21 At the center of the five hundred-meter-wide star fort was an hexagonal platform with a series of wide stone steps on all six sides still showing some polished shine after millennia. Twelve large, three-sided triangular standing stones each five meters high stood in the center, creating a wondrous henge for mittagessen, which was served on a long table under a camouflaged tent for the officers and guests, eighteen total. A white tablecloth lay beneath two large hams, assorted game birds and all the trimmings. In addition to the bottles of Italian mineral water, champagne was served cold from six ice buckets; tin cups sufficed for flutes. Silverware was Wehrmacht standard issue, tin plates same. A phonograph was wound up by an enlisted man. It played soft French jazz, a forbidden luxury within the SS. SS Standartenfuhrer Ernst Schafer, Ahnenerbe zoologist, occultist, hunter, and chief archeologist, dismissed the need for guards, politely telling Bea and Alice that the valley and its ancient entrance were now sealed off and there was no place to run or hide, the steep sides and peaks inaccessible, virtually unclimbable, the nights freezing. He added that the odd brown bear or hungry Persian leopard might also be lurking about. They were free to roam at will, but would be closely monitored. Gwafa, however, would remain under arrest. My apologies for him. Even though I regard the Aryan race as the most superior, whispered Schafer, a scant few of us Ahnenerbe could care less about socializing with lesser ones, and in fact it can be most stimulating and refreshing. The Waffen SS, well, thats another matter. Ill just bet, despaired Bea with arms crossed, taking it all in. Alice stood silent, mouth agape as two hawks flew by, the abundance of nature palpable. She noticed three graves off to the north with wooden man-symbol-shaped runes instead of crosses, an ancient symbol of the Wotan SS religion. Everywhere, spaded workmen proceeded with the archeological digging at a feverish pace. Now Ive really seen everything, moaned Bernie, admiring the bespoke camouflaged Krupp field kitchen truck complete with ice boxes and a bakery wagon, the