Ivaldi's tower

Dreufey and Freyr continued their walk along the main road towards the river. The wide sidewalks to either side of the road were full of people; some in a hurry, others only out for a walk and some shopping.

Tall trees lined the sidewalk, not so much to soften the sunlight which was naturally soft anyway, but to compensate for the asphalt, steel, glass and concrete of the city.

Freyr pointed out to Dreufey that stores and restaurants that they passed had sticker in the shape of a medieval shield on their doors. Some were gold, others red, and others still were split into one side gold and the other side red.

"Only the tagged are allowed in through doors with a gold shield on them," Freyr explained. "The tagged can go in through the other doors too if they wish, but they generally stay away from red shields. Those are doors meant exclusively for the untagged."
"What about the shields split in the middle?" Dreufey asked.
"Those lead into a common space, which may in turn be split into areas for the tagged and untagged."
"We didn't see any of this at Sindri's market."
"No. Almost everyone there are untagged anyway. Segregation is a thing with Ivaldi and his followers. It's not very popular with anyone else, and certainly not with Sindri."
"So, why would anyone want to enter through a red door? If the tagged don't enter, and the untagged go to Sindri's market. Who's going in through those doors?"
"It's mostly used by untagged who have some of Ivaldi's currency to spend. Red tagged establishments are the only place where untagged can spend Ivaldi's currency, because no-one else accepts it."

They reached a point where the main road continued onto a ramp leading traffic onto an enormous suspension bridge. Instead of going onto the bridge, they went down next to it where a wide park separated the river from the skyscrapers.

Several other bridges could be seen to either side as they headed into the park.

"Strange colours everywhere, don't you think?" Dreufey said on seeing the red shimmer of the river in front of them.
"It's the red sun. The light messes with the colour of things. You get used to it after a while, though."
"It's quite beautiful."
"It makes for a good climate as well, but only here at the equator. Did you notice the ice caps of this planet on your way in?"
"No. I didn't."
"They are enormous. This Nidavellir is only liveable along the equator. Everywhere else is covered in ice. This place is in the middle of a great ice age."
"An ice age? Who would have thought that it could be this pleasant."
"For those living along the equator, ice ages are the best. The climate is temperate and stable. Can't get much better than this."

They went up to a small stall along the side of the path they were on. It had an opening to the side where a Dark Elf was selling snacks of various kinds. Freyr suggested they each have an ice-cream.

"It's on me," he said. "What would you like?"

Dreufey considered the various options before settling on a strawberry cone that looked much like her favourite from Munich.

Freyr asked the Dark Elf if he accepted silver.

"Yes," he said.
"Okay. Give me two strawberry cones."

Freyr paid with a small silver coin, and got a big copper coin in return.

They headed over to a bench faced away from the river where they sat down with a view of the towering office blocks of the city.

"Things have loosened up a lot since my last visit," Freyr said. "It didn't use to be this easy to pay with metals. What a difference those stun guns have made. It's like night and day."
"It seems to me that Sindri is winning."
"You're assuming that Sindri is fighting Ivaldi."
"Isn't he?"
"Their squabble may be more show than substance. The only thing either of them care about is the gold, and they seem to have found an arrangement that suits them both... Anyway... you're not here to take sides. You're here to prevent the Jotuns from getting arms delivered from Ivaldi's industries."

Freyr pointed towards a tall black office tower almost directly in front of them.

"That's Ivaldi's tower, and that's where you have to focus your energy. The tower has a street level entrance that's open to anyone. It leads into a reception area, and our plan is for you to get a job there as a receptionist."
"And how am I going to do that? I can't very well just walk in there and get that job, can I?"
"Actually, you can if you do exactly as I tell you."
"Really?"
"Trust me. I'm a god. I know how to game the system. I'll show you what I mean."

They got up from the bench and headed towards the main entrance of Ivaldi's tower.

"Now, pay attention," Freyr said as they crossed a busy street in front of the tower. "There's a receptionist in there that you are to contact tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, give or take a few minutes. We can go in and I'll show you who I mean."

Freyr opened a door for Dreufey. They entered a huge reception hall, extending to the back into a call centre.

"This is all customer service," Freyr explained. "Ivaldi is a big believer in personal services."

Freyr walked towards the counters to their right. Then he stopped and told Dreufey to look for a girl with thick glasses standing next to a tall skinny woman.

"They're at the seventh desk from the window," he added.
"Yes. I see her," Dreufey replied.
"The woman with the glasses won't be here tomorrow, so it's the tall skinny one next to her you have to remember."
"Okay. She looks a lot like the model your sister used in her sketches of Dark Elf fashion. I'll remember her for sure."
"Excellent! You are to contact her tomorrow at ten o'clock. Tell her that you're seeking employment as a secretary or receptionist."
"That's it?"
"That's it. From there on, you have to take charge of this mission yourself."
"I had hoped for something a little more substantial in terms of a plan."
"I'm sorry. But this is all I got."

Freyr signalled his intention to leave, and Dreufey followed him out onto the street.

"There's a limit to what can be predicted, even with the strongest Seidr magic," Freyr continued. "But Freya and I feel that you have a fair chance of doing at least some mischief once you're inside the tower. We have no idea what that may be, but anything is better than nothing. We're not asking for miracles. Anything you can come up with will be of value. But don't do anything foolhardy. We don't want you to needlessly risk your life."
"This is a huge building," Dreufey said, daunted by the scale of it. "How am I ever going to get close enough to any of the top guys to make difference?"
"I don't know. But I do know that a first step in the right direction is for you to get a job inside the building."

Dreufey looked around her. There were Dark Elves everywhere, and it seemed crazy to think that she would have any better chance at getting to Ivaldi and his sons than millions of young aspiring Dark Eves hoping to do the same.

"Your success in Munich wasn't some random fluke," Freyr continued.  "You're a bit of a sage when it comes to Seidr magic. Use your talent wisely, and a plan will emerge. I'm sure of it."

Freyr had nothing more to add to the matter, and the two of them had seen what there was to see in the area around Ivaldi's tower, so they headed home towards Dreufey's apartment.

True to Freyr's plan, they stopped by a grocery store in Sindri's black market to buy some groceries on their way.

"I suggest you spend the money you earn at Ivaldi & Sons before digging into your gold saving," Freyr said on their way out of the grocery store. "You know the rule: Never spend real money where fake money is accepted."

Dreufey knew from experience how quickly everybody tried to get rid of their paper money back in the days of hyperinflation, so it wasn't hard to imagine something similar might happen to Ivaldi's currency.

"But how will Ivaldi & Sons pay me?" Dreufey asked. "I see people paying with their credit cards. Am I getting one of those as well?"
"I've taken care of that," Freyr replied. "You have a bank account and a debit card. You also have a bunch of papers related to your education, your place of birth and so on. You'll have to take some of this with you when you apply for work tomorrow morning. I'll show you when we get back to your apartment."

Closer to home, Dreufey couldn't help commenting on the helicopters that she kept seeing in the sky. They would take off from one rooftop only to land on another rooftop. Some of the trips were so short, it seemed to Dreufey that a walk from one building to another would have been just as quick.

"They are the rooftop dwellers," Freyr explained. "They rarely mingle with the common people, and one way they do that is by flying from rooftop to rooftop. Those people are of a class of their own. Nobody asks them if they're tagged or not. They live their lives detached from the trivialities of ordinary life."
"Like royalty?"
"Yes. They are Ivaldi's select few. Not only are they flying around in helicopters, they get their ration of Ivaldi's elixir of life as well. They are like gods in the sense that they don't age. But they can of course die. Not even gods are truly immortal."
"Ordinary people don't get rations of Ivaldi's elixir, do they?"
"No. It's much too expensive for that. If he gave everybody a ration, he would soon run out of gold, and there would be no elixir of life for anyone."

Back at the apartment, Dreufey put away her new clothes while Freyr took care of the groceries. Then, they sat down in the living room with a pot of tea that Freyr had brewed while in the kitchen.

Papers and documents were spread out on the table, all with Lavoy noted down as Dreufey's place of birth and residency until recently. Freyr pointed to each of the documents in turn, explaining what they signified and when they might be called for. The papers required to the job application were put into a pile of its own. Dreufey's debit card went into her purse. Other papers went into a folder for Dreufey to keep.

"That's pretty much it," Freyr said in conclusion. Then he took a final sip of his tea.

"I think I'll leave for home tonight after dinner," he continued.
"You're leaving me all ready?"
"There's nothing more to be said."
"But..."
"I have other things to take care of."
"Like what? Why are you leaving me so soon?"

Freyr shook his head. "Oh Dreufey. I'm not your husband. My heart belongs to Gerd. You know that."

Dreufey couldn't help feeling a sting of jealous towards Gerd. But it wasn't like Dreufey was ignorant of Freyr's wife. She couldn't blame him for keeping secrets.

Gerd and Freyr's love for each other was widely known. It was the greatest love story ever told, and to think that Dreufey had any role in it was ridiculous.

"She's a Jotun," Dreufey said, unable to hide her jealousy.
"So what?"
"Hello... We're at war with the Jotun's, if you haven't noticed."
"Not all of them. Gerd is on our side. It's not like all Jotuns are hell bent on Ragnarok."
"But she will be the end of you. You gave away your sword for her. You should never have done that."

Freyr shook his head again. "I don't need this kind of talk. Let's end it, or I might get angry with you."

Dreufey knew that she had gone too far, and so she apologized for her outburst. But she was about to be left alone again, and it hurt.

"It's not easy being a single girl in a big city," she said in her defence. "You left me to my own devices in Munich, and now you're off again, leaving me all alone her in Ivaldi's city of all places."

Freyr put a hand on Dreufey's shoulder. "You're Freya's top agent. It's part of your job to handle these situations."
"I know," Dreyfey replied. "But I get so nervous at times. I feel so helpless."

Freyr moved his arm around Dreufey, and she responded by leaning towards him. His comforting touch made it easier to hold back her tears.

"So you're leaving me tonight?" Dreufey asked, knowing full well that it was so.
"Yes."
"By ship?"
"No. I'll use the falcon cloak."
"You're leaving your ship behind?"
"No. I'm taking it with me."
"So, it's true that you can fold it up and put it in your pocket?"

Freyr reached down in his pocket.

"Here," he said as he held up a small box in his hand. "It's folded together and tucked away in there."
"You're kidding?"
"No, I'm not. This is Skibladnir."
"That's amazing!"

Dreufey had heard that Skibladnir was built with the ability to be folded up into a tiny package, but she had never seen it for real. To think that a whole ship was pack together in that tiny package. It was baffling to say the least.

"And it doesn't weigh anything either?" Dreufey asked.
"Hardly anything at all. It's the hallmark of Ivaldi & Sons' engineering. They found a way to do this two thousand years ago, and their technology is unrivalled to this day. No-one in the universe is able to do this, except Ivaldi & Sons."

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