The recently freed Malekith the Accursed is wreaking vengeance on his own people, the Dark Elves, for abandoning him. The Dark Elf Queen Alfyse and her court take refuge with the dwarves in Nidavellir, leading to some cultural squabbles. Meanwhile, the Dark Elf champion Sir Wormsong is facing Malekith in a sword duel on fallen tree bridging a pit full of ravening wild dogs. Wormsong is the more accomplished swordsman but Malekith is the greater sorcerer so he slices the log in two, dropping his opponent among the beasts while he hovers in the air—and laughs…..
In Asgardia, Thor is ready to lead his warriors against the when he is halted by All-Mother Freyja and Volstagg. They tell him that a force of solely Asgardian warriors would be seen as an illegal incursion; as a result Thor will lead the League of Realms, a force made up of a representative from each of the races in the Nine Worlds. They are Sir Ivory Honeyshot of the Light Elves, Screwbeard of the Dwarves, Oggmunder of the Mountain Giants, and Ud the Troll. They are joined by Lady Waziria of the Dark Elves (the woman whose arm was cut off by Malekith last issue); she uses sorcery to weld a tree branch on as a replacement for her lost limb and insists on joining the team. Queen Alfyse has requested their protection. The League heads to Nidavellir and Thor breaks down the gate to discover that the Dark Elves are already inside. Malekith stabs Thor in the back and the fight is on. The two elven heroes battle bravely while the Troll declines to fight anyone but Malekith, the giant does what he can by reaching through the window, and the Dwarf searches for explosives. Soon the place goes up in a massive explosion and Malekith is seen to have escaped. A search turns up the headless corpses of the Queen and her entourage. Disgust leads the warriors to threaten to split up and go off to battle alone but Thor holds them to their oath: "We ride until Malekith is dead. Or we are."