Shadow of Fenrir

HP: 1,000,000/1,000,000

The awareness forced itself into Ted’s head without even trying to identify it. A boss, maybe even a world boss. This wasn’t a fight they could win.

The towering, mangy wolf raised its head and sniffed the air. A deep rumble filled the cavern. “I smell the stench of death.” Those glowing red eyes locked on Ted.

Ted swallowed. It hadn’t attacked yet, and they’d come this far. He stepped forward, pulled out the rune-key, and held it behind his back as nonchalantly as possible.

“Fenrir, you honor us with your presence.” Come on, take it!

The beast pulled closer. Metal dragged across stone but the ground didn’t shake, despite the creature’s size. “Human,” it growled, “why do you smell of Death?”

It could smell that?

Why not? Wouldn’t a son of Loki be a god as well?

Ted forced out a smile and bowed his head, praying his scattered knowledge of Norse mythology applied in this world. Here goes nothing. “Death toys with me, binding me, as the gods are want to do.”

Cara’s hand brushed against his and swiped the rune-key away.

Fenrir growled and shook his head from side to side. “Do not compare your puny plight to mine, mortal! Where is the battle? Where is the fire? Where is Ragnarok?”

Ragnarok? Ted’s blood ran cold. Fenrir expected the end of the world.

Did it plan to take part in Ragnarok? With no army of powerful Heroes to stop it, it could rampage through the world, doing untold damage. And if there were other such entities out there, waiting for that last battle, the one that would destroy the world…

Cara snuck around the plaza, making her way to the center.

Would the Shadow of Fenrir notice her? Would it care?

Ted walked around Fenrir, hoping to draw its gaze away from Cara, while gesturing as discretely as he could for Gramok to run. “Ragnarok has not yet come.”

The beast kept facing him, turning away from the center. “Then why am I free? Where is Odin?”

“I don’t know.” Ted swallowed hard, desperately racking his brain for any details he could remember. Wasn’t Fenrir supposed to kill Odin at Ragnarok? And even that assumed the mythology was the same. “But it is not yet time for Ragnarok.”

Cara snuck up to the center of the plaza and pressed the rune-key to the ground.

Fenrir’s roar shook the cavern. “No Odin? No Ragnarok?”

An orb appeared in Cara’s hand, glowing bright blue under Discern Magic, and she made her escape. Whatever magic the portal stone had, it was immensely powerful.

Another roar bellowed from Fenrir, and a nearby building collapsed into rubble. “It is time! I feel it in my bones!”

This wasn’t heading in a good direction. They needed an escape plan, and fast.

Gramok had shown them the way onward, through a passage down below the ruins. The map had shown a narrow winding tunnel through the rock. All he had to do was get there.

Those glowing red eyes sunk close to the ground. Fenrir’s huge teeth hovered before Ted, and the stench of blood hung thick in the air. “Where is Death? Why does Death not ride out? Why does he send his pet to treat with me?”

Ted gulped. Could even Death manifest in this world? “I cannot speak for Death.”

“Then I shall send you to him. Bring me back more than feeble excuses and lies.”

Ted leaped back, narrowly escaping the chomp of those huge jaws. He pictured the other side of Fenrir and began casting a short-range Teleport.

The beast’s jaws opened, filling the air with spittle.

Ted shoved mana into the disjointed spell.

Huge teeth descended. The spell sealed.

“Raka-fa!”

Ted’s stomach jerked, and a crumbling wall replaced gaping jaws in his vision.

A blood-curdling howl shook the air. Ted gulped. No time to stare. He pulled on his mana again, and began casting his latest invention. This was far from ideal test conditions, but the alternative was much, much worse.

He stole a glance over his shoulder. Glowing red eyes locked on him and bounded forward.

Ted jogged forward and dropped both unassigned Force perk points into Cast in Motion.

Metal shrieked across stone behind him.

He wove the white magic in his hands, thicker and thicker, willing the spell to work.

Only one way to find out if it would. “Ratonaka!”

He jumped, soared into the air, and kept going. Enormous jaws clamped shut below him.

He pushed himself forward with the spell, hurtling between the buildings. Stale air rushed past his face.

Self-Levitation. It actually worked.

Adrenaline danced through him, forcing a grin across his lips. This almost made it all worthwhile. A shame it wouldn’t last long.

He swung around the corner and descended slowly. This would have to be enough of a head start. Now, which way to the staircase?

His sense of direction pointed left, without much certainty. It would have to do.

He made his way through the ruined buildings, staying off the streets as much as possible, trying not to let his mind wander too much.

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Fenrir existed here? Or at least his shadow, waiting for Ragnarok. And Odin too? Ted frowned. How much Norse mythology had this place copied?

A shiver ran down his spine. The world was almost unchanged for ten thousand years. This place was older than human history. It hadn’t copied Norse mythology, quite the reverse.

How many unwilling Heroes had been kidnapped and brought here?

And then gone home. Ted shook and let out a half-laugh. Home. If Vikings had worked out how to go home and tell their tale, he could, too.

Stamina running low, he ducked into another abandoned home. Its front door was shattered and the walls were stained with blood. Two dwarf-sized skeletons were sprawled across the ground, alongside two… smaller skeletons.

Ted turned away and clenched his fists. How many dwarves had died here? And for what? Because the Heroes had gotten bored?

After a brief rest, he moved on. Anything of value that wasn’t trapped would have been looted long ago. Not that there was time to search properly. Cara and Gramok would be waiting for him.

The Heroes of old had been something else entirely. He paused and cocked his head. Were there other Heroes in the world now? There were many more races here than just humans. Were the other races real, out there in the cosmos somewhere?

“Ted!” came Cara’s voice.

Warmth flooded through him. He turned to her and smiled. “Hey.”

She beckoned. “The staircase isn’t far.”

“You made it,” Gramok said, almost sounding surprised. “Any deaths?”

Deaths. A cold void tugged at Ted’s heart, the dwarven skeletons still fresh in his mind. “Not this time.” He looked back across the city. “This place is a tomb. Let’s go.”

An all-too-loud howl sent a shiver down Ted’s spine. It was close.

Gramok slung Cara over his back in a fireman’s lift and ran.

Ted followed. Even sprinting, he quickly fell behind, forcing him to catch up with short Teleports.

The howls grew closer, the beast no doubt tracking their scent, closing in with huge bounds.

But there it was, the stone entrance set into the cave wall. Gramok ducked in to the staircase, put Cara down, and they both disappeared below.

Ted followed behind, not daring to glance back. He’d made it, that was what mattered.

The staircase spiraled down, only just wide and tall enough for Gramok. Every step was level, its corners as crisp as the day they were cut. No doubt the effect of the magical runes inscribed every few steps.

A howl echoed down from above. At least the staircase was too narrow for the Shadow of Fenrir.

Assuming it couldn’t shapeshift, anyway.

Once they were deep enough to be sure they weren’t being followed, they stopped for Cara to catch her breath.

She sipped from her canteen. “What was it like? Flying?”

A tingling warmth filled Ted just thinking about it. “Amazing.” He smiled. The look on her face when she got to try it would be even better. “Just wait and see.”

Her face lit up, and then dulled. “It won’t be the same, will it? You’ll be in control.”

“I could try teaching you.”

She raised her eyebrow. “We don’t all have your skills.”

He scratched his head. The spell did two things—lifted and pushed. Theoretically, maybe they could be split up, making it a simpler spell for her. “I’ve got an idea for that.”

Gramok grinned. “What about me? Do I get to fly?”

How heavy was Gramok? Ted looked him up and down. Even without the armor, he’d had to weigh a ton. “Might need a couple of extra casters for you, buddy.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cara giggled. “That you’re the most muscular of all of us.”

His chest puffed up. “Took a lot of ‘wasted’ effort in my youth. Glad someone appreciates it.”

Should he say anything? Ted bit his lip. Would Gramok have held back? “That, and you’re carrying by far the most food.”

A pause. Had he put his foot in it?

Gramok broke into thunderous laughter and clapped Ted very carefully on his back. “Good one, skinny boy. I guess that means you won’t want—” He reached into his pack and pulled out yet another pristine sandwich, stuffed with succulent meat. “—one of these.”

Ted’s mouth watered. He snatched for it, grasping only thin air. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Oh, I know.” Gramok smirked and took a bite. “You can have one, if you ask nicely.”

A boulder formed in Ted’s chest. He looked away. “I’ve got supplies.”

“Suit yourself.”

Ted snacked on some nuts from the Forest, watching the other two devour their meat sandwiches. If he asked, he could have one too, but then Gramok would win.

No. No way.

Food eaten, they continued on their way, deeper and deeper and deeper. The staircase seemed to go on forever, and time dragged on by.

Cara was silent, except for the odd grunt, but she struggled on, albeit with frequent breaks. Even Gramok was quiet, his mind wandering elsewhere.

Eventually, it transpired that the bottom of the staircase did, in fact, exist. And what was there, after trekking all that way? Wonders? Ancient knowledge? Powerful loot?

No. A ten foot by ten foot stone room, as drab and boring as could be imagined, with a single narrow tunnel coming off it. Ted looked back up the center of the stairs, his eyes getting lost in the endless spiral upwards, and wondered just how deep they’d come. It was definitely a lot warmer here.

Gramok crouched and headed down the tunnel, sword in one hand and his lantern in another. The rebounding light danced across the dragon emblazoned on the huge shield slung over his back. At least if there was danger, it would have to go through him.

Cara went next, safely in the middle, or safe as anything was down here. Ted took up the rear.

How old was this tunnel? Runes glowed periodically along it, but fewer in number and variety than the stairs. They were functional, but barebones.

Bright light shone through what gaps it could find between Gramok and the dwarf-sized tunnel. Flickering, multicolored light that promised there was something of interest at the end of the tunnel.

As they followed the curve of the tunnel around, the multicolored light grew brighter.

Gramok stepped out of the tunnel and gasped. “Wow.”

An array of light assaulted Ted’s eyes. He blinked rapidly, lifting his hand to shield his eyes. “Wow.”

The tunnel gave way to a large room. Shining crystals lined the walls, stretching from floor to ceiling. White, blue, teal, purple, silver, red, orange, brown, pink, and dozens of shades in between.

Interlocking pitch-black hexagonal stones made up the floor and ceiling. At the far end, a golden door slid open, revealing a long room beyond with a polished floor and murals on the walls.

Ted’s heart raced. He turned to the others. “Thank you for coming this far. You can wait here, if you’d rather.”

Cara rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’d rather live one lifetime than exist for a thousand.”

Gramok’s face beamed and he clapped her on the shoulder. “We’ll make a proper orc out of you yet! And I didn’t come this far to miss out on Zelnari ruins.”

“You two…” It was like they were determined to get themselves killed. “Alright, but I go first.”

Cara pulled herself to attention and grinned. “Whatever you say, Jeremy.”

He sighed. What was he going to do with them? “Let’s go.”

His boots clicked against the polished stone floor of the next room. Murals took up the left and right walls, each woven with magic and depicting a story across five different scenes.

At the far end was a sealed door with five lights above it. Before the door stood a strange desk covered in unmarked buttons, magic running through it.

In the murals on the left, bald humanoid creatures with no mouths fought off wolves. Zelnari, perhaps? Then, they learned magic. They used that magic against other races. They built immense cities with—or maybe out of—magic. Finally, a creature with glowing purple eyes destroyed everything.

In the first scene on the right, a mana vortex ripped multiple Zelnari apart. Ted snorted. At least he wasn’t the only one to blow himself up, and he hadn’t taken anyone else with him.

The Zelarni learned, though, and wrote down what they learned. They experimented with magic, learning new, more powerful magic. They built a vast library of magic.

The last section depicted a single, glowing figure floating above the city, a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, its eyes glowing purple. A swirling ring of blue and purple magic hung in the air beside him. A chill ran down Ted’s spine. The colors close to the ring were warped and dark.

“Their history?” Gramok said. His jaw hung open as he surveyed the room again. He gestured to the desk. “No idea what this is.”

Ted approached it and frowned. It was laden with magic, and looked a lot like a control panel. Almost like a keyboard, but none of the buttons had any kind of symbols on them. Unless… “They’re buttons, marked with magic.” Magic that only showed up when he focused on it.

Cara bounced toward the console. “What does it say?”

Ted shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s in Zelnari.” He looked up above the door. Five lights, and a smaller mural, with six sections.

The first five sections of the mural showed a figure pressing a button on the console. The sixth section was split in two by a horizontal divider. The subsection above depicted the door opening and the figure walking through it. The one below depicted a metallic creature impaling the figure on a spear.

An icy chill gripped Ted’s heart. “It’s a test. Get it right, proceed. Get it wrong, die.”