Utgard-Loki seated us on opposite sides of the trencher. The general idea was that we should eat from the trencher as fast as we could, and when we ran out of meat we’d see who had made the most progress.

Well, it started out all right. Thialfi and Roskva were cheering. I just got my head down and ate as fast as I possibly could. I couldn’t ever remember a time when I’d been as hungry, and Logi – whatever his name was – had presumably not missed any meals.

I only raised my head when I met the guy in the middle, and for a moment it looked as if the race had been a dead heat. Then Utgard-Loki pointed out that, although I’d eaten the meat from the bones, Logi had eaten the bones as well – and most of the trencher.

‘Nice try, loser,’ Logi said, and slouched back to his table.

Thialfi and Roskva hung their heads.

I gave Utgard-Loki a look. I really didn’t like the guy. It wasn’t just that manner of his, or the fact that he shared one of my names, there was something about him that wasn’t right; something in his colours. I tried to see them properly, using the rune Bjarkán, but the hall was so full of reflections from the giants’ polished shields that I couldn’t be sure of anything. One thing I did know – he was tricky. Tricky, and maybe dangerous.

The giant king looked at Thialfi. ‘You look like one of the Folk,’ he said. ‘Is there something you can do that might be entertaining?’

‘I can run,’ said Thialfi. ‘Back home, I’ve never been beaten.’

Utgard-Loki looked sceptical. ‘All right,’ he said at last. ‘A race! We’ll try you against young Hugi.’ He beckoned to one of the younger giants who had been watching. ‘Let’s go outside and see who wins.’

There was a long, broad strip of grass right behind Utgard-Loki’s hall. ‘This is where we play sports,’ said the king. ‘Let’s see what this young man can do.’

The race was in three stages. During the first stage, Thialfi ran well, but Hugi reached the end of the track in time to turn and welcome him.

‘Not bad,’ said Utgard-Loki. ‘Now you’ve had a chance to see Hugi run, perhaps you’ll make an effort next time.’

The second time, Thialfi sprinted even faster. I could see the effort in his face; his feet barely seemed to touch the ground. And yet Hugi ran faster; this time he reached the end of the track and waved at Thialfi as he approached.

Utgard-Loki smiled. ‘That’s not bad for one of the Folk. But I think you’ll have to do something quite special this time if you want to match Hugi.’