There was a rustic charm about the second story of the barn house. Piles of hay were stacked up neatly all around the room, and Nidi had brought up blankets for the three of them to settle in for the night. She tried to apologize for the accommodations, but Michael felt a bit reminiscent of his childhood, dome-camping on the dark side of Luna to see the stars in all their glory. Plus, since Archie and Romen didn’t need sleep, Michael was able to hog all of the blankets for himself.

“So, we figure out what ‘Uppvanking’ means?” Michael asked, laying a second blanket over a pile of hay.

“Best assumption, is it means ‘Awakening’, as it’s only referenced in the context of the power generation cycle of the black-stone structures,” Archie informed, as he wrote in a book he had brought along. “I’m having the Fox add it to the universal translator, so we have fewer vocabulary hiccups.” He finished.

“What is that?” Romen asked, taking notice of Archie’s writing.

“Oh, I know we have emergency comms, but in case we’re in a position we can’t use them, I designed this book to transpose my written words to the ship and vice-versa. A more discreet form of communication that shouldn’t go unnoticed by the locals, should someone peek.” Archie exclaimed.

“Smart. OH, Add ‘Nattsteinn’, it’s Brynar for Blackstone, or the physical site of the Blackstones themselves.” Michael included. Archie nodded and continued writing in the book.

Romen had taken the time to open the 2nd-story balcony bay doors on the barn, allowing the setting sunlight to pour in. Leaving Archie to his toils, Michael sat down at the edge of the balcony and looked out at the horizon, as Romen offered him a flagon of water.

The two sat there watching the villagers move about, the orange overcast of light drawing long shadows against the huts as the people in the fields heard all of their Goltr into the pens for the night.

That was another discovery they managed to uncover on their own: the villages’ names and other major houses and villages were all named after a specific color and animal mascot, which was indicated on their banners. Brunr Goltr literally translates to Brown Boar.

When pressed by Nidi about their own banner, Archie had come up with the quick thinking of the Gray Fox, or ‘Grarefur’, citing our own travel banner, which the locals usually don’t go anywhere without, was lost at sea with the rest of our supplies.

“You should get some rest. We will keep watch and wake you in the morning.” Romen offered as Michael finished his water. He was right, Michael could feel the village itself winding down and they had a lot ahead of them in the morning. Handing the flagon back to Romen, he headed for his blanket pallet on the straws and settled in for rest.

Brunr Goltr Village (Twilight)

Michael had only been asleep for a few hours when he was awoken by a mix of extreme emotions. Fear, anxiety, dread. He bolted upright in his haybale to see Romen, watching the villagers move about in the night. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, sir, lots of foot traffic all of a sudden. Archie went down to inves—” Romen started, and as their archery-clad companion ascended the stairs. “Michael, I think we need to get down there; it’s that boy again, from the beach. He went missing.” Archie announced.

============

The three away-team members crossed the village square and entered the tavern hall, where others were congregating. Nidi the village elder, Rikolfr the village Smith, and Steinolfr the village Huntsman, were at the head of the hall. There were a few other youths around Staki’s age who were all huddled together close by with their heads down in shame. Seeing the three enter, Nidi dismissed the others and approached.

“I’m sorry if all this fuss has disturbed you.” She began, but Michael held up a hand to stop her. “Staki’s missing?” He asked, feeling the emotions and memories from the three teens in the room. Nidi nodded solemnly, “Aye…it might be worse than that.” She declared, waving one of the children over. “Tell them.”

The girl who approached was mortified, filled with an internal sense of responsibility for the situation. She could barely look Michael in the eyes as she spoke, “We were herding the Goltr back to the pens when Staki claims to have seen an (Elgr) along the tree line.”

Michael turned his head to Archie, who flipped open his book quickly, showing him a page that read:

|| Elgr – elk-like creature ||

“Are Elgr rare in this region?” Michael asked. The look of bewilderment on Nidi’s face was enough of an answer.  “The Elgr were hunted to extinction decades ago. To see one during the awakening can only be a bad omen.” She exclaimed.

“Staki wanted to hunt it, wanted to bring it back as a trophy to make up for his embarrassment this morning. He wanted us to come along, but we were too scared. He begged us to keep quiet so he wouldn’t get in trouble, but he hasn’t come back yet.” The young girl finished.

There was a tinge of responsibility in Michael’s mind; the boy only felt embarrassed from their arrival. However, Nidi was having none of it, “Damn boy is always trying to prove something to someone, and always getting his (asni) in trouble over it!” she cursed.

“Amma, if I may,” Archie interjected, seeing the look of remorse on his commander’s face. “Staki’s actions, though rash, are a direct result of our arrival…” he began.

Nidi shook her head, “Oh no, this isn’t your fault. Had it not been you, he‘d of run off to impress a girl, or to try and show up old Steinolfr.” She defended.

“True, but we’d like to help the search nonetheless,” Romen added.

“It’s not that simple.” Steinolfr declared, joining in the conversation. “The forest is hard enough to traverse in the night, and a deep mist has settled over it, making things ten times worse. We won’t be able to set out till morning, and that’s if the fog has lifted by then.”

“Good thing you have a couple of Priests who don’t rely on sight,” Michael smirked, sliding his opaque glasses on his eyes, as Archie removed his own headband and re-affixed it over his face.

[Nordrskogr (North Forest)]
(1 Hour Later)

Nidi wasn’t going to admit it, but she was relieved that someone was willing to brave the dark for the boy. He had no one, and she had taken him in as her own ward when his parents died. Her anger for the boy burned only by the fires of love she held for him. She had the other children show the team where Staki was last seen, and they set off northward into the misty forest.

The gloved scanners Trixie had designed for them before beaming down were instrumental in their efforts to navigate. Michael’s glasses even provided an almost nocturnal vision, but there was still some sort of static occasionally interfering, and it was getting worse the deeper they traveled.

With the lanterns Rikolfr had provided, Romen had picked up Staki’s physical tracks, but was having trouble fully ‘scanning’ for him, and on more than one occasion, the three were confident they were going in circles. Even Michael was not picking up any mental pings for anyone or anything nearby. Finally fed up with the runaround, Michael reached for his communicator that was hidden inside his belt.

“Angelus to Fox, do you copy?”

“We hear you, but it’s not very clear, sir,” Yeager’s voice called back, slightly distorted.

“Yeager, we were in the forest, north of the village we landed at. There is a boy lost in the woods. Do you think you can scan the area and see if you can guide us to his location? There is a good chance he is in danger.”

“I’ll give it a try. Going to try to boost the signal to cut through the interference coming from the Blackstone site nearby. Standby.”

The Trio turned to look at each other. “Coming from the Blackstone? Is that what’s causing the fog?” Archie inquired.

“Fog doesn’t mess with our instruments…” Michael deduced, tapping his comm belt again. “Yeager, when you get a second, have someone get an analysis scan of this fog, and compare it to the data we have on file for the Shroud.”

Archie tilted his head in confusion. In response, Michael nodded, “Call it a hunch…”

“Aye, sir. Diverted power to the sensors. I got a lifeform heading two-six mark zero, 100 meters from your current position. It’s right next to the stones, too, sir..” Yeager reported. “I’ll get doc on that scan A-Sap”

“Thank you, keep this channel open, but run silent,” Michael ordered, nodding to his two companions to head out.

============

The directional coordinates showcased on his glasses kept them on track as the three closed the distance. The three kept a brisk pace, not trying to overexert themselves, but now that they knew he was close, they began to call out Staki’s name to no response. Worry crept into Michael’s mind as they approached, finding the boy face down in the dirt, only a few yards away from the monolithic structures.

The fog was still thick in this area, but they could see that the trees stopped well before the Blackstones. Michael rushed to Staki’s side, his fingers digging into the poor boy’s neck, praying for a miracle. “I got a pulse!” Michael shouted in rejoice, though he knew that they weren’t ‘out of the woods yet’. Rolling the boy over on his back, he physically surveyed him while placing his scanner hand on the boy’s chest.

Romen and Archie took up point, the Archer’s bow was strung and knocked for an arrow, while the Security Officer held a defensive grasp over his axe, both of them surrounding the Commander while he worked. Their lanterns had been placed at their feet, illuminating the area around them.

Michael read the data from his scan as it flashed across his glasses. The boy was ok, knocked out, but had no physical wounds to speak of. Maybe he tripped and knocked himself out? Regardless of how, he intended to capitalize on the situation. “Angelus to Fox, can you beam us to the outskirts of the Forest?”

“S*r, y#-r br–k*ng -p -g-*n. Try*ng t# c#mp-ns-t-. W- c-nt g-t – l#ck #n y#-r p#s*t*#nF.” Came the indistinguishable static over their comms.

“Angelus to Fox, repeat?!” Michael tried again. “Damn it! Romen, I need you to pick him u—” Michael began, but in turning away from the boy, he could see the determined look on his team’s faces, as he took in the fact that the fog was starting to get thicker. Slowly, Michael rose to his feet, unconsciously drawing his own sword, as he joined in a tri-pointed position around Staki’s limp body. “Is anyone out there?” he finally drew the courage to ask.

“Query: how do slaves speak the language of the gods?” Came a deep, guttural voice.

The voice that tore through the air sent shivers down Michael’s spine. The hairs on his arms stood on end, as his mind was assaulted by the wave of a crowd of voices all murmuring at once. The last time he felt this sort of sensation or fear was the first time he had encountered the borg.

“Romen…” Michael’s words tried to remain calm, but were audibly shaky as he quietly called out.

“M-hmm?”

“Please tell me you disregarded protocol and brought a type-one with you?”

“Yeah, tucked in my boot.”

“On my command…” Michael whispered.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to, but I am no slave. We are here to bring the boy back to safety. We mean you no harm.” Michael called out to the dark void. Even now, as the fog became thicker, the few beams of moonlight were dissipating from above.

“Mockery: slaves present no threat to we,” the voice gurgled loudly, seeming to come from all directions.

“I’m going to regret this…” Michael muttered to himself. “Well, why don’t you come out? lets talk face to face.”

“Objection: Talk is irrelevant. Slaves are forfeit for their crimes.” The voice echoed. Michael wasn’t sure the voice could sound more menacing, but the level of threat in that sentence proved otherwise.

“What?! What crime have we committed?” Michael called back. Reaching down, he picked up his lantern in his free hand, holding it out in a futile attempt to cut through the fog.

“Answer: HERESY!” The voice roared.

Ahead, just between Michael and Archie, a figure began to emerge from the mist, its form well over 8 feet tall, humanoid, bipedal. Its legs looked muscular in shape, but there was a slickness to it, as if its whole body was covered by some kind of mud or sludge. Its arms were just as bulky, but long; its hands rested at the same level as its knees. Its torso was bulging, but jagged edges of bone from a rotting ribcage stuck out from its ‘skin’ in various places. Yet its face is what drew their horror. The blackened grim of its body seemed to have merged from the lower jaw onto the skull of a deer or Elk. The top bone was pristine white with a 16-point rack of horns on its head, as blacked hollow eyes pierced through.

The creature drew up to its full height, as if it was preparing to strike, but Michael was not about to wait. With all of his might, he hurled the oil lantern at the creature and turned to face Romen, “NOW!” he called out.

The oil lamp struck and ignited the creature’s entire upper torso, the night pierced by its horrific, animalistic screams. Romen had tossed a miniature remote-like device to Michael and dove down to scoop up Staki’s body. Michael caught the type-one phaser in his free hand and spun back around, firing on the creature.

The orange phaser beam cut through the fog and struck its target in the lower abdomen. More enraging howls assaulted their ears as the attack split the monster in two, melting away the oily base of its body as its top section folded and collapsed on the ground before them. There was a silent pause that none of the away team dared to interrupt, as they contemplated if they had achieved victory or not.

Despite the fire and phaser, Michael did not sense any emotion of pain from the creature, and still, he did not feel its presence weaken from its current condition. What he did since made him turn and give the order to run: it’s killing intent.

Using its hands to pull it forward, the creature roared once more and almost started a full-on gallop towards the team. Lucky Michael’s predisposition had given them enough of a head start to avoid the first slashing assault.

As much as he wanted to, Romen was in no position to turn and face the creature with Staki over his shoulder, and Michael, too, had used the full power of the phaser in his hand on his first shot, leaving the weapon now depleted. As they ran through the forest, dodging trees and shrubbery, it was only Archie who could manage a moving counter-defense.

Having ripped his lantern apart and affixed the burning wick to the top of his bow, Archie poured the contents of the oil into the quiver. As he withdrew an arrow on the move, he waved it over the flame as he nocked each arrow, setting it ablaze before turning and firing on the creature. It physically reacted to each attack, but it did little in the means of slowing it down.

“FOX, IF YOU HEAR THIS, WE NEED EXTRACT NOW!” Michael roared as he bobbed and weaved behind Romen.

“Comman—-, Cant —- Lock.” He could hear over the comms. The cause of the interference was starting to weaken as they put distance between them and the Blackstones, but Michael wasn’t too sure they would make it at their current pace.

“YEAGER, BEAM A BLOCK OF THE MESOSPHERE ONTO MY COORDINATES!” Michael yelled, reaching forward and snatching the lantern off of Romen’s belt.

“Sir! The pressure alone!” Archie began to argue, but stopped, “That might work!”

Tilting the lantern, Michael coated his blade in some oil and waved it over the flame. The sword in his hand engulfed in fire, Michael spun around and charged at the creature, slashing at its outstretched forearm, cutting it clean in half.

Without the leverage of its second arm, the beast fell to the forest floor, skidding to a stop against a tree branch. It roared in defiance as the severed hand began to melt towards its body like a deformed slug. Archie fired two more flaming shots at the beast’s head as Michael held his sword above his head, “NOW YEAGER!”

There was a sudden downshift in air pressure, as if someone aimed an air current at the ground. Michael stood firm as the wind nearly buckled his knees, but it also completely dissipated the mist around them. As the current settled, Archie ran to Michael’s side, the Commander tapping his oil-slicked sword on the Archer’s bow, re-igniting it.

The creature already looked like it was slowing down; the absence of the mist had a profound effect on it, but Michael was not taking any chances. Bearing down on the crippled monster, he lunged his sword into the beast’s head, splitting the elk’s skull in two, and watched as the body melted into a pool of muck around an elk’s skeleton.

“Fox to Away Team, your theory was right. Scans indicated that mist had highly diluted properties, similar to what we had on file for the shroud. It was what was causing the interference. Looks like it’s dissipating all over now.” Doc’s voice echoed out on the comms.

Michael took a moment to catch his breath. Archie, patting him on the back, approached the muckish remains and withdrew a small ink well from his pouch. Emptying the ink, he scooped up a small sample of the creature’s remains and held it in his palm. “Fox, tag the sample for transport. Full quarantine protocol. I need a full spectrometer analysis.”

A second later, the container vanished from Archie’s palm. “Well…that was exhilarating…” the X.O. remarked sarcastically.

“THAT WAS SO COOL! YOU KILLED A (HOLDSKRIMSL)!” came the excited trill of a teenage voice. Staki was draped over Romen’s shoulder, but was now fully awake, his eyes bursting with excitement and wonder. Romen gently set him down as the boy rushed over to Michael and Archie. “Oh my god! This is so amazing! I can’t wait to tell Nidi and Helena about this! Can I keep the Skull!? It will look great in the Ha—” the child continued to rant, however, having no more patience for the evening’s affairs, Michael had set his hand on the boy’s shoulder and applied the Vulcan nerve pinch, once again rendering Staki unconscious.

“Let’s…. just get back to the village,” Michael announced breathlessly.

[Brunr Goltr Village]
(2 Hours Later)

Romen lays the unharmed Staki in bed, in Nidi’s small hut. The elder had embraced Michael tightly for bringing her boy home. “Thank you, by the gods thank you!” she cried, turning and giving hugs to Archie and Romen as well. “It was our pleasure, Ma’am.” Michael addressed politely, the tinge of exhaustion in his voice.

“I hope you didn’t have much difficulty?” Nidi asked, taking stock of their disheveled appearances from their fight. “Oh no. Just normal trek wear. Tripped once or twice over a branch is all.” Michael confirmed with a smile. But he knew she was not buying it. She could tell by the state of them that something, more than a search and rescue happened, but he knew she was too appreciative of their efforts to push.

“Well, I was hoping to give this to you tomorrow before you departed, but I feel you have earned it now. Please take this with our extreme gratitude.” Nidi spoke, handing a bundle of grey cloth over to Michael. Unfolding it was a torso-sized banner, gray background with a fox head embroidered in the center. “Since you lost your former banner, I figured you would need one for your journey to (Heilagt Auga).”

“Thank you Nidi.” Michael expressed warmth.

[Brunr Goltr Village]
(10 minutes later)

Archie was busying himself folding their new Banner while Michael collapsed onto the hay pile. “I don’t like where this is going…” Michael announced as he looked up at the ceiling of the barn.

“No…” Archie agreed, “I should scold you…” he said, turning to Romen. “Bringing a damn phaser onto a pre-warp planet. But it worked out. Are we worried about what all Staki saw?”

“I don’t think he saw much of anything. I think the burst of wind is what woke him up, and by that time it was mostly already over.” Romen admitted. “Which, damn nice call on that by the way.”

Michael held up a thumbs up, but was too tired to sit up and face his team. “Don’t worry about Staki, Doc gave me a neuro-amnesia compound in his alchemical set before we left. I put some in Staki’s drink, so hopefully when he does wake up, he won’t remember any of it.”

Archie had turned back to his written journal as Michael was talking, “Well, that’s one major problem out of the way. And abhorrent of a vacuum, another problem arises in its place.” He declared, walking over and handed the book to the commander.

Curious, Michael finally pulled himself up into a seating position and took the book from Archie, looking at the text that they had received from the Fox.

| Analysis Sample of collected specimen complete 
| General Substance: Complex Bio-Magnetorheological fluid
| Sample contained over 80 individual Brynar DNA Strands 

“WHAT?!” Michael balked aloud.

[TO BE CONTINUED]