The stone circle had stood for twelve thousand years. On midwinter eve and at other times, followers of the old religion still gathered to perform the ancient rites at turn of the seasons.
The druids assembled in the center of the circle by torchlight, to chant the ancient cadences.
The chant was wrong. Where the stones should ring and glow, there was only a dull *thud*
A woman in a lab coat and wearing the skull of a bear emerged from behind Old Placidity, the larger of the central stones.
“Oh, you’re here. I’m sorry but the maintenance window has run overtime, one of the Diamonds Of Eternity has fallen into the tape reader and bent one of the pins. Until Colin gets back from Inverness with a replacement the Circle is stuck in safe mode”.
The lead celebrant protested. “But, but. It’s **midwinter*+. The rite /must/ be completed lest Fimbulwinter manifest and the sun be banished!”
“Yeah, it’s a pain, eh?. Have you got a cellphone? No? Here use mine, you can run the rite on the emulator just fine.”