Fern and Thor

Chapter VI

“It is said that Thord lives up high in the mountains, terrorizing anyone who comes near him. He’s really powerful. Some say he can even lift up and move buildings with his magic!”
“So we got to stop him.”
“Okay, but it’ll be tricky; really tricky. We might even face death.”
Fern gulped bravely. “I’ve got to save my village.”
“Well, then, we better get a move on.” Thor picked up the knapsack lying at Fern’s feet and beckoned Fern, directing them towards their destination. Then he stopped and pointed curiously.
“What’s that?”
He was pointing to Fern’s amulet. She hadn’t even noticed she had it on. “Oh, nothing.” She replied.
Thor just shrugged. “Look, on second thoughts, we’ve got to get some rest. It’s getting dark, and our clothes are in ruins.”
It was only then Fern realized how right Thor was. Her brown cotton jacket was severely torn, her denim jeans ripped and her hiking boots scratched.
“I guess you’re right.” She said weakly, and jogged over to a shady ash tree, lying at the rim of Damaka Forest. Thor joined her, dumping down the sack at her feet.
“So…What now?”
“Duh. We sleep!” Thor rolled his eyes.
“What if the hydra comes back?” Fern questioned.
“Good point. We got to have a lookout stationed somewhere.”
“I wish I hadn’t said that.” Fern smiled bitterly.
“It’s okay. I’ll do it tonight.”
“Whoa… For the whole night?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty wired. I’ll do it up here” Thor indicated to a thick branch near the upper parts of the ash tree they were resting at. Before Fern could respond, he sprang up it swiftly, jumping from branch to branch, grasping strong twigs to keep his balance.
The way this guy climbs trees,I’m assuming he does it daily. Fern thought, sniggering. For all she knew, though, that could even be true. Feeling she should get to know him better, Fern called up to Thor, who was now poised at the chosen spot. “So…why did you come to these parts?”
“Well…I guess I could say it’s what I always wanted. When I was young, I yearned to go out and explore the world…” Thor took a tense breath, as if he was embarrassed. Fern glanced upwards into the boughs and saw that his face was a little red. He caught her and turned his face bashfully. It was obvious he wanted to end it there. Getting the hint, Fern tried to think of another subject.
“Can you tell me a bit more about Thord? I mean, if we’re going to fight him, we better be prepared.”
“I know a few more things. One of them is that he’s an alp.”
“A what?”
Thor sighed tiredly. “It’s a type of dark demon. They feed on human blood and dreams-”
“At least that means I’m out of danger.”
“-and cause nightmares and sleep paralysis. They can also shape shift into a… dog, cat, snake, ox or… something else. I can’t remember the last one. I think it was like a worm or something.”
Fern looked around carefully, suspiciously eying a maggot squirming on the ground.
“Also, I heard they have a fatal weakness to iron.” Thor’s voice continued.
“So…all we have to do is flash some metal at him and he’ll die?”
“I wish it was that simple. Some say that, after he gained an ability for magic, Thord…changed his appearance somehow. He- enchanted it, contorted its features, so his face- if you can call it that- changed from a horned demonic mess into a pale wicked expression. People say this transformation destroyed his weakness. Thord disguised himself as an elf so no-one would suspect him.”
Fern spat on the ground in disgust. “How dare he offend our culture like that? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!”
Thor looked disbelieving. “I doubt you’ll even get into his lair. It won’t budge, and it’s even suspected that only Thord himself can get in.”
“The dryad!” Fern exclaimed, sitting up straight.
“What?”
“I went into the Damaka Forest and met a dryad. She said the only way to get into Thord’s lair was for the wind to be blowing north-east.”
“How are we going to manage that?”
“I don’t know. But we’ve got to.”
Fern yawned. “Anyway, we can’t right now. We’ll set off in the morning. Oh, and by the way…” she rummaged in the pack and pulled out a cold slab of meaty lamb. “You might want this.”
Tossing it up, Fern lay into a comfy position. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
As she drifted off to sleep, she heard Thor’s voice from far away. “Just keep in mind that it’s going to get way harder. Especially from this moment on.”