Cbarton
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The Temple of Androcon
by
The Hawk
Chapter 1
"The Dig at Nephim Beg"
by
The Hawk
Chapter 1
"The Dig at Nephim Beg"
The sun was just peeking over the Nephim Beg Mountains as Dr. Shane McTalon stood next to his jeep, sipping his morning coffee. The dig had gone slowly the past three weeks, but it was going well. The mound was as rich with artifacts as he had hoped, far more than the skeptics at Viscount University expected. His finds here should be more than enough to finally gain him tenure. From what he had already seen, the finds could set the world of ancient Celtic civilization on its ear.
Dr. McTalon looked up the hill at old McTalon Castle. He could see the lights in the windows as his long lost cousins arose for the morning. He could have stayed in the castle rather than the tents, but he was on a dig, not a visit. He preferred to keep his focus there. He just didn't feel right leaving the site at night. Besides, part of the fun was being with the others, looking over the artifacts, postulating with the others, and the like. And then, of course, there was Kelly.
Kelly Yeager was a grad student on her first real dig. She toured one or two as an undergrad, but was more of a tourist at the sites than an active participant. She was the kind he had seen all too often as a grad student, teaching assistant, and now as a professor: good family, great breeding, reasonably smart, and no skills to deal with life outside of her pampered, privileged world. She did work hard to please the profs in the department, especially him. Trying to ingratiate with her apparently chosen mentor? Father figure? Older male crush? Hard to say. But, she had gone out of her way to do the work to be the graduate assistant for this dig, so he figured he'd take advantage of her enthusiasm. Plus, the fact that her family's benevolent 'trust' to the archeology department was paying for much of this project didn't hurt either. He hated the nepotistic feel of it, but he was not naive to how the skids of the real world were greased.
Just the fact that they were here was amazing to him. The past year was almost a blur. The death of his paternal grandfather, the reading of the will granting him full ownership of the McTalon estate here on the edge of County Sligo. When the uproar and dust finally settled, all the land was his. It was almost too good to be true. It helped make the entire idea of this dig possible.
Near the center of the field that had always been used to pasture the sheep, there was a large round hill. Legend had always said that it was a fairy mound. Depending on which relative or account you listened to, it was either Seelie or Unseelie. The idea had always fascinated him. Even as a child when they would fly across the pond to visit the relatives here in Ireland, the first place he wanted to see was the mound. He had found some rudimentary artifacts around it as a child, which spurred his interest in archeology. He had wanted to do a full dig of the site as soon has he earned his graduate degree, but the rest of the family flatly denied him access in that manner. Some didn’t want the grounds spoiled, but most still held to the old ways of fearing to disturb the fae that might still live there. Shane found the idea preposterous, but could do nothing about it. Until now.
Shane started to load the final crates onto the jeep when Kelly finally came out of her tent. Today, for once, she looked like she was here for the dig. Her long brown hair was pulled back for once into a nicely braided pony tail. Her tee today at least almost reached the belt line of her tan khaki shorts. She seemed to be moving slowly this morning, perhaps having stayed up late researching the parchments they had found encased in a broken pottery jar late yesterday afternoon.
“Good morning, Ms. Yeager. Ready for the ride to the site? Today should be a busy one, I hope.”
“Yes, Dr. McTalon, I’m ready. Was busy with the sheets late last night and had trouble waking up.” She replied. Kelly had poured over them all night, committing them to memory in case there was information that would be needed during the dig today. The information in them had been fascinating if not a little alarming. The information they contained was more graphic than she anticipated, and she would have to tell Dr. Shane later what they contained. But at the moment, she had other things on her mind. Most of them dealt with her professor and mentor.
Ever since her hormones first started churning, Kelly had been attracted to older men. She never fully understood why. It started with that totally hot science teacher in 8th grade and had never stopped. She had read all the stuff about girls seeking out father figures to replace their absent ones, but that was not the pull for her. She and her dad had a great relationship, and no older man had fondled or molested her when she was young. She just thought that guys her age were still way to immature and she desired the attention of men who could seduce her brain as well as her loins. So, much to her Momma’s dismay, she hung around with college boys in high school, and tried to flirt with the grad students when she started college.
She had struck gold, she hoped, with Dr. Shane, as she called him in her mind and out at the dig. He was not too old, late 30’s, maybe 40. He took good care of himself, and those deep brown eyes were so dreamy. And, with that accent, she had her Harrison Ford and Sean Connery all rolled into one! She kept trying to find ways to get his attentions since they had arrived here, but he kept being so frustratingly professional. She either had been dressing wrong or the guy was eating salt peter like candy. So today, she went professional with the khakis and tee. She hoped he would notice the change, and, in the process, her. She bent over to pick up the last crate left on the ground.
Shane began to get into the jeep. "Any more luck interpreting the parchments we found yesterday?" he inquired. The find was quite a surprise and he hoped they would shed light on other artifacts.
"They seem to be in praise and tribute to someone named 'Androcon', she replied in a huff, dropping the last crate loudly into the back of the jeep. Shane did not look impressed with her effort, knowing that he had left the lightest one fro her to load up.
"The same name as on the clay bowl?
"Yes, Dr. Shane, the same one. He appears, from their description, to be some sort of chieftain, or hero. At times he seems to be deified by them. It's hard to tell for sure. He seems to be especially adored by the women. It's hard to tetll if they are making offerings to him or just offering tribute. I still have one more sheet to go, it got real late and I wanted to make sure my mind was clea before I translated it." Kelly climbed in the passenger side, backpack tossed into the footwell as Shane starrted the engine.
"You should have enough time during the drive, besides, I have news as well," Shane replied. "Finnigan called me on the two-way 30 minutes ago. They claim to have found something big."
"What was it?" Kelly head turned sharply toward him as he put the jeep in gear.
"I don't know. My battery died just as he started and all the spares, plus the charger, at the dig site. We'll find out soon enough." His calm demeanor hid the same excitement that was showing on Kelly's face. A big find could be just about anything, but it could be the break he had waited for all summer.
"I better get this read then!" Kelly proclaimed, as if the whole department was in the jeep. She carefully pulled out the last parchment sheet as Shane skillfully drove along the path. The pasture was rough and rocky. Great for sheep and goats but not exactly for heavily loaded jeeps. Shane knew it like the back of his hand, so he was able to let his eyes wander from the road as he pondered what Finnegan and his team had found.
Finnegan was the team leader for local workers hired for the dig. He was experienced and a hard worker. Shane swore that he could teach anyone, even a kindergartner, how to dig up the most priceless artifacts. There was one thing that worried him about Ole Finn, as Shane always called him. That was his behavior around Kelly. Normally, Finn was well behaved and minded his P's and Q's well. From day 1, he had acted differently around Kelly, a step short of outright making passes at her. Poor Kelly seemed to be oblivious to it all, but the last thing Shane and Viscount University needed was a sexual harassment suit.
He looked over at Kelly as he pondered this. Her eyes were locked onto the sheet. It wasn't hard to see why Ole Finn was enamored with her. Her shoulder length brown hair, soft green eyes, and curvy figure would light a fire in any male that was still breathing. And, it wasn't as if Shane was immune to the aura she created. Even now, he found it hard not to notice the jiggle of her bust-line as the jeep rolled along the terrain. Suddenly, he saw a massive bounce as they hit a bump that Shane had not seen. "Dear God," he thougth to himself. That well endowed and braless today. Shane made a note to himself to make sure Ole Finn was on a short leash today.
Kelly suddenly bounced again, but not from the jeep. She shot up high in her seat and shouted, "THAT'S IT!” Shane fought with his mind and forced himself to look right in her eyes and not at her still wiggling top.
"What is "IT"?" he asked.
"It's much clearer on this one! It's offerings they are making! He's a god!" Kelly beamed with excitement. "He's some sort of fertility god! But, that doesn't make sense. Aren't fertility gods usually symbolized by women?"
Shane nodded. "Yes, the majority of them are, such as Asherah, Astarte, Ishtar, Aphrodite, even this island's Ingrid. But, at times men were used. In women, they worshiped their ability to provide the end result: crops, livestock, children. Others chose to worship the male counterpart to 'fertilize' and create the desired result to be grown. Some cultures even recognized and worshiped both, making sure that both ends of the process were covered."
"Well, that's what they praise him for, his power to provide and preserve. It says here that their whole existence was dependent on him. Which makes sense. No fertility, no crops, no calves or lambs, no kids. Those made up their entire existence."
"Yes, precisely. And if this 'Androcon' was worshiped as a fertility god, his priests would have held much sway with the people, as agrarian as they were. And, add to that how women were often viewed from a prestige standpoint. Many kids were of high value, since that lead to more helpers in the fields. Being a barren woman was the ultimate discrace, since infetility was almost always blamed on the woman and not the man. Even the Biblical texts reflect that, as in the stories of Sarah and Hannah. No in vitro clincs back then. Makes you wonder how many women were the victims of barren men."
“Yeah, and to think now, how they try to avoid it, makes you wonder how they’d handle one now.” Shane smiled as he watched her in the passenger seat. He was proud of her putting the pieces together from the parchments. It helped to know what kind of site this dig was now becoming. A Celtic fertility god would be an amazing discovery indeed. And if he was portrayed as male, it would be an even finer discovery. This could not only get him tenure, but had other benefits as well. “You realize, of course, that this could be thesis material for you, Kelly? How do you feel about devoting your life to a sex god?” he smirked as he put his eyes back on the road and not on her tempting form. Every look at her reminded him of how long it had been since...but he had to focus. Last thing he needed was to mess up his career with a grad student. She was a gorgeous site to behold that was true. But, he was way to close to getting tenure to risk it.
“I suppose a girl COULD get used to that. Might even be some women’s dream come true. But really, I doubt any man could perform like one. Not that it wouldn’t be fun to try and find out...” she coyly trailed off her voice. The jeep was arriving at the mound. They both could see Old Finn running to meet them. Old Finn wasn’t bad for a man in his fifties, but his behavior around her was less than what she desired. He kept acting like either a 15 year old kid or a 40+ mid-life crisis victim around her, and it unnerved her to no end. She put up with it only in a vain attempt to get Dr. Shane jealous, and it obviously was not working on him. They both slowly got out of the jeep as Finn got his breath.
“You’ll never believe what we just found this morning, Shane. One of the diggers swung his pick, and suddenly a hole was there in front of him and he almost lost his pick. We pulled everyone back, then slowly worked the spot. We made a hole about 6 feet in diameter. I looked in the hole with my light and I think I saw...I think I saw...” Finn looked from Shane to Kelly, letting his gaze linger too long on Kelly.
“Out with it, Finn!” shouted Shane. He had come this far and didn’t want to be delayed by his friend’s wandering eyes.
“I think I saw...and underground room!” he finally blurted out.
“Please, Finn, don’t toy with me. This dig is too important to...” Shane started.
“I’m NOT toying with you! I saw a floor...walls...even what looks like a column. No one went down in. We were saving it for you, Shane. Come with me, I’ll show you!” Finn interrupted. He signaled for men to unload the jeep. As they did, Shane and Kelly grabbed their personal gear and walked fast behind Finn. As they walked, they fastened tool belts to their waists and carried miner’s helmets. The idea of an underground room was too good to be true. His mind raced on what it could be. He looked over Kelly’s belt and was happy to see it well supplied with tools he didn’t have with him. She was learning well how to compliment a team approach. Maybe he was wrong about her and her real interest. Only time would tell.
The trio reached the dig site where all the dig team stood milling around. Finn led them past the crowd and pointed to the hole about 20 feet before them. It was right out in the middle of the area that the team started to excavate yesterday afternoon. He looked at Finn. “Are we sure that we are safe this far back?”
“No idea, really. We seem safe from here, but who knows? Couldn’t see that far in...but appears to be safe this far back.” Finn offered. He really had no idea, but was playing it as safe as they could. “We can hook you up from here and you can repel down. We can hold the ropes in case you break through for some reason.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Get me set up. Kelly, ready for some ‘adventure’?” Shane asked, winking at her.
“You bet, Dr. Shane!” she replied. Half a dozen of the young men quickly started to help her get geared up and Shane and Finn worked alone.
“You sure you want her down there?” Finn asked.
“Of course. If she’s gonna be my assistant, she better start learning the ropes, no pun intended.” he replied. With the gear secured, Shane and Kelly slowly walked to the hole. Peering down, Shane nodded and leapt backwards off the ledge into the dark hole. Twenty seconds later, Kelly heard him call out for her to join him. She winked and blew a kiss at Finn, then leapt off as well.
