The Adventurers

Chapter 16

Morning came with a stillness that seemed eerie. The natives stayed together and acted nervous and upset. No birds were flying. No sign of animals, and the breeze that had made the night a pleasure for sleeping had left with the first light. Krena huddled by the dead fire with her daughter, murmuring in hushed whispers. Jed and Sax scanned the opposite side of the river and the hill covered in thick vegetation that was indicated on the map.

Their last night was spent with each of the men taking a shift at watching their backs, happy nothing had happened, but now it seemed odd that things were so still and quiet.

"What do you think?" Jed asked.

"Buggered if I know. It all looks very normal, nothing noticeably out of order."

"It's so still. Even the river isn't making any sound."

"Thank goodness it isn't deep, we can practically stroll across, which we should get doing. Round them up."

Sax told the natives to go first and they all started across the river. The water barely covered their shins but Jed insisted on carrying Luna anyway and after a few near stumbles on slippery stones he thought she might get wet but she'd be a lot safer walking.

The first hint that things weren't right was the low humming sound coming from the dense plant life on the hill. The natives fell to their knees and began blabbering nervously Krena hid Luna's face and closed her eyes, crouching behind Jed.

"What the hell's that?" Chessery instinctively took Sax by the arm and stood close. "Tapuk, what is that?"

"The Mountain God! He warns us that we should not be here."

"Mountain God? That's a load of crap; it's a horn of some kind."

"I think it might be a bit of both, Sax." Jed pointed to a small procession emerging from the undergrowth.

The natives prostrated themselves on the ground and mumbled what Sax presumed were prayers as the group approached. Tall, dark skinned young men carrying large shields decorated with Bird of Paradise plumage and short deadly looking spears, walked beside and behind an older man with a headdress made from woven palm fronds and flowers.

They stopped and stared at the party and suddenly the humming stopped as the man raised a hand. Sax raised a hand in return, hoping it was a sign of peace or welcome but quickly discovered that it was a command for his men, who moved rapidly to surround them and relieve them of their weapons.

"Do we have a plan B?" Jed asked as they were herded toward the trees where the men had come from.

Sax looked at Tapuk and Matzumen questioningly They rolled their eyes and held their heads. "I don't think so."

The party marched for what seemed like hours through the dense forest growth until they came to a large clearing beside a clear running brook. Closest to them was a regular native village with huts and fire pits, women and kids playing and working, but across the brook and rising to an impressive height, stood a large hand carved statue of a jaguar, its mouth opening large enough to allow a man to walk into it upright.

The leader crossed the river alone and made a lot of noise at the statue that Sax assumed was some kind of greeting of respect for a god. A moment later a man, followed by two warriors appeared with another man between them. His arms were tied to a pole that ran across his back and he looked terrified even from a long distance.

"Uh-oh, I don't like the look of this." Jed said under his breath.

"SILENCE!" The old man turned and faced them.

"Is that a white man?" Sax asked, squinting. He yelped as one of the warriors jabbed him in the back.

The man waved them all forward and they crossed the brook and climbed the hill to the mouth of the jaguar. The prisoner stared at them as they approached and the old man said something to him. He shook his head and was immediately hustled back inside out of sight. Up close. Sax could see that the man from the jaguar's mouth was white and he nudged Jed's arm.

"You are surprised to see I am of your race." The man said.

"For sure," Sax answered. "What is this place and who are you?"

"Let us first determine just who you are."

Sax turned to Chessery and tilted his head. She stepped forward and squared her shoulders. "My name is Chessery Blanchert and I was given a map by my father that led us to this place."

"Why?"

"I was told there was a great treasure hidden in a lost city and I came looking for it."

"You thought you'd stroll in and just help yourself, eh?"

"I knew nothing of any people, just the city. I assumed it was abandoned or something..."

"Well I thank you for your honesty, however, finding our 'lost city means that it isn't lost any more and in case you weren't aware, you have been followed by two groups since you left the Gingi River.

"How can you know that?" Sax asked.

"Suffice it to say, I do. Now, this presents a number of problems. First, we have not one but three groups of interlopers. Second, our location is now exposed and third, the second cannot be permitted. So, how do we deal with that?"

"Is there a treasure here?" Chessery asked boldly.

"Wrong answer." He raised a hand and immediately the warriors herded them up the few steps and into the mouth of the jaguar.

Torches stuck in sconces lit their way along a long sloping corridor of stone, decorated with colourful symbols and representations of various wildlife. The corridor ended in a large open gallery with a raised platform at one side and a series of bleachers on the other.

In the middle was a twenty or so foot diameter area filled with white sand. In the sand was the man they'd seen lashed to the pole. The warriors shoved them over to the bleacher seats and made them all sit in a row facing the middle of the gallery.

"I do not like this," Jed said.

"I'm inclined to agree. Chessery, it might have been prudent to leave the treasure aside until we had an idea of our situation."

"Do you think it would be any different?" Did you notice some of the drawings on the way in?"

"Sure. Animals and gobbledygook symbols."

"That's what you would see." She said with a trace of disgust. "They depicted contests between animals and men in an arena."

"Okay, so?"

"So this is the arena, Sax." Her voice drilled into his heart as he stared at the prisoner in the huge sand pit.

"Oh Christ, no."

"Oh yes."

As if on cue a pair of warriors emerged from a tunnel off to one side holding two long ropes made of vine. Lashed between them was medium sized animal that looked like a wild boar except it was covered in reddish shaggy hair and had a pair of incisors that rose on either side of its upper jaw. It struggled on the bonds, making snorting grunts as they hauled it toward the sand circle.