“So, he is holding your mortal lover in the spire.”
“There was…was the guy in the bar yours?”
She nodded. “Yes, although I beat on him some for getting drunk and foolish.”
I shrugged. “He deserved it.” I hoped she’d done no permanent damage. “But that’s what we think. We are also absolutely sure it is a trap.”
“Of course it is. He might not expect me, though. And here…” She pulled out some paper. It was blank, then she murmured a word and a map appeared.
“Neat, I want to know how to do that.”
She grinned. “It’s an enchantment on the paper. I could probably find you some.”
“I’d be willing to trade for an invisible map.”
“Oh, it’s more than that. It puts whatever map is in my memory.”
I grinned. “Oh, I like that. Anyway…so, this is the spire?”
She nodded. “Now, the tradesmen’s entrance is here. It goes up inside because sometimes they take horses up there, and horses spook at the heights.”
“You need mules,” said Ebba.
“Maybe we do. But…that’s the way he’s going to expect us to come in. I think we should use the front door.”
I grinned. “Disguise?”
“Exactly.”
“Surtur will see right through my glamors. He has before.”
“Which is why you don’t use glamor.”
I nodded. “Makeup won’t make me giant tall, though, and it certainly won’t do a thing for Ebba and Jorun.”
“And you can’t shapeshift, I suppose.”
“Not yet.” I had a feeling I could learn, but was still not sure why Loki would not teach me. Maybe something to do with part of my fate still being open.
“But you are part fire giant. We can work with that. The dwarves…” She studied them. “Hrm.”
“What if,” Jorun suggested. “We claim to be from a dwarven faction that wants to work with the fire giants. Offer to sell him weapons.”
“Brilliant. He’d swallow that,” Thruor said.
The giantess – her name was Helgr – grinned. “I like you. Wouldn’t have thought dwarves would be that sneaky.”
Jorun grinned. “We’re traders, remember.”
I decided she had a point. It still did not quite explain how the rest of us were going to be disguised.
But we had the beginnings of a plan.