Intellectual Curiosities

The house was more manor than modest dwelling, situated on a substantial plot in the prestigious Hamptons. Once inside the luxurious manor Sebastian introduced Arthur to Harald Axelson. At once Arthur understood Sebastian’s quip about Harald’s ancestry. The Norwegian seemed to resemble the Viking stereotype, standing an imposing 6’6” with broad powerful shoulders and a thick chest. He kept his lengthy blond hair pulled back and the beard and moustache on his youthful face were kept short and neat, bright blue eyes. His hand positively swallowed Arthur’s and even Vickers appeared diminished in the presence of Harald.

“It is good to meet you sir,” said Harald, voice holding a slight accent.

“And you Harald,” Arthur replied, allowing the big man to release him before pulling his hand back. He couldn’t imagine any form of physical threat that could possibly intimidate this man mountain.

Once Arthur had situated his luggage and gotten settled, he joined Sebastian and Harald in the parlor.

The huge Viking sat on one of the leather bound chairs, a clasped wooden case on his lap.

“Share with Arthur what you told me when you arrived Harald,” urged Sebastian.

Harald nodded. “We were on the fringe of Borre Park outside of Horten in Vestfold County with permission to examine a recent burial mound found there. At first we thought we had perhaps stumbled upon one of the local king’s tombs dating from the late Merovingian period, but instead it appears to have been a much older site containing the remains of a vp5;lva, or wise woman. There were many treasures, but one above all others caught my attention,” he said, lifting the case a few inches off of his lap. “‘Brisingamen’.”

“What made you think that you’d uncovered Freya’s necklace?” asked Vickers.

“As soon as I touched it I realized it was something transcendent, so much more than it appeared. Ever since I touched it, I have had the dreams every night,” explained Harald.

“Sebastian mentioned that, what kind of dreams?” Arthur asked, leaning forward in his own chair.

“It is the same dream or fragment of the dream. I am walking through a forest buried in the snow, a sword in left hand an axe in my right. I am covered in blood and the sky grows dark. There is something following me, crashing through the forest, something large, like Fenrir, but I can never turn to see what it is. Each night it is the same.”

“That’s very vivid,” nodded Arthur, it didn’t require much imagination for him to visualize Harald with a great axe in one hand and sword in the other wreaking havoc. “Did anyone else touch it?”

Harald nodded, “But no one else has had the dream, only me. That’s when I tried to contact my superior for direction, I thought maybe I had activated some latent spell or magic.”

“Prudent,” commented Sebastian with a nod, looking at Arthur then back to Harald.

“May I see it?” Arthur asked, extending his hand toward Harald.

Harald got up and handed the case to Arthur, who settled it on his lap and unfastened the clasp. Opening the lid, he felt his breath catch in his throat as the hairs on his neck stood upright. The necklace was a collection of white colored luminescent stones woven together with threads of gold attached to an ornately carved golden semi-circle. Arthur could feel power emanating from the stones as they scintillated. “Jesus,” he mumbled before closing the case and looking over to Sebastian.

The portly man smiled. “Impressive piece of jewelry, predating Hardrada by centuries,” he commented.

“Truly,” acknowledged Arthur, holding the case back toward Harald. “I will examine you later to see if there is any malignant magic attached to you, but for the moment could you give us some privacy?”

Harald retrieved the case and bowed in acquiescence before leaving the parlor.

“He’s a good chap,” said Vickers after the huge man had departed.

“Very unusual adornment,” remarked Arthur, nodding slowly. “But nothing compared to what I’ve got,” he added, tone borderline gleeful.

“I did look at him earlier, to see if anything might have attached itself to him, but I found nothing,” added the bigger man.

“I’ll look anyway, couldn’t hurt to be too careful, especially given our recent circumstances,” stated Arthur, eyes darting over to the desk.

“True enough, but now I want to see your mystery book you’ve been on about,” said Sebastian rising to his chair and rubbing his big hands together in anticipation.

“It’s on the bureau,” Arthur said climbing up out of his own chair, slender arm pointing to the wrapped parcel atop the desk.

Walking over to the fancy hand-carved piece of furniture, the tome sat atop the surface, wrapped in a protective cloth. Arthur carefully unfolded the cloth to reveal the prize concealed within.

“You found that in Ankara?” asked the rotund man, leaning in closer to get a better look, frowning, disappointment on his rounded face. “Given all you made it out to be, seems rather unremarkable,” he commented.

Arthur, never one prone to emotional display, appeared positively giddy. Removing a pair of gloves from the front pocket in his trousers, he carefully opened the cover of the book revealing some of the faded script scrawled on the first page.

“It looks like some type of bastardized Enochian script or some derivative,” advised Sebastian, scrutinizing the markings.

“You recognize it?” Arthur asked.

Sebastian nodded, “It looks very similar to Enochian,” he said.

Arthur suddenly frowned. “Dee and Kelley’s angelic writing? I’m certain Laycock debunked it as rubbish so I discounted the notion.”

“It possess similar characteristics, though this looks older by a fair margin. I’m certainly no expert on the subject, but I do know someone who is though,” he offered. “If you’re amenable?”

“If it will help me get to the root of this mystery, then by all means,” answered the smaller man, hoping for any type of insight that might help him decode the script.