on his light saber and cautiously walks outside.
Sten, Arne, Leif and Knut are waiting, weapons in hand.
> Alvin: Where are you taking me?
Sten gestures down the muddy path between the houses.
> Sten: Walk.