As they neared the bottom, finer details emerged. Across the spread of homes, and more dramatically across the pyramids, their surfaces had been carved with scenes of home life, of battle, of great hunts, and a bestiary of mythological creatures.
Gray remembered Bishop Yelagin’s account of vast swaths of petroglyphs found across the lands of northern Russia, some so beautiful and advanced that they had to be preserved under a glass dome. Then there were those stone pyramids and tombs found on outlying islands of the White Sea.
Were they all the handiwork of these Hyperboreans?
With no way of knowing, Gray drew the others to the bottom of the steps. The group slowed, as if fearing to trespass any farther. Or maybe it was because they faced a larger obstacle.
“Where do we go from here?” Anna whispered. “It would take teams of archaeologists and anthropologists decades to study and understand this place and its people.”
Gray heard the longing in her voice. She clearly wanted to be part of any such exploration.
Let’s hope she gets that chance.
The group abandoned the stairs and spread out, examining the closest structures. The shoulder of a pyramid rose to the left. A matching one climbed on the chamber’s far side. The structures looked to be made out of sandstone, either quarried or maybe manufactured in some geothermically-heated kiln. Elsewhere, roofs looked buttressed by ribs of whalebone.
Clearlywoodwould’ve been a rare commodity this far north. But apparently these ancients found ways to compensate with bone and stone—and not just with those materials.
“Look,” Jason called over as he examined a home. He rubbed a finger along the green patinaed edge of a doorway. “I think this is copper.”
Gray joined him and looked closer.
Definitely copper.
He straightened and pictured mines somewhere out there. Maybe these ancients had discovered more than veins of lodestone in this giant massif of rock.
Omryn offered additional anthropological insight. “Some Inuit were skilled in such metalcraft, going back three thousand years. They called themselves the Copper Inuit.” He glanced significantly at the others. “It is said many of them had blond hair.”
Gray frowned and stared across the expanse, again wondering how far these Hyperboreans had spread. Could they be the ancestors or teachers of the Copper Inuit?
Tucker waved an arm, drawing attention. “Kane and Marco are picking up something over here. Plus, you might want to see this—or maybe not. Not if you have a weak stomach.”
The Ranger had wandered toward the towering waterfall, which glowed with their reflected light. Gray led the rest of the group over to him.
He stood near a cluster of old tents. They had been set up in a small square off to the side. The fabric, the wooden spars, all were remarkably preserved by the cold. Pots and pans lay scattered. Leather clothing dried on racks, stiffened to boards by age.
“It’s the remains of an old camp,” Jason said. “Likely left behind by Catherine’s team or someone who came earlier.”
“It’s not just the camp’s remains,” Tucker said and crouched by one of the tents. He shined his light through its open flap. “But the campers, too.”
Gary joined him, dropping to a knee.
Two bodies lay inside, mummified by the cold, preserved by the same. There was clearly something wrong with them. Their features, while withered and shrunken, also sprouted with strange growths, as if their bodies had become the beds for some malignant fungus or plant. Fibrous structures vined over them, entwining the two together. But whatever afflicted the pair had died long ago, turning brown and dried.
“What happened to them?” Anna asked, backing away and turning to Harper, the team’s medical expert.
The doctor shook her head, keeping a distance herself. “I have no bloody clue.”
Gray turned to the only person who might have any further insight. “Dr. Stutt?”
The botanist drew closer, showing no fear, only fascination. “It appears to be some form of infestation. Whether antemortem or postmortem, I can’t say.”
Gray was reminded of the other reason his group had sought outthis place. It wasn’t just to record the wonders found here, but to identify the danger hinted at by so many others.
He stared at the bodies.
Is this it?
Tucker reminded them again. “Something over here has Marco and Kane spooked.”
