Balder the Brave #3
Balder the Warrior!
Now
On a quest to rescue Karnilla the Norn Queen from the Frost Giants, Balder was offered a way to sneak into the castle by Rattusk, one of Karnilla’s demons. After being attacked by a shape-shifting impostor, Balder’s friend Agnar goes looking for Balder on the trail and comes upon what appears to be his dead body. However, when he rolls the corpse over he is surprised to see that it is actually Rattusk! This leads Agnar to wonder how Rattusk came to be wearing Balder’s battle armor and what happened to him as well…
Earlier
Rattusk led Balder to the castle of the Frost Giants and a secret passage inside. Suspecting some kind of trap, Balder forced Rattusk to put on his cape and helmet and go in first. Sure enough, when Rattusk walks through the passage he is killed by the axes of two Frost Giants. At first the giants think they killed Balder but quickly realize their mistake. They then begin searching for the Asgardian, little knowing that the warrior has hitched a ride on the back of one of the giant’s boots.
Now
Agnar continues his search for Balder and comes across the giant footprints and decides to follow them.
Meanwhile, Balder has been brought into the Frost Giant’s castle. Leaping down from the giant’s boot he begins looking around for Karnilla. In one of the rooms he finds a dove being held in a cage. Unaware that this is Karnilla, who has been turned into a bird by Utgard-Loki’s magic. He fees the poor bird and discovers that it not only can’t fly but will freeze to death in Jotunheim’s brutal cold. Holding the bird in his hand to warm it up, Balder discovers that he can now radiate powerful light. Not only does this light give off warmth that keeps the bird alive, but it also heals the arm that he injured during his recent battle with Hela.[1]
Elsewhere in the castle, Utgard-Loki is sitting in his throne in a sour mood because he knows there are intruders in his domain. He decides to amuse himself by torturing Karnilla some more and catches Balder in his castle. Surprisingly, the tiny bird leaps from Balder’s hand and tries to attack the leader of the Frost Giants. This amuses Utgard-Loki who reverts Karnilla back to her human form. Utgard-Loki then tells Balder that in order to get Karnilla back he must fight the Frost Giant’s greatest warrior, Hagen.
Outside, Agnar continues to follow Balder’s trail to the castle of the Frost Giants. He is joined by Whiteface, the lord of eagles, who shows him a way to sneak them into the castle.
At that same moment, Balder is put in an arena to fight Hagen. The Frost Giant has an unfair advantage because he is wielding the Sword of Frey, an enchanted weapon that guarantees victory for whoever wields it. Despite this advantage, Balder is able to use his new light powers to burn the giant and wrest the Sword of Frey from his hands. That’s when Agnar appears in a window and tosses down a rope for Balder to escape with. However, Utgard-Loki orders Balder to surrender or Karnilla will be put to death.
Recurring Characters
Balder, Agnar, Karnilla, Utgard-Loki, Hagen, Whiteface, Rattusk
Continuity Notes
This story takes place shortly after Thor and Balder went on a mission to Hela’s domain in search of Odin. Odin seemingly perished battling Surtur in Thor #349-353. Their quest is chronicled in Thor #360-362. They don’t find Odin, that’s because he was taken prisoner by Seth, the Egyptian god of death, as we’ll learn in Thor #399.
