[Hammerbase] Ghost of Asgard Castle

"You should go see him," Fandral said.He opened the window, and the cold wind came in, mixed with a few flakes of white snow, which fell on the pile of paperwork on the table. "He wants to see you. Although he still doesn't say anything. You are very similar in that respect."

"I'm busy," Thor said.The few snowflakes melted on the paper in front of him, and the water droplets seeped into the black ink, blurring a few faint circular marks between the lines.

"Father is not young anymore. I will do my best to assist him until I can make him feel at ease." He tore off the page, crumpled it up, and planned to start from scratch on how to draft a new document.

Another dull winter.At least there is still a pile of endless work that accompanies him day and night, leaving him little time to think about other things.

For example, a younger brother who is imprisoned in a dungeon.

After stabbing Thor, he didn't get very far, and as soon as he went out, he bumped into Fandral who was waiting in the aisle.When Fandral was busy telling Heimdall to call the court doctor as soon as possible, Loki did not continue to escape.He just sat there, staring blankly at the blood on his hands.Before anyone else found out, he passed out without saying a word.

"It's been a year, Thor. We'll see how you get through this year. Escaping won't solve anything, it will just keep you suffering." Fandral walked away from the window and went to the fireplace to see if the fire was still on. prosperous. "The situation has finally stabilized. If there is anything you want to do, it's best to take advantage of it now."

"Stability is only temporary, and both sides are preparing for war." Thor put down his pen. "Father has been ill recently, I don't want to bother him with this kind of thing anymore."

"Then you just keep making excuses for your cowardice like this. I thought you were the bravest warrior I've ever seen." Sif, dressed in a smart dress, opened the door and walked in. She held the longbow in her hand " "Slap" in front of Thor. "The bows and arrows you want are ready. The material and shape have been improved, making them more suitable for fighting on flat snow fields. The new batch of archers has just finished their training and will soon be useful in actual combat. And The guns developed by Vostagg are actually quite powerful, and they can be mass-produced after he improves the formula."

The tip of her nose was red from the cold, and her whole body was covered with the chill of winter. It was obvious that she had come from the barracks to report to the castle as soon as she made any progress. "In two days, Fandral and I will lead the first batch of contracted troops to the northern defense line. Vostagg will be responsible for continuing to recruit the militia and reorganize the mercenary regiment. Hogan will set off before the port freezes, and he will start from the sea. Cooperate with your actions. Once the war begins, his fleet will block all overseas sources of supplies of Nummhaydon, and give your army the best backup support."

"I don't know how to thank you, my faithful friends." Thor looked at the resolute faces of his childhood playmates who had faded from childishness, and deeply felt their tremendous growth. "You are my most reliable comrades in arms. Your bravery and loyalty will bring me victory."

"Before that victory comes, Thor, we want you to settle your own affairs," said Sif. "Even I've had a good talk with him. But, oh, seriously, he's still such a nasty mouth."

"Okay, I'll consider taking some time..." Before he finished speaking, Sif snatched the longbow from his hand.

"Why take the time, you're fine now. When Fandral and I 'accidentally' told Loki when we met last time, you'll go see him today—he said it seemed more real." She pointed Pointing to Fandral who nodded slightly at the side. "Rocky said he was very happy about it."

"But according to my observation, he probably wants to stab you again." Fandral walked up to Thor and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "It's all right, man. There's only one dagger anyway, right?"

The environment of the dungeon is a little better than imagined, just a little.Since the castle was built, it has been used to house high-born prisoners, most of whom spent the rest of their lives here.Thor had heard such a legend when he was a child: as long as a sinful soul steps into this ancient castle, it will be imprisoned here forever by the thick city walls, and it will never escape.

Now the cells were empty, with heavy chains hanging from the doors, and the cold blackness was filled with ghostly breathing.The thick stone walls were mottled and damp, and water seeped out of them, dripping slowly and regularly on the uneven ground.The crisp sound echoed in the corridor for a long time.Thor wondered if Loki fell asleep listening to this sound every day.

A faint candlelight shone from the innermost cell.This cell was arranged very similar to their room in the castle, only smaller and without sliding windows to look out into the distance.Loki sat behind his desk, quietly reading a heavy old book.

He looked much more refreshed, although the long absence from the sun had left his complexion even paler, almost translucently pale.He was at least well dressed now, his half-length hair was well groomed, and he remembered to shave his face.But Thor noticed the unhealed scratch on his cheek, and suddenly there was a sweet emotion hidden in the sourness.Perhaps Loki did it just for this meeting - just for him.

"You're here." Just as he hesitated and didn't know how to speak, Loki raised his head from behind the book and greeted him with a smile. "I think this is the first time we've met this year."

He could only keep silent.

"I've been doing well recently, although no one seems to care about it." Loki's smile didn't diminish because of his silence, and he continued to speak in that gentle tone. "This month, I've finished reading some of the history of Asgard's castle from 200 years ago, and I'm reading nearly 200 years. There's a lot about this dungeon - at least 200 people tried to start a rebellion [-] years ago The nobles were imprisoned in this dungeon. Fortunately, they only stayed in less than half a month before being sent to the gallows. I read in that chapter that the hanged prisoners were not allowed to pray to the gods before their execution. Confession. Even if the execution rope accidentally breaks and you break your leg, you will be dragged back to the gallows step by step by the executioner from the ground.”

"Are you here to do the same thing to me? I think this ending will make the people of Asgard very satisfied." The beating candlelight reflected his green eyes, and the long and thick black eyelashes fluttered slightly. Casts a circular arc-shaped shadow.He is still smiling. "Or do they prefer the new invention of the guillotine?"

"I've come to set you free." Thor was hurt by his smile.Facing Loki like this, he could only squeeze out these words from the depths of his throat.

"Freedom, what a luxury." Loki put down the book, and Thor saw the eye-catching metallic flash between his hands. "I haven't heard this word for a long time." He stood up and walked to Thor step by step, the chains made a heavy impact with his steps.

"You have been... all this year?" The chains of the handcuffs were not long enough, and there was still a small distance between them.Thor couldn't help but took a step forward, stretched out his hand and firmly grasped the bars that separated them, as if he wanted to break them off on the spot.

"You mean that? Nobody ordered them to be removed anyway." Loki showed Thor the shackles between his hands. "It's really a nice little decoration after a long time, and it can remind me to pay attention to my identity all the time. In the first few days, I practiced writing with them, but it didn't work. The ink disappeared within a week. Used up. And I'm not used to wearing them to shave now. If you ever heard of someone in prison who wiped his neck with a razor, it might just be an unfortunate accident."

"Stop talking." Thor let go of the iron bars and took two steps back.Loki always knew how to soften his heart.Now he can't let Loki get what he wants. "I said I would give you freedom, so the shackles can be put down temporarily. But once I find out that you have any..."

"Understood, understood. You want me to shut up and be good. That's easy. Get that shackle. It's supposed to be with one of the guards right now. I don't have a chance of getting it off. Too much, so I have to say a few more words." He saw the face looking at him from between the cracks in the bars, and the false smile disappeared the next instant. "It's really nice to see you again, my dear brother."

Thor won't tell Loki that in the first few days after he stabbed him, he was haunted by nightmares almost every night.Later, he got used to sitting up from the bed on time in the middle of the night, looking at his empty side, and taking a moment to think about what happened, why his brother wasn't by his side.After thinking of everything, he continued to lie back on the bed, and opened his eyes to watch the thick ink-like night sky outside the window mixed with pink and light blue light little by little, the sun was getting brighter, and the stars and moon were setting in the west.Before dawn, he still had time to recall the dream just now, like picking up a mass of transparent algae that was slowly rotating and sinking from the water with his hands.

He will see Loki in his dream.Sometimes it's their past, sometimes it's a never-before-seen scene.

He dreamed that he was fighting in the gladiatorial ring a hideous monster that took the form of his brother as he pinned it to the blood-red ground with his spear.The spear pierced his chest and lodged between his ribs.He dreamed of a vast sea of ​​stars, whose light was clearer and more beautiful than ever, because he was in it.Loki was beside him, and when Thor's hand was about to touch him, his figure turned into a little bit of starlight and disappeared.

"Brother, this is just a prank, don't be angry." He heard his brother's voice behind him.The moment he turned around, he returned to reality. In the dark room, only a dim yellow light on the table was flickering on and off.The book spread out on the table was blown by the night wind, and several pages were flipped backwards.

That was the first "gift" he gave Loki, and Loki also used it to teach him how to recognize those ancient and complicated characters.The books that he never left were casually discarded by Loki on the floor of the room, as if he didn't want to touch anything about Thor again.Thor found the book while he was in a daze in the empty room, and kept it close at hand to pass the long nights of insomnia.

The story in the book is very long, and the whole story is written in ancient Chinese, and some pages are missing in some places.But that didn't stop the brothers from putting their heads together on many winter nights, reading the story over and over by the light of the oil lamp.

The story is about a land above the stars, where there are palaces floating in seas of clouds, an orange sun, and long bridges of dark gold spanning the heavens, straddled by actual rainbows.The gods there have extremely long life spans and unlimited divine power, but they cannot escape life, old age, sickness, death, and emotions.They live like human beings, expressing their emotions without any scruples.By the way, there is another pair of brothers like them.They are completely opposite in character, but they are very close in life.It's a pity that the subsequent misunderstanding caused a rift between the two, and the relationship has never been the same since then.At the end of the story, their adventure has just begun.So, the last page of the book says, the story isn't really over.

"At least we're luckier than them," Thor said to Loki, who was standing by the table, as they closed their books and went to sleep. "No matter what happens, we won't make trouble like that."

"I can't say for sure. After all, no one knows what will happen next." Loki turned around with a smile, raised his hand and extinguished the oil lamp on the table.He climbed lightly into the bed in the familiar darkness, resting his head on Thor's outstretched arm quite naturally.

Thinking about it now, it was a bit unbelievable that he would have thought they were luckier then.As it turns out, they were just dumber.

Thor's hand slid across his waist, the wound left by the dagger had long since healed, and it was as flat as ever, not even a single scar remained.

He turned over and continued to wait for the day to come.Tonight is different, and tomorrow morning I will be able to see him again.

In the dark, Thor recalled Loki's eyes slightly narrowed in the sunlight when he just came out of the ground.The faint sunlight reflected by the white snow in the sky was too dazzling for him, so he raised his right hand to cover his forehead.His left hand was being held by Thor in his palm, supporting his somewhat shaky footsteps due to long-term sexual intercourse.When Thor's fingers stroked the thin callus and dark red blood scab left by the shackles on his wrist, the arm trembled slightly due to the pain, and there was no more movement.

I should have given him a hug.he thinks.Maybe he won't refuse my hug.

Then wait until tomorrow, when daylight comes.His hesitation didn't take long.

But before dawn, he lost Loki again.

There is more than one secret passage in the castle.This is what he said himself.Loki apparently escaped from him through one of them, the very night Thor promised him freedom.

This, people say, is betrayal.

But the people who said this soon lost Thor too.They saw letter paper all over the floor in his room.The windows were wide open, and the room was unbearably cold, only the white paper fluttered lonely in the snowy wind.

Some letter papers had something written in childlike crooked handwriting, which looked like some unwritten words.More letter paper was blank, with only a few exasperated scratches left on it.Because Loki said, the ink was out.

Thor carefully read every piece of paper.Including those who didn't write, he also stroked the marks one by one with his hands.

In the corner of each letter paper, Thor's name is clearly written.They are well hidden in a mass of disorganized lines, or in a string of incomprehensible mad monologues.With fettered hands, with black ink, with a nib that cannot write.

He was lying.

But that's okay.This time, he will bring Loki back with his own hands.