Return To New London: The Franz Fichte Tales, #5

By H.H. Marcus

Franz Fichte renowned explorer, world traveler and adventurer returns in his fifth exciting tale. Franz returns home after his harrowing vacation and soon the call to return to New London becomes his destiny. His nemesis and the cult that supports him are plotting against him and the entire world. As time runs out he finds himself in the midst of an occult conspiracy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 84 North Publishing
• Release date: Nov 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215505816

Book preview

Return To New London

By H.H. Marcus

Published by 84NorthPublishing.com

Chapter 1

Bellegarde stood before them looking into deep into the crystals. His gaze transfixed to their hazy glow. In them he had seen a vision of another gate to the dreamscape had fallen. He stared deeply at the swirling patterns inside the crystals, trying to make sense of them. The crystals themselves rest upon a wooden support, formed from a trunk that lay nearby, carved with ancient symbols and etched with engravings made by men long gone.

A murmur of chants surrounding him, when a wave surged outwards, from the disk on which the altar sat, began towards him. It engulfed his body and carried him upwards, levitating slightly. The full moon's light shone down upon the altar where he stood doing his ritual.

His hands trembled as they grasped the sword hilt before him, a faint trickle of blood from his hand dripping onto the surface of the altar.

It had been months of preparation for this moment. It was time. The chants began to grow in number.

He knelt upon the stoop near the ancient snake altar, sorting through a pouch, he poured an offering to the altar from a small bottle. He himself began to chant slowly and deliberately under his breath.

The earth beneath him seemed to shake as though with an earthquake. A black portal appeared in front of him just beyond the serpent's head. The swirling vortex seemed to beckon him into it's strange surface. He took a vial of elixir into his hands, uncorking the contests and quaffing it quickly. He then stepped through the portal, disappearing from sight.

The chamber was full of robed individuals who now all began chanting on cue, lowering their bodies to earth only to rise again and speaking in choral tones. Their voices grew louder and clearer, rising above all other noise and drowning out the clamor that filled the chamber.

Frightened cries echoed throughout the Great Hall as the creatures began pressing their visages through the portal's boundary, obstructed from full entry only by the portal's thin fabric separating space and time.

The snake priest watched closely, enthralled by the chaos he saw play out before him. As more and more of these beings emerged from the mouth of the portal, they continued moving forwards towards the altar.

Now is the time.

Leaving the horde upon the dais, Bellegarde walked through the outer realm, heading deeper into the maze of buildings. All around were great gates adorned with strange designs carved into it. He noticed they were broken or missing, with sections jutting outward into empty space.

Now is the time. he said to himself.

Chapter 2

Gaston my dear, won't you check on the child? asked Marta, Gaston's wife.

Yes, I'll be right there, replied Gaston, picking up some papers from his desk.

With this task complete, he headed towards the nursery to see if everything was fine. As he passed through the doorway, he looked back at an Egyptian sculpture and let out a sigh. He was thinking of adventure again, him and Franz still rarely speak of Cairo though he thinks about it often.

Entering the nursery, he could hear mewling sounds coming from one of the cribs. Holding the doorframe for support, he tiptoed over to see if everything was okay.

The room was dark, the only light came from small shafts of moonlight shining through windows in the ceiling. He could see his child, drifting off to sleep. His mind returned to adventure, of daring thrills, and suddenly his dangerous thoughts were interrupted as he tripped over a toy leaving the nursery.

As Gaston stood there breathing heavily he thought about his life, what choices he made. It had been some time since the events of Cairo or the time he had met Franz in New London. At the time he was working for Professor Bellegarde, those were better days he often thought. Everything was a little more simple back then, even if he was leading the role as family man these days.

He made his way towards the master bedroom to find his wife already asleep.

He stood there listening to her soft breathing as he stroked her arm gently. It was so comforting and yet he thought of the trials and tribulations that got him here. He was wealthy now, far beyond his expectations, with thanks to his good friends Franz Fichte and Hans Wieland. He was putting his academic skills to work writing textbooks and speaking about ancient civilizations. He had gone to university for it after all, but he found it all so boring. He never fancied himself an adrenaline addict that is until he was mired in problem after problem with Franz.

Faraway places beckoned him, his mind alight with possibility, as if teasing him in his newfound docile state. It drove him mad sometimes, the urge to leave the security of the household, the safety and comfort of life at home.

He became absorbed with some books that Franz had recommended he study, ancient texts claiming that traveling between worlds was possible, teaching others how to enter these parallel dimensions with special rituals and reagents.

He lied restless in bed, hearing the clock by tick one minute at a time, chiseling away at ideas while knowing he would go insane if he attempted them. Not even a day goes by when he doesn't wonder if he should travel, bringing a change to the everyday norm of mundane existence. There is still something to his sedentary