Hans of Iceland Chapter XLVI

In which the somber fate of a mysterious drowned scholar unfolds beneath the dim light of a copper lamp in the cold dead-house of Throndhjem, his identity revealed through curious remnants and a ciphered parchment. The keeper, awoken from reluctant slumber, contemplates the portentous iron box found upon the corpse and hastens to the bishop’s palace, bearing a burden heavy with dark promise.