As the Asas came near, she greeted them with shrill laughter, and asked them if it was dull in Asgard that they came thither to her iron wood. But they answered that they came not for gibes but for tears, that Balder might be saved. Then she laughed louder and cried: "Is Balder dead? And do ye come for tears? Weep him all other things, if weep they will: I weep him not! let Hela keep her prey." And with these mocking words she fled to the dark recesses of her cave, repeating again and again: "Neither in life, nor yet in death, Gave he me gladness. Let Hela keep her prey." Heavy were the steps with which Hermod returned to Asgard, and when they had heard the news of how one creature had refused her tears, the eager faces of the Asa folk grew dark with woe, for they knew that never more would they see Balder--Balder the Beautiful. But the future days brought peace to the tormented soul of Hoder, the innocent cause of all their grief. For there was born to Odin a child who grew to his full size within a few short hours. And on the first day that he arrived in Asgard he fared forth with bow and arrow, and one of his shafts found mark in the heart of Hoder. And so, from henceforth, the blind god and his twin-brother are together in the realms of Hela. CHAPTER XIV How Loki was Punished at Last _This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Red Loki was punished at last for his sins._ When the Asas knew that it was Loki, disguised as Thok, the giant-woman, who had refused to shed the tears that would have won Balder's release, they determined to bear with his presence in Asgard no longer. So with many a hard word and ugly look they drove him forth, bidding him never enter those gates again. But the Asa folk were still sad and heavy of heart: for at every moment the gloom that lay over the city reminded them of the loss of their bright young Balder. Ægir, god of the sea, saw their forlorn condition, and he prepared a great banquet in the caves of coral that lie underneath the sea, and bade all the Asas attend it as his guests. "That though for Balder every guest Was grieving yet, He might forget Awhile his woe in friendly feast." The invitation was pleasing to the gods, and on the day appointed they came, attired in their richest cloaks of silk and satin, green and blue and yellow and purple, by a path through the waters whereby they reached the coral caves of the Sea-god. Very beautiful were these caves. The walls and ceilings were carved with the most delicate fret-work of pink and cream and white, and a faint green light shone into them from the ocean without. The floor was covered with the finest silver sand, encrusted with beautiful sea-shells, and the flowers with which the tables were adorned were feathery sea-weeds and glowing sea-anemones. In the midst of the floor was a mass of gold, so bright that it lighted up the whole place as though with fire.