Odin disappeared to Asgard as soon as it was clear
there was no chance Ragnarök would happen and left me with a disgruntled god of mischief and a
hurried promise to pay for Loki’s stay. Since gods are, as a rule, exceptionally tight-fisted, I didn't believe a word he said. And true to his nature, he didn't pay me so much as a dime of the deposit, not until I made a trip to Asgard to remind him of his promise.
The are two ways to get to Asgard: using the Bifrost, the so-called Rainbow Bridge, but that path is not safe, it hasn't been safe for centuries I've read ancient accounts of past Barrows, and apparently the Bifrost was once a sight to behold. It was smooth as ice, hard as stone and it shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. But since the Norse Parthenon's powers started waning, there wasn't enough powers left to keep its magnificence intact. Today, its surface is a dull gray, the surface rough and jagged and liable to crack under your feet as you walk.
The other is to walk directly upon the branches of Yggdrasil, the world's tree. The view's great and it makes for excellent romantic date material, at least according to Sir Hughes Barrows, who lived in the Victorian Era and was a notorious rake, but getting lost and ending up in the wrong world is very easy, and considering the different options the nine realms offer, like freezing to death or burning to death or being smashed to bits by angry giants, getting lost there isn't something I particularly want to do.
So I took the Bifrost, even though it's creepy as hell and my sister and I have a bet going on when it'll finally break down.
I rode there by on my Nightmare, Tina. I dreamed her up when I was five and she's a total sweetheart. I know some people find Nightmares unnerving, because they are huge, they look like they are made of black smoke, have burning red eyes and sharp teeth and some accounts report them breathing fire, but they are just big, misunderstood softies. Just wear iron gloves when you feed them and you're in the clear.
The way to Asgard is long, and I was tired when I finally arrived. It's completely understandable that I face-planted in front of Heimdallr, the guardian of the Bridge, who's wasn't understanding at all - and who's a terrible gossip, so I'm sure he'll let everyone in all the Parthenons know before the week is out. Had Ragnarök happened, I would've missed him least of all.
The upside is that getting Odin to pay me wasn't that hard: I just waltzed into the dining hall during a meal, when all the gods are together at once, and threatened to drop all the mead in the Inn down the drain if I wasn't paid promptly. Then just sat back and let peer pressure accomplish the rest.
The are two ways to get to Asgard: using the Bifrost, the so-called Rainbow Bridge, but that path is not safe, it hasn't been safe for centuries I've read ancient accounts of past Barrows, and apparently the Bifrost was once a sight to behold. It was smooth as ice, hard as stone and it shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. But since the Norse Parthenon's powers started waning, there wasn't enough powers left to keep its magnificence intact. Today, its surface is a dull gray, the surface rough and jagged and liable to crack under your feet as you walk.
The other is to walk directly upon the branches of Yggdrasil, the world's tree. The view's great and it makes for excellent romantic date material, at least according to Sir Hughes Barrows, who lived in the Victorian Era and was a notorious rake, but getting lost and ending up in the wrong world is very easy, and considering the different options the nine realms offer, like freezing to death or burning to death or being smashed to bits by angry giants, getting lost there isn't something I particularly want to do.
So I took the Bifrost, even though it's creepy as hell and my sister and I have a bet going on when it'll finally break down.
I rode there by on my Nightmare, Tina. I dreamed her up when I was five and she's a total sweetheart. I know some people find Nightmares unnerving, because they are huge, they look like they are made of black smoke, have burning red eyes and sharp teeth and some accounts report them breathing fire, but they are just big, misunderstood softies. Just wear iron gloves when you feed them and you're in the clear.
The way to Asgard is long, and I was tired when I finally arrived. It's completely understandable that I face-planted in front of Heimdallr, the guardian of the Bridge, who's wasn't understanding at all - and who's a terrible gossip, so I'm sure he'll let everyone in all the Parthenons know before the week is out. Had Ragnarök happened, I would've missed him least of all.
The upside is that getting Odin to pay me wasn't that hard: I just waltzed into the dining hall during a meal, when all the gods are together at once, and threatened to drop all the mead in the Inn down the drain if I wasn't paid promptly. Then just sat back and let peer pressure accomplish the rest.
Not only did I have to go through a lot of trouble to get payment for Loki’s stay, his behavior is also
pretty creepy. He never leaves his room, he doesn’t even open the door, not
when the staff can see him, and you can hear weird noises coming from his room
at night.
Since the dark wizard fiasco that ended with us having to scrape black goo from the
walls and since then we have a policy against guests keeping the sort of
behavior Loki's been keeping. Tenants have to leave the room at least every three days, so that
the staff may clean it and make sure they haven’t been trying to bring people
back from the dead in there.
In light of that, Lily, the maid, forced Loki to go spend
some time in one of the common rooms and unfortunately suggested the Tea Parlor. It was a big mistake on her part, but now at least we know that all he had
been doing in his room was fruitlessly trying to punch a hole in the wall and make his escape.
I’m not going to fire Lily for what happened. She’s new, after
all. Newbies are allowed a few paltry mistakes. I’m pretty sure I informed her
of the potentially fatal thing happens in the Tea Parlor once a month, but there’s always something
potentially fatal happening at the Inn. She can’t be expected to remember
everything by her second week.
Alright, I do blame her, but do you have any idea how hard it is to find personnel? None of my employees are even fully human. And how little time it takes the staff members I do find to run for the hills? I'm not going to start sacking people to make matters worse. Even if she did cause the destruction of one of our nicer common rooms.
Stay tuned for more tales from the Inn!
With love,
With love,
