The next day was… well, I was about to say “uneventful,” but does that term even apply when you’re hiding in a secret library in another dimension?  I mean, I think this is another dimension. Arey doesn’t seem to know how to describe the separation between Jötunheim and “Midgard,” and Astveig just went on a long explanation of which I just heard “Yggdrasil” and “World Tree” and the rest was just gibberish.  It’s all Old Norse to me!

After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs - where the food came from I haven’t the slightest idea - I asked Astveig if I could at least go visit home, tell my parents what was going on so that they didn’t think I was dead or something.  I might even plead with my roommates not to have me removed from the lease on our apartment. One can hope that I won’t be cooped up inside this dusty old library for eternity.

Astveig said a very emphatic “No!”  Apparently, we came so close to the end of the universe the one time that she’s terrified to ever let me out of her sight.  So we went back out to the obstacle course again.

By the time it started getting dark, I was getting pretty good at jumping.  I was consistently able to make the first jump, and the second one was much easier.  The third, on the other hand, actually required a running start. It was a thirty foot horizontal leap, and I was developing quite the taste for the snow twenty feet beneath it.  I had a couple bruises, but not nearly as much as I expected from consistently falling on my face from a height that before I’d changed probably wouldn’t have been very comfortable even if I landed on my feet.

Getting ready for bed was the real challenge, though, because I had no intention of actually sleeping.  The problem is that my “Guardians” were feeling more like jailers. I was determined to figure out a way home, and I had an inkling of how to do it.  I could operate the portal if I could just manage to get out of sight for a little bit.

“You can take the bed again,” Arey told me.  “I don’t mind sleeping common room. The furniture is much better than the floor of the cell the Disciples kept me in.”

“That’s okay,” I replied.  “I think I’d prefer to take the sofa.  It is a sofa, right?  You jötnar don’t have some special Icelandic name for it or something?”

Arey chuckled.  “Yes, we do, in fact, call it a sofa.  Or a couch. We’re quite fluent in English.  And really, it’s no trouble if you want the bed.  I know you’re still getting settled in here.”

Damn, woman!  Just take the bed!  “No, really,” I said, trying to cover up my frustration.  “I’m used to sleeping on couches, actually. I used to sleep on them all the time,” I lied.

“You’re sure?” Arey asked once more.

“Positive!” I said with mock cheer.  Two days in a frostbitten library has given me plenty of time to practice looking much less upset than I actually am.

I made my way over to the couch and made to look as though I were settling down.  I lay down and covered myself with the nice and comfy blanket that Astveig had gotten out for me.  I looked back to Arey’s room. She had the door still open and was in the process of unraveling her long braid.  It seemed to take far longer than I would have liked. If I had to be stuck like this, I swore never to grow my hair out nearly that long.

Finally, after several minutes of preparation, Arey gave me a little wave good night, and shut the door.  I waited a few moments to make sure she wasn’t going to suddenly remember something and come bursting out the door again.  After I was sure the coast was clear, I burst into action. The first order of business was to put on the clothes I showed up in.  It wouldn’t do to show up in Southern California looking like a viking LARPer. Actually, some people would probably think that’s cool, but I really would prefer not to attract too much attention.  The t-shirt and jeans I arrived here in were significantly larger on me now than they had been when I got them, but they would be a lot less conspicuous anyway.

I made my way over to the portal device quietly.  It was time to make my escape. The golden console held several glowing runes.  I couldn’t read the runes, but there was one symbol that seemed pretty self explanatory.  It was an arrow pointing to the left. The people who created this thing had given it a back button that looked like something you’d see on a web browser.  I tapped the arrow, and the golden archway erupted in light. The spot in Mile Square that Arey and I had arrived from, now lit in bright daylight. I guess it makes sense that the sun in my hometown wouldn’t be synched up with the sun here in Jötunheim.  Not sure why I hadn’t considered that possibility.

I stepped through the gateway and found myself smacked in the face by heat.  Oh, right. Southern California. When you live here for your entire life, you adapt to the heat.  Spend a couple days in a library on the frozen ass end of the universe and you forget what it’s like to be hot.  All. The. Time.

Then another realization came to me: the stone circle was gone.  Vanished without a trace, as though it had never been there. A few days ago, a circle of stones appearing and then disappearing in the matter of a few days would have seemed really strange.  Now, it was an odd footnote in an even more bizarre story.

I hefted my satchel.  It now felt much lighter than it had before.  I may have a much smaller frame now, but apparently being a jötun still makes me significantly stronger than I was.  I started continuing on the path I was on before I was so rudely interrupted by the very unwelcome marriage proposal, heading toward the southwest.  I cut around the driving range and the golf course and headed on westward down Warner. It was time to check in at home and see if my roommates had even noticed I was missing.

The house we rented together was just a one storey affair.  Beige stucco walls were embraced by dark brown wood trim. Our landlord had made the probably wise decision to get rid of the lawn some years ago and replace it with some succulents, so despite being in our suburban hellhole it stood out like a tiny patch of desert, with a variety of cacti, some of which were actually fruiting now.

I fished my key out of the pocket I keep it in on the side of the satchel and unlock the door.  Looks like my roommates aren’t home, so I go ahead to my room to check my PC. My phone died shortly after I wound up in Freezynutsheim, so I wanted to plug that in and check my Headtome account to see if I’d missed anything while I was gone.

“Chris?  Is that you?”  I skidded to a halt as I suddenly found myself face to face with Cat, one of my roommates.  She locked eyes with me briefly, and I considered how odd it was that I was now about eye level with her.  Then she made a horrified face. “Who the FUCK are you and what are you doing in my house?”