Laugavegur, A Hinterland Journey

Chapter 4 - Ratatoskr

When the cinders finally stopped falling on Fjallabak, Skari, Tokki, Anja, and Nidi approached the town slowly. From the cave entrance, they had seen the fiery bombardment of molten rock that kindled the fires that had devoured the village, but they dared not approach while the town was under siege. As they drew closer, burnt moss delineated a line marking the abrupt boundary of where the cinders fell. Outside the boundary, wildflowers and moss grew thick and lush, inside the boundary all was blackened.

"Katla..." Skari whispered as they stepped into the charred remains of what was once Fjallabak. The streets were strewn with upturned carts, burnt-out market stalls, and dead livestock. Not just livestock, thought Skari. The night was eerily quiet, but for the sounds of smoldering and the whining of a dog that padded up and down the street, sniffing at the charred remains.

"Where are all the villagers?" asked Tokki. It was apparent that some had not survived as evident by the corpses that were strewn about. However, there were only a few and Fjallabak had been a robust town of several hundred.

"I do not know, child," replied Skari. He looked at Anja who stood before a small home on the west side of the street. All that remained of the home was a charred doorway and the masonry of a small hearth. In the ashes were a few cast iron pots and other bits of metal. With a charred stick Anja probed the cinders and lifted up a metal band, one of the many that the cooper kept in his workshop.

"This was Arden and Magdali's home," said Anja, dropping the barrel-makers metal band back to the ground. "They were the first to give Tokki and I a home after our grandfather died." Life had been good with the cooper and his wife. The house was always full of kindness and love. Anja thought of Arden's hands, the dexterity of his large fingers as he manipulated the metal fasteners and the way they cupped Magdali's face at dinner as he would ask, "How lucky a man am I?" Anja dared not look too closely at a nearby corpse for fear of recognizing them. Arden and Magdali escaped, she told herself. They got out before the fires took hold. May the gods watch over them. If the cooper and his wife had escaped, there was no evidence of it. Nobody moved about the rubble except for Skari who was leaning on his staff heavily, surveying the damage and Tokki who was scurrying from one barely recognizable landmark within the town square to another.

"Anja! It's Ilse's hut!" he cried, running over to another wrecked home. "Her plants, her medicines..." The herbalist's hut had always felt warm, even in the coldest of winter nights. There had been the persistent sound of small pots bubbling away on the hearth, smelling of thyme, sage, and lavender. The walls of the hut had been covered with shelves containing various tinctures, salves, and dried herbs; all meticulously organized. Tokki held up a small glass bottle that had been deformed by the intense heat of the fires, his grief barely held in check. So much destruction. Anja didn't even want to think about the loss of the repository and all of Doyen Mimir's books and maps, saying nothing to the whereabouts of the doyen himself.

The dog that had been sniffing around the street tensed suddenly, giving a low growl of warning. Something large and hairy moved deftly amid the debris, just at the edge of the shadows. Tokki caught a glimpse of it.

"Wha..." He started, pausing. "Was that a giant rat?" he asked pointing.

Anja and Skari followed the path of his pointed finger to a stack of charred barrels behind which a pair of large eyes glowed. Anja swallowed hard. She had known plenty of rats while living with Bresla. There were the small, soft pelted ones that ran against her legs while she ate meager meals in Bresla's kitchen. There were also the larger coarse-haired rats that shared sleeping quarters with them in the sheep stalls. Those rats were flea riddled and prone to biting. Anja, however, had never seen any rat the apparent size of this creature. Though she could not see it clearly, it appeared to be upwards of two meters tall with eyes the size of turnips. She unsheathed her small sword and held it in stalwart defense. Nidi stepped up beside her in support.