“Tove, sword.”
Göll had pulled hers already, the spear glowing dim in the night. Erik marched through the warband, their eyes locked to the edges of the light of the torches.
He hadn’t made it to Flosi when the first hiss swooped overhead. Erik could not see it, even with the vision afforded to him by his power. He rushed for the front and found Flosi holding his hammer at the ready. At the back, where Erik had been, the first sounds of clashing steel came, along with pained screams.
“They’ve come Erik!” He laughed, running over. The warchief pressed a runestone into his hand, a leather loop run through a stone to allow it to be worn on the wrist. “Here. It will pull you toward Gjallarbrú. Trust in it and leave this battle to us.”
“I can’t just—”
Hlökk swooped over, striking down at Erik. It was Flosi who struck out at her, swinging his hammer with incredible speed. It was not enough to catch the valkyrie. The man’s face was glowing with excitement.
“Go, berserker! I led you along hoping for this fight! Do not take it from me!” Erik nodded and Flosi turned. “My thanks! I’ll repay you at Ragnarok!”
The warchief charged off, the runes in his stone hammer glowing a deep black-purple. He let out a thundering cry and slammed the weapon against the ground. Ice flew into the air and the fog blew back, revealing the valkyries in the sky. Spears flew at them immediately and they swarmed away, then back at the attackers below. Tove pulled Erik’s shoulder and he spun, taking the chance to flee.
They were in a dead run for as much of a mile as the terrain allowed, the sounds of the fight fading away from them. The runestone had tugged gently on his wrist the whole of it, pulling him back on course as he veered in the dark. Tove pulled on his coat again and he slowed, turning around.
Göll came to him. “They will not follow.”
“Why not?”
“A valkyrie cannot refuse a fight. And the other warband struck at them. Flosi was not the only among their number with a magic weapon. They may fight well.”
“So how long do we have?”
“A… day.” She struggled even to get those words out and they came from a much more natural voice.
“Doubt I can ask why.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “A day, okay. We can make it to this bridge if we keep going like Flosi planned.”
“I have no complaint,” Tove offered.
“Good. So let’s go.”
So they did. Erik had hardly caught his breath from the running, but it was a drive now to see their way through to the end of the valley and out the other side before the valkyries could return. At least if they were to be mired in darkness, he wanted a place where the three of them could move well enough to stand something approaching a chance.
Their path through the mountains began to climb and the hours passed by. The temperature became unbearably cold, Erik barely managing to keep his wits in the temperature at the front of the line. Göll kept herself at the back and Erik couldn’t think of a good reason for her not to. The valkyries would likely come from that direction if they meant to attack as soon as possible.
The ridge finally flattened and the light began to stream back into the world. Erik breathed a sigh of relief that there was at least something to allow them to see beyond a few steps ahead. It had made the steady pace he tried to keep all the more difficult. He couldn’t help but feel impressed by the effortlessness with which Flosi’s band had moved through such similar terrain.
Above them, the mountains began to trend slowly downward, as did the curve of the valley. The temperature began to rise even. When it would have been dark among the mountains, the sun still had hours left in the sky and Erik was even considering removing the furs he wore. He began to grow nervous, worrying they’d been sent south without him realizing. Calming, he took stock of things. The sun was still on the correct side of the sky and the stone had not changed its direction.
A few sharp declines brought them to the edge of a snowy forest, the stone urging them through it. They followed, the sun seeming to slow in the sky the deeper into the wood they went. Finally, they came out the far side.
Below was a lush valley and at its far end, the glittering gold roof over a massive bridge stretching across a gorge. The north end was fed by a waterfall. Around the end of the bridge on their side of the gorge was a large city, twice the size of Lofgrund, at least, and an enormous stone keep sat at the entrance to the bridge itself. Even outside the walls proper, there was a small city of what looked like wooden homes and shops, smoke coming from many of the chimneys.
The temperature rose rapidly as they descended, warming to near how he remembered the air in Kvernes being. He stripped off the overcoat, turning to Göll. “Will we need this from here?”
Göll shook her head and Erik tossed it aside. Tove did the same. Before long they made it to flat land and started toward Gjallarbrú. It was still dusk when they came to the outskirts of the city outside the walls, though the light was fading. Gas lamps were nearly everywhere along the main street, however, even out this far. There were cobbled streets and, even with dozens of people around, plenty of room for them to move. There was a deep comfort for Erik in being around people again. Tove seemed to share his feeling, coming up beside him.
Tove sniffed at the air. “There’s food.”
“I know. I can smell it.” He sighed. “We got any coin?”
Tove looked up at
