The Codex Lacrimae: The Book of Tears

Chapter 21: The Ship of Dead Men's Nails

Marcus and the Codex Wielder's departure left massive confusion, particularly for the company who'd planned on using the Sampo to destroy the Niflheim runeporte.

In spite of the milling masses of goblins, orcs, and dead men who walked upon the quays that jutted far into the Niflheim Sea, Fenris and Andvari continued with the plan and led the group to the docks. Shouts filled the air, the din of Hel amplified through the streets by the obsidian, rune-engraved warehouse walls that gleamed in the grey moonlight.

The rune-gate, pulsing with supernatural light, hovered above the sea's whitecaps and sheets of floating ice. Eldritch black-and-emerald flames outlined a frame that stretched seemingly to the roof of the grey clouds and drenched the maritime environment with an ill, vaporous light. Countless transports launched into the sea, their dead captains positioning the vessels before the great gate that led to other worlds. One massive ship loomed above all the others, its height more akin to a moving mountain than a sailing vessel.

"That's Naglfar!" Fenris said with some urgency.

"It seems that not everyone is eager to ride the Death Ship," Skade said. "Where is everybody?"

The docks weren't nearly as populated as the town and countryside.

"To ride on this ship means there's no coming back to Niflheim," Ilmarinen said. "The final death, in service to the dark queen."

"Let's take advantage of it then, loves," Traeg said, moving down the long pier. "That boat at the end ought to do nicely for our needs."

She indicated a Viking longboat moored to the pier being boarded by a group of wild men and women with leathern, yellowish flesh stretched taut over their skeletal bodies. They carried shields that had open-jawed skulls as centerpieces. It took a moment for Jacob to realize that these people were dead.

Fenris leapt into the boat with an attack so ferocious that it surprised even his companions. As he hurled bodies into the dark waters, his disguise sloughed off him in glowing golden globs. Two ships moved swiftly toward them from another pier across the way; their inhabitants pointing fingers made it obvious that they'd seen through their disguises. And now that Fenris had revealed himself, orcs and goblins ran down the dock toward them. The lupine figure leapt back onto the pier, crouching on the planks while the boat launching began.

"Now would be a good time to summon the dwarvish winds, Andvari," Skade shouted.

The Arch-Mage placed his staff firmly on the wood and muttered a spell. Delling helped toss Traeg and Genevieve into the bobbing longboat, and then he and Rudyick followed suit.

The first of the orcs reached them. Fenris engaged it and the others that followed with a snarl. Ilmarinen, Jacob, and Rudyick joined the wolf-man.

Jacob was grateful for Mjöllnir. With its power, he only needed his longsword for the brief moments between casting the hammer and awaiting its return. Jacob swung and threw the hammer at will, staying by the Dark Elf's side as they tried to keep the corpses and goblins from entering the craft. But so overwhelming were the enemies who tried to jump onto the boat and prevent the launch, that it made only a foot of headway into the frigid waters.

Jacob risked a glance toward the town. The entire pier seemed filled with the ranks of the undead and orcs. So many different creatures were armed with long spears and swords that Jacob did much to defend himself just by swinging Mjöllnir overhead.

Impressions of the battle filled his senses: slipping once and falling to the planks with an impact that sent a jolt of pain from his elbow; the smell of blood in the air as a beast surged forward to stand above him and tear into those who came against him; the coppery, metallic taste in Jacob's mouth when he realized he'd bitten his tongue in the fall; the sound of grunts and cracking as Ilmarinen grasped two or three attackers in each of his enormous hands and crashed the bodies into the hard wood of the deck; and, finally, the sight of Fenris dominated everything. The wolf leapt in bounds that sometimes spanned great lengths of the quay, his claws extended and maw wide as he tore his way through the ranks of the Wilde Jagd.