Eternity | T.J.

Proceeded By Us All Nearly Dying.

     Had we not been going to face a giant who wanted to kill us, it would have been a nice morning, walking down the streets of York. As we walked, Magnus explained to us why he'd woken up screaming.

     " Hmm," T.J. said once Magnus had finished his story." I wish I knew why we needed the whetstone. I think maybe Odin discussed the Bolverk incident in one of his books- The Aesir Path to Winning? )r was it The Art of the Steal? I can't remember the details. A big beast with green eyes you say?"

     " And lots of teeth. Maybe Odin killed the beast to get the stone?" Magnus offered." Or maybe he hit the beast in the face with the stone, and that's how he got the mead?"

     " Neither sounds right. I don't remember any monster. I'm pretty sure Odin stole the mead from the giants."

     " Brute force doesn't seem Odin's style at any rate," I pointed out." He tends to use trickery almost as much as Loki, so I'd assume the stone would be used as some sort of trick."

     Magnus frowned." But didn't dwarves kill Kvasir? How did giants get the mead?"

     " All the old stories are basically one group murdering another group to steal their stuff," T.J. explained with a shrug." That's probably how."

     " Okay, but we don't have much time to figure it out. Those glaciers I saw are melting fast. Midsummer is in, like, twelve days now, but I think Loki's ship will be ready to sail long before that."

     " Guys," Alex interrupted." How about this? First, we beat the giant, then we talk about our next impossible task?"

     Magnus changed the topic." Anyone know where we're going? What's a Konungsgurtha?"

     " It means Kings Court."

     " Was that in your travel book?"

     T.J. laughed." No, Old Norse 101. Didn't you take that class yet?"

     " I had a scheduling conflict."

     " Well, this is England. There's got to be a king with a court around here somewhere."

     Alex stopped near the signs at the next crossroads." What about King's Square, will that do?"

     I glanced up at the sign as well." Let's hope so. And let's hope it's got some dirt around it or else I'm not going to get there for a while."

     With that, I raced towards the nearest tree and slipped through the earth before beginning to head in the direction the sign had pointed.

     Thankfully for me, Kings Square did have a tree as well, and where there was a tree, there was dirt. Once I was back out of the earth, I snuck up the tree in question, just as planned. Hrungnir wouldn't know I was there... at least for a little while.

     A minute later, the others arrived.

     Hrungnir looked at them with a mixture of happiness and surprise." Well, well, you showed up! I was beginning to think you'd run away. Most people run away, it's very annoying."

     " Can't imagine why," Magnus replied.

     " Mmm." He looked towards them." Where's the other blonde? Looked a bit like you and had some weird-looking vines on her arm? Ah, no matter." Hrungnir glanced towards Pottery Barn." That's your ceramic second, eh? Doesn't look like much."

     " You just wait," Alex told him.

     " I look forward to it! I love killing people here. You know, long ago the Norse king of Jorvik's court stood right here. And where you are standing, the Christians had a church. See? You're walking on somebody's grave. Seems fitting, doesn't it? Already so many dead humans here, what's a few more?" He looked at T.J." Are you ready?"

     " Born ready. Died ready. Resurrected ready," T.J. stated." But I'm giving you one last chance, Hrungnir. It's not too late to opt for Bingo."

     " Ha! No, little einherji. I worked all night on my fighting partner. I don't intend to use him on bingo. Mokkerkalfe, get over here!"

     I had to refrain from bursting into laughter when Hrungnir's clay warrior came trudging into view. It was a misshapen lump of clay, something that looked like it would be what was created had I been tasked with creating something out of clay.

     " You do sloppy work, Hrunginir," Alex said, crossing her arms." You call that a clay man? And what kind of name is Mokkerkalfe?"

     " We'll see whose work is sloppy when the fighting begins. Mokkerkalfe means Mist Calf! A poetic, honorable name for a warrior!"

     " Uh-huh. Well, this is Pottery Barn."

     " I must admit, that is also a poetic name for a warrior," Hrungnir agreed." But can it fight?"

     " They can fight just fine," Alex responded." And they'll take down that slag heap of yours, no problem."

     " Enough talk!" The giant turned to T.J." Shall we begin, little man?"

     T.J. put on his glasses." This rifle has a poetic name too. It's a Springfield 1861. Made in Massachusetts, just like me. I used to be able to shoot three rounds a minute with this beauty, but I've been practicing for several hundred years. Let's see if I can do five rounds a minute today."

     " Very well! Let the Tveirvigi begin!"

     Immediately, T.J. took a shot with his rifle, hitting Hrunging directly in the left eye.

     " That was rude!" the giant complained, before raising his mallet.

     I took my chance then. As T.J. ran out of Hrungnir's line of sight, I began glowing, successfully drawing the giant's attention towards the tree I'd taken shelter in. Hrunginr raced over, spotting me and attempting to take a swing at me.

     A moment later, T.J. fired again and I managed to get out of harm's way, backflipping out of the tree and landing on the pavement.

     Unfortunately, revealing myself was the wrong choice, as the second I was on the ground Hrungnir looked at me and, without saying a word, backhanded me across kings square, sending me slamming into the wall of the top floor of a building labeled 'York's Chocolate Story' before I fell back onto the ground.

     " Stand still, little mortal!" I heard Hrungnir yell." I want to smash you!"

     I attempted to stand up, even though there wasn't really much I could do at this point. Then, Hrungnir spoke again, and I froze completely.

     " Ha!" The giant yelled, and I turned to see his hand wrapped around a struggling T.J." One squeeze, and this contest is over."

     And then it happened. He tightened his grip.

A/N: Once again, the only thing notable about York for me is Kings Square and the Chocolate Story. I hope at least someone somewhat enjoyed this chapter, any to all comments from anyone about anything make my day, and just keep in mind the world is your erster.