Author's note: This fantasy story contains very little sex, and the sex it does have is more romance than erotica. There is no sex in this chapter.
******************
"What a dreary, Gods-forsaken place," the girl mumbled to herself as she made her way through the forest of Bollurgard.
It was dark. And foggy. And quiet - quieter than was natural. Well, it was good she'd come. Something was amiss in this land, and Rune was just the Valkyrie to fix it! The young warrioress thought about how she'd found herself here.
******************
It had been the very next day after the Asger incident when Rune was called before the throne of the Allfather again. And the senior Valkyries were present, too.
If the young Valkyrie was nervous - and she was, of course - she needn't have been. The audience was short and to the point.
"Valkyrie," Odin declared, addressing her, "you have demonstrated your skill in using your gifts, and you are ready for more important assignments."
One of the senior Valkyries spoke up. "There have been several demon attacks in the small human kingdom of Bollurgard. From what we can tell, it seems a single demon has settled in the area and is plaguing the people. Your assignment is to travel to Bollurgard, find the demon, and destroy it."
"Yes, my Lady," Rune replied. Her first assignment! Solo, even! WOW! 'Mightiest Warrior in Valhalla,' indeed! Maybe the title WASN'T all bad, after all!
"In the past, our demon foes have not demonstrated any reason. Now, with their having planned and executed an ambush, we need a better feel of how much planning they can do. Be sure to question the demon before you destroy it, and use whatever other skills you can to discern its purpose," the Valkyrie leader continued.
"Yes, My Lady, it will be done." Rune figured she could chop off an arm or two, then question the foul beast as much as she liked.
The senior Valkyrie nodded at the Allfather.
"Very good," Odin responded. "You will leave on the morrow, Valkyrie. And take care: I suspect this mission is more important than we know."
That gave her pause, but the young Valkyrie bowed in respect to the Allfather and left, in a hurry to prepare, anyway!
Rune had no idea why the mission would be that important: it sounded like an ordinary seek and destroy assignment to her. The kind the Valkyries did regularly.
If it was something crucial, Rune thought to herself, maybe that was why they were sending HER! This idea made her simultaneously proud, and happy, but also fired a note of caution in her mind. She shouldn't let her recent successes go to her head! Wasn't that how the Asgers of the world were made?
**************
On the way to her barracks, Rune detoured for a "quick visit" to the apartment that Helga and Hildi shared. She knew they were recovering there, and she didn't want to leave on her mission without checking on them and letting them know she'd be gone.
Once there, she found her friends both awake and looking like they would be fine.
"Helga! Hildi," she cried, running to hug first one, then the other. "You're OK! I was so worried about you! When I saw the girls taking you out of the feast hall, oh my Gods, I didn't know if you were even alive! It's so great to see you..."
The girl babbled on to the two older Valkyries, who listened patiently as Rune re-told the whole story.
"You two were AMAZING," she said as she imitated their kicks and feints and teamwork.
"Oh, my GODS you'd have been SO PROUD of how the other girls protected us!"
"...And then Odin declared I was 'the mightiest warrior in Valhalla!' Can you believe that?"
"...And did you HEAR? You two both got promotions! And I'm the squadron leader!"
"The whole thing was NUTS," she finally declared. "And now I have my first solo mission!"
"We're so glad you enjoyed the feast, and that it all turned out well. Asger certainly got what HE deserved. And so did you, sweety," Hildi said.
"But," Helga interjected, "make sure your 'fame' doesn't go to your head. That's what happened to Asger, after all. Leading the squadron is a big responsibility. And so are solo missions."
The young Valkyrie nodded solemnly. "You're right. I'll be good, I promise!"
Rune stayed visiting her two friends the rest of the evening, bringing them food so they'd not have to get up and work. And chatting, laughing, and playing games together. So much for her "quick visit!"
If Rune didn't already live in a form of heaven, she'd have felt she'd arrived there, now.
As it got late, Rune finally said good night after extracting a promise from both older women that they would take it easy the next day until they were healed.
Arriving back at her barracks to prepare for her journey, the girl warrior reviewed all she'd heard today, especially Helga's caution about letting her fame go to her head. Helga and Hildi were wise, and the young Valkyrie felt blessed to have them. As she packed her gear, Rune promised to herself to always resist the temptations they had mentioned.
But it was still delightful. Her first mission!
**********************
And now, Rune walked through the forest, keeping an eye out for any dangers that might be lurking. More things than demons might try to attack her if she seemed unwary! Especially if they mistook her for a human girl!
If they did, they'd be in for quite the surprise. No Midgardian could stand in battle against a Valkyrie! Still, it paid to be cautious.
To blend in while also not appearing to be an easy target, Rune was dressed to resemble a human shieldmaiden. While not exactly common, female warriors wouldn't stand out too much. At the same time, shieldmaidens made difficult targets for ruffians and bandits.
The Valkyrie had landed at the edge of the Kingdom of Bollurgard, and now she was making her way to the King's village near the center of the land.
"Don't fly to the village," the Valkyrie commander instructed. "You don't want to be seen flying by the people of the Kingdom. If they see you, you want to appear as normal as possible to them. If they know you are a Valkyrie, they will fear you are there to kill their men and take them to Valhalla."
Rune had harrumphed indignantly at that. She'd never killed any man! But still, the precaution made good sense to her. And so, she walked, wishing she at least had a horse. And she stretched out her inner sense, looking for danger and sampling the land as she went. Looking for clues to what was happening here.
She didn't have to look for long. It was quiet, and it felt unnaturally dark. A spirit of fear laid over this land like a heavy, wet blanket, stifling one's breath and making every noise sound magnified and dangerous; Rune could feel it and almost touch it. The animals of the forest were quiet, too.
No one was traveling, and when she entered the first village she found, all the people outside stared at her suspiciously as she appeared.
"Greetings," the young Valkyrie ventured to them, doing her best "normal person" impersonation. "What is the news from Bollurgard? Is there anything a weary traveler might eat and drink?"
After a few moments, every person went inside wordlessly and closed the doors to their homes. Men glared at her out of their windows before closing their shutters (if they had any), while mothers fearfully dragged their little ones inside, leaving Rune alone in the middle of the small market, the village seemingly empty.
There was food on a table, and more cooking on a fire, clearly meant to be sold to whoever wanted any, and the lone girl walked over, making a show of taking some of her coins from her pack and leaving them on the table before taking some food and eating.
