Atticus carefully slid down the jagged rocky slope, suspended by nothing more than tangle of vines. He was a scrawny boy, with thin arms that struggled to maintain a grip to the earth. Reaching cautiously for the sharp hand-holds protruding out of the cliff face, he made a slow descent.
"Is this really the best thing you could think of to the pass time?"
His friend, Eli, was holding the ropes atop the gorge, however was doing so with some difficulty. As a widely built child, his endurance for such labouring activities was not the best.
"I told you," Atticus replied sternly, "this will do more than simply pass time. It will benefit us for weeks on end."
His shortness of breath made it wearisome to speak.
"Besides, the mine is only a little further down."
"But it's nearly nightfall. And you know what the Priests will say if you are late home again."
Atticus paused for a moment and glanced up at his friend with distaste. He was not going to be held back by simple rules, and certainly not those by whom they were constructed. Laws and guidelines were only put in place to stop people from undergoing amusement. A demoralising way to control society.
"We won't be late," Atticus paused, "And they wouldn't notice if we were anyway."
Feet away from the ground, Atticus untied himself from the vines Eli was holding, and set foot on the dusty soil at the base of the gorge.
"And there we have it," he said smugly, "The gateway to fortune, freedom and fun!"
Before the boy stood a large opening in the opposing cliff face. Supported by a rotting wooden frame, it stretched on into darkness, tunnelling deep within the earth. A large ligneous sign hung from the horizontal beam atop the entrance way that read: "Neorulian Gold Mine. Intruders will be arrested without questioning."
"Hurry up Atticus... the sun is beginning to set," Eli shouted uncertainly from the cliff top.
Atticus took a few small steps into the entrance of the mine. To his right, an unlit torch was attached to the wall by a small wooden latch. He reached for it promptly, and with some manoeuvring, it became free from the edge of the mineshaft. With a swift swipe across the wall, the tunnel was suddenly filled with an ominous light.
"I... think I can see something further down," Atticus called back up to Eli, who was now glancing over his shoulder at regular intervals to avoid unwanted detection.
"Well be quick about yourself."
The tunnel itself was lined with what appeared to be some form of salt, as Atticus could easily pick at and crumble the walls with his bare hands. As he ventured further into the mine, the path which he was following became gradually wider, and eventually opened up into a large, circular cavern. Numerous passages branched off out of the room, however these were of no interest to Atticus. To the boy's far right was a small wooden door with rusted hinges. The words "Store-House" were etched into its matured timber. With a loud metallic screech, the door gave way to another room, this time lined with some form of cobble stone. Atticus gingerly progressed inside. There, lying in the centre of the grotto, were a small number of woven sacks, each containing many shiny pieces of gold.
He rushed over to the sacks and examined their contents. Reaching inside one of the bags, he carefully pulled out a single nugget of metal, and after close inspection, came to the conclusion that this was in fact what he had sought out to find. Firmly grasping the top of one of the sacks, he threw it over his shoulder strenuously, and began hobbling back down the long tunnel.
The sack was rather unwieldy, and required a tremendous amount of strength to hold let alone carry through the mine. It was a magnificent feeling when Atticus finally lay eyes upon Eli, who was now also at the foot of the cavern, and stepped forward into the fresh evening air.
"Took you long enough," Eli muttered under his breath.
"Stop your moaning. We'll be out of here soon enough."
The two boys strolled over to the cliff face, and grabbed hold of the vines that were now tied to a tree atop the gorge.
"Are you sure these will hold?" Atticus sounded uneasy.
"They got me down here, didn't they?"
Both boys giggled. The sun had nearly vanished completely behind the distant crags, and the sky was beginning to darken.
"Right. Let's get a move on," Eli chimed.
It was a slow and physically exhausting climb, but well worth the effort. Atticus made one final stretch to the top of the mantle, and hoisted himself over its edge. Reaching down he pulled up first the bag of gold, and then his now purple-faced companion. Both him and his friend collapsed now that they were out of the gorge. The venture had drained them.
A sudden rustling in the shrubbery surrounding boys brought both of them to a panic. It was almost pitch black now, but Atticus could make out the figure of an old man exiting the bushes.
"There they are! I told you!" The old man squawked. "Seize the brats that stole my fortune!"
Both Eli and Atticus got to their feet and prepared to run, but their evasion was brought to an abrupt halt by three masked figures stepping out of the darkness in front them. The men were dressed in red and white cloaks, and were wearing some form of spiked shoulder pads. Each of them was grasping a menacing two-spoked spear, and waving it around threateningly.
"The Junta!" Eli yelled.
Before either of the boys had time to comprehend escape, they were grabbed by their wrists and promptly chained together. The two of them were then dragged off silently into the night, reflecting gloomily on their foolish actions.
