Fjallkonan #31 | 11 August 1900

SUDDENLY, I SAW SOMETHING ELSETHAT GAVE ME PAUSE.¹⁸¹

Along the wall beneath the window I was looking out from ran the ridge I had observed the night before. It seemed as though a shadow had been cast upon it in the night. Whether this shadow was caused by a human or not, I do not know, but it could only have come from this window, for there were no other doors or windows nearby to cast light.

I’d had more than enough on my mind in my attempts to escape the castle, and so I’d almost forgotten about the body of the young girl I’d seen not far from here. But then something happened to remind me.

I saw an elderly woman wearing peasant clothes suddenly appear between the bushes and the place where the corpse was lying. It was evident from her movements that she was trembling with fear, and upon reaching the body her lips parted as if to let out a scream. But instead she steadied herself and gestured to someone else, whom I couldn’t see, to come closer. I now saw that she was standing on a narrow path on the other side of the castle that led along the foot of the cliffs.

A group of people from the countryside—both men and women—came walking up the trail, the same apprehension in their demeanor. When they reached the elderly woman they crowded around her, and it was clear she was reporting something to them. I had no doubt what it was. The people spoke in low voices, but they were plainly upset. Then they all walked up to the dead girl. I could see everything: her pallid face in the sunshine, the wound in her throat, and the blood-stained clothes on her dead body.

Among these people was an old man who appeared to be in charge of the others; he seemed to tell them something that they were hesitant to obey. But they finally nodded their assent. A young man—who seemed even more grief-stricken than the rest—went into the bushes and fetched a limb from a mountain ash, which he handed to the old man. The elder then drove the branch into the corpse’s chest, mumbling a great many prayers, and then the crowd carried the body away.¹⁸²

It was obvious that this ritual originated from ignorant superstition.¹⁸³ I sat down and looked at my watch. It felt as though I had been wandering around the castle for a very long time, but now I saw that it had only been three hours. Though I had expected the day to be coming to an end, the sun was still high up in the sky.

I knew that I had to continue my tour. These stairs would lead to the upper part of the castle, and surely somewhere up there I would find its inhabitants. She had to be there, too—the glorious girl I had met, and then had seen once more—and she could not be alone: Somewhere there had to be handmaids, occupied rooms, and doors that could be passed through without hindrance, although, until now, I had only managed to find my way to the abandoned parts of the castle.

“Carry on,” I said to myself.

I ran up the stairs, which were no longer pitch dark, and soon I came upon a sturdily built door. I was so jittery that I could hardly catch my breath. I suspected the door would be locked and that I would have to go back the same way I’d come—or else perish here.

The windows were somewhat farther off, so there was not much light and I had to feel for the lock. The keyhole was open; the door must have been fastened.

I felt light-headed and nearly keeled over, so I sat down at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall. I was exhausted, and I don’t know how long I sat there, when suddenly I thought I heard someone moving about. I straightened up and listened as closely as I could. Yes! I heard it again! It sounded as if someone was carefully unbolting the door.

Could it be? I jumped to my feet and stepped towards the door, discovering that it was indeed unlocked!¹⁸⁴

I grabbed the penknife from my pocket and squeezed its strongest blade between the doorframe and the door until it opened.

A spacious hall with oak floors and wall tapestries spread out before me. There were also heavy, oldfangled chairs, like the ones in my bedroom. The blinds were half drawn, dimming the light.

Without making a sound I entered the room.

On the other side of the hall, two doors stood ajar.

I guessed that the door on the left would lead me towards my room and to that of the Count,¹⁸⁵ but before I headed that way I wanted to make sure that no danger awaited me from behind the door on the right, so I tip-toed across the floor and peered inside. I soon realized that I was in the corner tower I had noticed earlier.¹⁸⁶ It was a large, round space without a door, except for the one through which I entered the room. The windows had been partially bricked up; the rest were barred with iron grates. There was no decoration on the walls, save for the spiderwebs. A wooden fence ran along the wall, and between it and the masonry lay heaps much like the corn piles I’d seen in tillers’ barns. At first I thought this room might be used for grain storage, but this seemed highly unlikely as it was on the building’s fourth floor. Out of curiosity, I put my hand on one of the piles and felt hard, small, round objects that were cold to the touch. I took a handful and carried them to the window. I found it was something quite different from what I’d thought: they were gold pieces—dusty, old gold coins, as was evident by their weight and metallic sound.

I walked quickly around the room and examined the heaps. They all looked the same to me. Some coins were flawless, as if freshly minted, but some had blackened. I found none from our time—some of them I didn’t even recognize, while others were Greek or Roman. I am no numismatic expert and therefore cannot judge the antiquarian value of this coin collection, but the price of the precious metal alone would certainly have amounted to many millions of crowns. But that was not all I found.¹⁸⁷

I was becoming more curious and started snooping around more when I saw two chests with iron fittings in the middle of the floor. They were not locked, so I was able to peek under the lids. The chests were filled with myriad finery made of gold, silver, jewels and pearls. There were golden drinking bowls, a large casket full of glimmering gemstones,¹⁸⁸ and other such valuables.

I also noticed compartments in the walls containing even more precious goods—no less sumptuous than those in the chests—but I had no time to examine them now. I came to realize that people hadn’t exaggerated when they told me the Count was as rich as Croesus, for I had never seen anything like this.

Somehow I felt relieved that nobody had cared to lock the door—even though it was ironclad on both sides—and secure this room, although it contained such immense treasure.