YOU’D HAVE THOUGHT that after that close shave, the folk of Asgard might have been a little more careful with their affections. But love was in the air that year, perhaps because of Idun’s return, and suddenly it seemed that all the gods were thinking of marriage. That was fine by me, of course. Marriage means discord, generally, and Discord is my middle name. It’s so much easier to stir up trouble between a married couple than between single, healthier types.

Take Frey, for instance. After having lavished him with gifts from the Tunnel Folk – and at considerable personal risk – I’d expected at least a word of thanks. Not so – he’d accepted them as no more than his due, which made me feel that perhaps he deserved a little lesson in gratitude.

I had been lying low for a while, trying to live down my new-found celebrity. It was all very well being famous, I thought, but my reputation had grown so fast that it was starting to hinder me. Trickery and subterfuge are best performed in stealth, I find, and the new, high-profile Trickster was finding it hard to go unseen. The Folk of the Middle Worlds were the worst, pointing at me as I went by, trying to get me to tell jokes, asking me to sign my name on amulets, weapons and pieces of rock. I found that the only way to prevent rioting wherever I went was to adopt a disguise – a hat, a cloak, another Aspect – which, apart from being tiresome, made my ongoing, secret quest for allies against the General all the more difficult to pursue.

Besides, my own list of enemies was growing daily. The Ice Folk still blamed me for Thiassi’s death. I could expect no help from them – or mercy, if they caught me. The same was true of the Rock Folk and the Maggots – not to mention Chaos, of course. I decided to suspend my activities abroad until my notoriety had abated, and to concentrate on the simpler task of undermining the gods, one by one. I’d already scored a few decent points, but my methods were opportunistic, rather than part of a plan, which was one of the reasons I’d managed to stay so far ahead of the game. I’d drawn on my new-found knowledge of weaknesses and emotions and come to the conclusion that, although greed, fear and jealousy are powerful motivators, there’s an even greater one. Love.