Chapter 2 – Unfinished Business

Dagfari was sat beside a fire, staring at the sun which was hiding on the horizon.

“The Valkyries have arrived safely,”
“Good,”
“They are going to go to Valhalla, it is their choice,”
“I doubt that. Were you not the one who told me that it is a Valkyries duty to dwell in Valhalla for their whole life, only to leave to gather einherjar? “
“I don’t’ know what you-“
“Thor!”
“Fine! Odin found out and demanded they returned to Valhalla. I told him what had happened but left out your friend there,”

Dagfari looked at Hale, who was still sleeping.

“I’m still curious at how Thialfi had managed to, for lack of a better word, obtain so many Valkyries,”
“I’ll try and find out – Did you fulfil my request?”
“Yes. In the next town you come across will be all that both of you will need,”
“Good. At least this town has not heard of me…”
“Do you resent your reputation that much?”
“It is more the fact that the whole reason I left was to avoid being treated like some big-shot,”

Hale stirred, and sat up – at first a bit confused before memories of what happened the day before returned to her. Looking slightly scared, she span on the spot, before seeing Dagfari and settled down, breathing a sigh of relief. Dagfari offered a hand to help her up, which she accepted.

Looking at Hale, Dagfari sighed and said “I need to ask you a few things. First off, your abilities – how did you gain them and why not use them to escape?”

Hale looked uneasy. “I couldn’t. The chains were resistant against magic. Thialfi didn’t bother making them too strong physically as we had no weapons or sufficient physical strength. One of the guards helped us out. He gave us some extra food, as well as some reading material. The others weren’t so interested in the books, so I read them. Turns out they were spell books, all to do with the fire element. The others tried but they just couldn’t grasp it. I started with some healing spells so if Thialfi hurt us, we wouldn’t be in pain for so long,”

Dagfari raised an eyebrow. “Hold on. How can you use fire to heal?”

“Simple. Watch!”

Hale pointed her arm at Dagfari. Before he knew it, a wall of fire surrounded him. He braced himself but found he had nothing to brace himself against. The fire was not scorching, more lukewarm. The warmth spread through his body and seemed to reinvigorate him. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. Dagfari saw Hale with a wide grin on her face.

“Okay. You’ve proved your point. Come on, we need to go.”
“What?”
“You don’t think we’re hanging around here all day, do you?”
“Who said I was going anywhere with you?”
“You’d prefer to return to Valhalla?”
“…No…”
“Then come on, there’s someone we need to meet,”

----------------------------------------------


The sun hung over Dagfari and Hale as they trod down the beaten path towards Alfgrid, a large settlement famous for its weaponry and armour. .

“Tell me why we’re going down to Alfgrid?” enquired Hale, who was not used to long journeys on foot.
Sighing, Dagfari replies “I’ve told you twice already. I need to attend to some business down there, and we need to get you some armour,”
“Wait. What do you mean, armour?”
“You know, armour. The stuff warriors wear so they don’t die.”
“I know that! The thing is, I’M NOT A WARRIOR!”
“So what you mean to tell me is, that you have no battle experience as a Valkyrie?”
“I didn’t say that! I said I’m not a warrior! I’m more of a mage,”
“Listen, you need armour of some kind. That robe you’re wearing isn’t going to help against arrows or a dagger, let alone a sword. Chances are, you will need to fight, and a robe isn’t going to work. Your magic may be good, but that won’t always protect you,”

Hale opened her mouth to retort but closed it again. She did owe him for freeing him, but he was a pain at times –acting like he had the Wisdom of the World or something.

--------------------------------------------

Passing through a valley, they went on in silence. “Only another mile until we reach our destination, Hale,”

“You’ll never see Alfgrid!”

Dagfari brought out his hammer as he looked around for who yelled the claim. An arrow imbedded itself in his arm, causing him to drop the weapon.

“Argh! Who’s there?”
A gasp from Hale turned Dagfari’s attention towards her. “What is it?”
“It’s…it’s…Arkin…”
“Who?”
“Thialfi’s son…”

A young man suddenly started to skid down the valley side, coming to a stop in front of the wounded Dagfari. He had long, dark brown hair and slight stubble on his face. Standing at just less than six foot and with a slim build, was not exactly intimidating. His attire was that of a novice archer.

“You shall pay for what you did!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking---Aah!”

Arkin shot another arrow at Dagfari’s arm. With two arrows jutting out of it, he wasn’t able to wield his weapon. Hale was frozen in fear, visibly shocked at her former master’s son’s sudden appearance

“You killed my father!”
“Prove it…”
“A guard told me,”

Dagfari’s eyes widened. Instead of slaying all the guards, he had found it funny to scare one.

“Came running to the tavern, said there was an intruder at the house. By the time I got there, the place was ablaze. There were rumours of two people fleeing the scene. Guess I found them.”

Dagfari was a sitting duck, he needed both arms to summon Lightning, and that wasn’t happening anytime soon. Hale was his only chance, but she seemed to be petrified.

“You need not fear, Dagfari. You will not be the first to die. The insubordinate servant shall!”

Hale looked up as Arkin walked towards her. Dagfari couldn’t help. She cursed the Norns for doing this so soon. She had two choices. She could either fly off, save herself and hope Dagfari escapes, or she could fight. “Guess it’s time to even the score, Dagfari…” she said under her breath.

“Prepare to die, Valkyr-urk!”

Arkin was knocked back several feet as Hale launched a fireball at his chest the same size and density as a cannonball, leaving a sizable smouldering hole in his armour. Dagfari was slightly happy watching Hale attack Arkin.

“Why do you not fight?”
“This is her fight; I have no need to fight him. Hale needs to do this to cut out that part of her life. Also I have two arrows in my arm, so that's a reason as well,”,”

Arkin examined the mark where he was blasted. He rose to his feet as fast as he could, radiating anger. He dropped his bow and charged at Hale, revealing a dagger from beneath his sleeve. Hale launched another fireball, this time aiming for the knees. Arkin was sent flying, carried forward by his own momentum. Lying on the ground, writhing in pain, he was cursing and threatening anything and everything. He only stopped when Hale stood over him, dagger in hand. “Send my regards to your father in the underworld,”

Arkin was no more.

---------------------------------------------

Dagfari leaned on a tree, holding his arm, watching Hale, who was taking care of Arkin’s body.

“You’re pathetic,”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Pretending to not be able to fight because of two arrows. I know you want to help her but you have fought with much more serious injuries,”
“True. But she does not need to know that,”

A slightly sweating Hale walked up to Dagfari, dagger still in hand, slight smile on her face. “You OK?” she asked.

“Been worse. Any chance you could help with these?” Dagfari indicated the arrows still imbedded in his arm. Two quick pulls and a healing spell later, they set off for Alfgrid.