Gaul laughs as Smough gets possessive with his liquor. “Fair enough, Smough. What’s yours is yours.”

He grimaces slightly at the accusations Raia is throwing around. “Me? My primary goal is to find a way to bring my family back. In order to do that, I need to defeat the Father and get our companion back so we can get the hell out of here. I told Shadow when I first met him that I wanted out, and that hasn’t changed.” He turns to Karnariel. “I’m sorry if I pissed you off, or made you piss yourself when I blew up your moon. I assumed, wrongly of course, that the magic that brought back the fallen soldiers was tied to it directly, and wanted to help you by evening the odds. I tried to take a shortcut, and it backfired. My bad.”

Gaul takes a deep breath. “Valkyrie, Kara, whatever her name is, has been oppressing Viking culture in this land. As the king of the Viking gods, you can see why I’d be more than a little upset about that.” Another deep breath.

“My plan for Valkyrie cannot be revealed. I have seen the path forward, but if I tell any of you it will fall apart. Karnariel, if you wish to try to stop your sister first, be my guest. If you fail, I will insure that you live, step in, and finish the job. I can offer you no better deal.” He folds his arms across his chest, exhales forcefully through his nose, and turns to Flame.  

“I promised your brother that I would help you get your power under control,” he begins softly. “Once my business with Valkyrie is concluded, I will fulfill that promise. For now, do me a favor and stay out of too much trouble?”