MISCHIEF AT MOUNT HOREB

Note: I originally wrote this story several years ago for publication in an issue of "From Ash to Flame." I do not have a copy of that issue, and I have misplaced any copies of the story I had, so I've re-written it. If anyone has the original version (I'm not even sure what I titled that version), I'm sure you'll note many differences.

This story is intended to be a sequel to "Shenanigans at Shanagan's," and takes place a couple of years later. "Shenanigans" was placed in about 1983 or '84, "Mischief" is intended to be about 1986. I hope you enjoy reading it!

The early summer day sparkled with sunshine and good spirits. The park, which the sign at the entrance proclaimed to be Grundahl Park, danced with families enjoying the annual Summer Frolic. Children shouted with glee as they ran through the carnival, fathers and grandfathers cheered the tractor pull, while mothers and grandmothers shared samples and recipes. Youth of all ages danced in the clearing before the bandstand while local talent took turns playing for them. The parade that morning had been a marvel of tradition and creativity.

Bennu wandered through the throngs, enjoying the pervading sense of good-will and enjoyment. Occasions such as this, when humans come together in a sense of community and enjoyment, bolstered his belief in the ultimate goodness of mankind. A day's break from his hunt for Mira would do him good. Tomorrow would be time enough to continue.

"Young man!" a matronly woman called out to him from a booth he was passing. "Try some of this lutefisk, and tell me if it isn't the best you've ever had." She held a small plate out to him.

He paused, curiosity getting the best of him. "What is 'lutefisk?'"

She laughed pleasantly. "For all your Viking good looks, I knew you weren't from around here. Lutefisk is a type of cod, specially treated. Served with lefse, it's a traditional Norwegian dish." She paused, expectantly.

"Lefse?" he asked obediently.

Her grin widened. "An unleavened potato bread. In this case, I'd suggest you use the lefse to make an open-faced sandwich of the lutefisk."

Bennu took the dish she continued to hold out to him, and took a cautious bite. The flavor was strong, but quite good. He smiled. "This is excellent!" he told the woman.

She beamed at him as he finished the serving and moved on.

A group of children, the littlest not more than 5, came howling past, intent on their game. They momentarily surrounded Bennu, laughingly swirling around him in a riot of colors from their bright summer clothes. Then they were gone.

Bennu continued walking and came to an area where younger children were playing under their mothers' watchful eyes. He noticed several squat, hairy figurines and statues and stopped to examine them.

The figures all seemed to be the same type of creature, with round faces and bellies, huge noses and bare feet. Each was in a different pose, and seemed to be clothed in a variety of fashions. They were all whimsical and seemed to invite smiles and laughter.

A small, blonde girl, holding a doll of the same type of figure with bright red hair, noticed Bennu and walked over to him. Her bright blue eyes regarded him very seriously from a face just out of babyhood. She nodded suddenly, accepting him, and pointed to one of the figures.

"That's Hans," she stated. "He's my favorite."

Bennu squatted down to bring his eyes more on a level with hers. "What is Hans?" he asked her.

"He's a troll," she said matter-of-factly. "They're all trolls."

Bennu smiled bemusedly. "What's a troll?"

She gestured at the figures. "They are!"

"Yes, but . . ."

"Anya!" a young woman, obviously the girl's mother, came up.

Bennu rose as Anya turned. "Momma, he doesn't know trolls!" she exclaimed.

Momma smiled indulgently at her, then turned to Bennu. She held out her hand to him in a friendly fashion. "I'm Kären, and this is Anya."

Bennu smiled back at her and gently shook her hand. "I'm Bennu," he said, then turned to grin at Anya. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"How come you don't know trolls?" Anya demanded.

Bennu laughed. "I'm not from around here. I've never seen them before," he told her. "What are trolls?" he asked Kären.

"Trolls originally came from Scandinavian countries. They're supposed to be guardians of earth's treasures - gold and precious minerals especially," she explained. "Some people have compared them to Irish leprechauns."

Bennu's mind immediately flashed to the leprechaun who'd granted him three wishes, Shaun Patrick Michael O'Shanagan, while Kären continued.

"Here in Mount Horeb, we have a tradition of trolls who came over with the original settlers and now live in the area. Local artists have had a lot of fun making the trolls that you'll see all around the city." She laughed. "Don't worry - they're harmless and they don't eat much!"

Bennu laughed with her.

Anya held her doll out toward Bennu. "This is Wish-nik. He makes my wishes come true."

"He does? That's terrific," Bennu told her.

"Would you like to make a wish that he can help you with?"

Bennu paused, thinking of leprechauns again. "No, I really don't think so . . ."

Anya shrugged and hugged Wish-nik close again. "OK."

Kären smiled and took Anya's hand. "Come on, Anya. Let's have some watermelon." She turned to Bennu. "Would you like to join us?"

He accepted and the three of them walked over to a pavilion where a couple of ladies were handing out slices of watermelon. They each took a slice and found a place to sit. Anya regaled them with stories about trolls in general and Wish-nik in particular. When they were finished, Bennu rose to leave.

"Thank you very much for introducing me to your trolls," he told Anya. "It was very nice meeting you, Kären."

Bennu continued wandering around the park for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying himself immensely and sharing his enjoyment with those around him. When evening came, he joined the straggling throngs making their way back into town. He walked down the main street, looking for a hotel.

Ahead of him, from a side street, Kären came running. "Anya!" she called. Spotting Bennu, she ran towards him. "Bennu! Have you seen Anya?"

He shook his head, concerned. "No, not since this afternoon. She's missing?"

Kären nodded, about to burst into tears. "We came home from the festival earlier. Anya didn't want to leave, but it was her bedtime. I put her to bed, then went out onto the patio to enjoy the evening. When I went back in to check on her just now, she was gone!"

Bennu took her shoulders, to hold her and keep her calm. "Do you have any idea where she would have gone?"

Kären nodded. "Back to the festival."

"OK, you talk to the others and get people to go back and search for her. She's probably just curled up in a corner, sleeping."

Kären nodded again. "OK. I'll get everyone together."

She moved off, towards the others, as Bennu turned around and hurried back toward the park.

When he reached it, the park was dark. All the celebrants had gone home, leaving an echo of laughter, lonely and empty. He moved through the park, from stall to stall and tent to tent, searching. He found nothing. Searchers from the town also moved through the park, carrying flashlights. Calls of "Anya!" echoed across the field.

Finding himself on the far side of the park, with no sign of Anya, Bennu stopped for a moment to think. Anya had mentioned a nearby cave in several of her stories . . . The Cave of the Mound, that was it. Maybe, afraid of being discovered at the festival, Anya had decided to go there instead . . .

Quickly, Bennu headed out of town, toward the cave. When he arrived at the main entrance, he found the door locked and bolted. Could she have found another way in? He stopped and breathed deep, calming and centering himself. Tentatively, he reached out with his mind, trying to catch a sense of her. Finally he felt an echo of her presence, deep in the earth. He turned back to the door and quickly blasted it open. Stepping inside the cavern, he paused to 'listen' again. The cave, with all its twists and turns defeated him, however. He couldn't get any better sense of where she might be within the cave.

Finally, frustrated, he stopped trying to reach for her with his mind. Anya's merry talk of trolls, and Kären's explanation, came back to him, reminding him once again of a certain leprechaun.

"Shaun Patrick Michael O'Shanagan!" he called out.

A strange sight stepped out of the air in front of him. A shock of unruly red hair framed a round face with a huge nose, while the traditional green suit barely covered a round belly and bare feet protruded from the pants. Bennu thought it was the leprechaun, looking more like a troll, but he wasn't certain until the figure spoke.

"Sure'n, tis good t'be seeing ye again, me boyo. What might I be doing for ye today?"

Bennu stared. The leprechaun chuckled.

"Ye didn't expect me to look this way, did ye? And I ask ye, how else would I look to a folk who believe in trolls?"

Bennu grinned and shook his head. "I hadn't thought about it." Regaining his focus, he gestured around at the cave. "There's a little girl lost. I think she's in here somewhere, but I can't seem to find her. Can you help?"

Paddy winked. "Of course I can. But ye know the rules. I'll not be able to help until all the proper forms are followed."

Bennu nodded. "Very well. I wish to be able to locate Anya so I can bring her out to safety."

Paddy nodded and winked again. "Granted!" he proclaimed, then disappeared.

Bennu's sense of Anya's location suddenly cleared, leaving him an easy trail to follow through the cave system. He quickly headed that way. When he got closer, he thought he heard soft crying sounds, then a voice speaking gently.

"Hush now, little bairn. Bennu's a-coming. Don't ye worry none - he'll see ye get to safety."

The crying sounds quieted, then a little voice said, "You look like Wish-nik. But I lost Wish-nik. I dropped him and I can't reach him. Will you be my Wish-nik?"

Soft laughter answered her. "Ah, now lassie, that'd be right fine, now wouldn't it? But seeing as how I've other folks to look after, I can't be staying with ye all the time. How about if I can bring yer Wish-nik back? How'd you like that, now?"

She apparently agreed, and Bennu rounded a final corner in time to see the red-headed doll floating up from a hole in the ground to settle in Anya's out-stretched hands. Anya hugged the doll tightly, then looked up to see Bennu.

"Bennu! See, my Wish-nik came to life . . ." she looked around in confusion, Paddy no where to be found. "But, he was here, I saw him."

Bennu knelt by her side. "He's right there in your hands, Anya."

Anya nodded. "But I had dropped him down this hole. And he came to life - he was real!"

Bennu nodded. "Yes, he certainly was. But now that you've got your doll back, he doesn't need to be real anymore. The doll will look after you."

Anya nodded seriously, accepting Bennu's explanation.

Looking the child over, Bennu determined that she was unhurt - merely lost. He picked her up and carried her out of the caves and back to town.

When Bennu, with Anya, reached the front of Grundahl Park, Kären spotted them and came running.

"Anya! Anya, where have you been?" She took Anya into her arms and hugged her close. "I've been so worried!"

Anya pulled back a little, to look at her mother. "I'm sorry, Momma. But I wasn't ready to sleep. I wanted to go to the festival. And then, thinking about all the trolls, I thought I'd bring them some cake and watermelon, so I went to the cave. But I dropped Wish-nik, and I couldn't find my way back out. Then Wish-nik came to life and brought Bennu to find me."

Kären hugged her close again, while looking to Bennu for some kind of explanation.

Bennu shrugged. "I remembered her talking about the caves, so I went to look for her there. I was lucky enough to be able to find her, and bring her out."

Word soon spread throughout the town that Anya had been found, safe and sound. Quiet returned as everyone returned to their homes.

"I don't know how I can ever thank you," Kären told Bennu after seeing Anya safely back to her bed. "We lost Anya's father last year, and it's been difficult. She's my reason for living now. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

Bennu smiled and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Anya will be fine. Don't worry about anything." He turned to the front door. "I should go. I need to see if the hotel has a room available . . ."

"Oh, please stay," Kären said. "I have an extra room - it's the least I can do for you."

Bennu hesitated, then nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate that, very much."

Bennu slept well that night, and the next morning enjoyed a hearty breakfast with Anya and her mother. He then headed out of town to the burial sites, Kären insisting on packing a lunch for him.

The Winnebago burial sites west of town were not too large, and he was able to discover quickly that Mira wasn't there. Still, he didn't consider the two days spent in southwestern Wisconsin to have been wasted. The celebration and good feelings were worth it, as was having met Anya and Kären. Whistling cheerfully, he headed for the Interstate, to hitch a ride to the next burial site.