Max managed to slip away from the dig site during the longest meal break around noon. If he timed it right, he figured he'd have about forty-five minutes to explore on his own and be back before anybody missed him, if they even noticed he was gone. It wasn't that nobody liked him—plenty did—it was simply that he rarely spoke in group situations. In fact, he preferred not to say anything at all if he could help it. He believed he was better at thinking than at talking and thinking accomplished things. Talking only delayed them, or in his case, would probably mess them up. Because of this, he was often overlooked despite his tall, lanky frame. The advantage was that it made it easy for him to disappear whenever he wished.

That was why, instead of participating in the typical chatter and gossip that came with people working together, he'd been silently eyeing a dense patch of woods not too far from the village. In his gut, he was sure he needed to visit them before the trip was over, so when the opportunity came, he struck out in that direction.

The freezing wind hadn't quit since they first landed on the island several days ago. It bit him to the bone and hinted of a harsh winter to come…even though it was only the beginning of September. Max shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his green coat, wishing he'd brought along a winter hat instead of the usual black bandana he wore around his head. He liked that bandana and brought it with him on every dig. It wasn't very warm, but it made him feel lucky and a little adventurous, sort of like a pirate or a ninja. It also kept his unruly auburn hair out of his eyes while working or making observations, which was always a plus.

Max's quiet disposition naturally made him a very observant person—most of the Haddocks were, as far back as he or any of his living relatives knew. Normally he would have paused to take a good look at his surroundings, soak it all in and log away the information for later use, but today was different. He felt compelled to keep moving, as if running late for a final exam.

He had no idea what it was he was looking for, if anything at all, but, like any good archaeology student, he'd brought along some useful things just in case. His brown canvas messenger bag bumped against one hip as he picked his way over and around the rocks and underbrush. He was almost never seen without it, whether on campus or in the field. It contained, among the expected archaeological tools, a flashlight, a compass, a magnifying glass and his notebook. Back home, he was known in the archaeology department for his detailed notes and sketches and was often called on to provide information about a certain site or artifact. There was even a running joke among some of his professors that they never brought a camera to a dig if "the Haddock kid" was coming along.

A smile spread over his freckled face. He liked and got along with most of the students in the group, but it was nice to have some solitude, even if it was only for forty-five minutes. He was most comfortable when he was alone with his thoughts in quiet places like the library, his room…or in these woods, for that matter. He could definitely get comfortable here.

He let his mind drift back to the old legends and felt his heartbeat escalate in excitement and anticipation (or maybe it was exertion? he was going uphill) of what he might discover. Maybe it would be big and earthshattering, like a shield sporting an unknown crest or the treasure hoard of a long lost king or very, very distant relative. It could all be waiting for him just over this rise…

At that thought, his pace quickened. Soon he reached the top of the hill, and there before him was...the same view he'd had for the entire trek so far. Trees, rocks, dirt, more trees—astoundingly unremarkable in an archaeological sense.

Max rolled his eyes and let out a huff at his premature enthusiasm. Of course it was unremarkable. What had he expected? That some glorious, shiny artifact would simply pop out of the ground and land at his feet? He knew better than that, he thought sheepishly. What he didn't know was if an artifact was what he was chasing in the first place.

He continued on at a swift pace again for a good fifteen minutes, during which nothing changed, nothing remotely piqued his interest and he eventually let his focus drop to the plain old boring dirt beneath his feet. He was beginning to wonder if he should turn around and go back when the ground suddenly ended mere inches from his boots.

With a startled whoop, he pitched forward, arms pin-wheeling in a panicked effort to keep himself from a nasty fall. It was no use. Gravity won the battle before he managed to throw his weight in the other direction and sent him careening down a steep, rocky and painful slope.

…

It took a while for the trees to swim back into focus above him while he lay stunned on the outcropping that had interrupted his rapid descent.

Nice one, Max, he thought, then rolled over and hauled himself upright. Everything hurt, but nothing was broken, only scraped and a bit bruised. He carefully got to his feet, taking a quick inventory of body parts and belongings. As he did so, it randomly occurred to him that he was the only person in this area of the island and that meant nobody could have caught an embarrassing video to post on the archaeology department's Facebook page. On the other hand, no one was there to bail him out if he got into a jam. That was a close call and it couldn't happen again.

When all was accounted for and deemed not to be permanently damaged, he blinked up in curiosity. He was in a wide, bowl-shaped cove surrounded with walls of tree root-covered stone. Even the floor was solid rock and was flat except for a deep depression in the center that might have held a lake at some point in time.

All pain was momentarily forgotten as he was caught up in the sudden mysterious sense of secrecy about the place. It wasn't a dark foreboding secrecy, more like that of a long anticipated gift about to be opened.

This was it. This was what he'd been looking for. Max was sure of it now.

Without another moment's hesitation, the young archaeology student crouched, sliding one foot over the ledge after the other. This time, the descent was much gentler and fairly easy as the rock face was pockmarked with natural foot and handholds. Letting go, he jumped the last five feet and landed with a hard thud that echoed around the walls of the empty cove.

Well, he thought, he was here, wherever "here" was. What next? Was something miraculous going to happen or should he keep going? Several options went rolling around in the forefront of his mind while he absently scanned the rocks for…what?

This was crazy. How could he be sure he wasn't just psyching himself out with the whole Vikings and dragons thing? The conviction in his father's voice as he related the tales all those years ago wasn't easy to ignore, so he'd never doubted that there was some truth to them…or had he? Was it possible he'd gotten the wrong impression as a child and only assumed as much? What if he was out here purely on an idiotic whim with nothing to gain from it? And what if this was some sort of ironic metaphor for his life choices...?

Ok, now everything was getting mixed up and pretty weird (possibly from the unintentional shortcut) and his precious time was running short. Now was the chance to prove those invading doubts piling up inside him wrong. He would never have another opportunity like this as long as he lived—

And then, with a jolt, he realized he'd stopped scanning and had been staring at it this whole time. "It" was a tiny red blob on a rounded boulder across the dry lakebed. The casual layman would have dismissed that blob as nothing more than a leaf or a piece of dried lichen, but not Max. He was only a student, but several years of careful study and training had taught him not to disregard anything at first glance. This occasion was certainly no exception. His feet began moving almost of their own accord, taking him around the rim of the former lake at a quick trot before halting at the boulder in question...except it wasn't just a boulder. It was a rune stone with a grinning red skull symbol at the very top.