The Winter Quests (novel): Difference between revisions

| villain(s)= [[Sigyn]]<br>[[Loki#In the Prime Universe|Loki]]

Although it's late December, [[Juliet-178]] and [[Pythagoras-858]] are called by the [[Supreme Quaestor]] to his office on the top floor of the [[C.I.I. Headquarters]], where the Quaestor wordlessly hands Pythagoras a piece of paper describing an assigment, prompting him to whisk Juliet off to his [[Fog Ship]] and from there to a snowy forest in [[Finland]]. As they traipse through the snow, eventually making their way to a clearing with a stone in the centre, Pythe explains to Juliet that they are set to meet [[Sigyn|a goddess of the Norse pantheon]] to discuss a bargain between her and the Crew, to acquire an item which she is auctioning off and which the Crew are quite anxious that some of its enemies (like the [[Collective of the Retconning Crocodiles]]) ''not'' get their hands on. Juliet is needed because it is likely the goddess will send the Cupids on a mythical quest to prove their worth. Pythe eventually realises that the stone he's been sitting on is in fact a [[Rune]] [[Rune Stone|Stone]].

After examining the [[Rune Stone]], [[Pythagoras-858|Pythe]] presses a hand onto the stone in an area that seems to be meant for the purpose. This activates the stone's magic, and it quickly explodes into a bank of magical fog with [[Sigyn|the goddess]] at the centre of it. Pythe begins talking to her deferentially, but soon [[Juliet-178]] cannot stop herself from involving herself in the conversation, which takes a livelier turn. The goddess, at any rate, explains that she is considering the Crew's proposition, but does indeed want Pythe and Juliet to prove themselves by going on a quest to “slay a [[Wyrm of Loki|certain wyrm]] and recover [[Loki|a certain 'serpent']]”. Juliet is overjoyed.