The Sage Stone Prophecy (Arkana Archaeology Adventure Series Book 7)

by N. S. Wikarski

  “I seem to recall reading that a few Saami languages are completely extinct and several more are endangered,” Griffin said.

  “That is so.” Lars sighed. “The governments are not mistreating the tribes anymore but nowadays the problem is mining and logging. Often there is a profit to be made from the lands where the Saami graze their herds.”

  “Yeah, we’ve heard that story before,” Cassie noted gloomily. “From all over the planet.”

  “I suppose we should be grateful that modern overlords aren’t quite as barbaric as their predecessors.” Griffin’s tone was sarcastic. “Ancient overlords would simply have slaughtered the people and taken their land.”

  “There’s no need to resort to violence in this day and age,” Daniel said. “Now interlopers can accomplish the same thing with the stroke of a pen instead of a battle-axe.”

  His offhand comment made both Cassie and Griffin glance at one another in surprise. Neither one chose to point out the overlord tendencies of Daniel’s own cult.

  Just then, a snow-capped mountain loomed into view on the opposite side of the lake. “What’s that?” Cassie cried abruptly, pointing out the window.

  “That is Ahkka Mountain,” Lars informed her. “She is also called the ‘Queen of Lapland’. The word ‘Ahkka’ means both ‘old woman’ and ‘goddess’ in the Lule Saami language.”

  “I suppose that tells me who the supreme deity of the Saami is,” Daniel said.

  “Yes,” the guide agreed. “They say Grandmother Ahkka created everything. Of course there are many other goddesses and gods in Saami belief too.”

  “The Saami religion is animistic with a reverence for the spiritual energies of all life,” Griffin said. “In that respect, it’s quite similar to the philosophy of Japanese Shinto.”

  “This is impossible!” Daniel broke in.

  “What is?” Cassie asked.

  “Look at the size of that mountain. It keeps getting bigger the closer we get.”

  “Ahkka isn’t a single mountain,” Griffin told him. “I’ve done some additional research and discovered that it’s a massif with twelve peaks and ten glaciers. The range contains the eighth and ninth tallest peaks in Sweden at roughly 6,500 feet. Its highest peak also has the steepest vertical drop. The distance to the lake below is over 5,200 feet.”

  Daniel turned around in his seat to stare at the Scrivener. “Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

  “You must not fret, Mister Daniel,” Lars said soothingly. “We will go first to Stortoppen. That is the tallest peak and there is a special place high up where we may find what you are seeking right away.”

  The Scion frowned, apparently not convinced that the Queen of Lapland would reveal her secrets quite so easily.

  They drove on until the van was directly in line with the mountain. With each succeeding mile, Cassie’s smile broadened.

  Griffin noticed her expression. “Are you sensing something?”

  “Bigtime. The Minoans were here. I’m sure of it.”

  “That’s something, I suppose,” Daniel grumped.

  A few minutes later, they arrived in the small village of Ritsem which was little more than a supply station for tourists.

  Lars unexpectedly pulled the minivan into a gravel parking space next to the water. “We are here,” he announced happily. “Everybody out.”

  They exited the van and stood contemplating their whereabouts with some confusion.

  “I thought you said we were going to drive to the mountain,” the Scion commented. “It’s across the lake.”

  “We cannot drive to Ahkka Mountain,” Lars said. “There are no roads in Stora Sjofallet National Park.”

  “What!” Cassie and Daniel both exclaimed in unison.

  “Do you expect us to hike?” the Pythia asked in disbelief. “It looks like it would take days to reach the top of that mountain from here.”

  “Oh, yes,” Lars assented. “It would take days of walking and climbing.”

  “Then how are we supposed to get there?” Daniel’s voice held a note of desperation.

  Griffin turned the Scion around so he was facing a helicopter sitting on a tiny asphalt pad a short distance up the shore. “I believe Lars intends us to fly.”

  Chapter 39—Artifact Retrieval On A Large Scale

  Daniel and Cassie gawked at the helicopter positioned a short distance away from their vehicle. Lars had already gone ahead to speak to the pilot.

  “Flying to the top of the mountain certainly makes the most sense,” the Scion admitted.

  The trio unloaded their gear, stocking fresh bottles of water from the picnic basket.

  “Lars must spend a lot of time in caves studying rock art.” Cassie held up a flashlight from among several scattered in the cargo area of the minivan. “Do you think we should bring these?”

  “If past experience is any indication, I imagine so,” Griffin advised.

  The Pythia distributed lights to her colleagues.

  The Scrivener studied the mountain’s snow-capped peaks. “I’d also recommend another layer of clothing. It’s going to be cold up there.”

  “After Mount Kailash, this little hill will be a piece of cake,” Cassie countered.

  “A frosted piece of cake, nonetheless. Even in mid-summer, the temperature at that altitude will be barely above freezing.” Griffin donned a sweater followed by a lightweight jacket.

  The Pythia removed a cardigan from her pack and slipped it on underneath her windbreaker.

  Daniel swatted at his neck. “I hope the mosquitos won’t be this bad away from the shore.”

  “Here’s some bug spray just in case.” The Pythia tossed him a small bottle.

  After dousing his clothing, Daniel tucked the spray into his own pack.

  By this time, Lars came jogging back to join his companions. “The pilot is ready to go when we are.” He quickly loaded his own backpack with necessary items, grabbed an LED camping lantern, and locked the van.

  Cassie regarded the chopper quizzically. “Does the pilot just hang around here like an air taxi waiting for fares?”

  “Oh, no,” Lars said. “I had to call to make special arrangements. His company has many helicopters that carry hikers and fishermen during the summer season. They land and take off in marked places in the mountains so people know where to wait. But where we are going...” He faltered, searching for the right idiomatic words. “It is off the beaten path, as you would say.”

  They ducked down under the chopper’s blades and climbed into the cabin which was big enough to seat six passengers plus the pilot.

  “Everybody, this is Einar.” Lars introduced the pilot who tipped the brim of his cap and smiled.

  Cassie and Griffin were experienced helicopter passengers thanks to their Botswana trip but Daniel needed coaching on the proper use of seatbelts and headsets. Once they’d gotten him squared away, the chopper lifted off.

  It rose over the sparkling waters of Akkajaure and crossed the lake, moving in a slow arc toward the southwest. The view ahead consisted of a series of low rounded peaks attesting to the great age of the mountains in the region. Lars told them they were traversing four national parks which adjoined one other. The area was called Laponia—the largest remaining tract of unspoiled nature in all of Europe. In the summer, hikers flocked to the parks to trek the “last wilderness.” In the winter, snow sport enthusiasts hauled their gear to the tops of the mountains in order to ski down the glaciers. There were no roads through the park lands and only a few cabins for shelter. Camping in Laponia was strictly a rustic affair.

  As the chopper reached the opposite shore of the lake, Daniel craned his neck to catch a glimpse of something below. “What is that?” he asked.

  Cassie looked out the window in time to see a lumpy brown object hurtling through the forest at breakneck speed.

  “Is that a bear?” the Scion demanded in a shocked tone.

  “Oh, yes,” Lars said matter-of-factly. “A brown bear. There a
re many of them in the parks. We are still flying low and so maybe we scared it.”

  “You didn’t say we’d have to defend ourselves against wild animal attacks,” Daniel accused.

  Their guide grinned. “You do not bother them and they will not bother you. Besides, there are none where we are going today. Too high up. Nothing for them to eat.”

  “Except us!” the Scion retorted.

  “You worry too much, Mister Daniel.” Lars patted him on the shoulder.

  The Scion crossed him arms and lapsed into a fretful silence.

  The terrain changed gradually as they rose to higher elevations. The clumps of trees which had been plentiful along the water’s edge thinned out. Eventually, only a lone sapling here or there clung to the mountain slopes. Lars informed them that birch was the only tree capable of surviving at high altitudes but even these spindly specimens finally gave way to an undergrowth of low-lying shrubs which their guide called “alpine heath.”

  The helicopter continued its climb up the face of Ahkka Mountain until they were so high above sea level that nothing would grow at all. The ground was covered by shards of loose rock which would have been a challenge to navigate even for experienced hikers. They could see a dusting of snow on the tallest peaks and on the glaciers which appeared as rivers of ice running down broad ravines.

  Much to everyone’s surprise, the pilot lifted the helicopter above the mountain’s crest and kept on going. He didn’t begin to make his descent until they had cleared the peak. Cassie glanced out the window to see a plateau of green heath below them which she assumed would be their makeshift landing pad.

  The chopper touched down long enough to allow its passengers to alight. Up the hill from them lay bare rock. Fortunately, this side of Stortoppen rose upward at a gentle incline, unlike the vertical drop on the side facing Lake Akkajaure. As they moved out of range, the helicopter immediately took off again.

  “The pilot is coming back for us, isn’t he?” Daniel asked tensely.

  “Yes,” Lars assured him. “I told him to return here in two hours. That will give us plenty of time to look at what I brought you to see. It is only a little ways from here. Come.”

  Cassie jammed her hands into her pockets for warmth. Even though it was a sunny summer day, the temperature at this altitude was nippy.

  Their guide marched purposefully up the mountainside through the shrubs and short grass, dodging the occasional boulder sticking out of the dirt. The others followed his lead. They had hardly walked two hundred paces before Lars stopped abruptly.

  “Here is the place.” He pointed toward an odd rock formation directly ahead of them.

  The three halted in their tracks and stared at it. Just at the margin where the last of the heath gave way to bare rock, stood a large boulder. Its front was a perfectly smooth slab of stone, about seven feet high, with four edges forming a rough diamond shape. On closer inspection, it appeared that the rock’s angles were an accident of nature rather than the work of human hands.

  “This is a seide,” Lars told them. “When the Saami people find a strange rock shape like this one, they sometimes make it a holy place where they can leave offerings or perform rituals. This site must have been used a very long time ago because there is an ancient carving on it. Do you see?”

  The trio stepped in closer to inspect a weathered human figure cut into the slab. The body was a long rectangle, perhaps indicating a dress, with stick feet protruding from beneath. The stick arms were bent upwards at the elbow and spread to the sides. The head was a circle with dark hollows for eyes and dots for the nose and mouth. Instead of hair, rays shot upward from the figure’s crown.

  “This is Grandmother Ahkka herself,” their guide said. “She lives in this mountain. Because she comes here so much, the Saami carved her image in the stone thousands of years ago.”

  Daniel furrowed his brow as he contemplated the likeness. “Doesn’t this look a lot like the cave painting we saw in Australia?”

  “Yes, it does resemble Yingana,” Griffin agreed. “Another goddess raising her arms in benediction over her children.”

  “Why here?” Daniel asked Lars bluntly. “Why would your goddess Ahkka favor this spot more than any other?”

  “Because this rock marks the entrance to the underworld,” the guide replied. “Grandmother Ahkka is the goddess of the dead as well as the living. There is a tunnel here which the Saami believe leads to the realm below. That is where the ancestors go and those who are about to be born wait.”

  For the first time, the trio noticed a narrow gap in the mountain face. It would have been easy to mistake it for a deep fissure unless a person knew it to be a cave entrance. The diamond-shaped stone stood right beside it, like the open door to a crypt resting on its hinges.

  “Some of the overlord Norse legends say that Stortoppen holds the entrance to Valhalla,” Lars continued. “They must have been thinking of this place when they made up that story. Lucky for us that nobody comes here anymore.”

  He paused to regard his listeners, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “But I did not bring you all this way only to meet Grandmother Ahkka. The Lule Saami trove-keeper said you were looking for flowers carved into stone. She thought I might know of such a thing.” He pointed to the apex of the seide. “Is this what you are seeking?”

  They all gazed upward. A few inches below the tip of the boulder was a tiny carving of a Minoan lily. Its shape was unmistakable but its design had been simplified—almost as if the carver wished it to be mistaken for another specimen of Saami rock art.

  “They were here!” Griffin exclaimed.

  “I could sense them the whole time we were driving this morning,” Cassie said.

  “But surely after all this time,” the Scion objected. “The Sage Stone can’t still be in its hiding place.”

  “Yes, it is.” The Pythia smiled. “I can feel it.”

  “Then let us go inside and find your treasure,” Lars prompted. He switched on the LED lantern and moved forward. Turning sideways, he squeezed through the gap in the mountain.

  The others all reached into their packs for flashlights and followed him.

  The narrow entrance opened into a tunnel which was only slightly wider—about three feet across and seven feet high. They followed its twists and bends for a hundred yards until it opened out into a large cavern.

  Lars paused just beyond the tunnel opening so everyone’s eyes could adjust to the dimness.

  “I didn’t expect something this size,” Griffin whispered in awe.

  The ceiling arched fifteen feet above them. The chamber measured at least thirty feet across. Its walls branched off into corridors that led deeper into the mountain.

  Daniel swept his flashlight beam around aimlessly. “I don’t see anything here that would offer us a clue to the Sage Stone’s hiding place.”

  Their guide strode toward the far wall and set his lantern down on the ground, forcing the shadows to retreat. “That is because all flowers bloom best when there is light.” He chuckled at his own joke.

  His three visitors all gasped. The wall which their guide had illuminated held five Minoan lilies like the one carved on the seide guarding the entrance. These were arranged in a staggered pattern. The left-most lily was carved about five feet above the ground. A foot below it and two feet to its right was a second lily. Two feet to the right of that was a third lily carved three feet above the ground. Two more lilies followed which were the mirror images of the two on the left side.

  “Brilliant.” Griffin smiled appreciatively.

  “But what are these flowers supposed to tell us?” Daniel seemed disheartened by the prospect of yet another puzzle to solve.

  Cassie walked up to the lily on the left and placed her hand over it. She caught a brief flash of the Minoan priestess and two men working beside her.

  “They made all of this,” she murmured, running her fingers over the carving and the wall surrounding it which seemed to bubble outward slightl
y.

  “They covered everything over so it would blend in and nobody would know.” The Pythia’s eyes narrowed as she turned her flashlight beam on the lily. “This isn’t a carving at all. I think the image was stamped into wet clay. It’s some kind of seal.” She wrapped her knuckles lightly across the protrusion in the rock. “And it’s hollow.” Without warning, the Pythia smashed the butt of her flashlight against the lily.

  Daniel yelped.

  Brittle pieces of clay shattered and fell to the ground exposing a shallow niche about eighteen inches high and a foot deep. It housed a round disk resting on a thin metal rod.

  Griffin hurried forward to inspect the discovery. A perplexed look crossed his face as he tried to lift the disk. “It’s connected to the supporting rod and that must be fused to something deeper inside the wall. I can’t remove it.” He hesitated, pressing down with his hand. “Oh, my goddess!”

  The others drew in closer.

  “What is it?” Lars urged.

  The Scrivener drew back in surprise. “I believe it’s a spring scale.”

  “For what?” Daniel demanded.

  “For weighing things,” Cassie answered flatly.

  “But how did they...” Griffin trailed off.

  “I’m only getting snapshot images of what they did here,” the Pythia hedged. “This wasn’t originally a wall. It was a blind tunnel that goes back maybe twenty feet.” She closed her eyes to concentrate, one hand touching the scale. “They built a huge contraption inside. After it was finished, they stacked rows of stones in front of it and cemented them together to make a wall. Last of all, they covered everything with clay so that it would match the rest of the cave.” She opened her eyes. “The only parts that were meant to be exposed are the niches and the scales.”

  “For all their elaborate efforts, I’m sure some impatient barbarian might simply have smashed through the wall and taken what was inside,” the Scion observed.