The Adventurers

Chapter 22

Le Clerque moved cautiously through the foliage, staying close to the ground and keeping his head tilted to catch any sound. The Katopi native had been hustled off toward what appeared to be the start of a large hill but when Le Clerque reached the area he could see that he had almost crawled right into a small village. And what he thought was a hill turned out to be a huge jaguar's head carved out of a steep rock face.

He froze and then slowly edged back until he was behind the large leaves of several bushes and he began a systematic scan of the village. The natives were all tall, thin and were a shade of brown that was almost black. The women were tall as well and they wore full length robes with small feathered caps on their bald heads.

The structures around the village resembled small pyramids that were not tall enough to stand in. Le Clerque puzzled over the design; why build something you can't stand in? He looked up to the platform in front of the jaguar's mouth and took note of the canopy. Definitely the head man's site, he figured.

Darkness crept over the village early because of the forest canopy and Le Clerque relaxed a little, knowing he was now more or less invisible in his little blind. He watched with interest as the natives all gathered in front of the great carving and began a soft, rhythmic chant. Four large natives, armed with short shafted spears, wrangled a screaming prisoner out from inside the jaguar's mouth and pushed him to the edge of the platform, shouting out some words Le Clerque didn't understand.

The crowd below chanted louder and began stamping their feet in a primitive dance. He recognized the prisoner as one of the Katopi that Pazzo had sent to reconnoiter the area and who was captured right in front of him. He wondered where the second man was. Fists were raised in the air in a jerking motion toward the prisoner while several of the natives dropped to all fours and began bucking and charging one another in some kind of ritualistic behavior.

The chanting grew in volume and the dance became more frenetic. Le Clerque began to feel uneasy being so dose to something he didn't understand and he muttered a short prayer and crossed himself.

* * *

Pazzo kicked the ground beside the river and cursed as he stomped back and forth. His remaining men sat silently, wary of his possible wrath over losing their scouts. The tracks along the river's edge indicated that the group they were trailing had encountered another, sizable number of natives and moved away from the never into the jungle.

Angry at having his force almost eliminated and losing his quarry, he decided to chance going after them with just the three of them. The lure of a treasure after all he had endured was too great to ignore. He stopped pacing and growled his orders.

* * *

Sam came back from the doorway at the side of the jaguar and nodded silently to the others waiting by the hole.

"The ceremony has about another fifteen minutes before they go to the arena; right now there are no guards on your friends. It's time." He gave them all a questioning look.

"Let's do it." Sax went through the hole and down the tunnel. When he was outside he realized he couldn't see the ground in the dark and hesitated until the rest caught up.

You said it was about tent feet to the ground?"

"About."

"So what, we just jump down?"

"I usually hang over the edge so that the drop is only half that. It's soft earth but there are vines and bushes all around; you have to be careful."

"Can't we use your flashlight?"

"Not unless you want to take part out there. I'll go first so you can see what I do." Sam sat down and turned his body, sliding over the edge and gripping the top with his arms and then his fingers before letting go.

They heard the thump of him landing and then he whispered up for Chessery; Sax could hold her hands and lower her down to him. After a few cautious moments they were all down and silently circling the back of the rock to where the natives were being held.

Matzumen heard them coming and was lying close to the entrance with a rock clutched in his hand. Tapuk had Krena and her daughter behind him a little further back in the cave.

"Tapuk? Matzumen? It's me, Saxon. Bring the others and be quiet."

The two native men led the women out of the cave and joined the group on the ground. Saxon had to explain about Sam in a quick manner to allay the Katopi's fears. Following Sam, they made their way around the back of the jaguar carving to the narrow entrance that led down into the grotto.

"Jed, you stay here with Krena, Luna and the guides; keep out of sight. We'll be back as soon as we see what's in here."

"We should be getting out of here," Jed hissed.

"We will, but we came all this way to see what was here and we aren't leaving until we do. Just hang tight and wait... and keep your eyes open." Sax handed Jed his pack and waved a calming hand.

Sam was already leading Chessery down into the grotto and Sax had to hurry to keep up. The narrow stairway was lit with small wall torches the cast shaky shadows around the walls. At the bottom of the steps was a medium sized room with some wall paintings and a number of idols in wall niches. The idols were all replicas of animals, birds and reptiles.

An archway led to a larger room and inside they found what appeared to be a throne with the skeleton of a man seated and wearing a feathered crown. Scattered all around the base of the throne was a glistening pile of gems in a myriad of colours and behind, on either side, were a pair of chests brimming with more of the same plus ornaments and jewellery all in gold and fancy stones.

Nobody could speak. They just stood and stared... dumbfounded. Chessery bent down and picked up a green stone from around the base of the throne and held it up to the torch light.

"My god, it's beautiful. It's an emerald! Look at the size of the thing!"

"Now what?" Sax asked, his mind racing as to how they could ever secure this and still get away safely.

"The most you're gonna get out of this is whatever you can carry right now." Sam began filling his pockets with handfuls of gems.

"Chessery?"

"We can't just leave all this." She answered.

"Yeah, we can. If they find us in here we'll be the next entertainment. We've got others outside to think of too." Sax took her arm but she pulled away "For god's sake, Chessery, c'mon."

"You two do what you like but this Sky God is taking what he can."

"Sam, please, we need you to get us all out of here. If they catch us do you think they'll ignore the fact that you looted their... grotto, or whatever the hell this is?"

The plea made sense and he reluctantly dropped the last few that wouldn't fit anywhere comfortably and they stole back outside.

Jed came forward quickly "Christ, Sax, what took so long. They stopped their singing and chanting five minutes ago." He looked to Sam.

"That means they are all inside the arena. Now is our chance to scoot." He stepped past the others and started into the jungle without waiting.

"Hurry before the bugger loses us." Sax grabbed Chessery's arm and tugged her along after him. Jed followed with the guides and the women.