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Dragons of Asgard Chapter 5
🕑 Added 2021-03-22 00:14:33 +0000 UTCI stood up and threw my sword directly at the dark-haired dwarf.
He turned toward me as my weapon flew through the air, and the blade hit him right in the face and smashed in all of his pretend features.
Before the other dwarves had a chance to retaliate, Eira and Asta popped up from their spots in the field, too.
Then I held my hand out, and Blar breathed a massive blue flame into my open palm to call my sword back to me.
During those few brief seconds I was retrieving my blade, Asta threw her axe right into the chest of one of the blond-haired dwarves, and Eira managed to make her way over to the group to slash one man through the stomach and take off the arm of another.
I couldn’t let the girls have all the fun, though, so I grinned and ran into the fray.
I was met by the sword of a brown-haired elf in a yellow robe, but the man seemed to have very little fighting experience, because he held his two handed sword with only one hand as he tried to yank at my weapon with his other hand.
I shook my head as I blocked the guy, and then I caught Blar’s eye and nodded.
The little blue dragon released a blue flame right at our opponent, and the man immediately dropped his sword and fell to the ground in a fiery fit.
“Seriously,” I muttered and thrust my sword through the guy’s neck.
His yellow eyes bulged for a second, but then his body went still as blood started to rush from the wound and seep into the ground around him.
I’d heard most dwarves were blacksmiths, and if that was the case, I was less than impressed with their fighting skills. It seemed someone who made a weapon should at least be able to use it.
Just as I yanked my sword from the first male, I sensed the presence of another behind me, so I spun around and lifted my blade to block his blow.
Unlike his companion, this man seemed to know what he was doing, and he came at me with the ferocity I liked to see in an opponent. His teeth were clenched together, and he wielded his sword correctly as he slashed and jabbed at me.
I blocked each move he made, and though he wasn’t extremely strong, he was quick, so I had to keep moving in order to combat the blows.
A quick glance around showed the girls were in the same boat. The first male I’d come after must have been a fluke, because the rest of these arseholes seemed like they knew a thing or two about the weapons they no doubt made. Both Eira and Asta were locked in battle, and the dragons were helping, too, but I didn’t have time to focus on them.
Another male came up on my back, but Blar blasted him with a fireball to give me a second to respond. I jumped up and gave a swift kick into the chest of the man I’d been fighting with, and then I spun around and slashed the screaming, burning man behind me in the stomach.
The dark-haired male was waiting for me when I spun back around, but I was ready for him, and instead of countering his blow, I allowed him to swing as I ducked below his sword and stabbed upward.
My blade caught him just below the ribs, and his body lifted off the ground and slid down to the hilt of my sword as I stood up and let out a warcry.
I swung my blade to the side, and the man went flying into the grass. Blood splattered from his wound as he soared through the air, and he landed in a bloody heap in the dirt.
Before the dust could even settle around his body, I spun around to the next man. He countered my first attack, but then he swung high, so while his blade was still in the followthrough of his swing, I reared my arms back and took the opening to slice at his stomach.
My blow would have cut him right in half, but just as my blade was about to make contact with him, the man disappeared.
I stopped my swing and held my blade out in front of me as I looked around for my opponent. Was this some sort of dwarven magic I’d never seen before?
The weight of something hitting my sword caught my attention, and I looked back to my blade to see a little man standing on the flat side of it. I blinked in shock for a moment, but then I realized Kas must have managed to remove their magical disguises.
“Ahhh!” the dwarf screamed in a strangely high pitched voice before he jumped down from my sword and took off running.
“What the fuck,” I breathed as I started to chase the little creature.
“They’re getting away!” Eira called out, and I turned to see another dwarf running from her toward the grass.
“Shit,” I grumbled as I hurried through the grass after my little dwarf.
Blar dove off my shoulder, but just as he was about to pounce on the man, the bastard tucked and rolled forward.
The dwarf disappeared into the grass, but I kept going after it.
Suddenly, Svass flew over my head and then swooped down into the tall yellow grass. A little thud sounded, and the dragon made a small squeak to alert us she’d caught the enemy.
“Alright, Svass!” I hollered as I ran toward her.
Asta and Eira were suddenly right next to me as we made our way to where Svass had caught the dwarf.
She was just ahead of us, with the little man pinned to the ground. He had a long white beard, a small flat hat on, and a dark brown tunic with matching brown boots. A tiny sword was strapped to his hip, but Svass pinned his arm down so he couldn’t reach it.
The little dragon was sitting on top of the dwarf, and she looked up at us and smiled sweetly.
“Good job,” Eira congratulated her.
“Yes, thank you,” I told the little yellow girl, and I bent down to look at the dwarf as he shook his head back and forth and rattled his body in an attempt to free himself. “Alright, I’m going to ask you once --”
My words were cut off as the dwarf disappeared with a little poof sound and a small cloud of gray smoke.
Svass let out an eek as she hit the ground, and then she looked around in a panic before she turned to me with wide pink eyes of confusion.
“It’s okay.” I picked her up and rubbed her head as I shook my own. “You did your best.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Eira asked.
“His buddies must have cast a spell to get him back home,” Kas said, and I turned to look at her with surprise. I hadn’t even heard her approach, but then again, I’d been a little preoccupied at the moment.
“Or he cast a spell to get himself home,” Asta suggested.
“That could be the case, too,” I agreed. “We can’t say for sure.”
“We killed most of them,” Eira said. “I even got the little one who ran from me. Well, Svass got him.”
“I was hoping to interrogate this one.” I frowned. “But since he got away, that could mean trouble for us.”
“What do you mean?” Asta asked, and her white eyebrows pulled together seriously.
“Well, if he tells the other dwarves, or the elves he knows, then they’ll know there’s someone taking down dealers,” I explained. “Most of the actual dealer groups don’t communicate with one another, so if we take out one group of dealers, there’s nobody left to tell other dealers, but these were buyers, so they could have more than one connection.”
“Oh.” Asta’s yellow eyes widened with fear. “We must find him.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And fast.”
“Shite.” Eira shook her head. “The little thing was fast.”
“They were all very quick,” Asta said. “Even when we were fighting, they were faster than I’d expected.”
“It must be something with their size,” Kas said. “Even in their disguises, they keep their quickness.”
“That would make sense.” Eira nodded. “It’s the only thing that kept them alive for so long during battle. They weren’t the most skilled fighters, but they were able to dodge my moves pretty quickly.”
“Same here,” I said, and I turned to Kas. “Is there a spell we can use to figure out where he went?”
“Maybe.” Kas bit her lip. “I’ll check my book, but I’m not sure.”
“Could this help?” Asta asked, and she picked up a tiny boot off the ground, brushed it off, and held it out to the sorceress.
“If there is a spell for that, then this will definitely help.” The sorceress nodded and took the boot. She turned it over in her hand, and then she burst up laughing. “I’m sorry, it’s just so cute.”
“It really is,” Asta giggled. “It’s sooooo tiny.”
“I bet it would fit on Svass,” Eira laughed.
“Not you, too,” I chuckled.
“It’s adorable.” The redhead shrugged.
“I guess it is pretty cute,” I said with a half smile as I looked at the tiny boot.
Svass flew over to land on Kas’s hand, and she slipped her back foot into the small shoe and then looked up at all of us with a huge smile on her reptile face. The boot didn’t fit exactly, of course, but she managed to get her foot in it, and the act itself was incredibly endearing.
“Ohhhhhh,” Asta squealed. “She’s so precious!”
“Nice,” Eira laughed and scratched under the little dragon’s chin.
“If only he’d left behind a pair of them,” Kas joked.
“Alright,” I said with a small clap. “Enough cute boot stuff --”
“Cute boot,” Asta snickered and interrupted me, but I raised an eyebrow at her, and she bit her lip and flushed with color. “Sorry. It sounded funny.”
“We need to figure out where he went,” I said with a small shake of my head.
“It will take me a little while to look through the book,” Kas said.
“What about Ramir?” Eira suggested. “I bet he’ll know right away if there’s a spell for it or not.”
“You’re right!” Kas grinned. “My father will definitely be able to help us with this.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “We should probably get the cart back to Asgard anyways, that way we don’t have to worry about leaving it here when we go to Svartalfheim.”
“You think he went back to his own realm?” Asta asked.
“I’m sure he did.” I nodded. “We just need to know where. The realm of dwarves isn’t exactly tiny.”
“Right,” the white-haired elf girl said with a nod.
“Blar.” I turned to the little blue dragon on my shoulder. “Can you make a portal big enough to pull the cart through?”
Blar pursed his scaly lips and gave me a determined nod.
“Good,” I said. “We’ll need to do this quickly. Let’s go through the dwarves’ carriage and take whatever we can find, then we’ll head right over to Ramir’s. Blar, you practice that portal while we look through the cart.”
The little dragon nodded and flew into the clearing, and then he landed on all fours, closed his eyes, and made a portal appear. He’d managed to make a fairly large portal earlier in the day, but it took a good bit of energy, so I figured some practice might help.
While Blar worked on getting the portal up to size, the girls and I checked out the bodies of the dwarves. It was odd to see their bodies on the ground where our larger opponents had once been, but I went through their tiny pockets, took anything of value, and moved on.
I expected to find a good amount of coins or valuables in the cart, but it was empty save for a large chest we also found to be empty.
“How odd,” Asta said, and she looked at me with confused yellow eyes. “How were they going to pay for the dragons?”
“Maybe they weren’t.” Eira shrugged. “Maybe they planned to steal them.”
“Then why have the chest?” Asta countered.
“Hm, good point.” The redhead pursed her lips.
“It’s enchanted,” Kas said, and she stepped forward and put her hand on it.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive,” she answered with a nod. “I knew I could feel some energy in here, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from at first. It’s this, though, I’m sure now that I’ve touched it.”
“What do you think it’s enchanted to do?” Asta asked.
“Is the money right there, and we can’t see it?” Eira inquired as she cocked her head to the side and inspected the chest.
“No.” Kas shook her head. “My bet is it’s a similar magic to how they escaped. They use this chest as a way to transport the money when they need it, that way they don’t have to bring it with them and risk getting robbed.”
“Whoa.” Eira blinked, and her eyes widened. “That’s actually incredibly smart.”
“It is.” I nodded.
“So, it’s just a chest?” Asta asked with a frown.
“It looks like it,” I chuckled. “Or at least to us it is. But, we have plenty of coins from the other dealers we took out, so it’s alright.”
“What about their animals pulling the cart?” Eira asked. “Should we set them free.”
“We may as well,” I agreed. “Let’s do that, and then we’ll head to Ramir’s.”
“Sounds like a plan,” the redhead said, and she hopped out of the cart.
After we’d unhooked the horned animals attached to the dwarves’ cart, we all piled back into our own, and I picked up the reins.
“Ready?” I asked as I turned to Blar.
The little dragon nodded from his position on my shoulder, and then he closed his eyes and focused. After a few seconds, a portal appeared in the form of swirling air ahead of us. It was small at first but then grew to the regular size we would normally fit through.
The portal stayed that size for a few seconds, but I had faith in my little buddy, and soon enough it started to grow. It was a somewhat slow process, and I could tell it took a lot of energy.
Once the portal was large enough, I hurried the cart through to the other side, and Blar sighed as the portal disappeared behind us.
“That took a lot out of him,” Kas whispered, and she stroked the little blue dragon’s head.
“Good job,” I told Blar, and he looked over at me and smiled. Then he yawned and crawled into my lap to fall asleep.
“I think he’s earned a nap,” Eira chuckled.
“I’d say so,” I agreed, and I looked around to see where he’d managed to land us.
Even though we were on a mission, I couldn’t help the smile that came over my face as I took in the beauty of the Asgardian countryside. The sun was high in the bright blue sky, and fluffy white clouds floated effortlessly by. A lightly floral scent filled the air, and I took a deep breath and savored the experience of my homeworld.
Blar had brought us out in the countryside about a mile or so from Ramir’s shop. I could tell by the nearby road, it was paved in red brick, and there was a sign with an arrow that directed travelers back toward town.
“We aren’t too far away,” Kas said with surprise when she realized where we were at.
“No, we aren’t.” I shook my head and smiled. “Blar did a good job.”
The little dragon rolled over in my lap so I could scratch his belly, and I happily obliged. Then I flicked the reins, and the horned creatures began to pull the cart through the green grass toward the road.
“What about the cart?” Asta asked as we got onto the road.
“What about it?” Kas asked.
“Shouldn’t we drop it at home?” the elf girl inquired.
“Ideally, yes.” I nodded. “But we don’t have time for that right now. I’m sure Ramir can keep an eye on it since we’ll need to leave quickly.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure my father will watch over the cart,” Kas agreed.
“I’m curious,” Eira said, and she cocked her head to the side as she looked at Kas. “What was it like having Ramir as a father growing up?”
“What do you mean?” Kas asked, and her eyebrows pulled together with confusion.
“Well, I just mean, he’s… kind of… eccentric,” Eira explained.
“I’m just teasing,” Kas laughed. “I know he’s as strange as they come.”
“Good one,” the redhead chuckled and hit Kas playfully on the arm.
“In all seriousness, I was very lucky to have him as my father,” Kas said with a small, reminiscing smile. “Especially after my mother died.”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that.” Eira shook her head. “Ramir has brought her up a few times when I’ve spoken to him. You can tell he truly loved her.”
“He did.” Kas smiled and nodded. “As strange as he is, he was always a very loving and attentive father. I never was starved for adventure, adoration, or anything of that ilk. He taught me everything I know about sorcery, allowed me the freedom to roam around Asgard, within reason of course, and always made sure to tell me how much he loved me. He really is a wonderful father.”
“That’s sweet,” Eira said before she shrugged. “Gotta admit, I was hoping for some story about weird stuff he did, but that was nice, too.”
“Oh, right,” Kas chuckled. “Well, he did use to take me to the market and take advantage of all the free samples the vendors give out.”
“What?” I laughed.
“Your father could easily pay for food,” Eira guffawed. “And the vendors keep tabs on who gets samples.”
“Not if you use magic to disguise yourself or make them forget you were there,” Kas said with a half smile.
“Ramir!” Eira shook her head but couldn’t hide her smirk. “What an old cheapskate.”
“He is!” the Valkyrie agreed with a laugh. “My father is great at earning money, but very poor at spending it.”
“It’s hard to imagine he’s poor at all when he’s getting so much free food,” Eira joked.
“Oh, that was good,” Kas snickered.
I laughed along with the girls as the horned creatures pulled us along, but after a few minutes, I focused on the road and stopped paying attention to their conversation.
All I could think about was what we were going to do if the dwarf who’d gotten away told someone about us. We’d already taken out a couple of dealers, and while dealers probably didn’t talk to one another, I figured some people with connections to the dragon trade would eventually figure out someone was killing the people they got their dragons from.
Then again, that one man we’d seen a few days before who the dragon dealers had captive, said something about the dragon trade resistance. It seemed there was another group of individuals out there who were doing what they could to dismantle the dragon trade.
From the fate of that man, I doubted their efforts were accomplishing much, but I appreciated them trying. If they weren’t warriors, though, they were better off leaving it to someone who could actually stand against these bastards.
Still, I understood the urge to do something for the cause, even if it meant sacrificing one’s own life. After all, how many dragons had lost their lives already?
I shuddered to think of that number, and my mind flashed back to Vinrar in Helheim. He deserved to be there, but Ove, his huge, beautiful dragon, certainly didn’t.
Dismantling the dragon trade was my top priority, but once that was over, I vowed to bring Ove back home. He didn’t belong in the realm of the dead and joyless.
Unfortunately, Odin was the only one who could bring him back from the underworld, so I’d have to wait until the King knew about our efforts to stop the dragon trade. Then maybe he could admit his own faults in the matter.
It took about half an hour for us to arrive at Ramir’s shop, but once we pulled up, I parked the cart out front, tied the horned animals to a post, and headed inside.
The bell chimed as I entered the small shop, and immediately, my nose was assaulted with the familiar smell of herbs and tonics that filled Ramir’s shop.
The store was sort of a one stop shop for anybody who required something magical. The old man had healing salves, potions of all kinds, and amulets and crystals that could be turned into jewelry of the buyer’s choice.
As usual, Ramir was nowhere to be found.
“Father,” Kas called out.
“Kaspyr?” Ramir asked, and his voice seemed to come from everywhere all at once. “Is that you, darling?”
“It’s me,” Kas chuckled before she lowered her voice to address us. “Who else would be calling him father?”
“I can hear you, you know,” Ramir said, and he popped up from behind the cash register to our left. “These old bones may not be what they used to, but my ears work just fine.”
“Father!” Kas startled, and she brought her hand up to her chest. “I thought you were in the back.”
“Well, you were mistaken, weren’t you, dear daughter?” Ramir asked with a half smile. “Rath, Asta, good to see you again. And Eira, you’ve joined the party now, too, eh?”
“I have.” The redhead smiled, and as much as she’d joked on the way here, I knew Eira held Ramir in great esteem.
“Good, good,” the old man muttered as he came around the counter. “They can use all the help they can get, you know.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Eira chuckled and elbowed me playfully in the ribs.
“And my little babies,” Ramir said as Blar flew down from my shoulder to land in front of the old man.
Inger quickly dove down from Asta’s shoulder so she could soak up some pets, too, and Kas picked up Uffe off her shoulder and set him on the ground so he could run up to his adoptive grandfather.
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much.” Ramir smiled and pet each dragon just the way they liked.
Blar got scratches under his chin, Inger received soft pets on her head and neck, and Uffe soaked up some scratches just above his tail.
“As much as I’d love to make this a social visit,” I said softly. “We have some important business.”
“We’ll get to that in just a moment,” Ramir said with a gesture at Svass, who was wrapped around Eira’s neck. “But I couldn’t help but notice there is a new addition to your crew.”
“Ah, yes.” I nodded. “I suppose a quick hello is alright.”
“Oh, good,” Ramir chuckled. “After all, I only help you out so I can see the dragons.”
“Is this true?” Asta asked, and she looked at me with wide yellow eyes.
“No, dear,” Ramir laughed and patted her arm as he walked by to get to Eira.
“Oh, good.” Asta smiled. “Because I like you, and it would be awful if you didn’t actually like us.”
“You know I’m his daughter, right?” Kas chuckled.
“That doesn’t mean he has to like you,” Asta said, and she cocked her head to the side.
“Of course I like you,” Ramir said with a smile, and he reached up so Svass could sniff his fingers. “But playing with baby dragons… well, that’s a perk I’m not willing to give up.”
“I understand,” I told him, and I watched Svass sniff his fingers.
Then she gave them a little lick before she scurried down the old man’s arm to snuggle up on his shoulder.
“I miss the days when she only liked me,” Eira muttered.
“That was only a few hours,” Kas reminded her with a laugh.
“Best few hours of my life.” Eira shook her head jokingly.
“Don’t worry, dear,” Ramir told her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some smoked meat to give the dragons. “I’m sure she still likes you best.”
“I hope so,” Eira laughed. “Though I don’t bribe her with smoked meat, so probably not.”
“That’s what grandpas are supposed to do.” Ramir winked at the redhead as he held out a piece of meat for Svass to take.
I chuckled and shook my head. The old man was teasing, but he wasn’t exactly wrong. The dragons loved to come to Ramir’s. He gave them all the attention they could ever want, allowed them to climb all over him, and insisted on making them delicious food. Even I liked it here.
Unfortunately, we had a job to do.
“Ramir,” I said to get the old man’s attention. “We’re hoping you know a spell to tell us where someone went.”
“Hmm.” His bushy eyebrows pulled together. “Where someone went, eh? I’m supposing you mean where they went magically? Or were they walking?”
“Magically,” I clarified.
“Mmm, yes, magically is a little more difficult,” he muttered almost to himself. “It can be done, though. Do you all have something that belonged to this person?”
“Yes,” Kas said, and she quickly reached into her satchel and pulled out the small boot.
Ramir raised an eyebrow at her, took the boot, and turned it over in his hand.
“It belonged to a dwarf,” Asta explained.
“Yes, dear, I gathered that,” Ramir chuckled. Then his eyes narrowed on the tiny leather shoe, and he pursed his lips. “Dwarves have strong magical abilities, but they pertain mostly to craftsmanship. Still, it will be more difficult to figure out where a dwarf went than, say, an Asgardian.”
“Can you do it?” I asked with a frown.
“I can certainly try.” Ramir smiled at me and walked toward the back of his shop. “Come along, we’ve got work to do.”
Blar and Uffe walked by Ramir’s side while Svass rode on one shoulder and Inger rode on the other.
I shook my head at the sight of the old man surrounded by dragons as the girls and I followed him to the back.
Once we arrived at Ramir’s desk, he waved his fingers at his bookshelf, and a large volume floated down to land on the table in front of him. He licked the tips of his fingers and then flipped the book open and looked over the page.
“Ah, yes, here it is.” He nodded. “We’ll just need a few things. Kas, fetch me a cauldron, some swine nails, and a jar of dirt.”
“I’m on it,” the Valkyrie replied immediately, and she disappeared before I could blink.
“We’ll need the map I enchanted for you, too,” Ramir said once Kas returned.
She pulled the map from her satchel and set it on the table, along with the rest of the strange objects Ramir requested.
“Thank you, dear,” the old man muttered, and he set to work putting things in the cauldron while he read from the book in the old language.
The cauldron started to bubble with a terrible dark brown substance that looked like mud but smelled like sulfur. My nose wrinkled in response to the pungent odor, and I had to hold my breath at a certain point so I didn’t throw up.
“Almost done,” Ramir told me with a smirk when he saw how disgusted I looked.
The old man had the map laid out on his desk, and he picked up the cauldron and tipped it over so the disgusting brown goo covered the paper.
I was concerned about the map at that point since I didn’t want it to smell forever, but after a few seconds, the ooze started to sparkle a bright green as it disintegrated into little specks of dirt.
Ramir picked up the map, blew the dirt off it, and then flipped it so we could all see. “Here you are. The dwarf is here, or at least, that’s where he went.”
“This is Svartalfheim, yes?” Kas asked as she grabbed the map and looked it over.
“Looks that way.” Ramir nodded. “My guess is the little green dot on the map is the dwarf’s home. I doubt he expected anybody to be able to follow him, after all.”
“Good point.” I pursed my lips as I looked over the map.
The small dot that marked the dwarf’s whereabouts looked to be nestled into some mountains, so the terrain was probably going to be difficult to navigate. We knew where he was, but it wasn’t likely Blar would be able to get us to his precise location.
Even if the little dragon was able to be exact with his portal, I wasn’t sure that was the best option. It was probably better for us to land a ways away so we could scope the place out before we barged in.
We were obviously a lot stronger than a single dwarf, but there could be more with him, and they could have some magical protectant up, too. We needed to get there quickly and see what we were up against.
“Blar, I want you to bring us out close to the dot,” I told him. “But don’t try to get us exactly where it’s at.”
The little dragon nodded.
“You want to sneak up on him, right?” Eira asked.
“I think that’s our best bet,” I agreed.
“Father,” Kas said. “We have a cart we acquired outside, would you watch it for us? This is urgent, so we really should be leaving right away.”
“Of course, my dear.” Ramir nodded seriously.
“Alright,” I said with a clap. “Let’s go to Svartalfheim.”
Blar flew up onto my shoulder, and all the girls and dragons crowded around me while the little dragon opened a portal for us right there in Ramir’s shop.
The swirling air expanded until it was large enough for us all to fit, and then I grabbed the girls’ hands and stepped through the portal into the world of Svartalfheim.
We knew exactly where this little bastard was.
Now, we just had to get to him.
