A recent surge in the darkling population had put Asgard on high alert. Ravens worked around the clock to provide up-to-date data, and every Einherjar with a fighting skill had been dispatched to eliminate the dark elves’ creations. However, the number of heroes was not enough to combat the growing threats. This prompted ordinary Asgardians to take up arms, preparing to defend their own city.
Lilith felt compelled to train and join the efforts. It was a way to pay back the folks of Vestfold for treating her so well; but more importantly, it was for her own survival. No doubt many dangers lurked between here and Earth. This was the first step in her preparation.
After acquiring a hunting bow, she changed into more comfortable attire and, together with Dag and Olaf, ventured into the woods north of Vestfold. There, a darkling with superior camouflage ability awaited them.
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Type: Mammal Details: A green deer with bird-like feet. Last Point: [-11, 10] |
Dag checked the ground for claw marks like a hunter tracking its prey. The old man would rather stay in the city and enjoy the rest of his life before Ragnarok, but the opportunity to train a Valkyrie had piqued his interest.
“Dag of Rysstad had better go down in Asgard lore for this,” he said while examining the curiously moist dirt.
Lilith made no promises, but at the very least, she would remember him for teaching her how to use a bow. This hunt for the darkling could be considered on-the-job training. To mitigate against potential workplace hazards, she wore one of the charms purchased from a vendor in Vestfold. Any attack on her, physical or magical, would be repelled. But it only worked once.
Dag grumbled to himself. “Yggdrasil’s water from its veins may have soaked away the darkling’s trail. Either that, or this bird-deer thing is extremely light on its feet.”
As far as she knew, darklings should cause plants to wilt; that was how they fed. But maybe this one was different. A glint on the ground caught Lilith’s eyes, and she strolled over to have a look. Having grown up on a farm, the shiny black pellets were immediately recognizable to her. “Animal droppings.”
Olaf picked up a couple pellets and sniffed them. “Indeed.” He then pocketed a palmful without explanation.
“Aha!” said Dag, also taking an interest in the fecal findings. “The darkling reveals its true nature.”
Lilith scratched her head. “Which is…?”
“It’s carnivorous.” He waited for applause, but when none came, he explained, “From the feces’ firmness, I reckon our doe friend likes to eat meat. We shall give it that.”
“We lure it out with food.” She thought it was great idea, but there was only one problem.
Olaf shrugged. “We don’t have any meat.”
Dag took the bow out of Lilith’s hands and grabbed an arrow from the quiver. She made to speak but he shushed her. The old man puckered his lips and made a cooing sound. Seconds later, a response came. He aimed and fired at a tree, and down plopped a pigeon.
Lilith never doubted his skill, but that was beyond incredible.
Olaf went to pick up the dead bird. “Sorry, friend. But you’ll be a hero for helping us.”
They found a small clearing in the forest to set up the darkling trap. Dag plucked the bird, while Olaf prepared a fire. Lilith took some practice shots on a tree and managed to hit the trunk about fifty percent of the time.
“Your accuracy and form are improving, Valkyrie,” Dag commented as he skewered the pigeon with a sharpened branch.
She noticed it too, but the rapid improvements surprised her. In her former life, she was an active person but never considered herself an athlete. Lilith’s current body, the one she had finally begun to get used to, was far more in shape. Her senses felt enhanced. Her vision was flawless. This vessel was built to perfection.
Once the bait was roasted, they strung it up on a tree with a rope, then found a hiding place close by behind some bushes.
“And now we wait,” Dag said, half falling asleep.
Fifteen minutes went by.
As they waited, Lilith thought back to the encounter with the friendly goat. Some Lord Freyr of Alfheim apparently had the answers she was looking for. It seemed too convenient and too good to be true. Just when she found a physical link—the book from Brunhilde’s library—to Earth, the man showed up.
I bet Loki sent him…
There was no way she would fall for the God of Mischief’s tricks again. But she also couldn’t just ignore it on the off chance that the goat was telling the truth. Maybe Aaren’s research would turn up something? She would have to wait before making any rash decisions.
“Is this going to work?” Olaf asked, his stomach growling.
Lilith smiled and placed a finger to her lips. She rolled her eyes at Dag, who had dozed off. The waiting game continued.
Another fifteen minutes went by.
With nothing better to do, she finally decided to have a look at Thor’s letter.
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Valkyrie,
I have an urgent matter that I require your assistance with. As it is of a sensitive nature, I do not wish to disclose it in this message. Come to Bilskirnir. We shall discuss the details in a more intimate setting.
Regards,
Thor, God of Thunder
-
A deep sigh of relief came when she saw the words. The God of Thunder was asking for a favour, though he provided no details. What did he mean by intimate?
Don’t be stupid, Lilith. It’s not what you think!
During their drunken banter, the folks of Vestfold did allude to his many womanly conquests. And the fact that this man’s residence had five-hundred-forty rooms was both astounding and creepy. But Lilith saw this as an opportunity. After her latest purchase, she was practically broke, so to speak. She needed more favour points, not just to get by, but to amass any resources she might need to get home.
Whatever Thor wants from me…Well, I’ll see what he says first…
Lilith snapped out of her daydream from a tap on the arm by Olaf. She followed his pointing to where the roasted pigeon dangled. A shrub—no, the darkling itself had appeared. Its brown and green colours were easily mistaken as a plant, but plants didn’t move. This thing was bouncing up and down trying to get at the bait, so enticed by the meat that it didn’t even notice the three of them.
She grabbed the bow and carefully rose, as not to make a sound. Remember Dag’s instruction, she took a deep breath and drew an arrow on the string, then aimed. The target was huge. She couldn’t possibly miss. Lilith steadied her shoulders and arms, then relaxed her fingers and exhaled. The arrow tore through the air with a whirr and lodged itself into the darkling’s backside. She cheered, but her celebration was short lived.
The creature craned its neck and gnawed off the arrow from its side, unfazed. It moaned and snorted, directing its haunting green eyes at Lilith and Olaf.
Dag stirred awake. “Is it bath time? Huh—What?”
Olaf pulled the old man to his feet and pointed his face at the monstrosity before them.
“Oh…”
Nothing prepared the three of them for what they were about to see. The deer-bird bent and twisted its body, stretching longer and longer until a third pair of legs sprouted at the waist. A few seconds later, a fourth pair emerged. And then a second head! The darkling split in two, as if it was giving birth to itself.
Dag stroked his beard. “Twice the venison.”
Lilith gagged. “Let’s not make darkling meat a delicacy.”
“Shall we attack?” Olaf asked, already twirling his axe.
No need to answer.
The twin darklings hopped towards them at mediocre speed. Olaf dashed forth, axe swinging. Lilith had no time to worry about the boy; one of the pair was targeting her. She took aim with her bow and fired. The arrow landed on the grass with a thud.
Dag clicked his tongue. “A moving target isn’t so easy to hit.”
Obviously!
Lilith shoved the bow into his arms. “Why don’t you take care of it?”
He brushed it aside. “This is your mission, Valkyrie. You said so yourself.”
But you’re in danger too, old man!
Apparently not.
The darkling was eyeing her. She leapt to one side to evade its headbutt, then sprinted. With speed on her side, Lilith had a slight advantage over the creature. She found pockets of time to stop and shoot, then resume running when it got close. But no matter how many hits she landed, the creature raged on. Meanwhile Olaf had already hacked his target to pieces.
“Do you need help?” the boy asked.
Was he mocking her or just being himself? No time to find out. The darkling did another dance, and out popped another replica of itself from the rear.
Dag chortled.
Olaf got to work again.
Lilith fired three arrows in rapid succession, one of them piercing right through the bird-deer’s forehead. Yet, it continued to bounce and moan. She realized then that she had been doing it all wrong; she had to destroy its source of power.
The core…Where is it?
As she ran another lap around the clearing, her mind sifted through the possibilities. It wasn’t in the head. The eyes? No. And if it were buried in the torso, she would’ve landed a hit by now, even from pure luck. The only spots she hadn’t checked were the claws. It had to be there!
Lilith stopped, did a one-eighty, then fired at the darkling’s front left foot. The arrows barely missed as they grazed the talons and lodged into the grass.
“You can do it, Valkyrie!” Dag cheered her on from atop a tree as he bit into the roasted pigeon.
Olaf hacked off the head of the bird-deer double and shouted, “Save some for me!”
Aim where the target will be, not where it is…
That was what Dag would tell her, but Lilith had a different idea. A crazy idea. She turned to face the darkling and planted her feet firm on the ground. The creature lumbered towards her like an emu on drugs, moaning and snorting. Lilith clutched her magic charm. The thuds of claws hitting earth grew louder. Closer.
What if it doesn’t work?
A little bump wouldn’t hurt. Worst case, the gods could probably put her back together.
The bird-deer moaned and thrust its head forward for a headbutt. Lilith closed one eye and peeked out the other, bracing for impact. At a foot between them, she felt a warmth ignite in her hand and expand outwards. The darkling screeched as it flew backwards a dozen yards and landed on its side with a loud plop.
It worked!
Dag and Olaf cheered.
Lilith fired four arrows at the dazed creature, each striking a claw with a satisfying squelch. It tossed and turned, unable to get up, but it still lived. The core wasn’t in the feet after all.
She scanned the creature’s body. The head, the sides, the rear, now the claws—all of those parts had been tested. Where else could the core be? The answer came when she noticed an odd protrusion in one of the ankles. It was round and larger than the others, as if a spherical object were buried underneath it.
Lilith fixed her stance, aimed, and fired. Her breath froze as she watched the arrow zip through the air and pierce the target. After a sharp crack, followed by a shattering sound, the darkling exploded and vapourized to dust. She exhaled. A sense of relief and accomplishment tickled her to a smile.
That ought to show Brunhilde!
Though, she knew there still much to learn.
Dag jumped down from the tree and tossed the finished pigeon aside.
Olaf checked it, disappointment forming on his face. “I’m hungry!”
And so with the mission complete, it only made sense to have a celebratory meal. Lilith called for Gyllir, who thankfully had no complaints flying them all to Vestfold.
Bernie the tavern master was thrilled to see Lilith and her heroes. For their contributions to protecting Vestfold, food and drinks would now be on the house—a godsend considering she was out of favour points.
Serving Lilith the Drunken Rainbow Trout, the man complained, “If you ask me, the Elites aren’t doing nearly enough to prepare us for Ragnarok. They only care about their own affairs.”
A couple others echoed his sentiment.
“Like us, they’re all going to die. Ragnarok—the Twilight of the Gods—is a preordained fate. Inescapable.”
“God of this, God of that—frankly, I don’t give a damn!”
At that very moment, in walked Thor. The whole room shut up. His grim eyes darted around and eventually landed on Lilith. She gulped down a spoonful of soup.
Is his problem really that urgent?
