Part I - FIMBULWINTER

Snorri paused, breathing deeply, white puffs of air that the bitter wind immediately stole.

"We're getting close," he muttered to Engakai. The tall warrior nodded. Snorri pointed to the windswept path leading around the rocky outcrop with his heavy axe. "According to the legend, we'll face three challenges set by the gods before we reach the altar. The legend doesn't say what exactly the challenges are, just that together they equal the greatest attributes of a warrior."

Engakai grimly brandished his long spear. "And we two are the greatest warriors in this frozen world. We shall be equal to any challenge the gods set us."

"Aye, we will. Let's go see what they've arranged."

Snorri cautiously led the way along the treacherous ledge. The wind had kept snow and ice from accumulating, but the ledge was narrow and uneven, difficult to walk on with numb feet. Engakai followed several feet behind, his extra foot of height giving him a clear view over the Viking's head. The rocky path angled slightly upwards, gaining height as it followed the contours of the cliff face. After several minutes it brought the two warriors into the mouth of a steep defile. Snorri and Engakai paused long enough to secure their weapons to their belts with strips of rawhide before beginning the difficult scramble up the ice-and-boulder-clogged defile.

Reaching the top, the two warriors found themselves on the edge of what once was a pleasant meadow high on the mountain. Now it was a snow-covered expanse on the edge of a dark forest that seemed unusually short, made up of the tops of trees that had towered before the snow piled to forty-foot heights. As the two men untied their weapons a line of figures emerged from the forest edge, grouping together in a mass. The shapes were humanoid but stunted, between four and five feet tall. Their thick bodies were covered in coarse black fur. Baleful red eyes glowed beneath thick brows. Massive fangs protruded from rubbery lips.

"What be those, friend Snorri?" Engakai asked, tightening his grip on his spear and expertly assessing the reach and strength of the approaching monsters.

"Trolls. Mountain Trolls to be exact." Snorri replied, hefting his axe.

Go To Page: 1 2