Cursed Blessings

Chapter Nine

Chapter 9
                When my story was finished he began telling me how his travels took him back to his homeland of Germany to spend time consoling his father over the death of his mother.
                He was there only three days when a man knocked on the door and offered his father a gift of otter skin.  Reginn’s father had three sons: Reginn, the youngest and a master smith, Fafnir, the eldest and a dragon and Otter who had the ability to shape shift.  Otter’s favorite form to shift into was that of an otter, of course.
                Seeing the skin enraged his father because he knew that Otter was now dead.  The visitor was told that he must fill the skin with gold and cover it with red gold so he may be forgiven or he would suffer a much worse fate.
                In the same land there was a dwarf named Andvari who hoarded a massive treasure.  It was said that the treasure was so big that a kingdom could be built from it and there would still be enough left to last the kingdom through twenty kings.  The visitor went to the home of Andvari to steal this loot.
                The dwarf knew why the man was stealing his treasure and he asked only that he be allowed to keep one ring, which he wore, because it was a gift from his father.  The thief did not allow this, so Andvari put a curse on the treasure so that no one who possessed it would be fortunate.  After uttering the curse the thief killed Andvari.
                He then presented the hoard to Otter’s father who quickly ended the thief’s life in return.
                It did not take long for the news of his newfound fortune to reach the ears of his son Fafnir.  When it did the dragon showed up demanding his share.  When his father would not give it to him Fafnir killed him.
                As Reginn watched his father die he wondered if he were next.  What could he do against a dragon?
                “Do you challenge my claim on this treasure, Little Brother,” he asked.
                “I have never challenged your claim on anything.  You are the eldest.  It is yours by right.  I want nothing to do with it.”
                “You have never challenged me because you have always feared me.  I prefer it that way.  Leave now before you end up like your father.”
Reginn began his long journey home.
                “What is your plan to avenge your father,” I asked my friend.  We now sat in the mead hall.
                “I do not know what to do,” he answered.  “I have never been strong enough to defeat Fafnir, so challenging him would not be a smart move.  Not to mention that I have never killed and I am not a warrior.  Sure, I can craft the instruments to kill, but I do not think my stomach can handle the sight of blood on my hands.”
                “Well, if you cannot kill him maybe you could outsmart him.  If you could do this, you could claim the treasure at the very least.”
                “That would not work either,” he shrugged off my idea.  “It always comes down to who is the strongest in battle with him.  I cannot beat him, but I know you can.”
                This sudden idea took me by surprise and I stammered for the right words, “Me, fight a dragon!”  The idea was so alarming that my brain could not work as quickly as my mouth.  “That is an insane idea.  I have never been in a battle.  How would I know how to kill a dragon?”
                “But I thought you wished to be a hero,” he pleaded with me.
                “Of course I wish to be a hero, but not a suicide.  Besides, what honor would I be able to claim for slaying a dragon that killed his own father?  It is an affair that does not involve me.”
                “You may claim the treasure as your own.  I only ask that once you kill him you cook his heart so that I may eat it in your honor.”
                I must admit that the lure of treasure is enough to persuade most men, myself included, but fear can grip the heart of a young man when he is untested in battle.
                “Why have you chosen me,” I asked.
                “I thought it would be nice to see you as a rich man of your own making and there is strength in you that everyone sees.  It is as if you are blessed by Odin.  If you think you cannot do it, I can ask a seasoned warrior who is not afraid.”
                I could not ignore the notion that I was being goaded into this, but I could not let him, or anyone else, think that I was afraid.
                “No man calls me a coward,” I said to him.  “I will slay your brother for you, but you must do something for me as well.”
                “I will do anything you ask of me.”
                “Make a sword for me.”
                “I will make your sword,” he agreed.  “I will make the most marvelous sword ever for you.  It will take me at least one moon.”
And as simply as that the bargain to kill Fafnir was struck.  We celebrated and toasted one another and the next day we began our preparations.