Song of the Vikings - Draal x OC

14. Roaming Fees May Apply

Jim groaned in frustration, chucking his bike helmet to the side. Kit silently picked it up and returned it to sit on his handlebars, Claire and Toby staring at him.

"I should've pulled Daylight on his right then and there," Jim grumbled.

Claire placed a hand on her hip. "Steve would've gone bananas."

"It's probably good you didn't," Toby added. "I imagine murdering your principal looks pretty bad on your college application."

Jim sighed, taking the Horngazel from Kit's outstretched hand. "I'll just have to wait and get him alone."

Claire turned around, surveying the area as Jim drew the outline of the portal. Noticing her unease, Kit placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"You okay there?" they asked, gaze following Claire's own.

Spinning back around, Jim looked at the two. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

"I just... got a weird feeling," Claire muttered out, glancing over to Jim.

"I have those all the time," Toby piped up, "but it's usually after lunch."

Rolling their eyes, Kit pushed the shorter boy through the open doorway and grabbed their bag. "Toby, it's not that kind of feeling."

Jim turned back to Claire, a soft smile on his face. "Come on, Blinky said he had something urgent he wanted to tell us."

Claire spun around one last time, looking around. She sighed, walking down the crystal stairs and letting the door shut behind her.

Walking into the library, Kit saw Draal sitting at a table adjacent to Blinky's frenzied piles, sharpening his axe. They made their way over, pushing themselves up to sit on the tabletop and watching him with interest.

"I've spent nights poring over the legends of the stones, decoding its hidden meanings," Blinky declared, sweeping various papers and knick-knacks off the table. He lifted his arms, dropping a heavy tome with a hollow thud. "Endless, sleepless nights."

Jim tossed his bag next to Kit's and raced over to where Blinky stood. "The Triumbric Stones! You found something?"

Blinky nodded. "At first, I combed every library for insights, but there is nothing written. Rumors say they are tied to Gunmar's life force. So I searched for stones that would have a significance to his past-"

"Birthstone," Arrrgh rumbled, cutting off Blinky's rambling.

"Indeed," Blinky confirmed, flipping through the book. "Such as Gunmar's Birthstone."

"Why is it so powerful?" Jim asked, looking at the pages over Blinky's shoulder.

"Long ago, trolls lived underground, blissfully unaware of humankind above," Blinky recalled, showing Jim the pages of the book as he went. "Inevitably, our worlds collided. Trolls and humans each wanted the world as their own and fought for it . Blood was shed, and our First Heartstone rotted from within. And from it, Gunmar was born."

Jim nodded. "Birthstone, okay. Where would we find that?"

Arrrgh let out a low growl. "Birthstone gone."

Blinky sighed. "It was plundered before any good could come from it. But then I remembered this passage. 'Three forces Elemental thou must seek in marshland, caverns deep, and mountain's peak.' Ah. Which is elusive, but the clue-"

"Is hidden in the final stanza, 'mountain's peak'. It's so obvious!" Claire gushed, a large smile adorning her face.

Toby blinked. "Yeah, I'm not getting it."