The Pirate And His Sea

Chapter 15: How Loki Met Him

The description had made Loki shudder, but he found himself excited nonetheless. Before he even realized it, he was following his father and mother onto the Bifrost and bidding Heimdall and Thor farewell.

The journey through the Bifrost was the roughest he'd ever experienced. Usually it bypassed such distances like that between Asgard and Midgard in little more than a handful of seconds. This trip, however, took several minutes, and towards the latter end of it he felt like he was being shoved through several small holes like those of a cheese grater. As he felt the rush of solid ground start to approach, he reasoned that the strange sensation must have been the protections around Mount Olympus; maneuvering the Bifrost through the small window given to them in the shields was no easy feat.

They landed with the customary blast of noise and wind on smooth white marble. It was a circular piece, obviously customized for the Bifrost itself because the Nordic etchings neatly touched the edges. Around it were well-trimmed hedges and a small fountain. They appeared to be on hillside, with the ground sloping down around them; farther down they could see the tops of houses that were the same white as the roads.

Heading upwards was a staircase framed by more hedges, and at the base stood a man, waiting. He was dressed on a distinctly Greek fashion, with a silver chest plate and shin guards strapped over silk clothes. He had the aura of a warrior, which was reinforced by the scars he could see on his tanned skin. He regarded them with a neutral expression, arms crossed and waiting for the entourage of three to collect themselves.

"Greetings," Odin said a moment later, stepping forward. He nodded to the man, who bowed slightly in return. "I trust that our arrival is as expected?"

"Of course," the man said. "I'm here to take you to the gods. They're waiting in the throne room." Without another word the man turned and began walking up the stairs. They followed him quickly, and as they ascended, Loki gazed at the man curiously. He did not seem to be comfortable with all the formalities involving greeting foreign dignitaries, so why had the Olympians sent him? Was he a minor god who had simply gotten unlucky? Or a mortal turned deity? Curious...

The staircase stretched on for a while, but they reached the top in a few minutes and came to a stop in front of a large white stone building. It had changed from the last time Loki had seen it – though he'd been young, the differences were so vast that even he could tell. They passed through the tall entrance way and the large braziers that lined the length of the hall. After several more archways, they came to a large oval room with the sounds of voices drifting from within. The man marched through without hesitation and led them into the centre.

Loki subtly glanced around, staying close to his father and mother as they came to a halt. All around them were tall thrones, far larger than him. It seemed the rumour about Olympians having an a form as tall as a frost giant was true, though the gods themselves were seated on smaller versions of their thrones around a long bronze table, the size of a regular man.

"Welcome," said the god at the head of the table, his voice echoing as the gods got to their feet. "It's good to see that you are in fine health, Lord Odin." Because if you weren't it'd mean that your responsibilities might become my problem as well¸ went unsaid.

"You as well, Zeus, and all the Olympic brethren."

And so the boring talks began. Loki kept an ear open, but he wasn't involved as the matters discussed didn't relate to him personally. Yes, the interdimensional barrier was holding up well, keeping both groups of deities and their domains apart from one another; no, the mortals on Midgard were not anymore aware regarding their presence as they had last meeting; the trade in Asgard was faring well, and the interdimensional merchants were spoiling the public with their strange Greek merchandise.