They were huddled around the base of the staircase that let upwards into the vault of the building. This bank had two sets of doors, an outer pair made from wood which was flimsy and then an inner pair up the tope of the stairs, the vaults doors. Both heavy iron with a huge rune drawn... carved? into their surfaces. Luckily it had been left open when whatever happened... happened to this city but now they couldn't close the damn things and Sigurn had refused to set up camp overnight if they didn’t manage to get the doors closed., as most of the delvers set up camp inside the towering vault the rest had formed a war council and sent out search partiers seeking the most important treaure of all, the damn keys.

As Erika approached the group, she saw a few seconds of gesture filled conversation then Bjorn squared up with the doors, rolled his shoulders and threw himself at them. A few seconds later Bjorn was lying on the floor and the doors were somehow radiating aura of inanimate smugness.

“…wouldn’t work, try a bomb next!”

“You want to take out the whole wall?!”

“Why don’t we try getting a really long rope and getting the citybeast…”

“Look I’m just saying maybe if he tried again and really put his back into it…”

“I believe we should redouble our search for the key,” said Alvis, he was stood at the back looking around (and even up) searchingly. “When… whatever happened did, they must have left it behind, everything else was.”

“It’s all runes though, yes?” observed Tathra tapping the door with a knuckle. “I am no Gothi of course but can’t runes be set to respond to only immaterial things, like a word or a gesture or a single person?”

Erika arrived at the back of the crowd with Helga who walked up to her cousin who was staring at the doors like they owed her money, Erika meanwhile found herself stood next to the damn alchemist Ammeris and the expeditions only alf Katlin, Erika wasn't usually sure but she recognised the jewellery the alf wore as a Gothi of Baldur’s.

As the rest of the expedition glared at the door and bickered Erika elbowed both women and, when they looked at her, nodded at the doors. “Ok, we’re this lots magick advisors, so have either of you got something for this?”

“Have you got anything in your little bag of tricks?” Ammeris asked, apparently now there was no active danger they were back to this, Erika didn’t mind, the damn alchemist needed to know where she stood.

“So, you don’t have anything in your little bottles then? I’ve got a few ideas but I’d risk our group… Odium is just so powerful … of course you wouldn’t know.”

Ammeris harrumphed and sputtered Katlin grinned at the two of them, for a moment Erika wasn't sure what to do… her teeth were gems? Or like slivers of coloured glass? Something between the two maybe. Gleaming fangs both purple and clear filled her mouth… which went back a lot further than a human, in fact, doing a few mental calculations Erika was sure the roof of the alf’s mouth extended further back than her head did.

Magick races Erika thought sulkily as Katlin finished grinning at their display. “Yes yes I think I do, not something reproducible by you, I can ask the Aesir to modify the runes directly… possible backlash… don’t want… you will need to stay near me ready to heal me!”

Erika had gotten use to Katlin paranoia at this point and agreed without issue, more than likely she wouldn’t be needed…. But if she was, she’d get a chance to look inside an Alf! That would be interesting.

“Do we need to do this?” Asked Ammeris.

“Nearly everyone is too tired to miss out on anymore sleep, we’ve been running basically since the ambush, besides this place is creepy.” Erika replied look to Katlin for support.

The Alf nodded. “Hate it, dangerous, creeping, sneaking! Proper door, proper traps, proper watch. All things we need.”

Ammeris sighed but nodded. “In that case I’ve got a few vials of Liquid Odium in case you or the vitki need it.”

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Erika stared. “You do?!”

Sigurn having a vial was understandable, she was a silver, but how could an alchemist afford one? Erika couldn’t afford one!

Ammeris clicked her tongue. “Yes yes I do, move on ok! I'm not talking about it so just… get going with your thing.”

Erika wanted to prod but she also didn’t want to break their tenuous peace, in the end she just shrugged and followed Katlin. The alf barged the bickering humans aside without a care and interrupting the argument which had gotten pretty… heated from what Erika could tell.

“Look all we need to do is collapse the front of the building! Guaranteed safety and we can just dig ourselves out.” Said Bjorn

Snorri scowled up at him his face tinted red with anger. “That will kill us all you lummox! Did you lose your wits along with your hand!”

Sigurn calmy reached out and grabbed the handle of Bjorn’s axe before violence could be done, Alvis for his part smacked his subordinate around the back of the head and shot him such a withering look that he stumbled back like a deflating balloon. Both the Silvers easily made room for Katlin, unaspiringly they were the only people the alf didn’t try to shoulder out of her way. Even the arrogance of the alf had limits apparently.

“Got an idea.” She muttered as she slumped down and began trailing her long arms along the door. “Vitki will keep me safe if they trapped it… Only made by a normal Gothi and only normal iron, which means it can only have two runes… big runes but still only two… grand Gothi can make three, steel can have three… good steel at least… this is pig iron and a nobody… only two runes… I can work it.”

Erika shrugged helplessly at the crowd as Katlin undid a tight bag of tools from her belt and began to gently chip away at the runes? Erika had thought they were thousands of runes before but after what Katlin said, they must be hidden in the engraving on the door? Or just big, like big in size, covering the whole surface. The patterns that had obviously been cast into the iron door when it was still molten didn’t shift easily or quickly but Katlin didn’t care, nor did she seem to tire, instead she sat there hunched over and unmoving except for her forearms and fingers which swung tiny little hammers and picks, chip chip chipping away at the metal, shaping it with a thousand tiny blows.

Erika got bored before the first ten minutes had passed and by the first hour, she was staring up into space lost to the world as her brain seemed to boil from boredom.

chip chip

She’d initially kept a hand on the alf’s shoulder, just in case, but now it hung down at her side as she stared at nothing

Chip chip chip

Was this what Nastrond was like?

“Done.”

Erika jumped, then tried to make it look like she hadn't, as Katlin scrambled backwards from the now glowing door. All across its surface tiny runes were lighting up with pure white light fading to blue at the edges, crawling upwards the radiance enveloped the iron door and without even a whisper, swinging them shut.

Erika stared in awe. As a vitki she would never be able to use the runes, that was one of the laws of magic just like how it was impossible to use magic on Yggdrasil itself or to change the nature of an unliving thing or, specifically, how it was impossible to make a spell without a mind. Magick needed mind, a vitki could use spells that did anything, but they only did something when the vitki’s mind was focused.

A rune was the opposite of that, the impossible power of the gods, a spell in a structure that would keep working thousands of years after its creator died and certainly after they stopped paying it any attention. They were only limited by the strength of themselves and the material, but apart from that… no odium, no spells, they learned it all in trances when they prayed to the Aesir… Sometimes Erika felt very small.

Then Katlin stumbled off muttering about possible booby-traps, the alchemist started gloating and Erika instead felt very angry.

But that was that, the door was opened to let them in then shut a final time, Sigurn took up watch at the doorway head tracking left to right every few seconds. Alvis vanished off amongst the rest of the delvers, shifts were assigned, watches set, traps laid.

With nothing else to do Erika walked back along the vault floor, laid down on her bedroll and tried to get some sleep.

*scritch scritch scritch*

Erika opened her eyes, above her the roof quivered in the scalding breeze.

*scritch scritch scritch*

Erika looked across at the jackal she had been having tea with, he tipped his top hat at her but said nothing.

“Was that you?”

The jackal shook his head. “Not even slightly ma’am not even slightly, I am after all made from cloud.”

As the jackal dissolved into vapour Erika stood up from the table and looked around at the buildings, ignoring the way they jigged and spun she still couldn’t see it...

*scritch scritch scritch*

Flying across the city Erika found herself stood before a heavy door, behind it was the scratching, she knew that for some reason. With an effort of will she took hold of the handle and pulled. Opening the door was like trying to drag a wall through syrup, after what felt like a month of straining it slammed back revealing a dingy little cupboard in which sat giant human hand, just the hand nothing else, gently almost politely scratching at the bricks.

“Do you mind?” Asked Erika testily.

The hand seemed to start and attempted to bow to her but even when it stopped scratching the sound continued, echoing all around her.

Erika realised what it was.

“This is a dream and that’s a real sound, isn't it?” She asked the hand.

The hand nodded…somehow.

“Bugger.”