Aboard the Stjörnhestr...
In the Exosphere above Dracos Valley...Wolfgang Yorisson and his band of four rescuers docked their convertiboat in Hanger II as the landing team used flags and hand signals to guide them in. For this task, they had to open the pod doors, meaning that Hanger II would be temporarily exposed to the exosphere of Bastion IV where there would be extremely low densities of oxygen. To prevent the landing team from suffocating or passing out in the very high altitudes, they would guide the Karvi-2 home from behind the thick air-tight pressurized transparent glass wall of the Landing Control Station, a separate room connected to Hanger II for this exact purpose. Once Karvi-2 had landed safely, the thick pod doors were sealed shut again, and oxygen was quickly released through the opening air vents into the hanger. Wolfgang and Kelsey waited patiently to lift back the bimini-like rooftop of their convertiboat until it was safe. One of the messengers in the control station would pull the plug out of the large curling sheep horn megaphone protruding through the wall and spoke into it, his voice amplified by the horn.
"Wolfgang Yorisson, report to the captain's chamber. Jarl Goffre would like to have a word with you, in private" the messenger said nonchalantly.
Once they were cleared to step out of the vehicle, Wolfgang Yorisson and his band left the escape pod's hanger and made their way to the bridge, passing up several other rooms and corridors including the engineering station, the green houses, the mess hall, med bay, weapon defense systems, gender-neutral restrooms and the workout station, as well as many personal lockers and living quarters, passing through one thick air-tight gate after another before reaching the bridge. There, the small band of rescuers would split up and go their separate ways as Wolfgang Yorisson stood at the foot of the guarded ramp leading to the captain's quarters, nodding to the two guards in black bear-hide covered purple uniforms whilst tucking his silver helmet under his arm. There was a great deal of commotion throughout the longship as everyone was excited and gossiping about their near-death experience and the Stjörnhestr's sudden last minute evasive maneuvers around the much larger Aschen Conflagration, with the jarl Goffre Alvisson and his leading pilots being the talk of the ship.
A few minutes later, another tall armed guardian in a black bear-hide covered purple uniform would walk down the ramp, and nod his head respectfully to Wolfgang Yorisson before addressing him. "The Jarl will see you now," he said before accompanying Wolfgang up the ramp to the open doorway of the captain's chamber. Once he stepped inside, the doors would seal shut behind him. Wolfgang gazed around the room, which was actually located inside the gold plated horse-bust prow of the space-faring longship, marvelling at the luxurious surroundings before looking at Jarl Goffre, who was still gazing out of his round mirror-glass silver horse-eye window with his back to Wolfgang and his arms folded behind him, staring at the Hastiti Class cruiser as it slowly drifted further and further away from his view.
"You wanted to see me My Lord?" Wolfgang inquired, a bit confused and curious as to why the jarl had summoned him. Goffre Alvisson continued to keep his eyes on the Aschen cruiser while addressing him. "Go ahead, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable," Jarl Goffre suggested, motioning to the bottle of mead on the table, sitting between two cow horn cups. Wolfgang cocked an eyebrow before slowly walking over to the expensive hand-crafted oakwood table. He picked up the bottle of mead and filled both cups before taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs with grey and white furry wolfskin coverings. "Isn't she magnificent?" the jarl asked, still gazing out of the window. "My Lord?" the karl asked, unsure exactly what the jarl was referring to. "You know what this means, Wolfgang? It means the sagas were right. The world tree is bigger than we could have ever imagined," Jarl Goffre said, still smiling with awe at the size of the much larger Aschen cruiser as it faded in the distance.
Wolfgang Yorisson picked up one of the cow horn cups and took a swig of mead. "That was a good call you made back there, Jarl, everyone on the ship is talking about it," he forwarded. Jarl Goffre gazed out at the stars and the Norse constellations, pointing to one tiny twinkling star in the heavens above and tapping his fingertip on the window, smiling at what he knew that dot to be, the entire Sirius System, the distant solar system of Gaia, their home planet. Goffre Alvisson turned around and walked over to the oakwood table, a look of absolute gladness in his eyes. "And what about the others? Who are they?" the jarl asked, almost as if testing Wolfgang's knowledge. Wolfgang just shook his head, unsure what to say. "Some say they are the Aesir, making their way back to Asgard, or the Angels of the Hvitkristr... others think they might be the Jotnar, or Tunglalfar from another dimension," Wolfgang recalled, repeating the same gossip he had heard on the bridge below. "And what about you Wolfgang, what do you think? Do you believe any of that to be true? Do you believe they are really gods?" Goffre asked inquisitively.
Wolfgang thought about that question silently for a moment, taking another swig of mead before wiping his mouth on his blue shirt sleeve and shaking his head. "No," he answered. "And why not?" immediately asked the jarl. Wolfgang looked down at the table, contemplating his own answer as if he had not really been sure of it himself. "Because..." he hesitated. Jarl Goffre leaned over the table closer to him, looking into Wolfgang's eyes. "Because?" he asked, urging him to finish his reasoning. Wolfgang paused for a moment, then looked up at him. "Because... If that was true, then why did they run from us?"
Wolfgang had a point. Jarl Goffre nodded and smiled, refilling the karl's cup before picking up the other cup of mead and raising it in the air. "My sediments exactly," he said, offering a toast to Wolfgang before taking a swig of mead. "I knew you were a smart man Wolfgang, which is why I have another favor to ask you... I wonder if you wouldn't mind going down to check on our fellowmen, and see how Svegdir Staghelm is doing. Now that I know for sure we're not alone in the galaxy, I'm beginning to wonder if they might not be either," Jarl Goffre suggested.
Wolfgang Yorisson just nodded quietly, taking another swig of mead before turning to gaze out of the window at the continent of Xamoyos below.
Meanwhile...
In the heart of Dracos Valley...The Empyrean Norse encampment was underway. The gang's shelter had been constructed, the fire was going, the fishing traps were set and the rain catcher was complete. Svegdir Staghelm and Jonah Marksberg had finished clearing the area surrounding their campsite and had already started on building a wooden fence around the shelter at the base of the hill. Birger Torvesson had finished drawing a rough map of the immediate area and was still on the hill slope, sketching the different things he saw in his leather bound journal. He watched quietly as a few species of small flying animals landed on the silver rooftop of the shelter, and as they perched themselves in place, he started to draw them as well. The other two karls, Borstein and Danegh, had left the fire burning as they ventured off further into the brush to look for any recognizable nuts and berries, and anything else which they might be able to forage and store for later.
Borstein and Danegh would use the buddy system, bringing their golden dwarf-crafted spears with them as they wandered off into the bushes, cautiously observing the nearby fauna to see what the giant herbivores had deemed edible. Borstein found a small pile of animal droppings on the ground and crouched down to examine it. He waved his hand over the pellets to see if they were fresh, and, finding the dung to be cold and almost dry, he picked up a small portion of it with his fingertips and sniffed it, breaking the grassy substance apart with his fingers to examine whatever might be contained within. Not surprisingly, Borstein found what he was looking for. There in the animal's droppings, he found berries, and he wiped his fingers on his pants before scouting the area to see if he could find a source.
In the meantime, Danegh had spotted a strange looking tree that was rather foreign to him, and a large rodent-like creature similar to a big squirrel, or even maybe a lemur of some kind, that had been clinging to the side of the tree watching him with bulging eyes. That's not a possom, he thought, but it would sure do the trick. Danegh tried to hook the creature with his spear, but it quickly lept off the tree and darted off into the bushes. He wasn't about to give up that easily though, as he swung around the tree and chased the critter into the foliage. Back at camp, Svegdir Staghelm was using a rock to hammer down a fence post into the ground when suddenly he struck something beneath the soil. There was something hard under the surface obstructing his project. He removed the fence post, pulled out his small seax and began digging. What he found was another rock about the size of a softball. But it wasn't just any rock. It was a diamond, larger than any diamond he had ever seen before. Svegdir couldn't believe his own eyes. Not even a whole hour on this new land, and already he was richer than any other karl in the entire kingdom. But now was not the time to be greedy. He quickly dug another hole and reburied his newfound treasure close to where he would put his next fence post, with plans of coming back to it later.
Birger Torvesson watched as the winged rabbit with razor sharp pointy teeth flew down out of nowhere and attacked the sun-bathing pterosaurs, scuffling for a moment before they all flew away. What a very peculiar place, he thought to himself, deciding it might be better for him to return to the shelter and check on the fire. Jonah Marksberg continued to strip and chop wood with his long-handled Danish axe, fashioning thick long pointed stakes to be used for fencing, while making a pile of bark and other scrap wood to be used in the fire. "Did you see that?" Birger asked. "See what?" asked Jonah, who was apparently too busy to notice anything at the moment. Birger Torvesson just shook his head, and started adding dry bark to the fire. He then sat down in front of the fire pit and opened his book, proceeding to make another rough sketch of what he had seen.
Borstein had found a small patch of shrubs with blue colored berries on them similar to the ones he had seen in the animal droppings. He started to pick the small berries and place them in his belt pouch. Borstein was a skilled Norse survivalist who knew better than to just eat some random wild berries, but he collected a whole bunch of them and stored them for later. "Danegh, come see this. Look at these berries I just found." Borstein said as he started to pick the small blue hued seeds and place them in his bag. But Danegh didn't respond. He had instead went chasing after the squirrely rodent with his spear, heading off into the brush. So consumed were they in what they had been doing, Borstein and Danegh had unknowingly strayed too far away from one another. Danegh would chase the critter to its underground burrow and smile. The creature was trapped now, he thought, as he snuck up to the entrance of the burrow and prepared to thrust his spear into the hole. But just then, something caught his ear.
"H...eeeeelp meeeeeee."
Danegh heard something which sounded like a human voice calling out for help. But he didn't recognize the person's voice. It didn't sound very familiar to him, or like any of the Norsemen he had arrived with at the valley. "Borstein? Borstein, is that you?" Danegh asked before clutching his spear with both hands and going deeper into the bushes to investigate the origin of the distress call.