Golden Valley

Johnathan continued on, past the guards, holding his packs at his side, ready to appear nonchalant at a moment's notice. He cocked an ear towards the guards to hear their conversation, or more worrisome, if they suddenly became quiet listening for movements in the darkness. Fortunately, he only heard them jabbering. If they'd heard him, they were not making it apparent. He moved near the entrance of a small cave. He would have to find his way deep inside before turning on the flashlight. The cave was dark, and drops of moisture fell from the cave's ceiling like slow rain. As he inched his way into the cave, the damp chill settled itself into his bones, making his fingers numb and clumsy. He could feel the small, cold drips of water run down the back of his head and into his shirt collar. Chills ran through him as he made his way deeper into the cave. Yoshima said he wanted to leave the object overnight before they transported it back to Japan for study. Johnathan hadn't been sure of Yoshima's motivations, but he knew tonight would be his last night to steal it before it was locked up in some lab forever. He soon found himself at a spot where he felt comfortable enough to turn the light on. Reaching into a black satchel, he removed the light. As he flicked the switch he thought he could hear voices behind him. He turned the light off and crouched low to the ground. He couldn't let anyone find him here. He stood carefully listening as he rose to his feet. There was nothing to be heard, nothing but the water dripping from above. It was safe. Flicking the light on again he continued his trek deeper into the cave. He took a mental note that while he explored his life of leisure after this job was complete; he would not delve into the sport of spelunking.

Excavation of the site had uncovered an intricate tunnel system. The entranceway tunnel divided into four separate chambers thus far. Johnathan spent many long hard hours with the crew, photographing while they dusted out the outline of the cave opening. The work was cut short when a student apprentice tripped over a light cord, and pushed one arm through the cave opening in one thrust, revealing the hollow core. With the exception of that incident, the excavation was done with exact precision. Differences in the fourth chamber were immediately noted. The arch of the entryway was smaller, and Megan Mahoney, a junior archeologist, discovered an arrangement of holes indicating that a door once stood there. It was also the first chamber that held more than dust and stale air.

That is where they found the object.

It was located deep within the chamber along with bone fragments and whole skeletons of dead Norsemen that perished in the earthquake.

A group of paleontologists were immediately flown to the area, and they collected the bones and took them back to their campsite, nicknamed "The Lair" by several sarcastic team members. The sheer amount of human remains was phenomenal. It was already being called the find of the century. They'd been uncovering skeletons for days now, the archeologists fighting for time with the paleontologists in their mad rush of discovery. Finally, through a direct order from Dr. Yoshima, the archeologists were allowed to dig day and night until they reached the back of the chamber.

The rear of the chamber contained several small alcoves, raised knee high off the floor of the chamber room. In one of these alcoves they discovered what appeared to be a cage or holding cell of sorts. But even more exciting to Johnathan was what the cage itself held. It was small, smaller than any skeleton he had ever seen, and several of the workers dismissed it as the skeleton of a child-slave, imprisoned by the cruel Vikings who were posted here. Upon inspection, however, it was divined that it wasn't the skeleton of a child at all. It appeared to be of a very tiny mammal, resembling a human form. Conjectures and hypotheses were argued, several insisting that it was a monkey brought by the Vikings from one of their journeys afar, others believing it to be a sign of mistreatment towards individuals born with genetic anomalies, made prisoners for their deformities. As they removed debris from around the small skeleton, one of the assistants noticed something embedded into the side of the chamber wall. Johnathan's heart jumped in his chest as he overheard the archeologists discuss the object. Inside the holding cell of the small skeleton was the object he'd been sent to retrieve. Against all odds, the object had been found. No one could have predicted that this would be the place he would have found it. No one could have told him that this site was the exact location they were searching for, no one except Martin Gaft. Gaft had been right all along. He knew that this was the lost site. He knew in his heart that this would be the place they would find the medallion. Fortunately for Johnathan the medallion was related to the artifacts found at the North Munster Project, and discounted as not worthy of particular attention.