"I don't know if Ragnarok can be stopped," he muttered when Kevan had finished. "But maybe we can find out. I've long had a suspicion...." He walked over to one of the tunnels leading from where they stood. "Fialer," he bellowed at the top of his voice. "Galar!" There was a distant answering shout and Alviss came back to where Kevan stood. "If anybody will know," he said, "it will be Fialer and Galar. They're the two who killed Kvaser, the god who knew all answers. You may remember hearing of the mead which they made of Kvaser's blood and honey, one draught of which would create a great poet." "I'm afraid I never heard of it," confessed Kevan, at a total loss. "Never mind," said Alviss. He stopped as two white-bearded dwarfs came running into the chamber. He reached out and grabbed each of them by the beard before the startled dwarfs had any idea of what was happening. "Remember when the two of you killed Kvaser?" he asked. "Hey, that's old stuff," one of the dwarfs said. "It's not fair dragging it up now." "Besides," said the other, "the statute of limitations has run out." "I don't care about that," growled Alviss. "I've always had a hunch that before you made the mead, one or both of you drank his blood straight and gained his power of all knowledge. I want to know if that's true and I'm going to find out or I'll knock your heads together until there's an earthquake up above." * * * * * For a minute the two dwarfs met Alviss' gaze, but one of them finally weakened. "It was him," he said, jerking a thumb in the direction of his companion. "Is that true, Fialer?" Alviss asked. "Yes," the dwarf gulped. "But--" "I don't care about the reason," snapped Alviss. "Ragnarok has started and I want to know if there's any way it can be stopped?" "Yes," said the dwarf. "How?" "A special brew of the same forces which permitted Loki and his children to escape will imprison them again," said Fialer. "I can write out the prescription for you in a few minutes." "All right," said Alviss. "Get busy and write it out. Galar, you get going. I want every available gnome, dwarf, fairy, leprechaun, brownie--in short, everyone here as quickly as they can make it. As for you," he added, whirling on Kevan, "you get over in the corner and stay out of the way until I'm ready for you."