"Do what?" asked Alex confused.
"Alex you have lightning coming out of your eyes, it's really freaky. It happens when you get angry," said Matt.
"Great so now I'm the Incredible Hulk? Don't make me angry or I'll electrocute you," said Alex exasperated.
Crackles of static electricity filled the air and everyone's hair started to stand up on end.
"Alex, calm down, it's ok," said Becca moving towards him.
"Don't touch me, I'll hurt you," he cried terrified that he would shock her again. He had absolutely no control over what was happening to his body and he was scared.
"Chill man, take some deep breaths," said Matt worried. Alex took some deep breaths and the static in the air calmed down. Sven patted down his hair and turned to Rodri.
"Could you direct us to Dvalin now please? We are in a bit of a rush," he said.
"You just need to take the tunnel on the left over there, he lives at the end. Though I warn you, I don't think he'll see you. He hasn't come out for years. Sends all visitors away and refuses to work on anything. He's still obsessed with trying to open the Gulldyrr. Been at it for years. I thinks it's driven him a bit mad if I'm honest," he said.
"The Gulldyrr?" asked Becca.
"Yes it's a door which leads to Thor's greatest treasures. We are not sure what they are exactly but Thor said no one must enter the chamber and he locked it with a charm. Dvalin is obsessed with breaking it and owning the treasure," said Rodri.
"But that's stealing," said Sasha shocked.
"Yes but Dvalin suffers from gold fever. Several dwarves have it. You can probably tell already that we like precious objects, jewels, gold etc," said Rodri gesturing to the gems sewn into his clothes and wound into his long shaggy beard.
"Dvalin is obsessed with being the richest dwarf ever. He already has a cavern filled with gold, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. You name it he has it. He wants more though and he won't stop until he has Thor's treasure as well."
"Does Thor know about this?" asked Sasha.
"Yes he thinks it's hilarious. He is convinced Dvalin will never succeed as he has protected it so well," said Rodri.
"Well we need to at least try and talk to him. We have come this far," said Becca moving off towards the left tunnel.
"Guys we’re wasting our time, don't you think we should just head home now? It's obvious he’s not going help us," said Pete.
"No Becca is right we need to at least try. Let's start thinking of a plan B though, I think we’re going to need it," said Alex following Becca and Sven down the dark tunnel.
There was a strange musty smell and Alex could see pools of water on the floor where it had dripped through the ceiling. Sven had been right when he said Ostleheim was old school, this place looked ancient.
Chapter Eight
"Sven, Rodri said I must be one of Thor's sons because of my eyes. How many children does he have?" asked Alex as they walked down the tunnel.
"Three, you have a step sister, Thrud and two step brothers, Magni and Modi. I am sure they will be thrilled to meet you soon," said Sven grinning.
"Yeah sure," Alex replied distracted. In the space of a few days he had discovered he had a whole family. He somehow didn't think he would be having family film night with them anytime soon though. It was going to take him some time to adjust to his change in circumstances. He thought about his foster family and smiled to himself. They were going to be surprised to learn that they had the son of a god living in their spare bedroom.
After walking for ten minutes they came to a dead end. Alex looked around but all he could see were the rough damp walls surrounding them.
"We must have gone wrong," he said turning around to head back the way they had come.
"Stand back everyone," said Sven moving towards the rock face. He placed his palm on the rock and muttered under his breath. "Syna dyrr." The rock face glowed yellow and a wooden door was revealed. Sven looked very pleased with himself.
"Dwarf trick," he said winking. He knocked on the door several times. "Dvalin are you home?" he called through the door. There was no answer. "Dvalin can you hear me? It's Sven from Mahattanheim. I have brought some friends who need to speak to you," he said.
"Bog off," growled the reply from behind the door.
"Dvalin thank Odin you’re there, can we speak to you? It's very urgent," said Sven through the key hole.
"I said bog off, I'm busy," said Dvalin.
"Hmm nice fellow, now what?" asked Pete.
"Shut up boy,” snapped Sven. “Dvalin, we really do need to talk to you. I have one of Thor's sons with me, he is on a quest to save Midgard, it really is vital that we talk," Sven said desperately.
"Stop pestering me, I can't concentrate, I think I nearly had it then," complained Dvalin.
"The Gulldyrr is that what you’re working on?" asked Sasha pushing Sven out of the way. "Hey we can help you open it if you let us in," she said through the keyhole.
The door suddenly flung open and an ancient looking dwarf with jet-black shoulder length hair glared up at them. His face was deeply lined and his blue eyes looked rheumy. Unlike the other dwarves he wore no gems in his hair, which was obviously dyed. His clothes were very plain, just brown trousers tucked into old black boots and a grubby grey shirt.
"No, it's mine, all mine, go away or you'll be sorry," he shouted at them before slamming the door in their faces. They all looked at each other dismayed.
"Alex I think its time to turbo charge. Come on do your angry thing, he might change his mind when you blast open his door," said Matt pushing Alex forward towards the thick heavy door.
"Dvalin," Alex called out. "We don't want your treasure but if you tell us what we need to know we'll try and help you open the door. I swear we don't want anything from you other than your knowledge."
The door creaked open slightly and Dvalin poked just his head out. "You swear do you? Would you swear on the lives of your friends here?" he asked pointing at them all. "If you break your oath I'll turn them all into stone."
"Look I swear, just let us in and we can talk about this. We have walked for miles and we would really like to sit down.” Alex felt fine but the others were looking tired and in need of a rest.
"Come on Dvalin, these Midgardians are our guests, you owe them hospitality, it is our way," said Sven pushing through their legs and placing a foot in the doorway so Dvalin couldn't shut it again. Dvalin growled, opened the door wider and waved them in.
"Fine but if you take anything or mess my house up I will turn you into stone," he grumbled.
His house was just one small room. There was a bed tucked into one corner, two little sofas, a wooden table and a small kitchenette. It was a complete mess, there were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and papers were stacked on every surface and strewn all over the floor. Dirty plates and cups were stacked up on the table and filled the small sink and there was a horrible smoky smell from the flaming torches on the walls.
"Dvalin, you can't live like this surely?" asked Sven. "It's unhygienic."
"Mind your own business," muttered Dvalin, gathering papers from a small brown sofa and off some chairs and dumping them onto the floor.
"Well sit down then and tell me what you want quickly, I’m busy," he said grumpily standing by the sink with his arms crossed.
"Lit said you may know the location of the Tyrfing sword," said Sven sitting down on one of the rickety old wooden chairs.
"No," Dvalin said abruptly. He had turned very pale and shook his head. "No I can't tell you that," he added still shaking his head vigorously.
"Dvalin it's very important. The survival of Midgard depends on Alex finding the sword and using it to seal the portal to Hel's realm," said Sven. "There is a prophecy that foretells that if he doesn't do this Hel will be released and will destroy everything in Midgard. She has always sought vengeance; you know what she is like. She will release every beast and soul in Helheim and it will be the end of Midgard as we know it," said
Sven desperately. "Think about the impact on Svarthalfheim, we will be ruined."
"It's impossible, you have no idea what you are asking of me," said Dvalin trembling. "My brother and I cursed the sword when we created it and I have regretted it all my life. The lives it has taken, brave men, men who didn't deserve to die. I can't reveal it to you, it's too dangerous. I swore an oath that it would never be used again, oh the shame, the shame of it..." Dvalin was crying now, tears were streaming down his wrinkled old face and he sniffed noisily.
Sasha dug into her bag and pulled out some tissues and handed him one.
"Here, please don't upset yourself. Tell us about this curse. There must be a way to break it surely? There is always some sort of get out clause surely?" she asked dabbing at his tears with a tissue.
"Not this curse, we made it ever binding, it was our revenge you see. My brother and I were tricked and captured by a Midgard King. He forced us to forge a sword that had a golden hilt, that would never break or rust, would cut through stone and would never miss its mark. He tortured us for weeks until we gave in and made the sword. We cursed it though so that whenever it was wielded someone would die and it would also kill the person who drew it. If you take the sword you will die. There isn't anything that I can do to reverse the curse, it was bound with dragon's blood. Those curses are binding for eternity," he wept.
"So if Alex uses the sword to seal the henge he will die?" asked Becca shocked.
"Not straight away but it will happen. The sword always takes its revenge. How and when is up to the sword," said Dvalin sniffing loudly again and blowing his nose.
"We have no choice, without the sword we will all die," said Sven wringing his hands.
"No Midgard will die, we can seal off Svarthalfheim," said Dvalin. "This hasn't got anything to do with us."
"But who will we trade with? They are a good source of gold. The giants in Jotunheim are not interested in our goods. The natural balance will be destroyed, we will be doomed," cried Sven angrily.
Alex stood up from the small sofa he had crammed himself into and went to stand in front of Dvalin.
"Look it's my risk, my choice. Once I seal the henge you can have the sword back and hide it again. I need to do this, please tell me where it is," he said.
"Look if you tell us where it is we'll take a look at this Gulldyrr or whatever it is and help you figure out how to open it. You'll be the richest dwarf ever," said Sasha trying to persuade him. Dvalin's eyes gleamed with greed for a moment but then he shook his head.
"It's no use, it's impossible. I have tried every combination and nothing works," he said miserably.
"Let us take a look anyway, you never know, a fresh set of eyes and all that. What is this Gulldyrr anyway?" asked Sasha.
"It's a door leading to Thor's greatest treasure. He got a Volva to charm it so that no one would steal it from him. Charms can be broken though they are not like curses. I want that treasure, I deserve it,” he said petulantly.
"I can't believe you want to steal from Thor, that's just not right," said Sasha sternly.
"He deserves it, meddling God. If it weren't for him, that little twit Lit would be dead by now. Arrogant, self conceited piece of...."
"Hang on," interrupted Becca. "You want the treasure because Thor made Lit immortal when he kicked him into Baldur's funeral pyre?"
"What is this treasure anyway?" asked Pete.
"No one knows for sure. It must be good though, Thor is very rich. There must be a pile of gold as big as a mountain," said Dvalin his eyes glazing over. "There is something I want more than the gold though. There is a rumour that there is a potion in there, which can protect dwarves from sunlight. I want that. To be able to go outside like Lit. He has no idea how lucky he is," said Dvalin bitterly. "I'm getting old now, I can't have much more time left. Just to go outside during the day and to see the sun, that would be special." Another tear trickled down Dvalin's cheek. "It's impossible though. I'm out of ideas." Dvalin sat on the floor, put his head in his hands and started rocking back and forth. Alex looked around at the others and shrugged.
"Dvalin, if we help you open the door will you tell me where the sword is?" he asked bending down and touching him gently on the shoulder. Dvalin sniffed and hiccupped.
"You can try, but it's no good," he said twisting the laces on his boots.
"Where is it? Please tell me it's somewhere near here, my legs are killing me," said Matt getting to his feet and stretching.
"It's not far, I moved to this house so I could be closer to it. Follow me and I'll show you." Dvalin said perking up a little.
They all followed Dvalin out of his house and he stopped about fifteen paces away. He put his hand on the rock wall and a narrow tunnel appeared. He disappeared into the gloom and they followed in single file. Alex could make out a light ahead and the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. Directly opposite there was a large door, which glowed yellow. A skull face was embossed into the surface and protruding from the door about half way up were what looked like giant finger bones, laid out in a line like a piano.
"Is that door gold?" asked Pete as he entered the cavern. They all moved closer to get a better look.
"Yes solid gold. I planned on removing it when I broke the charm," said Dvalin his eyes filled with greed again.
"You don't do things by half do you?" asked Sasha disapprovingly. Dvalin just shrugged.
"Ew, that's creepy," said Becca as she inspected the gold door. "Are those bones? They are massive."
"Yes they are the finger bones of some Jotunheimr giants who annoyed Thor," said Dvalin.
"What did they do?" asked Becca fascinated.
"They stole his hammer Mjolnir. Thor had to dress up as a woman and pretend to be a potential bride for the King of the Jotnar to trick them into giving it back to him. He said he wanted to see the famous hammer before he agreed to the marriage. It worked, Thor got Mjonir back and he killed all the giants in sight. He chopped off their hands and arranged for some dwarves to create this door. I think it's a bit of a warning to others," said Dvalin lost in thought.
"And you want to steal off him? Not wise my friend, not wise," said Matt touching one of the bones. A deep note reverberated around the cavern and they jumped back.
"Alex please remind me not to annoy your dad," said Pete. The door had really shocked him, it was all very macabre.
"Ok, so what's the score with the door then?" asked Alex pushing another bone down. A higher note sounded and echoed around them.
"Alex stop it," Sasha hissed.
"The door is sealed with a music charm. You need to play the right piece of music and then it will open. I've tried everything though. Every piece of music known to dwarf, man, elf, giant, you name it I've tried it," said Dvalin sounding depressed.
"Chopsticks?" asked Matt. They all turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "What? It's the only piece of music I know. I gave up piano lessons after learning that one," he grinned.
"Trust me I have tried everything. I even played them all backwards just in case. Whatever this music is, it doesn't exist in the Nine Worlds," said Dvalin staring at the door morosely.
"Crikey, that must have taken some time," said Matt playing a few notes of chopsticks. Sasha batted his hand away.
"Oh only about three hundred years," said Dvalin sighing.
"You are three hundred years old?" asked Becca amazed.
"I'm older than that. I can’t say for sure, I gave up counting," he said pondering.
"But I thought dwarves were mortal?" asked Becca.
"We are, we just age better than you humans. Must be because we live underground, no sun damage you see," he said. "So do you have any ideas or not?" he asked.
"Well if you have tried every single piece of music played before, how about trying something that has never been played before. A new piece of music." Sasha suggested.
"How would that work? If it's never been played before how would the Volva who sealed the door seal it?" as
ked Dvalin confused.
"Think about it. It wouldn't be as easy as being a piece of music in existence. Volvas can see into the future right?" she said warming to her idea.
"Yes," said Dvalin still confused.
"Well let's say this Volva looked into the future and sealed the door with a piece of music that hasn't been created yet but will be in the future," said Sasha excitedly.
"You could be onto something there," said Dvalin jumping up and down on the balls of his feet and clapping his hands together. Sven just looked at them all bored.
"Ok genius and how do we find a piece of music that hasn't been written yet?" asked Pete. "This is impossible, we are wasting our time here. Look dwarf just tell us where the sword is and we can get on with saving the world. Or better idea lets just leave this and go home. I bet Alan has sorted this all out by now," he said frustrated.
"No, you swore to help me open the door and then I'll help you. I think I have an idea," said Dvalin tapping his chin.
"Alex we are wasting time. Come on zap him a few times, then he'll talk," said Pete walking up to Dvalin and grabbing him by his arm.
"Pete cut it out. I'm not into torturing dwarves. We agreed to help so let's do this. The quicker we get this sorted, the quicker we can get the sword. What's your idea Dvalin?" asked Alex. "If it involves contacting the Volva who created the charm then count me out," he said pushing Pete out of the way.
"The Volva who created the charm is dead so that's not an option. No I was thinking you need to find Fossegrimen, we call him Grim for short. He creates new pieces of music all the time and he's a big favourite of the Volvas. He's quite good looking apparently," said Dvalin bursting with excitement. The more he thought about Sasha's idea the more he thought it could work. "That must be it, that must be. Quickly you need to go and find him," he said bouncing up and down. He's got a lot of energy for someone so old they couldn’t remember, thought Alex grinning.
"Ok and how do we do that, do you know where this Grim lives?" asked Alex.
"Not exactly but I know he hangs out where there are waterfalls, so that's your best bet," said Dvalin.
The Cursed Sword (The Nine Worlds Trilogy Book 1) Page 9