All's well that ends well

Yrsa returned to the castle and noticed the lack of monsters which seemed to disappear with Hel back to the realm of the dead. The light elves were leaving the fortified castle when she entered it and, almost unnoticed, entered the throne room. She sensed a familiar coldness in the air and felt joy overcome her. Her eyes looked around the buzzing hall and she noticed the only person in the room with snowy white hair - Skadi.

She ran to her and hugged her tight, the other obviously both surprised and ecstatic to see her companion was alive and well. She hugged her back and laughed.

"Thank the Norns you're alive, are you hurt?" she said, turning her around and looking for any wounds.

"No, I'm okay. It was an easy fight. Come to think of it, we have a lot to talk about. We need to go somewhere more... private," Yrsa said, dragging Skadi into a large empty room where the Council had its meetings. It was bright and decorated with gold, and on the roof there were beautiful paintings of historic events.

"Okay - you better sit down for this - the mysterious deadly forest was an illusion to hide Mimir -" Skadi gasped and interrupted her.

"Wait, the Mimir?" she asked, amazed by the fact that she just spoke to the wisest creature in the entire universe. One who'd been gone for years.

"Yes, but he's gone now, hidden somewhere in the Realms. That's not all - he told me there might be a way to stop Ragnarök. And half of it is right here," she said, pulling the sword out. It shifted in her hands. In fact, it wasn't even a sword by the time it was fully out of its sheath anymore. It was a dark wooden sceptre inscribed with runes and on the top there was a shining rainbow coloured gem surrounded by carved out snakes. If you turned it around, it would make for a good hammer handle.

Yrsa explained to Skadi all she could remember, as best as she could. It would seem that Ragnarök was closer than they thought.

"We will talk, but now isn't the time," Skadi said, sitting on the large table. "First, let's get out of here. The company of these elves is driving me crazy."

Yrsa nodded and they disappeared into another portal after convincing Freyr to let them go with the sword. He wasn't pleased to hear that they need the sword for a "secret crusade" but as long as Odin was okay with it, as they assured him he would be, he had no problem letting them take the damned thing off his back.

The two arrived back home and, after warding the house for protection, they discussed who to call for aid.

A blood moon decorate the night's sky. Some would think of it as a bad omen. It was well past midnight and the fire was crackling. The only thing missing the warm and comfortable setting was drinks and lively company.

"Now that we're all set, tell me, if we get into trouble, who should we ask for help? Niðavellir is a dangerous place," Yrsa said, covering herself in a blanket and looking at the bright flames in the middle of the room.

"If it comes to it, I can summon the Wild Hunt. Their reputation preceeds them and besides, we don't need the entire hunt; Herne and the worgs of Hati are enough if anything should befall us," Skadi replied.

"Their magic is strong... it might just be exactly what we need. They ride the clouds at night and cast silence wherever their shadows pass. It's a good escape plan. We just need to figure out where the second piece is before we go," Yrsa replied.

She didn't know how the other piece looked and, if the pieces can change in their appearance, it might be close to impossible to find it. Luckily, there are spells that could show them a vague location where to look. That itself was a good start.

In the morning, Yrsa took a fresh parchment and spilled ink over it. She whispered to the ink and it melted into the parchment, producing an outline of a map.

Hljóðs bið ek allar helgar kindir,

meiri ok minni möguHeimdallar;

viltu, at ek, Valföðr!

The more she spoke, the clearer the outline. In the end, it revealed a location.

Felljárn, the great mountain of iron.

It was the richest deposit of metal and gems ever discovered, but all of it was cursed. Even the air itself caused strange things to appear that weren't from the life of the living. Ghosts of the past. Shadows that didn't exist. Terrors.