In Loki's Honor

Garfield vowed.

*

*

"Haru and Garfield, meet my wife Altia and my sister Serena," Nero introduced us, then went elsewhere to get his traveling gear. Weird. I expected him to either use cards for that or to just have it in a handy pocket dimension.

His wife was of the same species as him but his sister was a Nereid. She had cyan skin, scales, and two fins where a human's ears should be. They both had the same type of bracer as Nero and I. Actually, every adult we met in the city had it. A whole civilization built around a TCG.

"A pleasure to meet you," Altia said. She smelled of crushed herbs.

"The pleasure is ours," I replied. "And we are sorry we had to borrow Nero."

Altia laughed. "It can't be helped. Getting Nero in trouble is one of Amaryllis' hobbies."

"I know, right? My fairy godmothers also put me in a lot of trouble every now and then."

"You have more than one?" Serena asked empathetically.

"Five, last time I counted. One for each element, plus a dryad."

Surprised, Serena probed, "Where did you come from?"

"A faraway land," Garfield glared at me as he answered.

"Are you also an alchemist, Altia?" I asked. I noticed she had stains on some of her fingertips.

"I am!" She replied with a great deal of excitement.

"We should trade recipes! I would love to learn about the herbs of this land!"

"Ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt," Nero returned. "I'm ready to go. Ms. Haru and Mr. Babbage are quite busy."

"Please, do come again so we can talk over tea," Serena requested. The way she said it made me think she was Royalty.

Nero opened a portal to one of his transition pocket dimensions. These were just ten-by-ten rooms linked to certain points in the continent. Apparently, he needed to do that to keep the distinct exit locations. Once we moved back to the real world, I cast the custom soul detection spell tuned to Lily's brother. It came out as negative.

"It's not in a thousand miles around this region."

"Next portal, I guess," Nero shrugged and opened the same portal again.

We left the transition dimension and went back to his world. Then he opened another one and we found ourselves in another spot of the continent. This went over and over, each time we cleared a circle a thousand miles in radius, marking the locations on a map to see if we missed any blind spots. Nero's pocket dimension network was impressive but it didn't cover everything.

The solution was to let me go on my own, flying in my favorite bird form, the needletail swift. Garfield went back to the Leonal capital to buy more cards.

*

*

We spent a month in Nero's world. We repaid the favor by helping the young man connect the other continents to his portal network but no sign of Lily's brother anywhere in that world. We said our goodbyes and Garfield teleported us back to his hidden space station. The Dungeon took about ten thousand cards back with him, including a machine that apparently could print these cards in exchange for ridiculous amounts of Mana. Or Essence, as the natives called the crystals.

Without further ado, we teleported to the next world that could possibly hold Leonard's soul.

"Curses!" Garfield shouted as we left the portal a few AU away from the target planet.

"What's wrong?"

"My cards are dissolving."

I laughed. It earned a glare from his Valkyrie bodyguard.

Our levity vanished when we sensed a divine presence. It seemed this world had very active deities and if I knew one thing about Gods was that they hated competition.

"Who goes there?" The divine presence demanded. It was a booming man's voice.

"Greetings, great Tarhun," Garfield said. "We come in peace."

"Thunder Gods," Róta snorted. "Always high and haughty."

"Shh. We don't want to start a fight," the station captain and resident Dungeon chided.

I was itching to ask Róta about Loki but caution told me to not reveal my relationship to him. As far as I knew, the Aesir despised Loki. Valkyries were Aesir too, right? Anyway, the stoic demigoddess didn't leave much room for small talk.

An imposing man with a huge beard styled into curls wearing a tunic and leather sandals materialized in the middle of the bridge. He was way stronger than Bundeus at his peak but weaker than Loki. I guessed that if I had to fight him, only my God-Slayer Perk would save my ass.

"You do not belong here," he stated. "What business brings you two here?"

Funny how he ignored Lily and Larry. He also ignored Róta though it should be obvious to him she was a demigoddess.

"We are looking for a stray soul," Garfield said straight away. "From Earth. Your world is one where it might have ended up. You took quite a lot of souls from Earth during Rag– the Apocalypse."

"You intend to take it away," Tarhun stated. It was more of a challenge or a dare than a question.

All around the bridge, the Lily clones glowered at the Hittite deity.

"And how will you compensate my world for this soul?"

An almost literal lightbulb lit up in Garfield's power armor. "I brought thousands of Mana-infused cards with me. They are a gift, mighty Tarhun. And if I find this soul in your world, I intend to exchange them for two million people from my inner worlds."

My jaw dropped. Was the fucking bastard negotiating with people? I felt a mental probe from him and allowed the telepathic link to form.

I stared at the power armor, unwilling to believe. That annoyed the Dungeon.

"This trade is acceptable. You may proceed, but don't take this station too close to the planet," Tarhun said and vanished, taking Garfield's card contraband with him. Easy comes, easy goes, I guess.

The world below us had no moon. And the red paint job of this station would stick out like a sore thumb.

"Let's go."

*

*

We were too far away from the planet to teleport so we had to take a shuttle. Magical creatures usually couldn't survive in outer space away from the Manasphere of a world. But Garfield had this system where he could create subdivisions of his Dungeon and create his own Manasphere. The station and this shuttle were examples of such sub-divisions. While we traveled, Garfield taught me the local language. It was called modern Akkadian.

Leaving the shuttle in orbit, we teleported to the outskirts of the largest settlement on the planet. Upon arrival, I saw a floating crystallized apple with a red and gold bow tied around its stem.

"You're an apple?" I gasped.

"What happened to your power armor?"

"You should've warned me before we teleported."

"I can. Believe me, I suffered my share of stupid deities. Also, I don't think the Hitites were Mesopotamian."

I shapeshifted into a Turkish man and put the crystallized apple in a leather satchel Garfield Replicated for me. I cast my Leonard-soul-searching spell. The result came positive. Leonard was inside that city. My mouth opened in a grin.

"I found Lily's brother. He's in there." I pointed at the city.

With culturally adequate clothes and shoes, I approached the city gates.

*

*

A gold nugget bought my entrance. The guards wanted a bribe to let me through and I didn't want to start a fight. This world barely counted as a magical one. Garfield wasn't lying when he said this world was Mana-starved and dying.

I asked the apple inside my satchel.

I checked the smartphone he gave me. While it was a magical computer, working on complex and delicate enchantments rather than actual semiconductor electronics, it still...

"My phone picked up a WiFi signal," I gawked.

It took me some time but I found an inn and rented a room. Inside, Garfield Replicated some of his computers including a few drones. I cast stealth spells on them to muffle sound and make them invisible. Then they flew off the window. A few minutes later, I had a map of the city and surrounding areas on my phone, as well as the triangulated location of the WiFi signal source.

I cast my search spell again. As expected, the spell pointed in the same direction. Garfield reclaimed his gadgets and I went to find out what the hell was going on.

The place where the signals came was in the rich region of the city. Instead of the square stone buildings, this place had large estates with wide yards. Some even had green grass growing, a rarity in this semi-arid climate. As I homed in the soul signal, I found myself in front of a gate guarded by a quartet of burly men.

"State your business," the leader among them demanded.

"I'm a pilgrim from afar. I wish to speak to the lord of this estate regarding trade. I have gold and the finest silks your lord has ever laid his eyes upon."

The guard nodded to me. Then he barked at his subordinate. "Hurry! See if lord Abil-Kisu is available!"

A few minutes later, I was granted entry to this lavish estate. A cadre of servants wearing nice tunics rushed out of the main house to greet me. Way above us, I saw an eagle soar. At least it seemed to be an eagle. It had a green neck, though.

Garfield warned me.

"Greetings Ahûsh," the lead servant bowed at the waist. Ahûsh meant friend in a formal setting. "Lord Abil-Kisu awaits in his parlor. Please, this way."

We entered the main house and then the parlor. Abil-Kisu was a rotund and muscular man, a sign of the prosperity of his house.

"What a blessed day," he greeted in a friendly tone. "Let it be known that Abil-Kisu will never turn a pilgrim away from his door, so long there's a chance that business can be held."

I bowed but not as deeply as the servant, "I am honored by your hospitality and humbled by your friendliness, honored Abil-Kisu. I'm Percival."

"Yes, yes. Please, sit, Lord Percival. I have good wine, perfect to slake your thirst after a day of travel under this scorching sun. I guess our mighty Tarhun is displeased with something."

the apple Dungeon snickered in my mind.

I glanced at it. He was right. It was a bottle of Jack. Sans the golden liquid or the label. I sat on a pillow (the room had no table) and accepted the cup of wine he gave me. We toasted and drank at the same time. I guessed Abil-Kisu was following my lead.

"All we can do is endure. We, mortal men, shouldn't meddle in the affairs of Gods." I mused.

"Wiser words are yet to be uttered, my friend," the merchant chortled.

"Abil-Kisu, you seem like a man of many talents."

"You flatter me, my friend. I am just a merchant."

"You have a beautiful estate and dutiful guards. These are signs of a wise master and a shrewd merchant."

"I got lucky many times."

"Luck is also a skill."

"I'm flattered. But tell me, my pilgrim friend. How may I help Percival the silk trader in this glorious day?"

"Buy my silk!" I laughed. The merchant lord easily laughed along. He seemed like an easy person to be around, so long you were filling his pockets with gold.

"That I will, after I've seen a sample of your goods!"

"Then who am I to keep a busy man such as you waiting?" I reached into my satchel and took a scrap of living silk from my storage. "Here, tell me what you think."

"Marvelous! Superb!" Abil-Kisu played with the silk in his hand. "Should anyone call you a liar, Lord Percival, tell me. I'll cut their tongue myself! This is indeed the finest silk I've ever seen. If you told me this was woven by a Goddess, I would believe."

I put a fist in front of my mouth and laughed. "You are so close to the truth, my dear Abil-Kisu. You wouldn't believe it. Please, try to tear the silk."

"I couldn't."

"It's just a sample. Please, indulge me."

He pulled but the magical strands were like steel wire. He placed the silk on the ground and drew a dagger from a hidden sheath. Abil-Kisu stabbed and scraped the silk but only dulled his blade.

"A man clothed in this silk would fear no weapon!" He gasped. "Kings would wage war to wear this silk. I won't haggle over this. Name your price, my dear Percival! I shall pay whatever you ask for this!"

"You can keep the sample, then. My caravan is a week away from here, I rode in earlier to wash the road grime and make contacts."

"I cannot. Even this piece of cloth is worth almost my entire estate. I must pay for it."

"I will not take your gold but information. That bottle behind you is quite fancy. I want two pieces of information. I want to know how you got that bottle and also to meet your master falconer. I saw a mighty eagle soaring over your estate."

"Then we are in luck. They are one and the same. Follow me."

*

*

The merchant led us to an annex building, a guest house if I had to guess. The majestic eagle with a green neck was on a perch by the front door. It stared at us with curious eyes. The camera was no longer attached to its chest, however.

"Lady Rinaldi!" Abil-Kisu called. "I have a most honored guest to introduce to you!"

The apple chimed.

"Coming!" A woman's voice came from inside.

Soon, the door opened, revealing who Abil-Kisu's falconer was. A gorgeous brunette with Asian eyes, a Mediterranean jaw, and an aquiline nose. The combination was exotic but still harmonious. She wore fancy local clothes.

"Lady Sandra Rinaldi, this is Lord Percival, a fellow merchant, and a trade partner now. Supplier of the finest silks."

I bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, master falconer."

"The pleasure is mine, Lord Percival."

Abil-Kisu was still grinning.

"Your eagle is very well-trained," I remarked. And now I could see they were magically bonded as well. If Sandra was a spellcaster, I would say the eagle was her familiar.

Garfield shouted.

I opened my magical senses fully. Sandra's magic was overflowing. If she was from Yznarian, I would say she had hundreds of millions of MP in her pool. At level zero. I couldn't help but gawk.

"Is something the matter?" The perceptive merchant asked.

"No, nothing. I just felt a dizzy spell from hiking in the sun all morning."

"Diim-me (bloodstone) is like family to me," Sandra said.

Her bird was phonetically named dime? Then I had the perfect test to see if she was from Earth or not. "Surely, your bird is not a dime a dozen."

Sandra winced. I switched to English. "You are very far away from home, Ms. Rinaldi. Would you help me charge my phone?"