Mimir's Well (The Oracles of Kurnugi Book 3) (12 page)

CHAPTER 24

            
 
"
Y
ou can't." Andromeda had gone pale. She blanched at Frederick. "It would be like trying to invade Neustad." She turned to Cepheus. "Like trying to assault Olympus itself."

              There was the sound of wings flapping and the air stirred. "Not quite," a voice rumbled from the tent flap.

              Henry looked over his shoulder and his breath caught in his throat. The familiar figure of Hermes stood at the tent's entrance. Next to him was a broad shouldered man with a face covered in pockmarks. A twisted nose dominated his features. He had ears that looked too small and one of his legs had shriveled. A massive hammer hung by his good leg. Its head glowed faintly red, and he wore armor of shining bronze. A strangled noise came from Cepheus' throat, and when Henry looked at the Greek king, the man had prostrated himself and was whimpering softly. He pressed if face against tent floor. Henry stared at him for a second and rose to greet the gods of ancient Greece.

              "Hermes, Hephaestus," he said.

              "It's good to see you again, boy," Hephaestus said. "Tell me, has the equipment I gave you been useful?"

              "It's saved my life more than once," Henry said as he extended a hand. The lame god clasped it.

              Valin rose from his seat. His grey skin looked more stone like than ever, and his eyes twinkled like sapphires, and he spoke with a reverence Henry had never heard in his voice. "This is the forgemaster who made your sword and shield?"

              Henry nodded. "And who repaired my flesh when that one," he nodded at Hermes, "led me into a volcano."

              "How many times do I have to apologize for that?" Hermes asked.

              "I don't know," Henry said. "How many times do you think would be enough for almost killing me?"

              "It's not something I do every day. Sorry again. Now, can we please put that behind us?"

              "If the two of you are done, perhaps we can get on with business," Hephaestus said. "I believe introductions are in order."

              "Oh right," Henry said. "Hermes, Hephaestus. This is King Fjalar of the Nordi Mountains and his grandson, Valin, the commander of the dwarven armies."

              They fell to one knee. "It is an honor," Fjalar said.

              "And this," Henry continued, "is King Frederick of Argath and possibly Neustad now that Zuab has been defeated."

              Frederick inclined his head. "I'm working on that."

              Henry indicated the man with his face to the ground. "And I believe you know King Cepheus of Aetheopia."

              "By reputation," Hephaestus said. "Rise, Cepheus."

              The king got to his feet, but he still shook in terror. He was drenched in sweat and had left a wet mark on the canvas floor. Color had drained from his face, and he avoided looking at the gods face as if afraid they would strike him down for his insolence. He turned to Henry.

              "Who are you that you talk to the gods as ordinary men?"

              "He is a hero, King Cepheus," Hephaestus said, "and while your reverence does you credit, we are not the gods of these lands. You need not abase yourself before us." He waved a scarred hand at Henry. "Continue."

              Henry nodded and grinned. He indicated Hermes. "This is Hermes, messenger of the gods and an occasional friend."

              "I said I was sorry," Hermes said, though the half hidden smile said he was enjoying the jest.

              "And this is Hephaestus, god of blacksmithing and all the crafts of men." Henry's eyebrows shot up. "How much do you know of cursed rings?"

              Hephaestus shrugged. "I've made a few in my time. Why do you ask?"

              Quickly, Henry related the information about Andvari's ring. Hephaestus shook his head.

              "Without having the ring, I can't tell you how to break its curse," he said. He pursed his lips and examined the knife at Valin's belt. "The work of your forgemasters?"

              "Yes, Lord Hephaestus."

              "May I see it?"

              The dwarf nodded and unsheathed the weapon. He handed the weapon to Hephaestus who held it up in the light of the yellow emberstone illuminating the tent. He stared deeply into it, and Henry wondered what he was seeing.

              "Tell me, is this Andvari a great deal more talented than the one who made this dagger?"

              Valin shook his head. "A fair bit less so, I'd imagine."

              "That's what I suspected," the smith god said. "It's very nearly the most impressive weapon I've seen save for those that came from my workshop. It can't stand up to my work though. The sword I gave you should be strong enough to destroy the ring."

              Henry sighed. "So I have to fight the enemy leader again."

              Hephaestus nodded and handed the dagger back to Valin. "As I said, you are the hero."

              "Thanks." Henry glared at him. "Is there anything you can do to help?"

              "I don't dare spread powerful artifacts in a world not my own," Hephaestus said. "I can help at the forges though. I suspect there's a thing or two I can teach them that won't unbalance things too much."

              "And you?" Henry asked Hermes.

              "What else?" Hermes asked. "I can carry messages back and forth between the various elements of your army, and I can do it a lot faster than anyone else."

              "That would be a tremendous advantage," King Frederick said."

              "Still, that's it?" Henry said. "You came all this way to make a few swords and pass a few messages?"

              "It's difficult for us to exercise our power in an area not our own," Hephaestus said. "Doubly so in an entirely different world."

              "Then, why did you come?" Henry asked.

              "I said it's difficult to exercise our power," Hephaestus said. "I did not say it was impossible." He patted a hand on the head of his war hammer. "When the gods of this world take the field, we will be there to meet them."

              "Please don't be offended," Henry said, "but you're not exactly the ideal warrior."

              Hephaestus looked down at his withered leg. "This? This is nothing. I was born like this, and my mother threw me off a mountain because of it."

              "Sorry, I get your point."

              Hephaestus shook his head. "No, you don't. As a newborn infant, I survived a fall of a few miles with no injury to show for it save for those I started out with. If the stories I've heard of these lands are true, these gods can be hurt, and they can die."

              He hefted his hammer. For a moment, its red light glowed brightly, overpowering the gentle glow of the emberstone. The dwarves around the table got up. Most took a step back, but one stared at the hammer intently, his mouth open in shock. Henry realized this dwarf must be a forgemaster, and he could only imagine what a god's weapon would look like to one of them. After a second, the glow subsided.

              "This hammer once split open the head of Zeus," Hephaestus said. "He survived, of course, but if it can do that to an Olympian, I'd imagine it can do much worse to one of these gods."

              "We are honored to have your aid, Lord Hephaestus," Valin said.

              "What about you?" Henry asked Hermes.

              Hermes shrugged. "I can be a spy or a scout. Even if some of them can fly, I doubt they have someone who can keep up with me."

              "This is good," Henry said. He turned back to the map and then looked up at Valin. "How long until we reach Asgard?"

              "Three days to reach the mountain range," the dwarf said. "Another two to make it to the Bifrost."

              "Five days," Henry said. He looked at the kings who each nodded. "Then, we end this."

CHAPTER 25

            
 
F
jalar started to speak, but blaring trumpets cut off his words. Two long notes, then a short one. Valin cursed and the kings shot to their feet. Instinctively, Henry stood up and drew his sword.

              "What is it?" he asked.

              "There's a significant force approaching from the east," Valin said.

              "How significant?" Henry asked.

              "They have orders not to raise an alarm for less than five thousand," Valin said.

              "But we saw your force," Andromeda said. "You have many times that number."

              "Zuab had many times our number," Valin said, "and from what I understand, Master Henry here once defeated an entire army by himself."

              "Point taken," Henry said. He looked at Hermes.

              The messenger god sighed. "Fine, I'll go out and see what I can."

              The wings at his heels flapped so quickly they filled the air with buzzing. Hermes darted out of the tent. The wind in his wake knocked down the inkwells holding down the map, but Frederick snatched them up before they'd ruined too much.

              "We should get ready," Cepheus said. "No matter what Lord Hermes sees, we'll have to do battle."

              There were nods all around the table. They had just started to get up when Hermes burst into the room again, practically knocking down King Frederick.

              "Twenty-three thousand five hundred and sixty-two," he said.

              The mortals stared at him, but Hephaestus only nodded.

              "Is that just soldiers or camp followers too?" Valin asked.

              "Soldiers," Hermes said. He pursed his lips and scanned the canvas ceiling for a second. "There were seven thousand forty-two camp followers." He looked at them. "Do children count as camp followers?"

              Valin sputtered for a second. "Usually."

              "Oh, sorry. Then there are eight thousand three hundred and seven camp followers."

              There were several seconds of stunned silence before Frederick spoke. "That's almost half of our combined armies."

              Valin cursed again. Henry looked at him.

              "What is it? We'll beat them, won't we?"

              "Without a doubt," Valin said. "Whether we can beat them and still have enough men to effectively oppose Idun is another matter." He turned to Hermes. "Did they fly a banner?"

              Hermes nodded. "There were a few. The one I saw the most of was of a flaming hammer."

              Valin pursed his lips. "It's not Idun's banner nor one belonging to any of other gods. Unless..." his eyes went wide. "Was the fire blue or orange? I mean, are you sure it was fire and not lightning?"

              "It was fire unless lightning comes in red and orange."

              Valin let out a long breath. "For a moment, I feared a battle with Thor. I don't know this banner."

              "King Budli," Andromeda said. "Budli of Gothia."

              "Budli." Henry drew out the name. "That sounds familiar." He quirked his head. "Isn't that the name of your..."

              "Yes, I've met him," Andromeda said. "I don't think he's here to fight."

              Henry wrinkled his brow, but Andromeda shook her head slightly. He bit his lower lip and nodded.

              "Are you sure?" Frederick asked.

              "Reasonably sure, yes."

              Frederick huffed. "It's been my experience that when people are reasonably sure, in reality, they're not sure at all."

              "He can be trusted," she said. "I know that beyond any doubt."

              "That's good enough for me," Henry said before anyone could raise any objections. The last time she'd mentioned Budli hadn't been in reference to some random king she knew. Budli was her father in this world, and she knew better than anyone what he would do. He could only assume that since they were in the realm of Norse mythology, the other kings were no longer her fathers. Budli, on the other hand, still was. Then again, she had changed and looked more like the Andromeda of ancient Greece. Maybe whatever she was hiding had cut her off from this world, though he couldn't imagine what could do that.

              The kings and Valin looked at him. Cepheus nodded first. Then Frederick, and finally Valin.

              "Just like that?" Henry asked

              Cepheus laughed. "Lord Alexander, I've seen you do the impossible enough times to know that word has very little meaning for you. I gather from what I've heard from these that they have seen the same." The others nodded. Even Hermes inclined his head. "If you believe Andromeda, that's enough for us."

              "Alright," Henry said. "Let's go out to meet him." He motioned at the tent flap. "After you."