Interlude 2 - Getting decked out in Nidavellir

"And that over there is the royal sparring arena. Your uncle Loki once tricked me into fighting a dragon blindfolded. Haha, almost died that day. Ah, and that over there is the royal swimming pool. As a kid, I almost drowned when your uncle Loki cast a spell to animate the seaweed to drag me under," Thor excitedly said as he pointed to things in the palace.

"Oh, I can't wait to show you the armory! This one time, dad had me clean all the weapons, and Loki toppled over the big display of swords. Haha, almost died that day," Thor reminisced with a fond, longing smile.

It gave Eli the chills when he noticed at the third place in the tour that all the places Thor fondly pointed out were places that Loki almost killed him with a 'prank'.

"Is there a place where uncle Loki didn't try to kill you? Like the library?" Eli asked with forced smile.

"No, no, in the library, he once challenged me to build the highest stack of books I could manage, and then he toppled the tower when I reached the ceiling. Haha, I spent weeks in the infirmary," Thor explained with a chuckle.

"I feel like all mom had to do to get your affections was to try and mortally wound instead of seduce you," Eli sighed in a low tone.

"Hmm? You say something?" Thor asked, oblivious to his son's musings.

"And this is the royal healing ward," Thor pointed out as they finished their palace tour a few places later.

"Huh? No 'funny' story of how uncle Loki charmed a healer to poison you or something?" Eli asked with a lift of his brow.

"Are you crazy? He would never do something like that. I mean, okay... he probably would, but he didn't. He did send me here a bunch of times, though. I did spend most of my childhood here."

Eli looked at his father with a small glare.

"Let us go inside. Mother is here," Thor said as he opened the door.

Inside the ward, both his grandparents were lying side by side, each in their own golden cocoon of runic energies.

"Did something happen to Odin? Or is this Odinsleep?" Eli asked in wonder.

Thor tapped something that looked like a magic hologram to find out.

"Odinsleep. Already been a month, though. I wonder who's ruling in his place with mother asleep, too. And why didn't Heimdall say anything?" Thor mused.

"You know what I wonder? Where all the guards are. The door has wards that lock anyone out with malicious intentions. But for the king and queen, I would have suspected there to be about a dozen guards at the door," Eli thought out loud.

"Oh, that? The guards would be just for show. These cocoons are powered by Odinforce and are virtually indestructible," Thor explained.

"Unless someone stole Gungnir and pierced the cocoon?" Eli asked with a lift of his eyebrow.

"No, that's preposte- oh by Mimir's long beard! That would actually work! Why is nobody guarding the king and queen of Asgard!?" Thor shouted with a scared look.

Four guards hurriedly entered a few moments later, sweat dripping on their temples.

"You asked for us, Prince Thor?" one of the guards asked, barely keeping himself from stuttering.

"Why is nobody watching over this healing ward? Who's in charge? Where is Tyr?" Thor asked in a sort rapid fire.

"Please, my prince. All these questions have the same answer. Tyr is the current regent by decree of King Odin," the same guard once again spoke up.

"Take me to him!" Thor shouted.

"Uh, father? I'll stay behind if that's okay with you," Eli mentioned as Thor was about to run out. Thor only waved in assent.

Eli stayed behind because he noticed something weird with the bodies of his grandparents. It was magical in nature, of that he was certain, but even now that he concentrated on it, he could barely feel it on account of those shielding cocoons.

Since his impression of his grandfather was much worse than the impression Eli had of his grandmother, Eli began looking into what was wrong with his grandmother.

Using every spell in his arsenal, Eli didn't get a reading on what was weird about his grandmother. All he figured out was that the spell, if it was a spell, was weak. So it probably wasn't life-threatening.

Once he was done doing everything he could, he just sat down next to the bed and looked toward his grandmother. An hour later, Thor came back... but alone. Eli would not have found it weird if Thor came back with Tyr and a full battalion of people.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Tyr had a very good reason for his actions. Everything is alright," Thor stated with a nod.

Eli frowned at that, but he let it slide. He didn't know the exact relationship between his father and Tyr after all.

"I think there's some kind of spell placed on Frigga and Odin, but I can't figure out what it is," Eli explained to Thor as he sat beside Eli.

"Oh? I shall give a notice to healers to look into it," Thor said with a raised brow.

"Sounds good. Hey, I was wondering - have you ever been to my mother's house? Uh, free of will?" Eli asked out of nowhere.

"Yes, I have. It was a gaudy mini version of this palace. Tacky golden ornaments and emerald laced tapestries everywhere. It was hideous. Why do you ask?"

"Never mind," Eli said, hanging his head low. He had wanted to show it to his father to raise his father's impression of his mother, but that would apparently not work. It was a childish idea anyway, and the only person to profit was a dead woman. A dead woman he still dearly loved, but she was dead anyway.

"So uh, what now? I just wanted to take a look in hopes she was awake. Got anything fun to do here?" Eli asked his father after a short moment of silence.

"Yes! Tonight, we will have a welcome feast for my victorious return. There you will be able to help to meet my friends. It will be a kind of welcome home party for you, too!" Thor shouted in clear excitement.

Five days later, Eli woke up in a hall with long tables and benches among a good 60 drunk Asgardians. Thor laid next to him, his head on Volstagg's lap. Sif somehow laid on the table in front of him, fully decked out in furlined blankets like a burrito.

Everyone was snoring, and they all smelled like they bathed in barrels of beer. Deep in his heart, Eli hoped his father didn't usually have feasts like this, and he was just enthusiastic about introducing his son to his friends. Because his headache told him he was never doing that again.

At least he became fast friends with all his father's friends. Though Sif was cold to him at first because she was not a huge fan of his mother, she quickly came around when Thor kept boasting about his son's exploits in saving Midgard.

It wasn't his heroism or battle strength that made Sif like him. It was the fact that Thor was positively glowing in every interaction with his son.

After a quick spell to clean himself up, Eli still stood up to get a long hot bath. Every pore of his smelled like beer. On his way out, he grabbed some of the left-over food so he wouldn't have to be on an empty stomach for this hangover.

After his bath that took way too long, possibly because he fell asleep again, he went back to the feast. He slapped his father awake once there, which caused Lady Sif to wake up, too. They left the hall together for a walk around the palace, though Sif looked like she wanted to quickly leave and sleep for another week.

"You are handling this hangover quite well. You even smell nice. I'm jealous," Sif said after noticing that Eli smelled like flowers as opposed to the distinct bottom of a barrel Thor smelled like.

"Uh, full disclosure, I woke up like a half a day ago, took a bath, fell asleep in the bath, woke up again half an hour ago and then came to wake you," Eli admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

Sif looked shocked, but only because she didn't think she had slept for so long. Thor, on the other hand, looked proud, Eli did not know why.

"So what now? Please don't tell me there's an after party. I don't think I want to drink again anytime soon. Technically, if this were Midgard, I wouldn't even be allowed to drink yet. At least we knocked that long-lived tradition of having your first beer with your father out of the way," Eli continued. Thor gained a bright smile.

"I suppose it is time for me to go on another quest. I have stalled long enough," Thor said, never losing his smile.

"Oooh, is it a battle? Are you seeking companions for this quest?" Sif asked excitedly.

"There might be, but believe it or not, I will not seek it out - I will go on a search, seeking out the remaining Infinity Stones. Ideally, there will not be much fighting," Thor explained seriously.

"Can I come?" Eli asked, surprising Thor.

"Do you not want to return to Midgard? To your Lady Jessica?" Thor inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, I'd prefer I get to tell her I'll be gone a little longer than expected, but this quest of yours sounds important. I'd like to join."

"Haha, father and son on a grand quest to save the universe! The magnificent tales we will be able to tell!" Thor shouted as if he learned the truth of existence.

Sif had initially wanted to accompany Thor, but with a wry smile shook her head. She'd leave the two some time to bond.

"Lady Jessica was surprisingly cool with you leaving for such a long period of time," Thor said as he arrived on Nidavellir with his son. It was a week after the feast had ended.

Thor wanted to ask Eitri for an armor for his son. Because right now, Eli only ever wore regular clothing with protection enchantments on it.

Since this was technically only the third ever 'planet' he was on, Eli looked around like an excited tourist at everything in this ring surrounding a star that called itself a forge instead of planet.

"Eitri, my friend!" Thor shouted as he looked at the... tallest dwarf on this ring. This was not what Eli was expecting.

"Thor! What brings you to Nidavellir? Did you somehow manage to damage Mjolnir again?" The dwarf asked in an unexpectedly low, deep voice.

"Mjolnir is fine. That happened only once. Stop bringing it up," Thor said a little bashfully. "I brought to you my son, Elias Thorson! He is a mighty warrior who runs around in Midgardian clothes for battle. That is something I want you to fix."

Eitri raised one of his thick meaty eyebrows at the reveal and looked Eli up and down for a good while.

"You know magic, boy?"

"Yeah, my mom was one of the greatest sorceresses of Asgard, I inherited some of her talent," Eli admitted shyly.

"Son of Thor and talent in magic? My boy, you are born to wield Uru! The metal gains strength, the more magic and divinity the wielder can offer it. Theoretically, it never stops growing in power," Eitri gushed.

"Uh, I already have a weapon, sir. I think it's Uru?" Eli released Shatterstar into its sword form and held it close to Eitri for inspection.

"Ah yes, Shatterstar. A mighty sword. Your grandmother had asked me for a weapon that could cut more than one enemy at a time. She looked so glum when I gave her the sword - she had a double-ended spear in mind," Eitri laughed. "What is your divinity, boy?"

"Uh, I call it source usually, but my divinity is over 'storms'. Right now, it's mostly controlling winds, creating a little chaos in the atmosphere of a planet. But I've had visions of other storms," Eli tried his best to put it into words.

"I see. In that case, Shatterstar is a formidable ally. By the fond look, I am guessing you would like to keep using it?" Eitri asked as he regarded the blade with a fond look in his eyes.

"Yeah, right now it is the perfect weapon for me," Eli said, matching Eitri's fond look for the sword.

"Then an armor fit for a king it is," Eitri nodded along.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but honestly, I wouldn't mind leaving with just a breastplate for my vitals and a second vambrace. Maybe a pair so I can give this one back to my grandmother," Eli offered.

"A warrior might not know how to forge his armor, but would know best on what he wants to wear in battle. Lets go measure you, boy," Eitri said with a wave of his hand as he turned around, motioning for father and son to follow him.

"Stand over there, undress your upper body completely," Eitri ordered.

After removing all clothes and jewelry, Eli stood there with his muscular upper body exposed, and four molds suddenly snapped shut around him. One on each arm, one on his upper body, and one on his head.

Eli wanted to freak out because a mold over his head meant he couldn't breathe, but he had a feeling Eitri knew his limits - also Thor wouldn't just let him get choked to death in a mold by a dwarf, even if it was their king.

Half a minute later, all four molds fell from his body with eight heavy thuds. Eitri collected them and began designing the requested items. He began working on the armor for Eli.

"By the way, kid, that black shard on that bracelet. That's black Uru, right? Want me to work it into one of the armor pieces?" Eitri asked before he sent away father and son so he could work without interruption.

"Hmm? If possible, I would like to keep it in this form It is a gift from someone very dear to me," Eli denied Eitri's request.

"Suit yourself, boy. As royalty and the son of my friend Thor, you'll get a full Uru armor anyway. Since you wear that black Uru on your body, it would be attuned to you, and either item created with it would gain more strength faster."

He didn't know how, but Eli somehow managed to not have to drink alcohol as he 'feasted' with the dwarves for a full two days.

Thor was sober at this point, but not for a lack of trying, when Eitri came to announce he was finished with the armor.

Eitri, Thor, and Eli arrived in a workshop with molds and bars of metal strewn about everywhere. The molds for his arms were labeled with his name on a workbench, Eli wondered why that was but he wouldn't ask because of the items he saw lying on a giant anvil. Eitri threw over a bracelet, roughly three fingers wide.

"Try it on, I made it for the right arm," Eitri explained.

Eli put it on, instinctively poured in some magic, and the bracelet swiftly enlarged into a full vambrace that covered him from elbow over the back of his hand to his knuckles.

Eitri threw over two rounded pieces of metal after that and gestured to his ears. Eli quickly understood and used these two pieces of metal to cover the upper helix of his outer ear. It was a perfect fit. After pouring magic into it again, the metal coiled around his head in a two fingers wide headband.

With a nod, Eitri threw over the last piece on the anvil. It was the front half of a breastplate, Eli had seen something like this already with the breastplate he gifted Jessica.

The armor perfectly hugged his upper body as he, again, poured magic into it and protected his torso and neck. His arms were left bare. Somehow, while it looks like a solid piece of metal, it still allowed him full range of motion.

All these pieces of armor were a plain, brushed silvery metal with barely any runic markings, but from his talks to the dwarves in the last two days, Eli knew these pieces of armor were anything but simple.

"Since you know magic, boy, just enchant them yourself. But if I see these pieces again and you messed up, there will be Hel to pay," Eitri said with a glare. "Just kidding, I'll just forge them anew. I just thought you might want a more personal approach to enchanting, so I left most of it blank."

Thor looked at his son for a while, nodded, and raised both thumbs up in appreciation.

Quickly afterward, they were chased off of Nidavellir because Eitri apparently had inspiration for a new kind of weapon.

And that meant the father and son adventure would finally it start. It began in..