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Vanaheim was not known for the frosty cold that Niflheimr was relegated with, yet they still felt chills in the air despite it being the middle of the day. They'd been chasing a particularly nasty band of bandits around, Marauders, most likely. From the talk around the town, they had been terrorising the people from the shadows long before anyone figured them out. King Freyr had sent for Asgard's warriors, for a fact more hopeful of coercing trade talks than lacking their own men to fight the outlaws.
However it was, Vanaheim was not known for the uncanniness arising from this unusually shady part of forest, being a realm boastful of its life and joy. Thor, and his friends, had ventured deep into a wild forest having gathered that the Marauders would be found nowhere in plain sight in the residential areas.
"However these bushes lay, this forest appears too innocuous to hide some fearsome beast!" Fandral voiced as much.
"As does the entire realm, yet we find ill-wishing bandits almost e'ery other week. Don't be a fool, Fandral." Hogun replied.
"Yes! And Vanaheim has the resources to put these essenceless thugs down every other week. It's not like them to become so timid and weak as to not put to rest these rebellious creatures now and then."
"They do come to Asgard begging for her attention, like all realms."
"Wonder why they chose to pull us out of an expedition to the sizzling Muspelheim, only to put us on an innocent goose chase in the most peaceful of all realms."
"This patch of land is unusually untouched. There's too much collective foliage." Volstagg observed.
"Well, of course because they wanted the princes to succumb to their comforts, and heed them to convince the Allfather to agree to that trade deal they so want." Sif scoffed in response to Fandral.
"Haha! Perhaps it's only the one prince they need for that task. Assuredly, I would much prefer the fiery hills of Muspelheim. My brother is what they need." Thor proclaimed.
"Very well. Do be considerate of the fact that Vanaheim hasn't been able to put to rest this one creature for almost a month, so don't underestimate its prowess in your idiocy." Loki chimed in.
"If they so needed Loki's expertise in the unthrilling matters of the royal hall, they needn't have had us benched. Fandral does have a point." Sif replied.
"It's not as if we can abandon my brother to a task, as mundane as it may be! After all, we can still quest for a latter expedition into the harsher parts of Muspelheim, mindful that we're amongst Asgard's finest warriors." Thor settled the budding dispute.
"Touching."
"I am aware that Vanaheim is not as fiery as Muspelheim, but must it be so frigid?" Fandral lamented.
"Ha! You are a warrior! Don't be so flushed out because of a tiny bit of co-"
"No, he's right. No part of Vanaheim has ever been recorded to be this cold. This is an unusual occurence." Loki informed.
"It's probably just a wave. We musn't let any small discrepancies hinder us."
The wind blew peacefully, giving no indication of any belying evil. They ventured into the forest with nothing arousing suspicion for the better part of another hour.
"We're getting nowhere. Perhaps we must settle for camp soon enough, and wait for the danger to come to us." Volstagg offered.
"Only after the hike that's not so far from here. We'll have better vantage and scope of land from there."
"No, Thor. We should camp near the village. That's where the bandits show their hand."
"We musn't. If we camp nearer to the village, we'd never find out their hideout." Sif argued.
"They've probably already got word that we're on the lookout for them! They'd never approach us in the middle of the forest."
"But instead, they'd definitely not visit the village when they know we're there."
"Not at the beginning. But they'll eventually have to risk i-" Loki paused as he stepped on another fallen branch. But this time, he stopped and observed it.
"What is it? Why's you stop?" Fandral asked at the same time Sif said, "It's just a stick, Loki, like the many others in the forest. It's not going to harm anyone."
"No... that's the thing. This forest is too close to civilisation to be this weathered."
"We did go deep into the forest, it's not exactly unusual for some areas to be uninhabited." Thor said unsuredly.
"But there's something off here. We've been roaming for too long. If it were bandits at play, we would've come across some sign - some tracks or dumped inventory. After plundering, the bandits couldn't have carried everything a long distance and not left any tracks."
"Hogun, locate our position on the map." Sif commanded.
Hogun takes out the map, and sets it down on a fallen log. He points at where they all are, "That's our position on the map."
"Hadn't we passed that lake an hour ago?" Thor questioned.
"It would seem not, for... there it is." Sif replied, baffled. She was right, for there was the same lake again, unmistakenly, at a distance, where none of them had noticed it before.
"But we had! Remember the fit Volstagg almost had, seeing that lake a jewel desolate and unexplored in the middle of a dense forest?" Fandral claimed.
They all ventured towards the lake again. There was a cairn near the lake, which hadn't been there before.
"Surely we've not been traveling in circles all this while?"
"We couldn't be. And someone must have come by after us, and stacked those stones." Loki supplied.
"Peculiar indeed." Volstagg muttered, with all of them on guard now.
"We're clearly being played. Let's stick together and scout the surrounding area." Thor commanded with a hand on Mjolnir.
They all followed Thor, on guard now even though nothing seemed to be off in the forest. There were trees all around, with no other sign of life than themselves. The cool breeze, the fluttering leaves, and the littered leaves only seemed sinister and absurdly off-putting now.
They appear, again, suddenly, at the lake. The stones were gone now.
"Brother, is this one of your tricks?"
"I wouldn't do this, Thor."
It was distorting, the way they were surrounded by trees reaching for the skies, with thick canopies, and thicker bushes. There was wind, but there was no life. The sun blazed brightly through the roof of trees and yet, the breeze sent chills down their spines. The only clearing they found was the lake, and the forest seemed to be getting denser the more they stayed there. The trees came closer, and the lake seemed to whisper to them as they again and again found themselves stumble upon it after going into the forest. The breeze coaxed them to leave, leave, leave.
The light banter they accompanied with themselves was all gone by now.
They didn't go around in circles, but it definiely seemed so every time they faced the teasing waters. The tranquility only agitated them further.
"There's no denying that whatever we're facing is more than a particularly stubborn band of Marauders." Sif finally said it out loud.
"Whenever I try to reach out with my seidr, I get overwhelmed by a stifling opposition from the forest. Something's blocking our way." Loki informed them.
They decide to stop when they next come across the lake.
"This is it. I've had enough. Show yourself, vile creature!" Sif announces.
Nothing appears.
"Alright, since it wants us to stay at the lake so much, there must be something in the water." Fandral moves to wade in the water despite Hogun's and Loki's protests that the water might be enchanted or worse.
Just before Fandral touched the water, a voice reverberated through the surrounding forest, "Stop."
They all brandished their weapons, "Who are you? I command you to show yourself." Thor orders.
"And who might you be to order me." something shifts between the trees, yet they can't make out a figure.
"I am Thor. Odinson. God of Thunder, and crown prince of Asgard. And I order you to reveal yourself, and end these shenanigans."
"Odinson, is it?
Odin once cast me out. Hunted me, and my brethren, down, that bloodthirsty emperor."
"Lies and slander! Whatever happened to you, happened because of your crimes."
"And what crimes do you accuse me of?"
"You ha-"
"WHAT CRIMES DO YOU ACCUSE ME OF, Odinson, when you've infiltrated my forest, and tainted its very soil with yourself and your villainous crew, blending in with my trees and causing mayhem?" The melodic voice suddenly turned monstrous, and as though somewhat regaining composure, it soothened again.
"You're Hul- we only entered the forest to apprehend some raging Marauders that've been causing the neighbouring villagers rife, and as it would seem, you." Loki intervened.
"You claim you're not one of them who harmed my cows at this very lake?"
"I do. We're here to bring them to justice for all the harm they've caused, if you'd let us."
An ethereal form emerged, then, from the foliage. Almost taller than Thor, with flowing light blonde hair, and organic accessories as if her outfit was melded from nature itself, a figure revealed itself. It made sense how they hadn't been able to spot her, she blended well with her surroundings. She might've been onto them from the moment they entered the forest, and they wouldn't have noticed.
"I am Huldra. I protect this forest, and those who inhabit it." At that, the rest caught up to the identity of the figure, which Loki had figured out.
"I-we believed that all Huldra had been wiped out. What happened here?" Fandral asked dubiously, staring at the astonishing spirit with wide eyes.
"We almost were, but as you can see, some of us survived. We were mostly forgotten. I reside alone in this forest, peaceful. If, in any case, some passerby walks the paths of my forest, I show them the way and we enjoy our time together. I don't come across many, now. But... the last intruders weren't so kind. They brought with them some kind of ill-feeling."
"What kind of ill?" Loki asked, careful.
"It's hard to say."
Loki glanced at Thor, who nodded encouragingly, "I'm sure we'll understand."
"Well, they appeared out of nowhere, but as soon as they came, they shrouded the forest in some kind of dark magic. It's not of this place. Since, they've been upsetting the trees, and harming the residents of the forest."
Loki looked on thoughtfully. Magic, they say?
He reached out with his seidr to feel for any spells, or unknown presence, when Huldra suddenly looked furious.
"You! That seidr-"
They're ambushed before she gets to finish her sentence. Tree-like creatures come apart from the forest trees, and equip themselves with some sort of ray gun.
They shoot at Huldra, and hit her. She disappears - melds into the forest - and the forest roars. There are many of the tree-like creatures. R'malk'i, by the looks of them. They must be the Marauders that have been hiding out in the forest and plundering the villagers, after all, R'malk'i are known to be common members of Marauders.
The Warriors Three, Sif, Thor, and Loki engage in the sudden battle. Hogun stabs through a R'malk'i, but it didn't seem to harm him. He pulls his sword back and avoides having its hard wooden arm bashed into his face.
Sif slices another R'malk'i horizontally in half, it writhes on the ground but is unable to attach itself to its other half again. That seems to end them.
Volstagg and Fandral fend off a horde together, slashing here and there. Hogun moves onto his second one roaring, having bested the first R'malk'i that opposed him.
Loki pins one down using his daggers, and the tree creature is effectively decapacitated by Sif. Thor twirls Mjolnir, and throws her around in a circle to bash through the heads of five R'malk'i at once.
The R'malk'i come pouring in. It seems many accumulated in the forest ove the time of a month. The Huldra again made her presence known by sifting through the crowd in the form of various tiny creatures, and cursed some R'malk'i to fight amongst themselves.
One R'malk'i pushes through the confines of another, and rips it apart as if shredding a paper. As the other R'malk'i catch on, they spread the information amongst each other telepathically, and combine their animosities unto Huldra.
Thor conjures some lightning, futile other than the force the strike brings for the R'malk'i are essentially wood. But it makes Huldra scream out, "No, no, no, not lightning."
They've taken down about twenty of the R'malk'i when they wonder what brought on the sudden onslought of the tree creatures. Loki uses his magic to crowd a bunch together, and creates illusions of some R'malk'i attacking each other - creating doubt amongst the R'malk'i as they try to reach out to the illusions using telepathy.
The warriors vanquish the crowd piece by piece. A R'malk'i catches Loki from behind, and blasts through his shoulder. This interrupts the illusions, and the seidr binding the R'malk'i together and incapable of movement. With their newfound freedom, they again brandish the gun and start shooting haphazardly now with no regards to direction. Stunned by the gaping hole in his shoulder, Loki catches a blast straight to the chest and stumbles. Out of the corner of his sight, he sees Hogun get hit on the leg and fall, with Fandral and Volstagg quickly covering him.
Sif runs towards Loki to shield him from another blast, catching Thor's attention. Loki dispatches another few daggers at a R'malk'i behind Sif. There are too many of the tree creatures, they are heavily outnumbered. The lightning seemed to have scared Huldra off, and Thor was fighting off two on all sides, with Fandral taking Hogun out of the immediate firing area.
They still have about three dozen R'malk'i to go. Where did such an enormous amount even come from?
As Loki is losing conscious, he realises that the R'malk'i are crowding around something, almost protectively. That's the last thing he relays to Sif before passing out.
---
Thor notices something off about the formation of the R'malk'i almost immediately. There are about fifty of them in total; they must've been spread out throughout the forest in the morning, and gathered around the lake to ambush them. They should've fled had they known the warriors were hunting for them, but instead, they came back. For something. He notices as much as a couple of R'malk'i retrieve a rectangular orange box from the middle of the lake out of the corner of his eye as the others are fighting the rest of the horde.
His attention is diverted when Loki gets hit, and he's too far to stop another hit that could prove to be fatal. He couldn't help his relief when Sif shielded him, and started taking him to a safer spot. He promises himself to thank her later.
He spots Fandral taking someone -Hogun or Volstagg, he can't see whom - towards Loki and Sif, and curses underneath his breath.
They are outnumbered, that is clear.
Loki, and Hogun or Volstagg, needed medical attention. He was thinking of how he can take the R'malk'i, the crowd of whom is halved, out as soon as possible, when he notices a faint orange glow.
He shudders. He may not be as sensitive to magic as Loki, but he still can sense it.
He's aiming at another R'mal'i when he notices an orange door...appear.
And out of it steps...
Loki.
But it isn't really Loki, because Loki was injured and Sif was tending to him. He wasn't seeing an illusion as the other R'malk'i noticed the new Loki, and had started fleeing. It wasn't the same Loki, either. He wore strange flowing tattered green robes, and had a completely regal look to him. Not that his Loki wasn't regal, but something about this Loki just seemed so...untouchable.
He seemed older, for one. Wiser, and as if he'd seen all there was in the world to see.
Thor comes to his senses soon enough to dodge a hit at him. Some water splashed to his right in the lake, probably by a R'malk'i. And then something unbelievable happened.
Time froze, or well, slowed down. Whatever slowed things down didn't affect the Loki duplicate, for one, so it's safe to assume that he caused the things to slow down.
Thor himself slowed down; he could feel his arm coming down with Mjolnir on some R'malk'i's head, but it felt as if he was moving through pudding.
Loki snatched whatever that orange rectangle was, and set down a lantern like contraption down on the ground. It started pulsing and thumoing down on the ground, creating underneath it a greenish radius that touched every frozen R'malk'i but twisted its form such that it didn't touch Thor or any of his companions.
Loki, then, caught his eye.
He saw a lot of emotion in those eyes. As if the world could be consumed by those fiery green time-old orbs.
He wanted to say something, but found he couldn't move his mouth. He wanted Loki to say something.
But Loki just looked at him, and gave him a slight smile. And that smile said all that was needed.
'I'm sorry, brother'
Thor decided that this Loki, whoever he was, was his brother.
Things ended soon after that. Loki went back through that orange door, and the door...portal? closed. The R'malk'i, every single one of them, disappeared soon after. Evaporated into nothingness.
Time set him free, and he turned to look at his companions. They looked as dumbfounded as him at the empty ground now, as if there hadn't been any disturbance or destruction.
Huldra had appeared again, and again wordlessly, she nodded. He understood. It was over. The threat was gone, whether that threat was Loki, and undoubtedly any seidr associated with him, or the R'malk'i, who didn't belong from here.
He caught up to his friends. Loki was gravely injured, which didn't immediately send him into a panic. He would be fine. He'd get medical attention, and he'd be fine. There's no other way this can go.
"Thor, what happened? Where did all of the R'malk'i go? Did you finish the beasts off?" Volstagg asked.
It turns out he was the only one who saw the mysterious Loki, "Yes...I did. I finished them off," he said solemnly.
---
"Brother?"
"Loki, ah, you're awake. That's great. Don't worry, the fight is over. You're just in the medical room in Asgard. Eir just finished tending to you."
"Hogun?"
"Hogun will be fine. His leg will heal by the end of the week. You need to rest up so that you do too."
"...but-"
"Don't worry. I'll stay with you."
With that, Loki drifted off contentedly.
Estrella24 Mon 20 Oct 2025 10:29PM UTC
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