received from the dwarfs, the one that folded to fit in my pocket. I tested it when I was visiting Jor and explaining his role in my plan. Taking the piece out of my pocket, I tossed it into the air, and as it hit the ground, it unfolded into a ship made of dark wood. There were no masts, no sails, yet as soon as I boarded it and took the helm, it glided along at exactly the paced I wanted. It also drifted effortlessly from the sea surface to the grassy ground, not jerking or slowing as it sailed across the earth. I wasn’t sure if it had enough capacity for all the gold, but it was my best bet.
The next day, at dawn, Thor and Heimdall and I waited near the bank of the Rhine as Jor made his timely arrival at the opposite end of the river. The Rhine Maidens cried and cooed, swimming over to him. As soon as the area was clear, I tossed the ship onto the water’s surface. I was afraid at first that it might form too large and attract attention, but it grew to a modest size to perfectly accommodate the river’s width. Without further ado, we boarded the ship, and Thor and Heimdall got to work casting out Ran’s net and bringing up the gold. My actual physical participation was minimal—I mostly hoarded the gold into the bowels of the ship and kept my senses alert for the Rhine Maidens and their father.
Jor was excellent. He stepped outside his usual comfort to keep the Rhine Maidens well distracted, holding lengthy conversations and throwing compliments their way if they threatened to look around. And the ship held up fantastically, never sinking with the extra weight, and never running out of room for our stolen gold. I could tell that Thor and Heimdall were tiring and beginning to struggle as it came into the afternoon, but they dug deep and didn’t let themselves slow until the final net full of gold was on the deck of the ship, just at sunset. I pat them on the back and took the helm, directing the vessel off the river and up the bridge. When Jor saw us crossing, he sighed in relief and abruptly ducked underwater to escape his vapid admirers.
I did thank him, didn’t I? I’m fairly sure I thanked him.
That night, the builders got all the gold they needed, and that night, Odin joined you and me in marriage. And the wedding night, well…let’s just sit back and remember that. Or better yet, we could re-enact it. No really, the story can wait. Or I could tell the story as we...although the venom would probably hit you. Never mind.
I expected the Rhine Maidens would notice their gold was gone. However, I didn’t expect their Father to appear in Asgard the next day. How he got past Heimdall, the bridge’s guard, is still a mystery—though I suspect he thought that the Rhine Father was going to blame me and exact vengeance on me, which would have been just fine with Ram Boy. But the Rhine Father was smarter than that, and went straight to the source: Odin. At the time, you may remember, Odin was asking us indecent questions about our wedding night, and we were answering with completely different topics: “No, I don’t think it will rain today”, “I think the geese migration begins next week”, and so on.
At first sight, I didn’t know who he was. He looked somewhat like Odin, but with two eyes, dripping wet, with sand in his beard. But when he demanded, “Relinquish my daughters’ gold!” it was obvious.
Odin remained cool, as always, and replied, “That gold was stolen from the humans to begin with. It cursed them. It will be put to good, safe use now, out of the hands of temptation.”
“My daughters will have their gold returned, or the gold will curse you!”
Odin only shook his head in somber refusal.
The Rhine Father was just as resolved to his own task. “You will lose a precious treasure until mine is returned.” Then he grabbed your wrist. “Freya is mine!” With that, both you and he