Einherjar

22

Blader couldn't help but wince as Brunna dabbed at the burns on his face with the paste she had made from Wolfsted's wolf's bite leaves. Mashed and mixed with water, they made a gooey paste that was sharp and cool on his skin.

"This should help," she murmured. "I haven't used wolf's bite before, but its powers are well known to healers."

Blader heard a groan from behind him but Brunna shook her head at him when he started to glance back. "Don't move, let me finish."

"Wolfsted," Erik said with a grin. "Welcome back to the world of the living."

Wolfsted coughed. "Ouch," he complained, his voice hoarse. "Wait. Erik? Good to see you. Glad you're not dead."

"I would have sworn you'd have been dropped into Vanaheim," Erik said.

Wolfsted, however, had approached Blader and Brunna and was staring at the empty pouch beside the girl. "That's my wolf's bite!"

Brunna flicked her eyes up at him. "Yes, it is, and it's now being used to patch you three up." As she finished up spreading the paste on Blader's face, she started on his neck. "The poison burned your heads, necks, and hands mostly, which is good, as you didn't have enough wolf's bite leaves to take care of the three of you."

Wolfsted grunted and sank down into a crouch, glancing over his shoulder. "Skalfi's awake," he observed.

Skalfi moaned as she slowly sat up, glancing around the space. "Let's not do that ever again," she said. "Erik? Is that you?"

"In the flesh," Erik said. "Good to see you alive, Skalfi."

Skalfi grunted. "Not for much longer if I keep hanging around those two." She jerked her thumb toward Blader and Wolfsted.

"I resent the implications of that," Wolfsted declared.

"What did I do?" Blader asked through gritted teeth. "He's the one poking snakes and such."

"You said we should walk through poison," Skalfi groused.

"You seconded it."

"I know. It just hurts."

"I'll get to you in a minute," Brunna said, drawing Skalfi's attention to her.

"Who are you?"

"Brunna Gnott," she said. "Unit 153. Erik says you all are from 232?"

Skalfi, Wolfsted, and Blader all nodded as Brunna smeared some of the paste on his hands before dismissing him and turning to Wolfsted.

Erik came over and sat beside Blader, glancing around at his friends. "Brunna and I ran into each other down in Svartalfheim," he said. "Miles and miles of tunnels, leading to forges or mines or villages. Had to fight with some angry dwarves."

Brunna pursed her lips. "Eventually, the tunnels led us here, out of Svartalfheim. We think we're somewhere in Jotunheim or something, but we're not sure."

"Jotunheim," Blader said. "At least, it was when we entered the tunnel."

"We could be anywhere now," Skalfi muttered.

Erik pointed to one of the passageways. "That's the tunnel that brought us here. We entered this chamber and saw you three come bursting out of the waterfall not two seconds later. That was yesterday."

"Where's the light coming from?" Wolfsted asked suddenly, not moving at all as Brunna continued to dab the wolf's bite paste onto his skin.

Erik gestured to a lantern, sitting near one of the tunnels. "We stole it from one of the forges in Svartalfheim."