The Best 13 Fantasy Stories In September 2022

This ebook contains the following stories and novels:

Mjöllnir's Theft (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

My Friend the Dwarf (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

The Souls of Two Kings (by Alfred Bekker)

Dway'lion the Magician (by Alfred Bekker)

Companions of Magic (by Alfred Bekker)

Descent into the Deep Part 1 and 2 (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

Time of the Werewolves (by Alfred Bekker)

Edro's Quest: Island of Despair (by Alfred Bekker & Hendrik M. Bekker)

Radswid and the Island of Despair (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

McGrath 1: Magical Investigations of All Kinds (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

McGrath 2: Thanatos (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

Demon Master (by Alfred Bekker)

Balthazar's Bazaar (by Hendrik M. Bekker)

Thor, Njörd greeted the god of thunderstorms and held out his hand. Thor grasped it, it felt strange. Firm and wet, like stones at the bottom of a lake. They reminded him of those silt-covered stones. I must warn you, the yotes know of your plan, Njörd explained. His face, still blurred at first, slowly began to take on more and more human features the longer he was separated from the sea.

My plan? replied Thor evasively. Njörd could not have known that Thor and some other gods were planning to go into battle against a large group of mountain giants. It was still too cold, but soon it would become warmer and the appropriate time would be there to decimate the Frost Giants. They were his arch-enemies, since time immemorial.

Mjölnir‘s theft

by Hendrik M. Bekker

He who steals from a god cannot hope for mercy....

Chapter 1: Theft

Rumbling thunder could be heard, hurrying ahead of him.

Thor, son of Odin, stood on his single-axle chariot, holding in both hands the reins of his monstrous billy goats, foaming at the mouth. They pulled him and his chariot over the clouds as over a solid road.

Slowly, the thick carpet of clouds in front of him cleared, revealing a view of craggy, steep cliffs and a rolling sea. The chariot sank lower and came to rest on solid ground at the edge of the cliffs, and Thor rode along the edge of the cliffs for a while before pulling on the reins and bringing the chariot to a stop.

You wanted to speak to me, Njörd? shouted Thor, facing the roaring cliffs. For a moment, only the roar of the waves answered him.

He clamped his thumbs behind Megingjarder, his wide belt studded with metal plates, which he always carried with him. It gave him power and strength, more than he possessed as a god alone. The water became even more turbulent and spray splashed Thor in the face. A great wave built up and sloshed over the cliffs, but before it could touch Thor, the water clenched in the form of a man and Njörd stood before him, a man over three paces tall, so that he was a hand's breadth taller than Thor. But unlike Thor, who was dressed in warm trousers and a laced shirt over which he wore his heavy warm coat, Njörd was naked. Not completely, because he was not a real man at all. He looked like a man made only of water. His skin was constantly in motion and the surface was always trembling slightly because of the constant strong north wind.

Thor, Njörd greeted the god of thunderstorms and held out his hand. Thor grasped it, it felt strange. Firm and wet, like stones at the bottom of a lake. They reminded him of those silt-covered stones. I must warn you, the yotes know of your plan, Njörd explained. His face, still blurred at first, slowly began to take on more and more human features the longer he was separated from the sea.

My plan? replied Thor evasively. Njörd could not have known that Thor and some other gods were planning to go into battle against a large group of mountain giants. It was still too cold, but soon it would become warmer and the appropriate time would be there to decimate the Frost Giants. They were his arch-enemies, since time immemorial.

––––––––

Thor, Thor? a voice asked. Thor opened his eyes wearily and looked around. He was sitting on a comfortable wooden chair in front of the fireplace of a small banquet hall. Around him, several other men of the human race were reclining on chairs or benches, sleeping off their intoxication.

Loki, a god like Thor, stood before him and it was his voice that had awakened him. It's time, you should gather the army of men so that we can go against the giants in a week, Loki reminded him why he was here.

You're right, Thor agreed with him, holding his grumbling skull. There might be much talk about the abilities of the gods, and much was true. But at some point it was too much for even a god.

Take your hammer in your hand, they'll be impressed by its glow and won't notice that a hungover god is speaking to them, Loki remarked pointedly.

Thor reached to his belt and wanted to take Mjölnir, but he reached into the void. It was not attached to his belt as usual. He looked around the floor of the hall. He was nowhere to be seen.

Where is he? he asked, addressing Loki. Loki had always been known to play tricks.

I don't have it, call it, Loki replied. Thor concentrated on the words that would bring his hammer to him by magic. But nothing happened. He could not sense him anywhere near him. It's gone, someone is hiding it from me, he stated. He fixed Loki with his eyes.

Don't look at me like that, I didn't do it, what use would I have for that thing? said Loki. Thor eyed him. The hammer conferred great magical abilities, just holding it in one's hands. Add to that the runes that had been carved into it, and it could shatter most armor with ease. Surely Loki wouldn't have stood here and played innocent then, though. He would have used him. Unless, it went through Thor's mind, he was up to one of his games.

Find out who has it, Thor barked at him. He had a stabbing headache.

Why me? You lost your toy, Loki replied. Thor, who had been walking slowly to the wide gate of the hall, followed by Loki, turned around. Because you, and I haven't told anyone this, but I saw you do it, stole Freya's cloak. You know she would tie you to a big rock and sink you in the sea if she found out? You have the cloak, so you can get to Asgard faster and ask around, Thor explained and pushed open the gate. Before him was a small settlement clinging to the side of a mountain. There were houses made of rough large stones, thick dark smoke poured from the chimneys. The whole thing was illuminated by the slowly rising sun.

Loki looked at Thor from the side for a moment, and Thor considered whether he would comply with the order. Then the corners of his mouth twitched and he pulled out of the leather backpack he was carrying a long coat that seemed to be made of feathers. They were dark large feathers. He threw the coat around himself and before it closed, it was already beginning to constrict. Within a split second, Loki now transformed into a mighty eagle that soared into the air and flew with impressive speed towards the horizon.

Thor watched him for a while, wondering if that was what Njörd had wanted to tell him. The meeting with the sea god had not been just a dream, it had happened some time ago. At that time, he had scornfully told Njörd that he was doing quite well himself and that the giants would never be intelligent enough to harm him. Was it them? Or was it Loki who wanted to play a game?

Sir? asked a voice cautiously beside him. It was Drötgr, a bearded man with the first gray strands in his bushy black beard. He always wore his head hair shaved, which is why he always shone with sweat in the face of battle. Is something not to your satisfaction?

He was a follower of Thor, Thor had visited the place many times and Drötgr had once seen him for the first time as a small boy. Since then, he had walked around with a small hammer-shaped amulet that he had carved from a piece of wood.

No, everything is fine. But we will have to delay our campaign against the Joten a little. There are things I have to do in Asgard, Thor explained. Drötgr nodded slowly. As you command, my lord.

Thor turned away from him and called loudly for Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir, the two billy goats that pulled his chariot. Thunder could be heard on the horizon. Some distance away, Thor could see rapidly approaching dark clouds, preceded by the two billy goats, which were larger than normal and seemed threatening even at a distance.

Thor wandered out, away from the dwellings of the people on a steep meadow, which seemed to be hardly overgrown. Slowly it had become darker, dense black clouds had pushed themselves before the sun, they followed Thor's wagon, wherever he went. The wagon sank lower and touched down on the ground quite a distance from Thor. Chunks of earth flew up as it did so, for he was going much too fast. His goats bleated, but it did not sound like normal goats. It sounded more like iron hitting iron. Hard, slightly crunching.

They slowed down as they approached him and began to run a luminous arc. A few meters in front of him, the car finally came to a stop.

Without another word, Thor stepped onto the wagon and grabbed the reins. As the chariot gained speed, he called out against the driving wind, To Asgard, and the goats answered with their strange call. Quickly the world beneath him grew smaller as he gained altitude and set off for the realm of his race, the Asgardians.

––––––––

Thor's chariot had just crossed the Rainbow Bridge that connected the worlds of Asgard and Midgard, when he felt the ring he wore on his left hand grow warm. Odin, his father, demanded his appearance with this signal. Without further ado he had to appear in the assembly hall of the Aesir. They met in Gladsheim. From the outside, the gigantic building already looked impressive, even though Thor had seen it countless times. But inside, the dome-shaped hall surpassed anything he had ever seen in the human world. The ceiling consisted of many hundreds of segments that resembled shields. But they were not made of iron or wood, as most shields were, but were all made of shimmering golden materials and decorated with patterns of small gems. Several hundred rubies formed runes that suppressed any form of magic except Odin's. It had been the custom since time immemorial that when there was something of great importance, the Aesir would gather here. It was neutral ground, for Odin was the only one here with power, and no one doubted his supremacy.

When Thor entered the hall, some others were already present, but he did not pay much attention to them. They sat at a long table, at the head of which stood a heavy, large stone grantite-colored throne, on which strange patterns and decorations could be seen. Thor knew they had meaning, but Odin had never told him what they were for. They shimmered silver, but in a way that seemed like liquid.

Thor stood next to Odin and went down on one knee.

Father, he greeted him, looking down at the ground in front of Odin. He knew that Odin must know about the disappearance of the hammer. Odin had once sacrificed an eye so that he could drink from a spring that gave him the ability of divination. Some rumored that he actually saw everything that was to happen, even what the end of the world would look like. But Thor thought that was an exaggeration. Odin had a stubbly chin and thick dark eyebrows. His shoulder-length hair was thin and more gray than black. Deep furrows crisscrossed his face, worry lines that had burned deep over the years.

My son, I see that you do not have Mjölnir with you, he said. Thor rose from the floor and nodded. He sat down at the table with Odin and the others.

Yes, Father, he was stolen from me. I have tried to call him with magic, but it does not work. Someone is preventing it. The thief must be powerful, one of the Aesir perhaps, he explained. He was uncomfortable. A god who lost his sacred weapon, a weapon that in the wrong hands could kill even a god.

I know, Odin stated. He didn't seem particularly worried. Rather exhausted and discontented, as he often was lately.  Loki came here. He was very excited.

Thor looked along the table and there he sat, talking with a bearded good-natured looking man, Balder. He was laughing and drinking from a horn.

He's sitting here having a good time? He, Thor began, but Odin interrupted him. He spoke barely louder than Thor, and yet the latter immediately fell silent at the sound of his father's voice.

He can do nothing for you, Odin explained. At Thor's questioning look, a smile flitted across the one-eyed man's bearded face. Over his sacrificed eye he wore a narrow golden plate in which was set an amber that looked almost like a mystical new eye. Thor knew it had no direct effect on his father's seer-like abilities. He suspected it was pure bravado.

What am I supposed to do now? blurted out Thor. Odin smiled furtively again. Sit down, he said. Be patient.

Thor reluctantly sat down and grabbed a chicken leg, which he chewed on but didn't really like. What did his father want? Had he caught a glimpse of his future?

While Thor sat there, the hustle and bustle at the table became more colorful. The conversations became louder and people toasted each other happily. Nobody paid much attention when the door to the hall was opened and someone hurried to the table with heavy steps. Only when Loki happened to look in that direction and cried out did attention turn to the intruder.

It was a jote, a giant a little more than four steps tall, wearing black armor. A broad sword, covered with runes, hung at his side and he had a helmet on, which was a demonic grimace. He stood by Odin's throne and removed the helmet. Then he nodded to the father of the gods.

Odin, Lord of Asgard, he greeted him. Odin nodded back. He knew the giant would not bow. The gods and giants had been at war for ages, and a nod was all the deference allowed.

I bring you news, the giant declared. My master, Thrym the Frost Giant, Lord of Jötuun Fortress, offers his greetings to you and your son. He has heard that your son has lost a toy. He would be willing to be of service with information about the place where your son lost it.

For what price? asked Thor contritely. He didn't know how Thrym had gotten the hammer, but he would make him pay for it. But without the hammer, he was no match for the giant.

For Freya's hand, the messenger clarified. He looked at Freya, who was sitting at the table farther away from Thor and was about to reply. But Odin interrupted her immediately: We will reconsider the offer and inform Thrym of our decision, he clarified. The giant nodded and put on his helmet. Meanwhile, he turned away and left the hall with quick steps.

How did he get into Asgard anyway? remarked Loki, who had joined Thor. Actually, if he's on foot, he'd have to get past Heimdall, who guards the only bridge to Mitgard.

There are magical ways and means, Odin explained. But that is none of your business, Loki.

He didn't trust Loki very much, because as often as he had served the gods well, he had also often played tricks on them.

There is no way I will marry a giant, Freya now stated. You can't force me to do that. She brushed a strand of her long blond hair out of her face. She wore a flowing white robe that always slid across the floor, but never got dirty.

They discussed for a while what to do. Thor was in favor of storming Thrym's fortress together with some other gods and killing him for the sacrilege. Odin held against it that thereby some gods would let their lives, since the hammer Thrym would give hardly to restrain forces. So the idea was soon discarded, because Odin was convinced of it and it was assumed that he had seen into the future.

After one or the other drinking horn full of mead, Loki suddenly stood up and began to laugh. He laughed so hard that tears were already running from the corners of his eyes and asked Freya for one of her dresses.

I congratulate you on finding your feminine side, she replied flippantly, but I think you lack the curves for one of my dresses.

Quite, lovely woman, but it is not for me, Loki replied and sat down again. I have an idea...

Chapter 2: Loki's plan

This is a bad idea, still, Thor stated. He stood in one of Freya's dresses in front of a large mirror set in wood and looked at himself. He looked like Freya, thanks to a spell Loki had cast on him. He did not know where Loki had learned it, but the latter had given him a bracelet with a red stone after a long search. After Freya had worn it and Thor now put it on, he began to look like the same to all bystanders. Loki explained that this effect would not last too long and they had to hurry, so Thor took it off again. Now he, the god of thunder, stood again in front of the mirror, in a woman's dress.

He shook his head.

It will work, Loki stated, standing next to him.

They boarded Thor's chariot and accompanied by thunder they drove towards Utgard, where Thrym's fortress was located. Vast rugged mountains rose below them, forming strange formations. The earth looked as if it had been torn up and filled in again several times, with unusual formations protruding from it. Again and again Thor thought he saw something that resembled a fortress in its outline, but he knew it was only imagination. Many of the giants' fortresses looked like part of the landscape from a distance, and much of what looked like a fortress was landscape. Waging war on their territory against them had always been complicated.

Their car was accompanied by dark thundering clouds.

Do you really think it was a good idea to take your car, Thor? asked Loki. He glanced nervously at the black clouds behind them.

How else would you and I get here so quickly? replied Thor simply, knowing that Loki would not retort. Of course, his chariot was by no means what one would have called inconspicuous, but hardly any mount or magic was faster than this chariot.

They were heading for a large mountain formation that looked as if a hole had been cut into the top of the mountain with a huge hammer so that its peak was hollow. As they got closer, it became clear that this was the courtyard of a gigantic fortress carved out of the mountain's crest. All along what was supposed to be the top of the mountain there were depressions and cave entrances, battlements and hatches. Some giants could be seen assembling or repairing catapults. Elsewhere, more delicate creatures could be seen, elves, Thor guessed. They were actually allies of him and his father, but individuals still kept making money off the giants.

He gave Loki the reins, because it would not be proper for Freya to steer the carriage herself. The carriage flew in an arc deeper and deeper into the large courtyard, where one could have gathered an army.

Impressive, isn't it? asked Loki. He had known the way, having been to this fortress before. Not when it belonged to Thrym, but still to his father. Loki, by his own admission, had done some minor business with him then. What that meant in concrete terms, no one knew and Loki refused to give information. He had always been the least reliable of the gods. He was primarily involved in most actions out of self-interest. Also this time Thor wondered why he helped them. Was it because he, Thor, was then in Loki's debt? Or did he have another reason to accompany him to this fortress of the giants. Thor had not been here before, this fortress was so far into the giants' territory that he had never made it this far in his attacks. He would be lost without Loki. He put on the bracelet so that he took on the appearance of Freya.

They landed in the castle courtyard, where a troop of twenty giants in heavy iron armor was already waiting for them. Their faces were bent behind helmets with demonic grimaces, similar to that of the messenger. They wore girded swords richly decorated with runes, and some also had magical symbols on their armor to make them more resilient. Thor wondered if that was why Loki had once been here. Loki was powerful of the runes, which could not be said of many. Painting on a rune and really knowing what made which runes work were different things. Whoever had improved the armor here was no novice, Thor realized.

Freya, daughter of Njörd, and Loki, Loki introduced Thor and himself. One of the giants, who seemed to be in front of the others, glared at them for a while. None of his soldiers moved meanwhile, then he abruptly nodded his demon paw and an alley formed for them.

Loki led Thor through this alley, smiling and offering Thor his arm. Hook up, Holde, he said with a grin. Thor stifled a retort and put on a smile as he walked down the alley between the soldiers, led by Loki. They were led into a large banquet hall that was gigantic yet tiny compared to the courtyard outside. Everything was adorned with gold and precious stones, elaborate sculptures of eternal, never-melting ice stood in the hall, depicting battles in which the giants had defeated the Aesir and other enemies. At a long table sat many giants in magnificent armor of bronze and gold colors. But also those with gray iron armor sat at the table. They were not wearing their helmets and Thor saw that many had scars and scratches, it seemed to be either a battle-hardened troop or perhaps scars were also some kind of status symbol.

Ah, Freya, boomed Thrym's voice, who had seen them and got up from the banquet table to join them. He smiled broadly and a satisfied grin tugged at his face. He had short black hair and a scar across his face, but it must have healed long ago. He wore matte black armor that was littered with silver runes. In addition, several fingernail-sized amber gems embedded in the armor formed a pattern on his torso, perhaps also representing a magical sign.

So have you decided to bend to my will? asked Thrym cockily. Restrained laughter could be heard from the banquet table, whose full attention the newcomers now had.

I was able to convince the mighty Aesir to bend to your will, Your Highness. I see you are still using the armor I made for your father. Where is he, if I may ask? replied Loki. A broad grin appeared on Thrym's face.

Dead, slain by me. He was weak, I can lead the giants better, he explained. Then let's have a wedding.

He looked at Thor in a strange, greedy way. Thor tried not to make a face and to remember that he had to look like Freya for the yote.

First we want to see the hammer, Loki Thrym interrupted. Some giants at the table had risen and rushed off to get everything ready.

I have it, you will get it after marriage, Thrym explained.

No, show him, Thor said. He looked Thrym straight in the eye. His look did not allow any compromise.

If you want, you can already see it, he explained, grinning as he pointed to a large ice sculpture that stood further down the hall. There in the eternal ice was the hammer encased in a figure that showed Thor kneeling before Thrym. The hammer was embedded in Thrym's chest and gleamed dully. Thor wanted to call it to him, but remembered that it had not worked before, Thrym must have cast a spell on the ice.

Well then, let's get down to business, Loki declared. He sat down next to the place where Thrym had sat at the table until recently, and Freya/Thor sat down with him. According to the old custom, the food was now handed to the future spouses, which they were to take traditionally.

Thor began to fill up profusely and gulped down, as was his way, before Loki could intervene.

Thrym frowned, surprised by the sudden appetite displayed by his so slender future wife.

She's been fasting for the last few weeks, Loki explained. Thor looked up and remembered the masquerade, so he began to eat less and slower.

As they ate, Thrym kept casting glances at his bride-to-be, spellbound by the beauty the spell produced.

Well, Loki raised his voice after a while. Don't you want to give your wife a bridal gift? It is quite an old custom among the Aesir to symbolically present the wife with the most valuable possession, as you surely know, Loki explained. Thor knew that this was fictitious and by no means a custom among all of them. But Thrym was so captivated by Freya's beauty that he merely nodded absently and strode to the ice sculpture. One of his faithful turned to him quietly. He did not seem to approve of putting the hammer into the hands of a goddess who was actually at enmity with the giants. But Thrym was dazzled by her beauty and ignored his insistent speech.

He walked to the ice sculpture and stroked it with his hand. Meanwhile, he muttered a word that Thor unfortunately did not understand. The sculpture steamed and the hammer melted out so that its handle stuck out and Thrym impatiently pulled it out. After that, the sculpture continued to steam until it regained its old shape and solidified again.

Thrym walked with the hammer to Freya, who had approached him a few meters.

Wilt thou, Freya, be my wife, loving and honoring me, as well as our covenant? Will you share with me all that is yours, as I share with you all that is mine? spoke Thrym. Thor nodded and grasped the hammer. A blue spark leapt from the handle to him, and Thor's magical disguise dissolved into thousands of tiny pieces, atomized as if by an invisible wind. The magic of the hammer was so great that no spell except Mjölnir's could affect Thor.

Treason, someone yelled from the banquet table, where some giants had already realized what was going on and jumped up. Those who were armed drew their swords. Thrym stood in disbelief before Thor, his eyes widened in horror. Thor lunged for a sideways blow that would have knocked the giant over had he not dodged backward at the last moment. He was still quite a bit taller than Thor, so Thor now concentrated his strength and aimed the hammer at Thrym. Lightning shot out of it and covered Thrym's body with the power of the sky. He cried out, but the armor began to glow and seemed to absorb some of the lightning. The runes flared brightly. Thrym stood before Thor with his face burned, only where he had had no armor did the lightning seem to have caused him any pain at all!

Thor looked angrily at Loki, who had not told him how powerful these armors were. Loki, however, had disappeared. Where he had been sitting just a moment ago, all that could be seen was a great giant eating something with relish and waving at Thor. Loki must have created a magical illusion. The other giants were no longer at the table but had surrounded Thrym and Thor.

He's mine! roared Thrym, his face contorted in pain, and they held back. Thrym drew his broad sword and slashed with it at Thor, who parried it again and again. Thrym put so much power and fury into the blows that Thor had trouble blocking some of them.

Thor ducked away under a blow that Thrym had led and struck with so much force that he was slightly off balance. Thor struck at the giant's knee with all his might and with magical reinforcement, so that Mjölnir glowed dark red and hot. The knee joint cracked along with the armor and his leg buckled at an unnatural angle. Thrym roared and collapsed to his knee, so that he was now about eye level with Thor. The latter lunged for a blow, which Thrym blocked, but Thor sensed that the giant's strength was failing him.

Let it be a lesson to you, no one has the right to steal from a god, Thor said in a rage and fetched a horizontal blow. The hammer struck Thrym's head, shattering it. With a mark of Mjölnir on his temple, from which blood oozed, Thrym crashed to the ground.

Already when he had lunged, some giants had stepped out of the circle with lunging steps and run towards Thor. Now he was attacked by four giants at once. He ducked under a vertical blow from a giant in dark red armor and jumped on the chest of another. With all his might, he pushed off the breastplate of another giant, causing it to stumble, and Thor was able to backflip onto the shoulders of another giant. He hit this one in the face with his hammer, so that only a pulpy mass remained of the coarse facial features.

Thor could see several giants out of the corner of his eye leaving the hall, while he jumped from the shoulders of the falling one and landed between the legs of another. He also hit this one's knee joint and dodged to the side to avoid being buried by the falling giant. Another managed to grab his arm, which he used to hold his hammer. With all the magic he could gather, Thor sent lightning flashing along his arm toward the giant's arm. The giant's armor began to glow like Thrym's and absorb the lightning, but like Thrym's, the giant's face began to burn, causing him to cry out in pain and let go of Thor.

He whirled around and knocked the giant, who was grabbing his face with his hand and still screaming, so that he fell on his back and continued to writhe in pain.

Thor looked around, more giants were coming into the hall through all possible entrances and obviously wanted to attack him. Too many, even for him. Especially too many in these strange armors that Loki had apparently made for them. He looked around and Loki was no longer to be seen.

Thor took a running start and jumped with his boot into the face of a giant who came through the main portal. While he toppled over, off balance, Thor leapt further out into the gigantic square where his chariot still stood. Giants rushed into the square, but only a few stood close enough to Thor that they could attack him. He hurled at several lightning bolts, and dodged a few blows until he was at his chariot. He jumped on the chariot and without a word, his bucks ran off, straight into the sky. A dark storm cloud formed around the chariot, hiding them so that none of the arrows fired by the giants hit.

Thor looked contentedly at the hammer in his hands and steered the wagon toward Midgard.

There was a campaign to prepare against the giants....

My friend the dwarf

by Hendrik M. Bekker

You're going to stay late tonight, fifteen minutes for every minute you were late, Herman Rilisky nagged at me. He ran the museum where I was spending my internship. Whereby worked off was perhaps more appropriate. Actually, it had been a great idea, at least as long as it wasn't a reality. You have to do a school-based internship to get experience in the real working world, you have no real school for a month, no homework. Sounded great. Okay, finding a job was already harder, because what choice is there for a young, rather comfortable guy interested in history, where you could do an internship. Somehow I ended up at the museum, a buddy of a friend of my aunt had helped me, but maybe some other relative was involved, I don't know.

Anyway, I was late again today, I had overslept and was now allowed to work four hours longer, that much I could already count in my head.

I worked more or less as a girl for everything, I was cleaner, things-pusher and actually there for everything that came up.

I spent the next few hours doing what the cleaners somehow never quite managed to do, which was wipe the place clean. I admit I'm not a very tidy person myself, but Rilisky could make you like changing his character. He was something over 60, certainly not long from retirement and had little to do with history, he was what I would call a flawless bureaucrat and bean counter. Whatever he lacked in human terms, he made up for with his organizational skills. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't still be the head of this institution. As the light of the setting Monday sun slowly dimmed behind the windows, I finally arrived in the rearmost section of the six upper areas. Dark Middle Ages. Here was everything from armor and swords to church ornaments, such as gargoyles and other devil grimaces meant to keep demons away. Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder and I took my headphones out of my ear.

Heard it already, you're going to have to work late, chirped a voice that made my guts tighten. Alina Rose, nephew of Rilisky and in my grade. We had applied here independently, there was no other way to explain that we were both here. She detested me and especially my best friend, whom she called a disgusting fat sack. She herself was the prototype of a doll. Bright face, hydrogen blonde hair, and makeup that just invited jokes. However, she herself belonged to the high society in my level, at least this group described itself as very elitist. What was elitist about overpriced brand-name clothing and discriminatory behavior had never quite made sense to me.

Well, shit happens, I replied, again looking demonstratively in the direction of my mop until she turned away. She would have loved to tease me, because she knew exactly that I couldn't even begin to let loose the usual verbal attacks as usual, after all she could make sure via Rilisky that my internship evaluation turned out very, very, very bad. And I didn't want to begrudge her that.

She glared at me for a moment, then turned away and I could hear her every step away from me for the next few minutes as her spiked heel boots clicked loudly, very loudly.

A little later, I was almost finished, Rilisky came by again. He said that since there was still some of the time to be worked off, I could devote myself to tidying up the cellar rooms, which I would spend the next few days doing anyway.

Contrary to Rilisky's hope, I was actually really grateful for it, because the basement rooms were always fascinating for me, there I felt again like a three-year-old discovering the world. There were heaps of exhibits there.

Soon I was dusting off one item after another in the basement and neatly putting them away in boxes, then usually putting the boxes on shelves.

Most of the things here were already well packed, but even if I had broken something, someone probably wouldn't have noticed it for years, because nobody seemed to be interested in the things here anymore.

I, however, had my fun with flintlock rifle replicas, broken-blade swords, daggers, and old folios, though most were no more than 80 years old or replicas. The really old pieces were far better packed and in a different room than the one I was in.

At some point I found a copy of a book of local legends and myths that was well written, and slowly began to read it. Something about a demon that had been banished in a large, cube-shaped rock. What interested me most about it was that I had seen a large, cube-shaped boulder down here before. I went to the back of the room and found the rock I was looking for. There was a single H-shaped rune engraved on it.

I wrote a note in my cell phone to ask Steven, one of the museum guides, the next day what the stone was all about. Just as I turned away, my watch beeped. Midnight. Damn, I had mercilessly missed my closing time, and I would never get credit for the overtime. Great.

Something hummed behind me. I looked around. It had something of a resonance, like some electrical devices. While I was looking around, my eyes fell on the stone. It seemed strange, its surface seemed liquid. I blinked, it must be the light down here, my eyes seemed to be playing tricks on me.

Then something happened that made me cry out loud. A hand came out. I stumbled backwards and pulled down some objects in the process. I guess one of them then brought me down and I hit my head hard on the stone floor. It went dark around me.

Hey, kid, are you okay? mumbled a voice I didn't know. I cautiously opened one eye, slowly remembering what had happened. A bearded face was bent over me, looking at me curiously and somehow nervously.

Yes, thank you, I..., I began, but then I recoiled. The bearded face sat on a body that was no more than five feet tall. Broad-shouldered and in a leather