‘Well, we can’t force our way in,’ I said. ‘But size isn’t always everything.’ And I slipped through the iron bars of the gate and beckoned the others to do the same. The youngsters followed me easily, but Thor, who was bigger and broader, had to force two of the wrought-iron panels apart before setting foot in the city.

He made his way to the largest hall, a building hewn from massive chunks of white rock, with a door of whole oak trunks, iron-bound. The door was open; looking through we saw an assembly of giants: men and women; old and young; sitting around huge tables; lounging on benches; drinking and making merry. Their shields were positioned neatly all around the hall; the polished surfaces reflecting the light from a thousand candles.

One giant sat alone on a higher seat than the rest.

‘That must be Utgard-Loki,’ I said.

We entered. It took some time for the giants to notice our presence. Then they began to smile, then laugh. Thor squared his jaw aggressively.

‘What’s funny?’ he demanded.

The giants only laughed some more. Thor gritted his teeth and ignored them, making his way down the long hall to the throne of Utgard-Loki.

‘Greetings, Utgard-Loki . . .’ he began.

‘I know who you are,’ said the king. ‘News travels quickly in World Beyond. I’m guessing you’re Thor, the Thunderer. You know, I thought you’d be taller?’

Thor made an inarticulate sound.

‘Still, size isn’t everything,’ went on the king. ‘Perhaps you have skills we don’t know about. We don’t usually allow people to stay here unless they’re the best at something. What skills do you and your friends possess? Let’s have a demonstration.’

By then I was totally ravenous. Skrymir had taken most of our food, and there had been nothing to eat on the way except for a few handfuls of cloudberries. In fact, I realized, my last decent meal had been that goat stew, days ago.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘I have a skill. I bet I can eat faster than any man in this hall.’

The giant king gave me a look. ‘You think?’ he said.

‘I can certainly try.’

I reckoned that this way, at least, I would get to eat something.

And so the giants brought a long trencher of roast meat to a table. It smelt so good I could barely restrain myself from throwing myself headlong into it.

‘Logi!’ called the giant king, addressing a giant sitting at the back of the hall. ‘Why don’t you take the challenge?’

I looked at Logi, and for a moment I thought he looked familiar. Something about his colours, perhaps; a fleeting glimpse of Chaos.

Then I shrugged. So what? I thought. He wasn’t so big. I was sure I could take him.