EV B2 Chapter 22:

  Soon, I was stepping out into the streets of Valhalla by myself once more. I looked up and noticed the sky was clear, and no snow was falling. I still felt the brisk air on my cheeks and nose, but as I breathed in deeply, it smelled clean. As I began to walk down the street with a certain aimlessness, I realized a couple of things. Both Loki and George had said they'd contact us when they were ready. Where? Did that put a real wrench into our plans? Perhaps I should have gone and found Astrid, but seeing that she agreed to it, she likely remembered that they said they'd contact her when they were ready, and so I had to assume they were. Whatever Loki was having her do, I trusted she could handle it. And so that left me with some time.

  I considered taking some of the new funds and going to get a new spell. Just as I turned toward the general direction where I thought Philip the Gnome spell-monger was, I felt something buzzing in my pocket—awfully like what a cell phone would feel like on vibrate. Reaching down, I put my hand in the fur-lined pocket and found the wooden token that George had slipped me. I couldn't help but smile. What fortuitous timing. Just as I touched the token, though, there was a small flash of light, and Loki appeared beside me, striding along with me.

  He wore a long, dark-mottled gray tunic trimmed with simple furs, layered under a thick leather vest studded with bronze rivets. His belt, a braided cord of deep red and black, held several pouches and tools that looked like they belonged more on a Viking shipbuilder than a god of mischief. His boots, fur-lined and weathered, suggested he had walked through storms and seas alike without hesitation.

  I jumped and looked at him, stopping in the street for a second, but he kept walking and motioned me to come on. No one else reacted. Whether that was because they were too drunk or they couldn't see him, I didn't know.

  He read the confusion on my face and smiled. "Ah, don't worry about them," he said with a dismissive wave, gesturing to all the people around us. "They can't see us."

  "Uh-huh," I muttered intelligently, still trying to figure out how he was here.

  "I'm not actually here," he clarified.

  Can you read my mind? I thought at him, but he didn't react. I guessed it was just a common question people had for the first time with whatever he was doing.

  "I'm glad someone finally gave you a token. It certainly makes talking with you more convenient. And look," he said as we made a couple of turns, me not really following where we were going but just tagging along. "I couldn't give you one myself. Not without a price. A token like that, given to you by a god, holds significantly more weight than just one for simple communication. But now that you have one, I can certainly hijack into it."

  "You can come talk to me anytime you want?"

  Loki shrugged. I wasn't sure if that indicated he already could have done that or that he actually couldn't do it all the time. Regardless, I didn't press for an answer that I knew wouldn't be given to me. We walked half a block in silence before I finally spoke up.

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  "So. Satisfied with getting a few extra people through the challenge?"

  Loki gave me a smile. "Don't pretend that was a favor for me as much as it was a favor for you. Certainly, I took it as payment, and I benefited from it, but you needed to move on to the group part of the challenge rather than just the solo challenge. Baldur always makes the solo ones way harder. And even if you might be ridiculously strong for your level, most people don't even bother with the solo versions until they're in their level 70s."

  "I didn't think that I was that far off from being able to do it with a little help."

  "Yeah. You weren't. It wasn't really a lack of combat that was stopping you, but rather life experience and knowledge of the gods' tricks. I mean, how many times have you actually led a raiding party?"

  I frowned. "Um, twice now."

  "Really?" Loki said, looking at me. "You know, I kind of figured you might have had some practice with how well you did. You weren't a historical buff or anything? Or did you, I don't know, live-action role play?"

  I blinked, surprised Loki knew what that was, but I shook my head no. "I played some tabletop games as a kid, but that was like 40 years ago." I neglected to mention that I was more in college than as a true kid. "I don't think that really prepared me for leading a raiding party, though."

  "Huh. Like I said, you're kind of a natural at it. I guess your time in the other world gave you some leadership experience, but... well. I'll keep that in mind."

  I couldn't help but smile at thinking of spending more time on the open ocean. Of course, raiding parties had more than one connotation.

  "So. How's Astrid doing?"

  "She didn't tell you?" Loki said. "Yeah, well, one of my sisters—I won't give it away yet—she's running Astrid through some trials. I have no doubt she'll pass. It should be a few days, but you'll have her back soon."

  I smiled. "Good. It's nice to have someone you can trust to watch your back."

  Loki gave me a sad smile. "Yes, yes, it is."

  "Anyways," I said, brushing past that ominous display, "what brings you around?"

  "What? I can't just stop by and have a chat with my buddy?"

  I laughed. "Well." But I noticed he just raised an eyebrow instead of joining in.

  "Come on," I said. "I know you have, like, however many copies of you running around doing your own things, but surely you have more important things to do than just chat."

  He shrugged. "Hey. Every once in a while, you get a little tired of spending too much time around family."

  "Really?" I said and stopped.

  Loki, this time, stopped as well. "You want to talk about it?" I asked hesitantly.

  He lifted a shoulder, but somehow, I could read a little bit of that embarrassment on his face. Or was he putting on an act? I guess I never knew. But I gestured to the tavern behind us, one that was dimly lit and smelled of stale ale and smoke. The wood-paneled walls were scarred with carvings, initials, and strange symbols, and the rough-hewn tables bore the marks of countless knife fights and spilled drinks. I swore one in every three buildings, if not more, served alcohol.

  We stepped in, grabbed a seat at the bar at the end, and ordered some drinks. Loki, despite being some sort of hologram that no one else was able to see, took the second drink I ordered and started to work on it. We sat, me trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to say to a god that apparently had the blues, and Loki just gathered his thoughts.