“Do you not trust me?”
Standing there, looking at Osvif’s narrowed eyes and frown, it was obvious just how upset his friend was.
“And don’t play dumb,” his friend said before he could reply. “I’ve known you too long and that shit isn’t going to work today.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything!” he exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. “Ever since that day Guat bashed your head in you’ve been different. I told myself it didn’t matter. I ignored all the signs I easily recognized because you were different. Brave, strong, smart, organized, a leader. You killed a troll! A fucking troll! While grown men cowered and stood in fear, you ran up and attacked it! My friend never did stuff like that! That’s why Guat constantly kicked both of our asses! We were weak and we sure as hell didn’t fight back!”
Part of him wanted to try to settle Osvif down, but even trying to get him to be quieter wasn’t going to work. Too many years of living on both worlds had taught him that. This was the moment that Einar always knew might come.
“You charmed the pants off Avitue, had every woman fawning over you, convinced everyone in the village that you shit gold! The same weak ass, scrawny kid who didn’t do anything but whine about his missing father! And how many times did you ever talk about that after the head bashing? Zero!”
Osvif found himself by the chair, yanked it out and sat down in it. Mimicking him, Einar returned to his seat and sat down.
“We say we’re best friends and will die for each other but I don’t know who I would be dying for now. This…” he motioned with his hand at Einar. “Person sitting before me. Some Viking hero in the making… or my friend…”
Sighing, he folded his arms across his chest, and Osvif gaze locked on Einar.
“So tell me the truth.”
“I died that day Guat beat me.”
He had worked on this discussion for years occasionally. Every year, his friend got smarter and lying to him was almost impossible. Maybe three times in five years he had managed to pull it off.
“On that day, I appeared before Odin.”
Shifting in his chair, Osvif’s eyes tracked everything about him. How he sat, how his face looked, the tone of his voice. Even how much he blinked.
The man is almost a human lie detector sometimes.
Ignoring the memory of how Osvif had uncovered one of the merchants in Kopanes selling faulty equipment, Einar focused on this moment.
“Since that day, he gave a mission and more. To stop Ragnarok. The person I was when I died and the person I am now aren’t the same. There isn’t any more time to act like a kid or worry about things that don’t matter.”
Einar leaned forward, his face was set like a stone and his eyes bored into his friend’s.
Tapping the table for emphasis, he repeated himself.
“Ragnarok is coming. I am the last chance.”
Osvif’s face scowled, he continued to frown and then suddenly it all vanished and the man before him transformed into the boy he had grown up with.
He began to smile and laugh, laughing so hard that after a moment, tears came from his eyes. Yet even then Osvif didn’t seem to care, laughing until he gasped for breath.
“You honestly believe yourself! Everything you just said you believe completely! My friend, Einar Sibbison, the one who will stop Ragnarok.”
Still chuckling and wiping away the last of the tears, Osvif collected himself and tucked away all expressions again.
“So now what? You’re the chosen one of Odin? An avatar? Is that how you did what you did?”
“What will it take to prove to you that what I said is true?”
Osvif slapped the table with his palm and shook his head.
“The gods themselves would have to descend and say, ‘I picked this no good lanky teenager to be my hero!’ Then I would–”
His friend's face froze and his eyes widened.
Lips began to move, yet no words came from the hole as his jaw fell.
“Osvif?”
“A… a boon… I just…” Glancing around the tent and back at the flap, which was waving slightly in the breeze, Osvif leaned over the table, lowering his voice. “I just got a boon from Odin. Friend of his chosen one.”
Einar nodded, offering a quick prayer of thanks to Odin.
“What did it offer?”
“Ten seconds of my Wisdom tripling… just enough time to realize now that everything you said and have done is true.”
Letting out the breath he had been holding, Einar smiled.
“I wanted to tell you… honestly I did, but Odin warned me against it. Could you imagine what would have happened if I told you the next day that Odin had chosen me?”
Half of his friend's face scrunched together, and a pained look of realization came over him.
“That would not have gone well… It all makes sense now. Even though I’m not as wise as I once was, everything I needed to know and see became clear. So why me?”
“Why you what?”
“Why did you keep me around? How much time, energy, gold, and more have you spent getting me here?”
“Maybe I should either hit you in the head with a stone or ask Odin to give you another few seconds of wisdom. Think, you moron! Out of everyone here, you’re the one gifted with a mind that solves problems before they arise. Your traps–”
“Ones I learned from you or from others.”
Rolling his eyes as he shook his head, Einar pointed a finger at his friend.
“Your traps! You owned them, designed them, made them better. Where they needed to be, how far apart and more. Sure, I could have dug traps but I would have dug too deep. Perhaps then the troll would have gotten stuck. His enormous stomach did not allow him to touch the bottom and impale his foot. That would have made it miss the wire that awaited it when it tripped. Everything you have done and are still doing is one of the reasons why you are here.
“The second is easy. You’re my friend. The one constant and steady thing from my life that has always been there. Skardi, Guat, or any of these other warriors aren’t going to replace you.”
Osvif smirked and shook his head.
“If I were a shield maiden, I’d think you were trying to lure me to bed.”
“Thank the gods you’re not. You would be one ugly shield maiden.”
Both of them chuckled and grinned like fools, watching each other from across the table.
“I guess I do owe you a thank you like all the others.”
Osvif stood and bent his head.
“Thank you for being my friend and helping me become the warrior I am today. Until the day I die, my axe and my mind are yours to command.”
Rising to his feet, Einar grabbed his friend and squeezed him tight.
***
[ V.A.L.H.A.L.L.A ]
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Magnus / Einar Sibbison
Age: 32/18
Strength - 25+15
Endurance - 24+13
Agility - 24+2
Perception - 18+7
Wisdom - 18+5
Mysticism - 21+7
Runes:
Gungnir’s Strength (Chest) Legendary (Hidden)
Max Training Stat for Strength, Endurance and Agility is racial limit plus 50. 2.5 x Growth Rate
25% Bonus to Perception - No Stat Limit
Max Training Stat for Wisdom and Mysticism is 50. 1.5 x Growth Rate
Rune Level Bonuses:
Lvl 1 + 10% Bonus to Strength and Endurance
Lvl 2 + 10% Bonus to Agility and Perception
Lvl 3 Divine Protection. 50% Damage Reduction for 1 Minute. 5 Day cooldown
4 Days until active
Lvl 4 Healing of the Gods - 100x Healing and Wyrd Regeneration Rate for 5 minutes. 3 Day cooldown
2 Days until active
Lvl 5 Thor’s Blessing - Summon one bolt of lighting to strike one target. 14 Day cooldown
Experience 13%
Warrior’s Defense (Back) Intermediate
10% Bonus to Endurance
Rune Level Bonuses:
Lvl 1 + 5% Bonus to Endurance
Lvl 2 + 5% Bonus to Endurance
Lvl 3 + 5% Bonus to Endurance / Resist Damage
Experience 100%
Warrior’s Blessing (Stomach) Advanced
10% Bonus to Strength and Endurance
5% Bonus to Damage
Rune Level Bonuses:
Lvl 1 + 4% Bonus to Strength and Endurance
Lvl 2 + 5% Bonus to Strength
Lvl 3 + 7% Bonus to Endurance
Experience 82%
Might of the Viking (Right Arm) Advanced
10% Bonus to Strength
10% Bonus to Damage
Rune Level Bonuses:
Lvl 1 + 10% Bonus to Strength
Lvl 2 + 7% Bonus to Strength
Lvl 3 + 5% Bonus to Perception
Experience 82%
Forked Rune of Elements (Head) Advanced
15% Bonus to Wisdom and Mysticism
Advanced Lightning Affinity
Intermediate Fire Affinity
Basic Ice Affinity
Rune Level Bonuses:
Lvl 1 + 10% Bonus to Mysticism
Lvl 2 + 8% Bonus to Mysticism
Lvl 3 + 15% Bonus to Spell Damage
Experience 80%
Strength Milestone - Rank 1 - All damage done with melee weapons is increased by 25%. Muscle is denser, resulting in a 10% decrease in damage taken from all attacks.
Boon:
Wyrd of Odin - Pool of Wyrd is doubled.
Time Remaining: 3 Days
Thor’s Righteous Anger - Strength is doubled when throwing a weapon.
Time Remaining: 27 Days
*****
Einar sat there at the table, reading all the changes that had happened since the last fight.
Odin’s rune leveled up, and now I can call down a bolt of lightning? Just how powerful will that be?
Upon reaching the bottom part of the information before him, he choked.
Twenty-five percent more damage?! And the boon…
He hadn’t thrown a lot of weapons, for obvious reasons. Doing so left him unarmed, but with this boon from Thor, some potential opportunities were on display.
“I guess Odin’s boon couldn’t last forever,” he muttered, as the time remaining would be over before they returned to Camalin. “Thank you Odin and Thor. I appreciate your faith and help with everything.”
Feeling energized, he stood up and finished off the water in his cup, ready to see just exactly what these new stats might allow him to do.
***
“That’s the last of everything!”
Einar watched as the last wagon began to move out, laden down with bones, rolled up troll skin and other items they had foraged while in the forest.
“Seems hard to believe how much we’re leaving to rot,” Thorodd said as both men studied the piles of flesh with flies all over them. “Then again, we don’t need that and I’m tired of being out here.”
“At least we didn’t have anything coming to bother us at night. It appears the trolls kept a lot of the natural predators away. Should be interesting what moves in soon.”
Groaning, Thorodd pushed his pack leader toward the carts that were moving along the well-worn trail they had formed the last few days as carts moved back and forth.
“What are you thinking?”
Einar shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the spot where he had run toward the troll, filled with rage and lightning.
“Just wondering what it is like to be a god.”
The groan that came this time was louder and longer as his second in command started patting his own face.
“Dear Odin, what did I ever do to deserve this… now he wants to be a god.”
***
“Welcome honored guest! Please grab a seat, make yourself comfortable!”
Einar looked at the chair that was placed where he usually stood. It was ornate compared to most he had ever seen, yet no matter how plush the purple cloth looked, or how intricate the wood carvings were, nothing called out to him to take a seat.
The worst part of it all was there was only one chair and yet Varitan and Lyeneru were both with him.
“I think I’ll prefer to stand. Tell me, Nissa, I assume you have already heard about the request from the capital for us to travel there?”
Her left eye twitched slightly for a second as the woman did her best to keep the smile she had obviously learned to wear in the last few days plastered to her lips.
“I did… news came just yesterday… before your arrival. I have taken the liberty of providing you and your men with a new place to stay and ordered special meals and alcohol to be delivered anytime you request.”
“As much as I appreciate that offer, I’m afraid we would rather stay in our current warehouse. It allows us to train without fear of breaking any furniture or messing up a garden. Even better, we can house all our people and the animals.
“It’s a little difficult on the cooking and cleaning side as well as getting fresh water but I’m sure you might be able to help with those problems now.”
“Oh yes! Immediately!”
She clapped her hand and whispered something into the servant's ear before he ran off toward a side door, vanishing from the hall.
“Now tell me, do you plan on staying for a while? I could plan a dinner or some feast in your honor! We could invite all the citizens of Camalin!”
“I’m afraid we will have to turn down that offer as well. Tomorrow is the funeral for Lathliss, the elven warrior who died while facing three trolls. I’ve offered to speak to those gathered as they send her spirit back to Yggdrasil and Freyr. She was a testament to the strength and fortitude of all the elves who have assisted us on this quest you gave us.”
Einar’s perception was going full tilt, picking up every vein that throbbed. Each time the woman shook with rage or trembled with fear. She had set the stage for their failure. Their success only hurt her more. Worse yet, was the loss of one of her own people. From what Varitan had told him this morning, most of the city was upset with her and many had sent letters to the capital.
“Ah yes… such a sad moment. Our hearts ache at her passing. I will personally pray to Freyr that her spirit rejoins us sooner rather than later and that she achieves even greater things in the next life.”
Motioning to Varitan, the man stepped forward, holding out in both hands a two foot long cloth wrapped item he was carrying.
“I have a token from one of the trolls. In our culture, we give gifts, prized things from what we kill to those who have aided in our travels. Since I doubt I’ll have the chance to return here again before we leave in two days, is there anything I can tell the King’s advisor on your behalf when I see him?”
Her blue eyes darted from the white wrapped object back to Einar a few times, her smile growing as she considered her words.
“Tell him it has been far too long and I hope that his family is doing well. He is welcome to come visit me anytime and I will happily host him or anyone else he brings.”
Nodding, Einar motioned toward the door with his hand.
“If you’ll forgive me, I hate to give a gift and run, but there are a few very pressing things that I must attend to.”
“Oh, I completely understand the obligations one of our positions must have. No worries! I shall treasure your gift and am here if you do find time!”
Einar turned and moved, bringing Lyeneru with him as Varitan jogged to one of the servants on the side of the hall and then caught up with the other two.
As the door behind them started to close, a shriek was heard for just a moment.
“Tell me what you gave her!” Lyeneru demanded.
Einar smirked for a moment.
“Something to tell her how much I think of her. I made certain Thorodd harvested the dick from the smallest troll.”
Laughter filled those hallways in a way they had never had in so long.