Sigyn's Story Book one: Necklace of Harmonia

Chapter Eleven

The Norwegian mountains were tamer than Sigyn had imagined. At least for her. Dodeg’s short legs made it difficult for him to scale the mountain. She hadn't wanted him to follow her, but when she passed the ship he insisted he’d become bored, and she couldn’t stop him. Sigyn would stop from time to time to watch the dwarf struggle up the mountain face. Of course his state of intoxication and or hangover didn’t help.

The mortal goddess sat on a flat boulder and examined the ends of her hair. In her peripheral vision she saw a hand reaching up to her by her calf. Dodeg was holding his hand out for help. Sigyn took his hand and pulled him up.

“You didn’t ‘ven fok’n tell me why we’re scaling this fok’n mountain.” He huffed.

“You didn’t ask.” Sigyn pointed out, looking up the cliff face. There were only about forty yards left to scale.

“Come, it’s not too long now.” Sigyn skilfully pulled herself up the cliff, easily leaving Dodeg in her dust.

“Fok’n gods.” She heard Dodeg curse. She couldn’t help but smile at his frustration.

Suddenly the cliff face began  to quiver, then shake. Sigyn wrapped her legs around a thick vine and held fast to it as it shook. Before she knew it, the shaking stopped just a soon as it had started. She looked down the cliff. She didn’t see Dodeg.

“Dodeg!” She called.

No answer.

“Dodeg!” she called louder.

“I’m ‘ere!” he shouted. Sigyn could hear him panting with adrenaline. She sighed with relief, for some reason she couldn’t explain.

The mortal goddess finished climbing the cliff and ended up on a plateau of sorts.The rocky ground was flat and circular, like someone had cut the top off of the mountain. However the center of the circular mountain top was inverted with jagged rocks.  

Of course the mortals couldn’t see it though. She was well above the clouds.

Sigyn heard harsh raspy breathing come up behind her. It was Dodeg. He coughed dryly. “Next time, I find the route to the top.” He growled, then promptly coughing again.

When Dodeg caught his breath he looked around, not to impressed by the landscape, but nearly bailed down the mountain again when he looked to the inverted crevice in the mountain.

“Is That?!”

“Fenris, yes.”

The beast known as fenris was chained to an excessive extent. He had chains wrapped around his legs, keeping his enormous paws on the crack rock. As well as chains loosely wrapped around his neck so he may move his head up and down. Then chains wrapped around his torso were attached to stalagmites jutting up from the ground as far up as Sigyn and Dodeg were, making it impossible for Fenris to lay or rest.  

Sigyn felt her lip twitch as she scowled at Fenris’s prison. “What torture. If Odin knew he was so dangerous he should have just killed him, instead of torturing him like this.”

“Lady Sigyn, if you don’t mind my askin’, why are we ‘ere?”

“I’m going to Hel.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“It is the only way I can find the necklace.”

“Do you ‘ave any idea where the entrance is?”

“No, but I’ve always been right when I’ve used my woman's intuition.”

“I don’t think It’ll be that simple by yourself.”