"Give me the Seals," said G.R. We placed the Golden Seals before her and she chanted a spell that enwrapped them in glowing runes briefly. "Beyond the door lies Nastrond, the Bones of the Earth," said G.R. "Deep within Nastrond is Jotengard, the prison where Ymir sleeps. Go there and place the Golden Seals before him and my magic on them will form a powerful ward that will make them unmovable and untouchable - this will prevent the Coven from ever trying to tamper with them."
"Great idea!" said Christina. "With that magic, the Ice Titan will stay forever asleep and the Coven's plans will be thwarted for good!"
"Beware," warned G.R. "The Coven knows this - this is why they imprisoned me in that form and locked me in that cave, and they will do everything in their power to stop you. You must be brave, strong and quick to complete your mission. I wish you good luck... all of our hopes go with you."
I felt the same tingle down my spine when I rode Chester to the Great Spyre and we had dismounted. The same words were spoken by the Ancient Matriarch just before our final briefing in Dragonspyre. It was a sign that everyone of good heart was behind us!
"It's time, girls," I said.
"Time to end this."
This place was the coldest place I had ever visited. Clearly, Ymir's presence was everywhere here.
And the place was swarming with undead. We met a warrior who told us he had led a war-band sent by Thane Vanir to try to stop the Coven, but they were ambushed and split apart. He also told us of four runes which could open the final door to Jotengard, but they were stolen along with the rune-caring tools.
We defeated the skeletons until they coughed up the tools. (Not literally, ew!) We also found a giant hammer embedded in ice. (Be careful - the pulls are very real and the Winter Skulls patrol the stairs. Sierra got pulled once after we got the tools and rune.)
We also found a rune. "It is bad if they only had one rune," said Dulin. "I know who leads the army of Winter Skulls in these caves. A mighty skeleton who serves the Coven, Kulgrim Soulsunder, leads the foul undead. He kidnapped one of my band, Truda Stoutheart!"
"We'll rescue her!" I said.
"You're getting punished in the name of Grizzleheim!" I shouted. I'm sure my friends thought I was crazy to emulate the Sailor Wizards, but they aided me so much I had to emulate them! (On a similar note, I had Amy and Chris Storycrafter mark ports so Sierra and Grace could finally learn Gargantuan! Sadly, I used up all of Christina's training points to get Tower Shield so she is stuck with Monstrous. :( )
We defeated them with the Sirens and Earthquake. I am so glad my Earthquake and Frog can boost on ice enemies! ^_^ (Amy had a HECK of a time getting through this dungeon! Yes, 90% of the boss fights are with Ice enemies.) We recovered a rune.
"You're okay now, Mma," said Grace. "Where are the others?"
"I do not know!" said Truda. "But I do know that we had a horn that could shatter ice! If you use it, you could form a bridge across the other cave and get deeper into Nastrond."
 |
| Found it! ^_^ |
I blew the horn and the chasm was filled with the ice and snow that crashed from the ceiling.
"Get real, Coven crow!" I shouted. "We'll stop you all and make sure your Everwinter is thawed!"
"We'll see how much you gloat when you face my icy ally!" laughed the Coven sorcerer as he teleported away. I shook my fist in rage as the trolls charged forward to attack.
The larger troll chanted a spell and I saw an avatar of Ymir smash us with his hammer and blow icy cold that paralyzed me and Grace, but Christina had been stunned earlier and threw out a card. I recognized the Unicorn who, long ago, gave me the words of power to say to Cyrus.
"Do not be afraid, Sierra, you will have many challenges in the future... but we will always be there to aid you in times of need."
(I pity you if you don't have some form of healing! The enemies can do a lot of damage here. Also, we witness the debut of enemy-cast Frost Giant. Expect to see this spammed a LOT in the second arc by Ice-element enemies. Luckily Christina had ample Unicorn TCs.)
The Medusa appeared again to destroy the big ice troll and the Sirens defeated the others. Forces of other worlds were eager to help us stop the Everwinter!
"We sure did!" laughed Christina. "Carrot fairy has big lungs!"
I giggled at the tease on my lungs. "Dulin and Truda are safe. Any others?"
"They were kidnapped by the Coven and taken deeper into the caves," said Hauk. "If you can get back my sword and shield from the Ice Trolls, I can help you."
More of this. Can you say OVERKILL? (Grace got a lucky Critical.)
We returned to Hauk with his arms and he was pleased. Then he told us about the vines barring the way forward. "One of the others had a flute that could charm any plant. If you play it, the vines will move away and unbar your path."
 |
| Found it, part TWO! |
I played the flute and the vines moved away. Suddenly Grace groaned and held her head. "Be careful, Mma. I sense dark magic of an unnatural sort coming from beyond."
"Runic?" asked Christina.
"No... it is faintly familiar, and yet... no, it cannot be." Grace shook her head. "Be wary, friends. We enter the lion's den."
"We can defeat anyone if we work together!" I said. "Let's go! We are almost there!"
But a Coven warrior stood in our way. "Let them feast on your flesh, the Coven's plans will succeed!"
He teleported away and I clutched my stomach as the bears raised their weapons and gave a war cry.
No. I didn't want to have to harm innocents ensnared by this dark magic...
 |
| Fire Dragon #2! |
But we HAD to.
If we didn't, they would kill us.
"Forgive us!" I cried in pain as we laid into them. Christina nearly died but the Unicorn saved her.
Luckily we "turned our blades" and they were still alive. The Unicorn appeared and healed them as well. I was blessed to be honored by the forces of Myth and Life.
"We understand," said Grace. "I felt the dark magic..."
"The Coven's playing for keeps now!" said Christina. "I am sure this is their last stand!"
"Yes, the door beyond lies to Jotengard, the place of the Ice Titan's eternal rest," said Agnetta. "You must carve the four runes of the Ice Titan's true name into the stones to open the way. Take this final rune." She gave us the last rune. "Now go and our hopes go with you!"
"Look," said Grace. "A rune stone." I touched it and it spoke.
Four are Ymir's sons,
Bound to fight for Ymir
Do not trust their lies.
I was worried. This with Nordri's warning gave me pause. But we had to work quickly, I heard the snoring of Ymir himself and it was growing uneasy - he was awakening!
I worked quickly, carving the runes to spell out YMIR. The door rose up and a blast of biting cold ripped through the chamber. The others gasped. "Look!"
I looked...
There he was, the Giant Titan, the one who fought the Dragon Titan in the Great War...
And he wasn't alone.
I heard Kol mock us.
"SHUT IT, YOU SMELLY CROWS!" I screamed. "I've had enough of your posturing! We destroyed you in Ravenscar and we should have slain you instead of letting you escape! But now you die!"
"I think not, my little girl," cackled Orin Stormfather, the fiendish leader of the Coven. "We are more powerful now than before thanks to an ally we made." He waved his hands and a black aura flowed around his body. "By the power granted to me by the Shadow Queen, I summon forth Ymir's sons!"
Grace gasped. "NO!"
I felt a deep cold as forms materialized...
Austri... Vestri... Sudri... and Nordri! They stood before us, their eyes glowing black with evil.
I felt the dark magic and reeled. "Hold it together, you two!" screamed Christina. "We can't let the Coven get away with murder! Let's beat these four senseless!"
I was scared so much that, had my body been warming itself, I would have wet myself! Could we stand a chance against these powerful Giants, all together?
We HAD to. If we fell here, they could take back the Golden Seals and their father would awake... the Everwinter would come. "Let's dance," I said through chattering teeth.
I don't remember the battle clearly anymore, but it was the toughest fight I had ever had so far; even Malistaire had not been as difficult as these four giants. Nordri kept throwing up Tower Shields on himself and they used all manner of attacks, but the Unicorn came again.
We whittled them down - Austri was the first to fall comatose, then Vestri... Sudri stood up to a lot of attacks but soon he was down.
"What happened to my brothers? How dare you!" cried Nordri.
He summoned a Scarecrow and then blasted us with meteors...
 |
| Another lucky critical! ^_^ |
But Grace had the final say as Jove himself arrived to sear his flesh...
And Nordri was the last to fall. We fell to our knees, panting.
We had done the impossible. We had defeated the Sons of Ymir. (I could list all of the cheats here but just suffice it to say that if you use single-target attacks on any of the Giants who doesn't have the 'shield' on them, expect to be defeated in one strike by all of their proc attacks and undo all your damage with Vestri's proc Rebirth. :p I used boosted Area of Attack spells, but Nordri will keep refreshing his uber-Tower Shield[-90% damage] until you defeat all of his brothers.)
"Go back to your holes, crows!" I laughed. Just then, a deep voice rang out through the cavern. A female voice.
"I should have known that you crows couldn't do anything right even WITH my help. Well, I'll take my power back now..." I watched in horror as the Coven leaders went into a wild flapping frenzy as dark energies flowed out of their bodies. "You did your job well, birdies. You gave me time to complete my tasks in Celestia..."
"And I see who stopped you and defeated Malistaire. Three little kitty cats raised by that idiot Ambrose. Figures. This will be fun, ha ha ha!"
"Yo, say that to our face, slut!" snapped Christina. But she didn't get an answer. "Who was that?"
Grace shuddered. I had a feeling she knew but she wasn't telling. "Let's hurry, Ymir is yawning - he will wake soon."
I nodded. Time for pressing matters!
"Austri's Seal!" I shouted, placing the enchanted statue on one of the pedestals that was nicely placed in this room.
"Vestri's!" said Grace, placing the second.
"Sudri's!" said Christina, placing the third.
"All together..." I said as we placed the last. "Nordri's Seal!"
The Golden Seals glowed a bright blue, then a bright violet, and finally a deep maroon color. We heard the yawning turn into deep loud snoring and I turned to Ymir. My breath came out in a cloud of relief. "We did it. Ymir will be sleeping forever."
I clapped and we celebrated with dances. We had stopped the Everwinter!
"Great job, young women," said one of the warband. "I've opened a tunnel that will take you to the entrance. We will return to Hrundle Fjord and tell the Thane of your great deeds!"
"Thanks, Dulin," I said. "But we need to tell G.R. what happened. I hope you get back to your homes safely. Good travels."
"Same to you," said Dulin. "I am sure Grandmother Raven already knows what you have done."
"We make a great team," said Christina. "Race you to the door! Last one there is a rotten snowball!"
"HEY!" I cried, chasing her and laughing up a storm. Grace shook her head and smiled.
G.R. told it like it is. We smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Grandmother," said Grace. "We had your help though, as well as everyone in Grizzleheim and Wintertusk. We might had ended up late or unable to stop the Coven had you not helped us along the way."
"You will be remembered as great heroes that the Valkyries will look up to," she added. She smiled and nodded. "Go now. Talk to Baldur Goldpaws, he will take you back to Wizard City where you can continue your studies."
"Grandmother," said Grace softly. "The Coven were aided by a dark force... is it...?"
"Yes, it is her," said G.R. She turned to me and Christina. "You will meet her soon enough, in the world of Celestia. But for now, rest and continue your studies. You deserve a rest. If you ever come back, we will welcome you with open arms as one of our own. Farewell... I will always watch over you three, no matter how far away you are." She cried a tear and I wiped it away from her cheek.
"Farewell, G.R," I said. "We'll remember our adventures here always."
It felt alien to be back in Wizard City after all the adventures we had in Wintertusk, but I was glad for the warm temperatures. I needed a hot shower.
"Let's turn in for the night and return to Rra Ambrose when it's light," said Grace. "I need to visit my office for my usual red tea break."
"Yeah, I need to check on my ailing garden," mumbled Christina. I bid them farewell and returned to my garden...
I missed it! (Christina sucks at gardening, her Couch Potatoes wilted twice! I just dug them up and gave up on Couch Potatoes. I might try Prickly Bear Cacti instead.)
The next morning, we visited Headmaster Ambrose and told of our adventures.
"Yeah, but we stopped them," I said proudly. I didn't mean to boast to Headmaster Ambrose but I was just coming down from victory and saving the Spiral AGAIN.
"You three are simply amazing!" said Ambrose, rubbing his chin with a chuckle. "Stopping the awakening of two of the three Titans and the destruction of the Spiral twice! I am sure the Professors will give you extra credit for this!"
"Well, thanks," said Christina. "But we need a rest..."
"Oh, by the way," said Ambrose as we turned to leave. "Professor Balestorm came by..." He handed us something and our eyes widened. "Yes, in case you are wondering..."
"He has completed his repair of the Spiral Key to Celestia and made copies for each of you, so you can all take the Spiral Door to Celestia separately!"
My spine tingled. "He did it! I can't believe it but he came through!" Now we could do our separate tasks to learn our new spells!
"Excellent news, indeed!" said Ambrose. "However, I heard that there was an expedition to that world, but a distress call came from them," He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I honestly hope it isn't too serious, nothing you can't handle..."
We didn't bother listening to him ramble as we were out of the office like a whirlwind and headed to the Spiral Door.
New adventures awaited on a new world!
But I will never forget the world of Grandmother Raven, Grizzleheim. (I'd come back to forge my next set of houses anyways.)
[To be continued...]
(That's it for ALL of Grizzleheim. Just needed to talk to Erik and Zeke to turn in the rune stone and Trogg quests and get my reward - experience and another training point! We're done with this world! The only time Sierra will return is to get the Tea Set recipe and use the Hall of the Ice Forge to craft the rest of her houses. Ciao for now! Next update, CELESTIA AND THE SECOND ARC WORLDS! ^_^)
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