Chapter 1: Night

September 15, 1903. French Museum of History.

"And this is our whole national museum. We have just seen together small acquisitions such as rings worth tens of thousands of pounds or brushes with which Leonardo Da Vinci himself painted. Our museum will be closing in a moment. Thank you for the opportunity to come to our beautiful museum and see you there! "

Professor Blu was just finishing his lecture on the artistic works of Leonardo Da Vinci. It was an honour to talk about his works, which are worth millions and anyone who can appreciate art would probably not be ashamed to put such a sum on the table. A group of elegantly dressed tourists had just left the museum after a day's study led by French National Museum professor Blu Tyler Gunderson, who was heading for his office so that he could write down the documents that needed to be signed by him immediately. He opened the door, then sat down in his comfortable chair straightening up having a moment to relax in front of the group of people he was showing around the building talking about each object. It was really tiring. He took his pen in his hand, soaked it in dark blue ink and then started to write the contracts that were already waiting for him on his desk. Outside the window it was completely dark and raining. It was already late September, when the days were more cloudy than sunny. The sunsets were very early and by the time Blu finished his work, he was greeted by a grey stormy night. The professor switched on his little green lamp which illuminated his white cards which he was signing. The moment of silence was broken by his friend who entered his private office without knocking. It was Nico - the deputy director of this museum. They knew each other very well, they had studied in the same high school and the paths of life were so mischievous that they decided that classmates would study in the same museum, only that in a different post.

"Good morning Professor" said Nico sitting down across from Blu who had not stopped writing his papers.

"Good morning my friend" said the professor quietly without stopping writing on the card with his pen.

"How are we doing? I hope the weather hasn't made you feel bad?"

"Weather is not the thing that causes people to change their moods. You should know that. By asking a question like that, you're hiding another main question with it. So what is it?" asked Blu as he put down his pen for a moment when he ran out of ink on it. He looked calmly at his friend who had fallen into confusion. Nico didn't answer anything for a moment. He was a little embarrassed that the Professor had immediately guessed his righteous intentions. All in all it wasn't surprising, having studied psychology and history for 5 years he had experience in this like few others.

"Yes, as always you are right. There were two people in the museum today, they were talking about game relics, they said that if someone found them they would give several hundred million for the items. I guess you know what you mean?" replied Nico. Blu pushed the signature cards aside after hearing this, then leaned towards his friend to focus on his statement.

"When I overheard them further, I understood what they were talking about. About the AGON relics. How do you think they will ever be found?" asked Nico. Blu did not answer. He got up from his chair , then walked over to the world map that hung on his wall, to the left of his desk.

"These are the world's most lost objects...only those with a deep interest in history know about them. To find them you have to have evidence that they exist. And even that is not entirely confirmed!" countered Blu. He knew what he was saying, in 15 years of studying history he had only heard of AGON once, from a professor at the British Museum of History who died 5 years ago of cancer. He was a wonderful man who loved history as much as Blu did. As far as Blu knew, AGON relics were awarded to those who could win at one of the board games against the masters of that particular game. For the moment, all that was known about them was that maybe they still existed and there were people who possessed them. Maybe, because no one has managed to prove it yet.

"Yes, I know about it. We have talked about it several times, however, will they ever be found?"

"That's a good question. Maybe in the future when civilisation has moved on people will at least get evidence of it. For now we can only wonder what these objects might have looked like," replied the professor calmly as he walked over to his hanger. His working time was already over. He put on his black stylish coat and took his umbrella under his arm.

"Take the documents to the secretary's office, please. It's time for me, my family is waiting. See you later."

"Give my best to Jewel and the children" replied Nico, after which they said their goodbyes. Blu's office was on the top floor of the building - the 3rd floor. Here were the offices of the various directors or the secretariat itself, which had the right wing of the corridor dedicated to it. When the professor left his office and left his friend in it, he went to the stairs to descend to the 1st floor to leave the museum. There were already single lights on in the building, all the props were being cleaned to look stunning the next day. Traffic in the national museum was all the time so there was no way to take a break for the day. Even on Sunday, tourists entered the building en masse to look at the monuments, which stood in glass cases with basic information about the object written on them. When Blu went downstairs, he stopped at his favourite object in the museum - a royal sceptre from 1850. It was decorated with gold and diamonds, its stick had the date of production engraved on it, and the name of the forge where this incredible forged stick was made. The main part of the sceptre was set with small crystals all around, and its main part was covered with a diamond. Currently, it was not put up for sale, It was still unknown how much the scepter was worth, as it was too dangerous to check its value. Over the years, the material from which it was made had become terribly sensitive to touch and everyone feared that the scepter would fall apart when its value was checked. That would undoubtedly be too great a loss for the museum. When the professor had finished looking at this miracle he headed for the exit and then left the institution. It was raining heavily. It was dark outside, and the only source of light in the stone alley were the olive oil lamps, spaced every few meters or so, emitting a modest yellow warm light. Blu took his black umbrella from under his arm and opened it protecting himself from the cold rain. The professor waited, as he did every day, for his coach to pick him up. In this part of France, the Gardenson family was one of the richest, but fortunately they did not show it and passed on the same value to their children. They did not boast about their wealth, they were happy to help others and were very welcoming to their neighbours. There was once a riot outside the museum, about forbidding the display of the royal crown before the coronation. French tradition had forbidden showing it before the coronation after the crown was stolen in 1830. This did not sit well with politicians, who argued that in this way the museum was keeping only for itself the crown, which should be a symbol for all. Just then, traffic was passing through the street where the Gunderson family lived, and one car drove into a neighbour's house. The losses were enormous, but with Blu's monetary help, the house was able to be rebuilt and looked like new. Soon, out of the darkness came a black carriage, which was pulled by a white, stocky mare. The professor got inside the carriage taking his favourite seat on the right side of the carriage.

"Good morning, Professor. Where are we going?"

"Home," replied Gunderson calmly, after which the carriage moved off.