Kenaz had stumbled upon the temple to Odin in Nidhavelir. The temple was dark, quiet, and cold. No one made sacrifices to The Hanged God anymore, since he had died at Ragnarok and was no longer in Asgard.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
This struck Kenaz as a good place to sit and think.#futharkvillage
But before sitting down, she would need to do something about the cold. She set about looking for firewood, and found a well-seasoned cord in a back storage room. It looked like it had been disturbed recently; wood must be at a premium in a place like this.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
She fed some wood into the hearth and pulled forth an ember which she kept with her inside a small horn. She placed it among the kindling and blew until the fire was going well enough, then she chose another ember and put it away in her horn.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
A sound startled Kenaz, and she whirled around. “Who’s there?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
Silence.
Kenaz reached for the giant wooden spoon at her belt, the closest thing she had to a weapon, and cautiously inched away from the fire, toward the sound. Had it come from behind that altar?#futharkvillage
As she approached the six foot long slab of blood-soaked stone, she caught a burst of motion out of the corner of her eye. She ran.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
A dwarf child had been hiding behind a statue of Odin as a young man, before he had given his eye for knowledge.#futharkvillage
The dwarf ducked through a hole in the wall, but had slowed down enough that Kenaz was able to reach through the hole and grab him by the shirt. Kenaz hauled him back. “Why are you watching me?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
“Food!”
Kenaz paused at this, holding on as the child struggled.#futharkvillage
“Food?” Kenaz asked dumbly.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
“Yes. If we bring back information about you, any of you from your village, they give us double-rations of food!”
Kenaz looked at the child, emaciated as if from sickness. “You look as if you haven’t brought much information.”#futharkvillage
Kenaz let go with one hand and reached into her pouch. “Here. Have this.” She had saved some bread from dinner, and she offered it to him. She let him go as he set to eating the bread, and he curled into a ball as if to protect the food while he ate it. #futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
A light was slowly illuminating in Kenaz’s head, an idea to solve many problems at once.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
“How many children have the same job that you do?”
“Oh–” He tried to speak, but choked a bit on the bread. He swallowed. “Over 100, ma’am.”
“Bring them here.”#futharkvillage
“Tomorrow at this time, I will light the hearth fires in the temple of Odin, and I will serve food to any child who wants it.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
The child looked at her suspiciously. “What will you want from us in return?”
“Nothing. A child should never be hungry. Disgraceful.”#futharkvillage
“Do you have more bread?” the child asked.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
“No, that is what I had, but I will get more. Perhaps you should come with me to get it…?”
“Yes, please.”
“Well, if we are to work together, what is your name, child?”
“Homlir, ma’am.”
“Okay, Homlir. Let’s eat.”#futharkvillage
Kenaz led the way back toward the palace, and Homlir got more and more nervous as the walked. “We shouldn’t be going this way.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
“Of course we should,” Kenaz replied. “This is the way to the palace, where the food is.”
“They’ll beat me!”
“No. They won’t.”#futharkvillage
The flames of Kenaz’s anger got hotter the more nervious Homlir got. “I will not allow them to harm you, Homlir. You will be fed.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 10, 2019
Homlir was now darting his eyes left and right, clearly looking for a place to bolt. Kenaz gripped his hand to keep him with her.#futharkvillage
As they approached the palace, Kenaz turned right and yanked Homlir along with her.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“Where are we going now?” Homlir asked, near panic.
“We are going to the palace kitchens. That is where the real food will be.”
Homlir visibly relaxed. #futharkvillage
The kitchen door was a composite of wood and colored stone. The stones were patternless, forming no image, but they were pleasing to the eye. Kenaz paused only a moment to appreciate the refraction of the city’s torchlight off the stones before opening the door.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
Kenaz blazed into the kitchens, drawing every eye to the door. She gave the help no time to think, giving orders as if she owned the entire palace. “You! Fill that barrel with flour. You! Put those sacks of sugar into that cart. You!” She kept giving orders.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
With the obedience of those used to following orders, they did as they were told. “Who is she?” one of the dwarves asked.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“I don’t know,” another answered. “But if it turns out she’s from the royal place, we could lose our heads for any disobedience.”#futharkvillage
A cart was quickly filled with enough food for a feast.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“My lady, where will this cart be taken?” One of the dwarven servants asked Kenaz obsequiously.
“To the temple of Odin. There will be a feast tomorrow.”
“The temple of… but Odin is dead!”
“For now.”#futharkvillage
A hush fell over the serving dwarves. What did this human know that they did not? Odin was dead… for now? They packed extra provisions into the cart as they prepared it to be moved.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
Kenaz smirked at their response. She didn’t know anything, but it had worked.#futharkvillage
A hush fell over the serving dwarves. What did this human know that they did not? Odin was dead… for now? They packed extra provisions into the cart as they prepared it to be moved.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
Kenaz smirked at their response. She didn’t know anything, but it had worked.#futharkvillage
Kenaz looked around for Homlir, and she spotted him licking his fingers. He had found a pie of some sort and eaten most of it. Good. The boy would not be hungry while he found the other children.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
A dwarf ended reverie. “How else can we help, mistress?”#futharkvillage
This was going well. Kenaz would be able to feed–
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“What are you doing?” Fundis entered. “I had heard that something exciting was going on in the kitchens, and I was confused. Now I find this outsider in my kitchens, asking for my servants and more of my food.”#futharkvillage
“I am feeding the people you keep hungry,” Kenaz answered.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
One of the dwarves chimed in: “And I think she is going to bring Odin back to life!”
“Odin?” Fundis asked. “And how, pray tell, do you intend to return him to Asgard?”
“I don’t know,” Kenaz said.#futharkvillage
“But Baldur is alive now, after the death of so many in Ragnarok. If the Shining God lives again, then so too can his father.” Kenaz’s voice burned with passion. “I shall fill his temple with devotion.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“You’ll fill his temple with hungry people and my food.”#futharkvillage
“They are your people! It is your responsibility to feed them!”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
“There are too many people in this city to feed in the way you suggest!”
“Then suggest something else! At least I’m trying!”
“I make sure that they don’t starve. We import enough food.”#futharkvillage
“Then why is everyone so hungry?” Kenaz asked. She pointed to Homlir. “Look at this boy! He has had double food after you sent him to spy on me, and he still looks on the verge of death.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 11, 2019
Fundis let out an exasperated sigh. “This is over. Put the food away.”#futharkvillage
When the door had slammed behind Kenaz, Homlir asked her, “So I guess the feast is off, then?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
“No.” Kenaz steamed. “The feast is on. Fetch your friends. I will acquire the food. Somehow.”
Homlir looked at her quizzically. She shooed him away.#futharkvillage
Kenaz wandered the city, wracking her brains for a way to feed everyone. She considered setting a fire inside the city and using the distraction to steal food from the kitchens. She considered sending to Fehu the Wealthy and asking for money to buy food.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
But burning down a building would pose its own dangers, probably killing more children than hunger was killing now. Fires spread, after all.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
And sending to Fehu would both take too long, and leave Kenaz in debt. She had said tomorrow, and she meant it.#futharkvillage
“Hey!” The cry snapped Kenaz from her thoughts. She looked around and saw that she was near the docks. “Are you the human who wants to feed everyone tomorrow?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
“Yes,” Kenaz said, looking at the dwarven fisherman untangling his nets. “I want to, but…”#futharkvillage
“I can provide fish for such a feast,” the dwarf said. “How much can you afford?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
“I can’t afford much of anything today,” Kenaz said, “But with time, I can have money sent from home.” Fehu would send money, but Kenaz fretted what Fehu would ask in return.#futharkvillage
“Ahh, the wise traveler who carries no coin,” the fisherman said sarcastically. “How can I trust that you’ll be able to pay me in a week or a month?”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
“I will swear it on the oath ring before witnesses. My village isn’t far, so you can find me even if I leave.”#futharkvillage
“That will be enough, but the repayment will be high for such a risk.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
Kenaz nodded agreement. “Shall I lead the way to the temple, then?”
The fisherman stood up from the barrel which had been his chair, and a salamander skittered out from under it.#futharkvillage
On their way, she was approached by a seller of root vegetables and a butcher, both with similar offers. Kenaz forced herself not to worry about how she would repay all these people.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
The four made their way to the temple for Kenaz to make her oath of repayment.#futharkvillage
At the temple of Odin, Kenaz was surprised to find a flurry of activity. The whole temple was full of people she had never seen before, sweeping and dusting and wiping things down. Every surface was getting thoroughly scrubbed by strangers.#futharkvillage
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
But the most surprising part to Kenaz was the number of kitchen staff who were already cooking on the central fire. They had brought stew and dough and meat with them.
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
One of them noticed Kenaz and ran to her. “We are here to help.”#futharkvillage
Kenaz felt like she was boiling over. “But you were ordered not to…”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
“You said you could bring back Odin. That’s worth the risk.” The servant nodded as if the matter were now settled.
Kenaz turned to face the merchants who had offered to sell her food.#futharkvillage
“I thank you for the credit you offered me, that I would have had food today for money tomorrow. It appears, though, that it is unnecessary.”
— Perseus Greenman (@futharkvillage) December 12, 2019
The merchants grumbled as they left the temple.
As Kenaz went to help cook, a salamander crawled under the woodpile.#futharkvillage