Welcome to CHAPTER 56 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.Vidar, Garilon, and the war band with them tracked the Jotunn warband into the mines beneath the mountains near the town of Hals which had been sacked. He was expecting to find their secret staging ground for that attack.What Vidar is doing is part of the larger mystery — for the Aesir — of how the Jotunn got to Hals in the first place as that town is way on the other side of Asgard from where Utgard connects. That’s why Odin and Frigg and the others focused in on the trade route that runs from Jotunheim, the main city in Utgard, to Ifington (which is where Hodr is) and then to Gladsheim, the main city in Asgard. That route is hundreds of miles long and runs through populated areas.Readers know, from the conversations between Skrymir and Loki, and Skrymir and Vafthrudnir, how the Jotunn got to Hals — through a doorway. Readers have also seen what those doorways look like, through Vafthrudnir and that attack on the snow bear nest.So in this chapter, Vidar catches up to where everybody else is. Let’s get started.1