We disembarked the private plane in Switzerland, and made our way to customs. Oddly, Hans simply walked through the area, and none of the customs or immigration staff seemed to notice him. He gestured for us to follow, but I think Ty and I had the same idea on that.
Firstly, you don't just walk through customs without declaring yourself. It's just wrong. Secondly, it can be difficult to leave a country if they have no record of you entering. And thirdly, if we were about to walk into the middle of some kind of jihad-based religious cult, we wanted some kind of official record that we'd entered the country!
So we ignored Hans' growing frustration, and made our way through customs as normal. Neither of us was carrying anything illegal, so it really wasn't a problem. Soon enough, we were in another black SUV (a rental vehicle. I wonder if the last one was as well.) making our way north towards the German border. We cleared customs there as well, and Hans drove us to a small town called Wolfsheim. On the way, he explained that we were going to a local lodge to "freshen up" before heading into the Black Forest to meet "our fathers".
When we finally arrived in Wolfsheim, he drove to a lodge called the Wolf's Mantle Tavern. Ty and I had a brief conversation, wherein we both agreed that if we were going to go ahead with the charade, we may as well get it over and done with straight away. Hans, again, seemed surprised, but he continued driving into the Forest to some clearly designated area.
We got out of the vehicle to discover that we were in the middle of the forest. There were no obvious markers (although clearly Hans had spotted something), and the road that we'd been travelling on was little more than a dirt track. We both looked to Hans for further instructions.
"Walk into the forest until you get separated and lost," he said.
Seriously, what kind of instruction is that?? It's ridiculous. The two of us are experienced hikers with combat training. (Although I admit that after working a desk job for a number of years, my skills are rather more rusty than I'd like.) There was no way that either of those things would happen. But we headed off into the forest anyway. There seemed to be little point in arguing.
We set off into the forest together, with Ty leading the way and me barely a step behind him. I don't really know how long we walked. It was for quite a while. And then Ty stepped around a tree. I followed. And he was gone.
Seriously.
It was the strangest thing I've ever experienced. Seeing flying pirate ships and men with fire for hair was one thing, but not being able to trust my own instincts (and Ty's extensive experience) was something completely different. There was no possible way that he could have vanished into thin air in the 2 seconds that he was out of my sight. But, possible or not, that's what happened.
I looked around for him briefly, called out his name, and then decided to stop and wait. Various scenarios ran through my mind. Perhaps there was some kind of cloaking field around a compound? Perhaps we'd actually been hit with some kind of airborn toxin that had rendered us briefly unconscious, and then we'd been separated and left to wake up. Perhaps much more time had passed, wherein we'd been captured, spoken to, and then electro-shock treatment had been used to erase our memories of the event.
The possiblities were endless.
Still, there seemed to be little point in staggering around a dark forest on my own, with no notion of which way was which. So I found a comfortable spot to sit and wait. If someone was looking to find me, then there was no reason to make it harder on them. And if not, then I'd be better served conserving my energy for survival rather then staggering around and getting further lost.
I didn't have to wait for long. A man approached the small clearing where I was sitting. He came out of the forest, but didn't seem to be "of the forest". Whatever that means. He was an attractive man, with unusual clothing, and was carrying a tall staff. He introduced himself as Forseti, told me that everything Hans had said was true, and claimed to be my father.
Now, let me make one thing clear. I am well aware that a man was required at some point in my mother's life for my conception to take place. I've been well aware of that fact since I was quite young. But that doesn't mean that I've ever considered the fact that I have a 'father'. Once I was old enough to understand the role that a man plays in creating a baby, I came to the conclusion that my mother had simply made use of a sperm donor. The fact that he "donated" during a one night stand had little to no relevance. The man in question had just as little to do with me, my mother and our lives as if he had simply been a nameless, faceless man exchanging a paper cup for food money.
I've never needed or wanted a father. Mum and Aunt Beth have been parents to me. Ty is closer than a brother. We have a home. We have a history. We have a name. Unlike many of the people I grew up with in Kellogg, I didn't waste my time dreaming that one day my father would come home and rescue me from my life. Nor did I waste time plotting out what I would do when my father inevitably revealed himself to be a rock star, famous politician, or wealthy prince from a far-off land.
So perhaps Forseti expected some kind of emotional greeting when he made the announcement. If so, he was sorely disappointed. I have no need for a father, nor any real room in my life for one. If what he says is true, and he did provide half of the necessary ingredients for my birth, he still has no more claim over me, my emotions or my life than the teachers who provided my education or the store that provided my clothing. (Possibly less, in fact. At least they had an impact on my development.)
Still, the things that Forseti said did make a certain amount of sense. His talk of being inaugurated into a war between Gods and Titans seemed, on the surface, to support and explain much of what Hans had been saying, and also the events of the previous couple of days. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's all true. But, if I accept that it's a possibility, then it is clear that I must have been sired by one God or another. So there's no reason to believe that Forseti isn't telling the truth about that aspect of things.
My conversation with Forseti was short. He didn't try to convince me of anything. He gave me some "facts", explained the role he had in my birth, and then presented me with his gifts.
The staff that he was carrying was for me. It's really quite impressive. He explained that Peace Bringer (that's the name of the staff) could be used either to enforce a truce amongst people when they meet, or to beat people around the head until they're peaceful. And he also presented me with a lap loom that he explained could be used to riddle out the mysteries of the world.
I took both proferred gifts - there didn't seem to be much choice at the time - and then he left. He advised that I should just walk through the forest until I came across Ty. The instructions seemed to make about as much sense as last time, so I did what I was told.
Sure enough, it took only a few minutes until suddenly Ty and I were walking together, and able to navigate our way back to the car. Ty seemed in high spirits. He was excited about meeting his father, and thrilled to have a weapon that could change into anything he wanted. He's always been more trusting than me, and more willing to take things at face value. But the last thing I would ever want to do would be to dampen his enthusiasm.
It looks like Forseti was right about one thing. Whether I like it or not, I'm stuck in this situation. If nothing else, I'm going to need to keep an eye on Ty and make sure that no one takes advantage of him.
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