I awoke to the sound of a squirrel chittering away somewhere near my head. I opened my eyes, but a black veil of fine lace obscured my vision.
“Back again, are you?” asked Ratatoskr in his strange, gravel-filled voice.
I heaved a sigh. “Yes, I’ll never escape this dream.”
“Dream? You think this is a dream? A troymskrok?” Raucous laughter sounded above and behind me.
“Whatever. Can you do me a favor?”
Little squirrel claws skittered across the bark of Iktrasitl. “Maybe. It depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“On whether you will poke at me with a spear.”
“Why would I do that?”
Ratatoskr laughed, sounding like a chainsaw eating its way through thick wood. “Red squirrels are good eating! That’s what you said to me not two days ago!”
“Friend, I’ve only spoken to you once, and it was earlier today. Remember? You asked me if I was awake and told me I was hanging in Iktrasitl?”
“Oh! It’s you. Why didn’t you say so?”
Ratatoskr tugged the black veil off my head. He clung to the bark, head pointed at the ground, the veil in his teeth. Red tinged his fur, except for his belly, where it was a brilliant white. His eyes were a jet black, and he had the cutest little tufts of red hair sticking up from his little ears. Ratatoskr opened his mouth and let the black veil fall. "Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You look so cute…”
“What? How dare you?”
“I didn’t mean to offend you, but you are cute.”
Ratatoskr cocked his head to the side and twitched his bushy red tail. “I am not cute! I am a vicious, man-eating monster of mythic proportions. Don’t you forget it.”
I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I apologize, mighty Ratatoskr. I was momentarily blinded by the beauty of your fur.”
“Well, okay then.” Ratatoskr glanced down the trunk. “I really can’t spend much time here. I am on a mission for the eagle.”
“I was wondering about that. Why would you keep this battle of words running between these two, the eagle and the dragon? What purpose does it serve?”
“What purpose does it serve? How can you not see it? I thought you were wise!” Ratatoskr twitched his tail. “Well, maybe that was the other one… Are you sure you’re not the one who threatened me with the spear?”
“I am not the one who threatened you with a spear. I have never eaten squirrel and hope I never do.”
“Why ever not? Red squirrels are delicious.”
“Well, I—”
“It’s no matter. And I don’t have time to continue chatting with you. I must be about my business.” With that, Ratatoskr scurried down the trunk.
“Well, thanks for getting rid of the veil…it was nice talking to you.” I looked around sure I would see the three Nornir sitting around a campfire and staring at me, but the fire had burned out, and the three maids were gone. I stood up and turned around to face Iktrasitl. Unlike before, the runes now made sense to me. Whoever the man in the tree was—and I thought he must be Odin—he had done me a great service by sharing his knowledge of the runes and the Gamla Toonkumowl with me. Testing my knowledge of the runes, I picked a line at random and read it aloud: “Vuhluntr fell in love with Uhlroon the Valkyrie, and they married. After nine years Uhlroon left Vuhluntr.” I laughed aloud, like a seven-year-old with a new toy.
I spent what seemed like a week reading runes at random. It was like paging through a novel about old Norse mythology or reading the Prose Edda. I had promised to free the lantvihtir if I could, but it would take me years to read all the runes… There were billions of runes on the part of Iktrasitl that I could read, and the runes stretched high above my head until I could no longer discern the difference between the runes and the natural twists and eddies of Iktrasitl’s bark.
All I knew about the lantvihtir, all I knew about Kuthbyuhrn, was that they lived in a cave under the Dragon’s Spine Mountains somewhere northwest of Suelhaym. It wasn’t much to go on. I scanned the part of the tree I could see for Kuthbyuhrn’s name in runes, but it was no use. Without a key, without knowledge of how the runes were laid onto the tree, it would take years to find a specific event. I needed help from someone who was already familiar with the work of the Nornir.
If only Kuhntul were still here.
“Got your veil off again, huh?” Kuhntul laughed. “Don’t let the three Maids see you without it. They can be nasty.”
“I was just thinking about you…wishing you were here, really.”
“Oh, how sweet…but what will Jane think?”
I glanced over at her in time to catch the mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, more’s the pity. What you want is not on this side of Iktrasitl.”
“How do you know what I want? I haven’t asked you yet.”
“My apologies. Why do you need my help, Tyeldnir? Can I find a specific rune for you?” Her voice was sarcastic, taunting.
“If you already know, lead on. I only wanted to know how you knew.”
Kuhntul shrugged. “I am Tisir,” she said as if that were explanation enough. She turned and walked counter-clockwise around the tree.
“How does all this work?” I asked.
“I can’t answer that, Tyeldnir. I can’t give you power over the skein of fate. That’s too much power for a mortal man.”
I sighed and followed her around the tree. She stopped and pointed to a spot on the tree about fifteen yards up. “There,” she said. “The lantvihtir in the cave were the group that attacked Kuthbyuhrn and his mate, Kyellroona, in the cave. The lantvihtir who remain are the men who killed Kyellroona. Kuthbyuhrn killed them all in a berserker rage and succumbed to his wounds.”
I looked up at the tree. “So…if I write a different story, neither the lantvihtir nor Kuthbyuhrn will be trapped in the cave?”
Kuhntul shrugged. “Temporal mechanics are beyond my grasp, Tyeldnir. If you need to know before you make the change, you’ll have to speak with Mother Skult. Shall I fetch her?” Kuhntul’s lips twisted into a smirk.
“I don’t think so. I wanted to say goodbye to Kuthbyuhrn, is all.”
Kuhntul shrugged. “You could always come back later. You may find another time when the three Maids are absent.”
That didn’t seem likely. And, anyway, I did not understand how I was traveling to Iktrasitl, or even if any of what I was experiencing was real. “No.” I glanced up at the spot she’d pointed out. “How do I get up there?”
“Do I have to do everything for you? Here, you will need this.” She held out a chisel made from silvery metal that seemed to glow with its own light.
I took the chisel, and it felt warm in my palm. I thought for a moment, and said, “Plyowta.” Both of my feet came off the ground, floating half an inch or so above the turf.
“Uhp.” I rose, slowly at first but picking up speed as I ascended next to the tree.
“There,” called Kuhntul.
“Stuthva,” I murmured. I could get to love having the Gamla Toonkumowl at my fingertips. I stopped rising and floated a foot from the tree. Using the chisel Kuhntul had given me, I struck a line through the runes that described Kyellroona’s demise. As I watched, the runes around the area I’d cut through reshaped themselves.
The story now read: “Mighty Kuthbyuhrn roared, and the Tverkar were afraid. They backed away from Kyellroona and threw down their weapons, begging for mercy. It was in Kuthbyuhrn’s nature to grant their wish, so the bears and the Tverkar parted company on good terms.” I wanted to follow the runes that branched off, to know what befell Kuthbyuhrn and Kyellroona, to see where the Tverkar went next, but there was no time.
“Time to go, Tyeldnir,” whispered Kuhntul from the base of the tree. “Time to wake. The three Maids return. Remember the chisel!”
“Thanks,” I said and woke.