Portal

"Immersturm," said Tyvar. The name dropped into her stomach like an iron weight; she'd heard Inga whisper stories about that place. The realm of demons. Tyvar, bafflingly, seemed excited at the news.

"Well, unless you happen to have a magic boat hanging around—"

But Tyvar already had his eyes closed. He extended both hands in front of him, and Kaya reflexively took a step back. Slowly, in the surrounding air, currents of mana began to curl and twist into complex patterns of glowing knotwork. Kaya realized she had seen magic like this before—it had looked almost effortless when Alrund had opened a doorway into another realm, but the fundamentals were the same. When it opened into that shimmering nightscape of the Cosmos, she felt an odd decompression in her ears, as if all the air had suddenly gone out of the clearing. Tyvar finally opened his eyes: a doorway stood before them.

"Where in the hells did you learn to do that?" breathed Kaya.

"The sorcerers of Skemfar are experts of their craft. And you can count me an expert among experts," he said, grinning. "I've been all throughout the realms of Kaldheim.

AWAKEN THE TROLLS