Tales from the Archives: Volume 3

Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come. This volume includes: All That Glitters by Dan Rabarts Agents Lachlan King and Barry Ferguson are called to an isolated mining town to investigate the disappearance of a young Chinese girl. They found the town all but abandoned, and as they descend into the realm of Ruaumoko, the Maori god of earthquakes they find an explosive situation that will test both agents and their equipment sorely. Under Oak Island by K T Bryski Agent Brandon Hill is called in to investigate strange happenings in Nova Scotia. The location is an isolated stretch of land called Oak Island, a truly peculiar place with mystery and peril surrounding it. At the Money Pit, a man-made excavation site at the island’s heart, Hill meets up with Agent Anouk Tremblay, le Ministère Officiel d’Occurrences Sans Explication, the Québec counterpart to the Ministry. Struggling against the dark claustrophobia lingering around them in their descent of the Money Pit, Hill and Tremblay navigate hydrological systems and digging technology to discover what has taken refuge under Oak Island. Those Dark Satanic Mills by Suna Dasi Agent Imogen Feaveryear finds herself investigating a mysterious panic overcoming a mill in the countryside of Manchester, England. The unassuming mystery, dismissed by other agents of the Ministry, leads her to India, the approval of Doctor Sound on granting the young agent the latest in R&D technology. This case only twists and turns harder as Imogen confronts an enigmatic intruder, obviously aware of her clandestine work. Blessings of Baalsheim by Nobilis Reed In the Spring of 1869 Mrs Isabel Burton begins a correspondence with the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Director, Woodruff Spring, on a strange device she has run across in her travels. Ministry agents are dispatched and a soon enough the Burtons, both Isabel and her husband Sir Richard, are deep in a very peculiar occurrence and dashing through the wilderness to prevent untold horror occurring. The Black Empress by Katharina Bordet When two agents from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences are called to Vienna to investigate disturbances at the palace, what they discover could threaten the Austro-Hungarian Empire and shatter the fragile peace in Europe. Who is the mysterious man who has pulled diplomatic strings to enlist the help of a foreign agency and how is the Empress Elisabeth herself involved? To Hide in Plain Sight by K T Bryski Elizabeth Sinclair, working on the fringes of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, is called in to find a thief. Her unusual set of skills means she is particularly suited to this task, but she is not the only one able to hide in plain sight, and the museum of the University of Toronto has many secrets and dangers within its walls.