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Welcome to another adventure from the Thousand Acre Woods deep within Trollheim of the NJ Pine Belt! Tales Chronicled by Jonathan Hulton. That's me. Today I'm going to tell of the tale of Bjorn's friend Olaf and the weight of wealth...

 

Bjorn went to visit an old and very wealthy friend. Olaf came over as a free Troll on his own, as other Nattrolls like Bjorn came over as slaves of the Swedish colony. He had moved to Trollheim from the Orient. There, he cornered the market in magic carpets and got a fabulous hoard of old treasures. Olaf bought Half Moon Hill to bury his fortune under his grand palace, which put Petra to shame. He had to hire the oldest Nissen to provide enough magic and a team of the largest hill Jötunns to provide security. They hid his home from the average Pineys in Whiting.

Bjorn was smuggling donkeys with Nasrundin when he first met Olaf centuries ago. The customs agents never suspected they were smuggling donkeys. They kept looking for contraband in the packs on the donkeys' backs.

"Bjorn, my friend, it's wonderful to see you." Olaf slapped his arm around Bjorn with a huge grin on his face. He looked to his feet and then to the sky as they entered his grand foyer, filled with the largest and meanest jötunns. He was paying a king's ransom for them to protect his fortune.

"Your visit fills my soul, and I will sleep soundly tonight after spending time with my good friend!"

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"No, I'm always worried about someone robbing me."

"Maybe, it's the same thief that robbed Karl."

"What did they steal?"

"Nothing, as far as anyone can tell."

"Why does Karl think someone has robbed him?"

"You have to ask him yourself." Bjorn shrugged while looking at his shoes.

"They stole nothing…"

"Just my patience."

"That's too bad—about your patience, but good that they stole nothing else—I guess." Olaf felt perplexed as he pulled out a chair for Bjorn.

Before them were platters and bowls. They held dates, apricots, cashews, almonds, roasted peppers, artichokes, and cheese. The jötunns served them wearing little frilly aprons.

Bjorn gave Olaf a sideways glance.

"Well, I got to keep them in line somehow…" Olaf shrugged his shoulders as he popped a date in his mouth.

After much good conversation and food, Bjorn asked, "So, you still have Solomon's summer beach house treasure?"

"Well, yes, the Dead Sea dried up years ago, and he wasn't using the beach house anymore."

"Even though the sea had vanished, it had gained more beach." While holding his hand out and looking Olaf in the eye, Bjorn answered.

"You want to see it?"

"Sure."

Olaf snapped his fingers. Two jötunns pulled on a block and chain. This raised a trapdoor, revealing the stairs to the vault.

Half of the jötunns went before us, and the rest followed. Several Nissen appeared. They removed the magical wards as we went through many long corridors. I was starting to think his vault must have a conveyor belt to circulate the money to his security staff. Nissen don't come cheap!

Olaf produced a key from under his shirt after a long walk through the hallway. A Nisse turned the key in the old Chinese puzzle lock. We heard a low whine as a series of gears turned within the mechanism. Four other Nissen appeared with keys to finish unlocking the puzzle. Olaf was quite flummoxed the whole time.

Olaf wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled as he saw that the treasure was still there. "Enter my friend, play with anything, and don't feel bad if an emerald or ruby happens to fall in your pocket. Maybe something for your wife."

"Thank you; maybe if something catches 'her eye', my friend."

The room had wall-to-wall tile mosaics lined with amber and jade, framed in acacia wood and cypress. His treasure was the ninth of the eight wonders of the world. The treasure horde contained many objects from around the world. There were paintings by the Pompeii masters. Golden vessels of all types. Carvings in an eight-foot walrus tusks of Mohamed and Gabriel in the garden. Inside were the lost paintings by da' Vinci. There were also the vases from the Hanging Gardens. He even had the Blue Flower that the snake stole from Gilgamesh, and on and on...

Bjorn just basked in one masterpiece or wonder after the other. Olaf would catch a sideways glance from Bjorn, asking about an object from time to time. Olaf only spoke when asked to, letting Bjorn enjoy his time in the vault.

"You know, Olaf, I've had as much fun as you're having with your treasures. So, there's no difference between us. But I got the better deal."

"How so?"

"You only admire the treasure. But it's costing you the trouble and expense of looking after them," Bjorn said, smiling. "For I can come back at any time and enjoy them with you without any expense..."

 

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