Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

7. Baugi

It took an hour of trying to make sense of contradictory directions before Loki found the cell where Baugi was being held. Confusion reigned in the palace. The permanent guardsmen and the supplementary Einherjar presently stationed at the palace were squabbling over who had precedence in the chain of command and the exact boundaries of their jurisdictions. Thor, meanwhile, was too busy debating Tyr on the best strategy for an assault on Jotunheim to notice the turmoil.

For his part, Loki was almost glad to find himself in a dusty tunnel that wound around the palace's foundations. There were fewer people to contend with down here - all of two guards in the middle of a card game.

They snapped to attention upon Loki's approach and waited for orders, their eyes drifting towards the covered tray in Loki's hands.

'Is this where the frost giant is being held?' Loki asked. He received eager nods from both guards. 'I wish to speak to him.'

'Certainly,' the older of the guards said.

He unlocked the cell to the left of him. The cell was as antiquated as the rest of this wing. No projected barriers, no lamps. Only a coarse, windowless wall and iron beams to make up the other three sides. An unusually low ceiling too; Baugi had to hunch when he stood. Loki suspected this was the sole reason Baugi was being kept in this half-abandoned section of the palace. Tyr, like Sif, delighted in these sorts of petty victories.

'Were your injuries attended to?' Loki asked as he set the tray down on the cell's flimsy table.

Baugi grunted and, limping somewhat, moved a few steps closer to Loki, which Loki was thankful for. The cell lacked light; only the guards' lamps out in the corridor provided illumination. Now that he was closer, Loki could see edges of bandages peering out from beneath Baugi's loose shirt.

'I thought you wouldn't refuse some extra food.' Loki lifted the lid off the tray.

Steam rose up, drowning the cell in the sweet aroma of roasted venison and root vegetables cooked with a generous amount of herbs. The meal had been intended for Loki. His mother knew he often skipped meals while he worked, so she ordered food to be brought to him whether he had asked for it or not.

'Still hot,' Baugi remarked.

'A simple heating spell.'

Baugi's lips twitched with distaste, but he picked up a chunk of venison and bit into it. 'What do you want?'

'I suppose "nothing" would sound insincere?' Loki replied. There was an art to getting information out of a prisoner; Thanos' acolytes had known it well. Loki, however, had spent the past two days buried in musty books and had nothing to show for it. He lacked the patience to play games. 'I want you to tell me about the Bradi.'

Baugi sunk into the lone chair in the cell, then picked up the fork and tried the vegetables. 'No wonder you Asgardians grow fat and spoilt.' He slid his tongue over his lower lip, then went on. 'You're planning to offer me something in exchange, I take it? Sweeter food, a better cell, other such luxuries... The prince of Asgard must be the kindest man in the Nine Realms.'

'Or I can throw you into a dark pit and order the guards to stop feeding you altogether.'

'It was a poor move to bring a fork in here,' Baugi said after a moment's pause.

Loki shrugged. 'I didn't come here unarmed.'

'I can't wield in here. You can?'

'Try me and you'll find out.'

Baugi's forehead creased, but rather than lunge at Loki, he speared another piece of venison and shoved the meat into his mouth. That was a relief. All cells in the palace had warding on them, but Loki wasn't sure what had been used for this lot of cells. Considering the present state of his magic, he could well have walked into a fully warded cell and not noticed the wards bind his powers.