CHAPTER 1 The Mystical Drinking Horn
1498 Words
Faroe Islands. May, 2020.
Buong paghangang minamasdan ni Sandro Montreal ang silver Viking horn sa glass box na kinalalagyan nito. It was about fifteen inch long from the mouth to the tip with different gemstones on the exterior as decorations. Bilang isang antique and artifact collector at nagmamay-ari nang pinakasikat na museum sa buong Asia, ang drinking horn ay sadyang isang kaakit-akit na bagay na ngayon ay bumibihag sa kanya.
He was inside a small antique shop in the downtown of Thorsvin, the capital and largest city of Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark.
Mula sa kanyang halos walang tigil na paglalakbay sa tatlong bansa kung saan sinasabing nagmula ang mga Vikings na labis na kinatakutan sa malaking bahagi ng Europe sa loob ng halos apat na daang taon, masasabing dito sa Faroe Islands niya nakita ang isang bagay na nanaisin niyang makuha at maiuwi, gaano man ang halaga nito.
Ilang araw pa lang siya sa malayong isla na iyon ng Denmark. Few weeks ago ay nasa Viking Ship Museum sa Oslo, Norway siya upang makita ang tanyag na Osberg longship na pinaniniwalaang isang burial ship ng isang Norwegian queen. Pinuntahan din niya ang sikat na Lingsberg Runestone sa Sweden gayundin ang Jeling Stone sa naturang bansa na itinayo ng last pagan king ng Denmark, si King Gorm the Old. Siya ang ama ng sikat na si Harald I ‘Bluetooth ’ Gormsson, the first Viking king to be baptized as Christian.
From those countries, he was able to buy some objects that could be displayed in his museum. But those tools, weapons, coins and jewelry were not enough to satisfy his passion as a curator. Naghahanap pa rin siya nang kakaiba at mas kamangha-manghang bagay mula sa nakalipas na panahon ng mga Vikings.
“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t sell this one,” magalang na sagot ng matandang may-ari ng antique shop ng tinanong niya kung magkano ang naturang silver horn. Lihim siyang nagpasalamat dahil sa matatas na pagsasalita nito ng wikang English dahil mas magkakaintindihan sila. Faroese at Danish ang official languages sa bansang iyon. Mangilan-ngilan lamang ang marunong gumamit ng matatas na English.
He crumpled his forehead. Why they have to display it if they would not sell it? “I will buy it. Just name your price,” he said in a friendly tone.
“Sir,” Mr. Knudsen scratched his head. “I cannot sell it to you.”
“Give me one good reason why you would not sell it to me?” he impatiently asked.
“You may laugh at me if I tell you the reason but if it will change your mind, well, I’ll share it to you.” The old man cleared his throat, looked at him intently and opened his mouth. “According to our urban legend, this horn carries a curse. It was formerly owned by a cruel chieftain. When disgusted by a delinquent subject who disobeyed their tribe’s laws, he trapped his spirit inside it. The sprit, accordingly, can be freed any time, but when or how, that we didn’t know.”
“How did you learn the curse and the story behind it?”
“The story was passed down from generation to generation, sir. We don’t know if it’s true but we believe there’s nothing wrong if we can prevent the spirit from coming out. Because we’re not sure whether that spirit is good or bad. It would be better if it will remain inside the horn forever.”
He scanned the exterior of the drinking horn. Aside from the different gemstones, he also noticed some texts embossed on its rim in Runic alphabet, the old Norsemen alphabet. “There are texts on it. Perhaps these have something to do with the curse or with the spirit inside. Can you interpret it?”
“My apology, sir. No one here can understand Rune. Though we have some cryptographers in our country, I did not ask any of them to interpret its meaning, for I believe that there’s no use knowing the meaning of the text. For as long as this horn will remain untouched, it will bring no harm to any one.”
He nodded his head. The horn became more interesting to him. “Where did you find it?”
“Some villagers found it in Hov, the Vikings’ burial mound. Then, it was passed to different hands, but because of the alleged curse on it, nobody really wanted to own it. Until my family acquired it and decided to display it here. But we made a decision not to sell it to any one.”
He secretly smiled. Wala palang ipinagkaiba ang mga Faroese sa mga Pilipino. They still embrace fanaticism and folklores.
“Well, you have to sell it to me now, Mr.Knudsen. I promise to protect it in my museum. I’ll see to it that no hand can touch it.”
Hesitant, Mr. Knudsen stared at him. Perhaps, the old man was trying to assess how much money he could shell out for the sake of having this drinking horn.
“Double the price or triple the price, Mr. Knudsen. I don’t have problem with money. But one thing is sure, I will not go back to the Philippines without this stuff in my luggage.”
Pagkatapos nang mahaba-haba pang kulitan at pilitan, sa wakas ay himalang napapayag niya ang owner na ibenta sa kanya ang drinking horn sa napakalaking halaga. Halos tripleng halaga ng Icelandic gray horse na kamakailan lang ay binili niya sa Iceland at iniuwi sa Pilipinas.
He smiled widely when Mr. Knudsen handed to him the box that contained the drinking horn. He proved to himself once again that with his money, he could get every thing no matter how expensive it is, houses, cars, travels, women and even the most prized artifacts in the world.
He was Sandro Montreal. One of the most sought-after bachelors in the Philippines. A member of Alpha Sigma Phi led by Voltaire dela Cuesta. Known by his friends and frat brods as silent type, snob and mysterious, and he wanted to remain that way.
His family owned the Montreal Museum, the largest and the most famous museum in Asia. After his graduation from UP, he focused on improving the family business by increasing the holdings of the museum. He went to different countries to acquire more artifatcs, antiques and other valuable representations of the past. Nagalugad na niya ang buong Asia, America, Africa, Eastern at Western Europe. Sa ngayon ay nag-focus naman siya sa Northern Europe kung saan ang target niya ay makakuha ng mga bagay na nagre-represent sa makulay na kultura ng Norsemen o Vikings. At dahil ang Scandinavia na sinasabing lugar na siyang pinagmulan at pinanirahan ng grupong ito, minabuti niyang galugarin ang tatlong bansa na bumubuo dito noon, ang Norway, Sweden at Denmark. At ngayon nga ay narito siya sa Faroe Islands, isang maliit na isla ng Denmark bilang huling destinasyon niya sa hilagang bahagi ng planeta.
When his parents died in a plane crash, he automatically owned the museum and the other businesses of his parents being the only child in the family. The millions that he inherited from his parents soared dramatically into billions. After nine years of hardwork and dedication, at the age of thirty, he was certified as one of the youngest billionaires in Asia.
Hot and rich, mysterious but gorgeous. Those are rare qualities that made women all over the world fell in his hands and in his bed. Their color and race were never an issue to him. He tasted all of them. Asian, latina, black, blond, brunette, name it and he had it. But he did not take any one of them seriously. Itinuturing lang niya na koleksyon ang mga babae sa buhay niya. But their difference to his antique and artifact collections was that, he could dump them any time he wanted.
But that was before until he met Yvonne Mitchell. Ang half-British, half-Filipina na nakilala niya sa kasal nina Zach at Lei na dinaluhan niya one month ago. Kaibigan ito ng half-sister ni Lei na si Mia. First time pa lang niya na nakita ang dalaga ay alam niyang sexually attracted na siya rito. He was sure on that day that he wanted to know her more. Pero ang labis niyang ipinagtataka ay kung bakit tumanggi ito na ibigay ang number at social media accounts noong hiningi niya. Was she trying to be demure? A hard-to-get b***h? Bilang isang babae na lumaki sa isang western country, nakakapagtakang nagpapaka-conservative ito. Pero halata naman niya, attracted din ito sa kanya.
But he was really decided to know and to pursue her. Kung hindi nga lang kailangan na niyang bumalik agad sa Denmark ilang araw pagkatapos ng kasal ni Zach, gagawa at gagawa siya ng paraan upang mahanap ito.
At kapag natunton niya ito sa kanyang nalalapit na pagbabalik sa Pilipinas. Hinding-hindi niya ito papakawalan. Whether she likes it or not. And if she would refuse, well, f**k that woman. Wala pang babaeng tumatanggi kay Sandro Montreal.
- Writer
