Chapter 8.1:

  I pushed my way into the feasting hall, for once not feeling cold or famished as I entered. It had been weird climbing up to the training pits and making my way to one of the closer entrances alone. I didn't have Mary dropping me off, and the late hour meant that the training grounds were completely deserted. There was not a single soul other than me out there. Could I stay out here and train instead of feasting at night? I had never thought about that.

  Once I was in the feasting hall, it was like I had never actually left. I shook my head, cleared my thoughts, and worked my way towards my target. I needed to go find Jorg, the other follower of Loki's who I had beaten in the challenge.

  I wasn't exactly sure what he was getting out of this, but I needed to make him look good and get the shit kicked out of me. But I had to do it in a certain way.

  I found him talking to a bunch of people who I didn't recognize. They all looked like the standard template of barbarian that sprang to mind when I thought of Valhalla: huge, burly men with massive fur cloaks. It made me think again about how strange the demographics were here. How did I end up here? How did Jorg end up here? Neither of us really fit in, from what I could tell.

  As I started thinking about the mechanics of Valhalla, more and more questions sprang to mind. For example, where did all the women go? It was weird that I hadn't even thought of it before. It was almost as if speaking to Loki had lifted a blinder over my eyes, one preventing me from ever really seeing how bizarre this place was.

  I looked around and turned back to the exit, and realized I didn't see one. It was just an endless hall in both directions. There were no archways leading out. Was I stuck here in the feasting hall until morning? If so, that answered my question about training at night. I had never actually checked before, and I'd never wanted to even consider leaving.

  I thought about turning back and heading in the other direction to see if I could find my way out. Maybe if I moved towards the way out with intention, I'd find one. But no, I couldn't get distracted right now. I had a task to do.

  I clutched the hard candy that Loki had tucked into the inside pocket of my shirt. It would give me plus five in physical stats and lasted a day. It would turn me from a slightly above-average human who had trained well into a superhuman. I would be nearly an Olympic lifter when it comes to strength and an sprinter with speed. It was going to massively increase my chances of actually making it out of the Lesser Hall.

  Loki said I wasn't ready for it, but what was the worst that could happen? Perhaps I would get sent back down here if I lost in the challenge. Whatever. I was willing to risk it.

  I definitely wasn't going to waste it tonight, though. Not in the first halberd challenge. That would be stupid. No. I'd probably save it till the very end when I have the best chance of making it. Well, when I thought I was close, at least, to making that final push.

  A few moments later, I came across Jorg. Coming level with him, I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, confused when he recognized me. His friends stopped laughing and looked at him expectantly.

  "You have some guy staring at you." One of them said in a weirdly Boston accent that belied his rugged appearance. I focused on him for a second but quickly switched to the one sitting next to him. "Got something you want to tell us?"

  "Another deal needs to be made?" The other guy sneered. Jorg looked at me confused and ignored his friends' taunts.

  Meeting my target's eyes, I spoke in my most mocking tone with a dumb accent that I didn't think actually existed. "Yeah, dawg. I have something little old you needs. I bet you need help with the next challenge."

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  I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with this line or accent. Trying to just piss them off, maybe. But I needed it to look good, and I needed to lose to him in a straight-up fight. Fists. No bystander involvement. No weapons. That didn't mean I needed it to be easily tied back to me.

  He didn't seem to be expecting it. For some reason, I thought this was part of a deal Loki had cut with him. But no, apparently not. This was Loki just helping him out all on his own.

  If they thought he was weak because he was looking for a deal to cut with me, I might as well play along. What kind of deal was he looking for? I looked around and saw a bunch of meatheads that had fewer brains than most people I've ever met. Why did he need to look good to these people? Why did Loki want him to look good to these people?

  But the best thing I could do to get Jorg to look good is insult them and let him kick my ass. It would look good for him, but still, I couldn't insult him too much. My head spun with half-formed plans and ideas, but my mouth moved on without me. "I'm sure you could use some real-time training. If you've been practicing with these buffoons... Well, no wonder why you haven't made it any further."

  Jorg seemed to take the hint. The other ones got angry and stood up, and he stopped them with a raised hand. His other hand shot out, slamming into my chest, forcing me to step back as he stood up to face me.

  "What did you say about my friends?" He growled at me with a slight smirk that they couldn't see.

  "They look like a bunch of useless idiots. I'm sure you're never learning anything from them," I said. I was strangely detached at the moment, as if I was watching my actions from a third-party POV hovering over my shoulder.

  Jorg clenched his fists. "My friends have been teaching me just fine. Here, let me show you, friend."

  Jorg lashed out with a punch as he finished speaking, causing me to step back. His friends quickly changed from outrage to cheering him on, as he was going to defend their honor in a straight-up fight to make it all the better. I gave him an easily telegraphed sucker punch into the stomach. He flexed his abs, and I could feel my fist sink in like a quarter inch before it hit muscle. He looked completely badass, taking a shot to the gut with supposedly no warning.

  He looked at me strangely, as if knowing this wasn't my full fighting ability after I had beaten him in the challenge, that I was trickier than this. But he took a quick glance to the inside of my elbow where the brand was, and I gave him the faintest of nods. Then, with a twist of his hip, the back of his hand cracked across my chin and sent me stumbling back onto the table behind me.

  The men around there stood up, suddenly realizing there was a fight, and they yelled in excitement. Someone threw a full goblet of mead at me. It banked off the side of my head, giving me a nasty bump, but I pushed myself back from it and launched myself off of the table, spearing my shoulder into his chest and sending him flipping over the table. We careened onto the floor together as he rolled backward.

  Jorg launched after me, and I hit the side of the wall, sliding down to the ground as he regained his feet over me. It was a quick fury of blows that I managed to mostly block. I noticed that he wasn't hitting nearly as hard as he could have, which seemed awfully nice of him. To return the favor, I made sure to sell the ones that did land even harder.

  After he got off of me, I lay on the ground, gasping. Jorg went back to his table, and his friends clasped him on the back with much better attitudes than they had before. I lay on the ground for a long while, groaning in pain both real and feigned. Was that really worth it?

  I sure hoped Jorg used whatever he got out of this to his advantage. But if he didn't know about it, maybe Loki was the one really getting the best out of it. Still, it fucking sucked. I touched the candy in my pocket. The reminder of what I'd gotten out of the bargain was enough to convince me. It had been totally worth it.

  Grunting, I rolled underneath the table, out of sight. I then scooted my way down a little bit before I came out of it in a completely different section. Well, maybe now I could think about finding the exit. Or I could go find Bjorn and celebrate a new record. Both options had pros and cons.

  Looking down each side of the hall, I tried to decide which way I would go. The exit or my friends? I'd had enough excitement for one night. Besides, now I could tell them what the actual next weapon is going to be.