My body slumps against the wall and slides down until I am sitting. Air fills my exhausted lungs as I examine my ankle. It feels swollen and bruised as my hand rubs against it. Putting some weight on it shoots sharp pain up my leg that matches the pain vibrating through my body. The adrenaline coursing through me helps mask the pain but is not enough to compensate. It doesn't help that I have not even begun to heal from my previous injuries. Ever since I awoke in this place it feels that it has been one thing after another.

"Let's get moving before the door opens again" I groan to Frode as I use the wall to raise myself to my feet.

"Need a hand?" Frode answers as he wraps my arm around him and helps take off some of the pressure on my ankle. "Kids these days always trying to act tough and take on more than they can handle."

"Strong words coming from the man who just ran into a hoard of snakes to save one person," I jest as we begin to hobble down the hallway. "You have a death wish or something?"

"Son, being dead is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I somehow feel more alive now than I ever felt in the last years in my village. "Frode reassures me as he reminisces about his life.

Up ahead the hallway splits into two paths and we halt our advance. "Which way do you think we should go?" I question Frode who just shakes his head as he stares at the paths.

A chilled breeze blows from the hallway to the left and carries a whisper, "Asger."

"Did you hear that?" I whisper to Frode.

Frode looks up at me puzzled and quickly replies, "Hear what?"

"Never mind then. Let's go down this path then." I hurriedly respond pointing towards the left path.

We continue our journey through the hallways again down the left path, but I can still see Frode's expression shift as he continues to remember his past. "I'm surprised you can remember anything from your past. My head still throbs when I try to remember anything before my death."

"Your memory will come back in time my boy, but don't think having your memories back is a gift from the gods either." Frode contests.

"What do you mean?" I reply, puzzled by his words.

Frode continues while moving his hand, "We are in the land of liars, thieves, murders, and the like. If you ended up here, I don't see your memories all being very pleasant. Might be better to not have them return at all."

I reflect on what Frode has just told me while the faint whisper again rings in my ear, "Asger"

The mysterious woman reappears a few meters down the hall from us. The light from the torches reflecting off her deep black hair as it flickers. She outstretches her hand and quietly scratches out, "remember me."

"Who are you!" I shout almost coming out of Frode's grasp. I swiftly recover my composure as I see Frode's puzzled look turn to worry.

"Sorry. I think I can walk by myself now. Does that mean you remember what got you sent to this place?" I hurriedly spit out trying to change the subject. I remove my arm from Forde's shoulder and proceed down the hallway without his assistance.

Frode gives me one last glare but thankfully continues without questioning me, "I remember plenty of things about my life that would cause me to wind up here. I was a great warrior for my village but was lacking as a person. I lied, stole, cheated a few times on my wife., never played a fair dice game that's for damn sure."

Frode chuckles at his words but promptly continues, "I had always hoped that I would die on the battlefield. The same dream that all warriors have so they can be graced in Valhalla's light, but for me, I had just hoped that it would wash away my sins. Alas, the gods never seemed to take me. It's funny, I saw so many good men die instead of me. So many men who were good to their wives and their fellow brothers. The gods cursed me with a long life. A long life of knowing I would never be like them. Eventually, I grew old and could no longer wield a sword and I had to give up on my wish. I even took my last breath peacefully in my sleep."

Frode's face twists into a more somber expression as I think of a way to cheer him up, "But if you didn't have a long life then you wouldn't have had the greatest luxury of meeting Bjorn."

"Oh, that ruffian was a pain in the village's backside. Always doing what he pleases. Took quite a few coins off his hands in dice though." Frode chuckles as his face loosens.

I laugh with him as another breeze brings another whisper, "Asger...Asger, you need to run."

Immediately following the breeze, the sound of slithering and hissing echo through the hallways behind us. "Looks like it is time to go."

"You think you can keep up?" Frode sarcastically answers.

We begin trudging down the hallway with Frode following close behind me. Right, left, left, right. I keep making turns following the voice that keeps whispering my name as the snakes continue their pursuit behind us. The hallways get darker and darker with each turn as fewer torches adorn the walls. The castle gets more ruined the deeper we go in as well. Many walls are missing bricks with some being completely collapsed. We must be wary as we run to not trip over the debris that lines the hallway.

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The sound of the snakes gets closer and it is difficult to discern the number of them behind us. Their hissing almost completely overpowering the faint whisper leading me.

I really hope this voice is leading us to someplace safe. For all I know this could be another trick of the castle that is leading us to our doom.

I look back to make sure Frode was still following close behind when I hear him shout, "Halt!"

I turn back around just in time to grab onto some broken metal bars to stop myself from tumbling over the edge of a cliff. I let out a sigh of relief as tiny rocks cascade down in the dark abyss. Click, clack, then silence.

"That was a close one," Frode says as he places his hand on my shoulder, stabilizing me. His words echo in the large open area surrounding us.

It looks as if some large beast has carved a path through the castle and its hallways, most likely the Nidhogg. I'm surprised the castle is still standing with so much structural damage. Light seeps in from the cracks in the ceiling providing a little light. Destroyed cells and collapsed hallways line the other side of the cavern and it is at least fifteen meters away from us. Way too far for either of us to make the jump and I am sure the snakes behind us are surely almost upon us.

"Is it just me or is the bottom of the castle moving?" Frode says as he peers over the edge of the cliff.

I squint my eyes over the edge trying to really focus on the bottom of the castle and can see the subtle movement of the castle floor. I watch intently, mesmerized by the rhythmic movement until the little light emitting from the ceiling reflects off tiny red eyes. The floor was not moving but rather thousands of snakes continually crawling over each other. They move like waves and there was no place where the floor was not covered.

"What in the gods? I think those are snakes." I answer.

Frode motions over his shoulder to the hallway behind us that still has hissing sounding from it, "Don't forget about our other friends."

He is right. We need to find a way out of here. It will not be long until they are right on top of us.

We are closed in by rubble on either side. Our only option is to find a way across or to do battle with the monsters in pursuit of us.

"Asger!" A familiar voice sounds, and I see Haralda standing on the other side of the crevice one story above us. The others quickly join her.

"Stay right there we will find a way down to you," Haralda continues.

"You might want to rethink that," Frode shouts pointing to the hallway where one of the larger snakes now stands.

I quickly unsheathe my axes and run at the beast who lunges at me when I come into range. I evade the snake's first strike and thrust my axe upwards. I feel its blade carve up the length of the snake's body who hisses and quickly retaliates, thrusting its head into my body. The air in my lungs escape my lips on contact and I skid to my knees a few meters away. The snake darts in my direction but quickly turns to rush Frode.

"Frode!" I shout to get his attention.

Frode draws his blade just in time to counter the snake's bite. The clash of metal rings as the snake's fangs collide with Frode's sword. A small dagger whisks by my head and flies down the hallway, wedging itself into one of the two large snakes who had just appeared there. Any closer and the dagger would have ended up in my head.

I get back onto my feet and charge at the uninjured snake in the hallway and use my axe to parry its first attack. I slam the hilt of my axe into the snake's eye and use my other hand to strike its neck. My blade tears through its neck like butter and its head hits the ground with a thud. The other snake leaps towards me but I duck just in time to dodge a fatal blow. The snake's fangs rip down my arm as it passes. The snake lands a few feet away but is quickly struck by one of Iver's silver arrows. The arrow pins the snake to the ground, and it flails uncontrollably, struggling to get free. I stand over the snake and thrust my axe into its head to deal the finishing blow.

I look over to Frode who seems to be struggling with the snake from earlier. His blade is wedged in the snake's mouth and is struggling to overpower the body of pure muscle on the other side of his blade. I wind up my axe and arc it over my entire body before throwing it towards the snake. The axe slices through the snake and wedges into some debris behind it, its head still attached to Frode's sword.

Frode shakes his sword loose and we both take a deep breath as one of Iver's arrows slams into one of the walls that is still standing. Attached to the end of the arrow is a thin rope that is being held by Bjorn and Langley on the other side of the crevice.

"Always come prepared!" Iver shouts motioning us to get on the rope.

"Does he really want us to scurry up that tiny thing?" Frode says clearly doubting the stability of the rope.

"I don't think we have a choice," I quickly reply as steam begins to pour out of the snakes' wounds.

"Damn the gods," spats Frode who then reluctantly gets on the rope.

I start to pick up the steaming remains of the snakes as Frode shimmies up the rope and heads toward our party members. I collect all the remains into my hands and toss them over the edge. They tumble and roll on their trip to the bottom until finally being absorbed by the snakes below. "Grow that back," I shout triumphantly.

I grab my axes and start towards the rope when a cacophony of hissing commences, and smaller snakes begin to pour out of the hallway and through the cracks of the rubble and debris. A couple of the snakes fall from the ceiling and land on my shoulders that I quickly brush off. I can't catch a break, can I?

I leap onto the rope and begin my ascent to where Haralda and the others are. Ahead of me, Frode has already made it over halfway across. The rope screams with each move that I make. Suddenly, the rope slackens and Frode and I drop slightly. Both of us partially lose our grip and Frode shouts out to Bjorn, "How about holding the line steady you big oaf!"

"How about I just drop you then. I can watch you steadily fall into that snake pit," Bjorn bites back. He grunts and pulls the line tight again.

I look back to see the small snakes now climbing over each other until they reach the rope. The rope tenses as the snakes pile on in their chase. The arrow lodged in the wall begins to shift and tiny rocks crumble onto the floor. The arrow will not hold this weight much longer. Frode reaches the other side as I make it to the halfway point with the tiny snakes following closely behind. They soon reach me and twist themselves onto my boots. I flail and shake my legs free, watching a few of the snakes fall into the abyss below. The motion of the snakes on the castle floor is almost hypnotizing. If the fall from here doesn't kill me, I doubt I'll survive being swallowed by the sea of snakes below.

Bo's daggers and Iver's arrows do little to stop the hoard of snakes who keep adding weight to the already fraying rope. I get within a meter away from the other side when the arrow finally dislodges, and I begin my descent to the horrors that slither beneath me. I grip the rope tightly as I fall and swing until I slam into a wall right below the ledge of where everyone stands. The rope squeals until it snaps but before I fall, someone clasps their hands around my arm.

"I guess that makes use two to one," Haralda chuckles as she pulls me to safety.