Merlin invited us inside for some tea and cookies (they're so bland), which we gladly agreed to.
The entire time Merlin kept sneaking skeptical glances at me, and I imagine he has an abundance of questions.
Questions like: "Where was the brood Thor was supposed to kill?""Why was Part of The Grendel there instead?""If the Grendel is here, is knull here too?"
My mind was also full of these questions, bit I think the most logical answer is that it's not The Grendel, but just a random dragon corrupted by a symbiote.
But we can't talk about this directly, or else Arthur will learn about it.
And for some reason, it seems Merlin doesn't want him to know about it.
But I don't really give a damn what Merlin wants.
"So Merlin, if I were to bring you a sword, would you be able to enchant it?"
"..." He pauses midway through drinking his tea, and luckily Arthur wasn't really paying attention. He's too into eating his cookies to notice our conversation. He is a child after all.
"Can you not?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your plans are already derailing, probably because of me, or rather, Eternity. Also, I don't really care if he learns about this stuff or not. It'll better prepare him for future threats."
"What's Eternity?" Arthur asks me, now paying attention, which causes Merlins mood to plummet even further.
But instead if allowing me to answer, Thor answers: "Eternity is a cosmic being whose existed since the beginning of the universe. They say whomever reaches Eternity first, will receive one wish of their choosing, and it could be anything. Eternity lords over time and space itself, and no one knows it's true abilities, as It never interferes in the affairs of lesser beings." He says, causing Arthur's face to light up.
"That's so cool! Kinda crazy, because I don't understand, but it sounds cool!" Arthur said, his knowledge of the universe very limited.
"Anyways, Verdi, how do you seem to know who this guy is? He seems important." Thor asks me, surprising me once again with his observational skills. He is his father's son I guess, so I shouldn't be surprised, but he's just such a big oaf sometimes.
"Oh, nothing. I just heard about him from the Eternals." I lie, noticing Arthur's attention being taken by Mjolnir, which he continues to try and lift only to fail again and again.
"Oh, he must be important then." He says, chuckling a little at Arthur's continued attempts to lift the immovable hammer.
"Anyways, back to my question. Would you be able to enchant a sword I bring you?" I ask, trying to steer the conversation.
"Short answer is yes... but why do you want me to enchant this sword? Why not the Allfather?"
"Because I don't want to get a weapon before Loki." Indeed, if I were to ask for a weapon now, I'm sure Odin would say no, not until I got my arm repaired, or he would have the dwarves make me an arm as my weapon. This is not what I want... at least not yet.
In fact, I purposefully asked Odin not to repair my arm yet, because I have plans for how I can fix it now.
"Indeed, I'm sure Loki would become jealous if he were to learn of the blatant favoritism. Good thinking Verdi. I'm certainly glad I never had to ask father for Mjolnir..."
"Indeed. Ugh, I forgot that Hella is gonna be a thing in the future... shit. Anyways, Good to know that I can have you enchant the weapon I'll have. I'll be sure to come find you... actually, I have no clue how to find you?"
"Yes, I can enchant your weapon. The effects will vary based on the price you pay and the materials used though, so craft wisely." Indeed, Merlin's weapons that he crafts are powerful, but all require something from the user. It's like making a deal with the devil, only much more in your favor.
"Also, I'll give you this-" Merlin hands Mr a coin with a carving of a big 'M' on the front. "- coin so that you can contact me when you are ready for me to enchant your weapon. I'll just teleport to you and enchant it there. Although, if I were you, I'd call me before the crafting process begins so that I can make the enchantment even stronger. But know this: from the moment you call upon this favor, you'll owe me one. And I will be sure to collect. Are we clear?" His face darkens like a demon when he says that last sentence, and I feel like I could be making a mistake, but it's a deal that must be done.
"Deal." The second I say the words, a magic circle appears in the air between us, and a pair of chains binds Merlin and myself together.
"Anythings else you'd like to add before the contract is complete?" He asks, his eyes glowing.
"Yeah, that this favor can't be damaging to my reputation." A simple clause to add, but as long as I stay a good person, Merlin can't have me do something as his favor that would compromise that image.
For example, this clause would prevent me from committing acts like unjustified murder, or betrayal, or helping the enemy. See? Simple, yet effective. Although it does have some risks involved, but we'll get there when we get there.
"Fine. That works for me." He says, and the circle completes itself before disappearing.
-
Several hours later, and Thor and I can be seen walking on a path through a forest. We said goodbye to Merlin and Arthur a while ago, but we'll be back eventually. For now though, we will be making our way to Africa. Thor said I could pick the next stop, mostly because he said he already had his fun fighting the dragon.
Although this trip could likely take us over two years, we've decided to ask Heimdall to portal us there in a few weeks. First, Thor wanted to explore the Lands of Vikings on foot, see the people that worship him and whatnot. In order to do so, he's decided to take a ship north, to what will eventually be called Norway.
-
"Thor, what made you want to take a ship? You can just fly us there, or take a bifrost bridge." I ask randomly after about a day on the water. We are currently on a ship Thor 'Borrowed' from a port on the northern coast of the Britain's.
"Oh brother, you don't know? The sea is a great rival of mine! We go back and forth every time I take one of these vacations, and it is always a fun ordeal!" He says with a boisterous smile.
"Oh god... don't tell me..." I say, suddenly wanting to go back to land.
"Indeed brother! This particular channel is home to none other than the Midgard serpent's head!" He says with a completely unaware smile.
"Are you trying to get me killed Thor?! That thing'll kill me!" The Midgard serpent is terrifying to me right now, mostly because I have no way to hurt it, and no way to escape. At best I'm a stronger than normal Asgardian right now, if Thor fights the Midgard serpent's, I'll get swept into the storm and I'll die!
"Why did you have to bring me on this death mission?! Ugh, fine. But if you're gonna fight the Midgard serpent's, at least break off a scale for me, so that I can get some good armor made or something. I will not be risking my life just so you can have a spat with your rival, the giant wingless dragon, and get nothing out of it!" I say, crossing my arms and accepting my fate.
"Oooh! Good idea, Verdi! I'll be sure to try! We still have about 4 days till we get to where his head is, so for now, be patient."
-4 days later, at around noon-
"Were here Verdi, get ready for some crazy waves!" Thor announces, and the next moment, the water begins to turn from calm and clear, to turbulent and chaotic.
"Shit! Alright, good luck brother!" I yell out, and he nods back with a huge smile on his face, before he launches in the air, and the sky begins to darken with thunderclouds.
Soon, a ginormous snake head begins emerging from the ocean, it's head is probably over 600 meters all by itself, let alone the rest of its body. The midgard serpent is said to wrap around the world twice, and seeing it up close realy confirms the stories. With a loud, yellowing roar, Jormungandr swings it's huge head forward to try and eat Thor, but he dodges, lightning crackling over his body as he swings his hammer into The serpent. It's head is launched back, but only a few hundred meters, before it recovers quickly, launching at him with another bite, this time way faster than before.
All while this is happ3ning, I am struggling to fight the enormous waves coming from seemingly all directions, the small boat barely keeping afloat. I've never piloted a boat before, but I watched my old captain enough times to know how to not get sunk in a storm like this.
BOOM! CRASH! ROOOOOOOOAR!
Their fight lasted for the next 3 hours straight, all the while I kept trying not to die, which was getting to be exhausting. Every time Mjolnir slammed into Jormungandr, I could feel the ocean shake, the sky tremble, and the heavens rupture from sheer power. And then there was the lighting, coming from deep within Thor, guided by that Oh so special hammer, each Crack and explosion of power sending chills up and down my spine.
After three hours, Jormungandr retreated back into the ocean, neither fighter having bested the other. Another Draw. Thor goes down to the ocean, picks up a ginormous scale, almost larger than him, and brings it back to the boat, where I am laying on the deck, utterly exhausted.
"Did you win?"
"No, but I got your scale." He replies, setting the scale on the deck.
"Yay..." I say, passing out."
"