Tartarus Beckons by Edmund Batara (reading an ebook .TXT) 📕

a day as practiced on Earth, was lively. Ivar had joined them, and though he kept quiet most of the time, the Gothi ended up laughing like the rest. The camaraderie was one which Tyler missed. It made him feel that any future problems could be managed.

Habrok was often held up by the einherjar the entire time as the one to blame for Tyndur missing out on what he called experiences of a lifetime. The missed opportunity to meet the kraken’s avatar was one topic which the einherjar kept on returning to over and over again. But it didn’t mean Kobu was spared from numerous questions from Tyndur.

“Blue, huh? Dark blue? A lighter shade? How big did you say he was? How about his weapons? No tentacles?”

The entire breakfast was continuously peppered with such questions. When Tyler finally told the einherjar he’d get his chance to meet the entity since the mage didn’t expect the kraken to leave soon, Tyndur shifted to the subject of the Demon Lord.

“Powerful, eh? Do you think I could beat him at arm-wrestling? At glima? He does have to get down to human scale, of course. Otherwise, it would be cheating. You think I could convince him to spar?”

Tyler smiled at the unfortunate exile, the target of the einherjar’s queries. Apparently, Tyndur didn’t feel that close to Ivar yet to include him in the excited barrage of questions. The absence of shared adventures and the Gothi’s status as a high priest of Odin made the einherjar avoid treating the priest as one of the company. The mage then noticed that everybody had finished eating. He clapped his hands.

“Now, with davre over, I believe it’s time to go over the map that dokkalfr gave us. He did say time is of the essence. You too, Ivar, if you have the time. We’re in your region anyway,” declared Tyler.

With Ivar leading, the group entered another room in the house, one which Tyler had not noticed before. It had no windows and had a central location in the structure. Before entering, they had to wait for a while as the exile had to get the map.

“I didn’t notice this room the last time I was here,” Tyler told his friend.

“You probably thought it was a storage room or something similar. It’s always locked. But it’s a meeting room heavily enchanted against eavesdropping,” came Ivar’s explanation.

Once they were inside, the map was laid down on the table for everyone to examine. But Tyndur and Habrok were the ones actively scrutinizing it. The mage observed that at times, Habrok would lay his finger on a portion of the map, look at Tyndur, and the einherjar would either nod or shake his head. Ivar merely took a quick glance and waited with the others.

Tyler also examined it for a while, but as expected, couldn’t form any conclusions on what he saw. Though the picture of drakes on a section of the chart nudged his memory about a similar icon on the map of Dionysus. But he repeated to the assembly what the dokkalfr mage told him and the objective of the coming journey.

The map portrayed a section of the Dokkalfr Range, popularly known as the Dokkalfr Mountains. A blue outline marked their destination – an abandoned temple of Freyr – and the approach was through a forested area known as the Romsdal Forest. By now, Tyler knew how misleading maps could be compared to the reality waiting for them. Drawn clumps of woods and illustrated structures do not prepare one for the actual adrenaline rush of possible death and the distances involved.

There would definitely be unpleasant bastards waiting in those woods and ruins, he mused. They would delay our progress.

Depending on their approach, whether from the direction of the human towns of Half or Fargravik, the company will have to pass through an area of odd natural formations called the Fangs of Ymir, then through a series of valleys marked by a ruin. After that, they would have to cross a wooded expanse called the Battleworn Fields before reaching the temple.

“What do you think?” Tyler asked the two when they finally finished. The duo looked at each other, and Habrok spoke up.

“First off, we have to understand that this is a prepared map with a lot of features removed from it. The dokkalfr were known to be obsessive about keeping secrets, or matters they think are confidential, from other races. The absence of any reference to the town of Kalfa which lies midway between Half and Fargravik support that observation. Though approaching from Kalfa is also not recommended, the rocky and hilly terrain from that town to the mountains is difficult, and has more than the average number of predators,” said the ranger.

“It appears that whoever prepared this map already took that into account and gave us the options of approaching either from Half or from the direction of Fargravik. From Maljen, the Fargravik approach would appear to be faster, as it would be a more direct one, but the route is marked with ruins. And you know what isolated ruins portend, especially ones near the Dokkalfr Mountains. The ones marked on the map are the more prominent ones,” added Tyndur. He stood up and laid his finger on a point on the map.

“The old Alfar outpost is an ancient site, dating back when the Alfar were at the height of their power and had better relations with humans. If I remember correctly, they were allowed to build that overwatch to guard against the dokkalfr. The dokkalfr didn’t leave a stone when they captured that one,” he continued. Surprisingly, he had a thoughtful look on his face.

The Gothi, who was seated with the two, and faced the map, took a look.

“And Torvik? I admit I haven’t heard of that settlement,” commented the priest.

“A human town which sprung up when the Alfar were still around. The jarl during that time believed it was time to expand in the direction of the mountains under the protection of the Alfar. Sadly, it might take decades or centuries, but the dokkalfr never forgot the threat the settlement