The Dawn of Light

(18)The Canyon's Emerald Edge (Part 1)

The Canyon's Emerald Edge (Part 1)

Simos and I were dropped off at what could only be described as a wide, empty wasteland.

There was nothing around for miles.

It appeared to be some sort of desert and for the first time since we'd landed on this island, I realised just how large it actually was. The valley stretched on into the horizon and there was no possible way of determining where it ended, but as I turned around, I was stunned to see a sharp drop down into a colossal canyon.

"You know the drill, Simos." Boro smirked and pushed a pile of rope into the young man's hands. "Go down and get back up with the idol."

"Yeah, easy..." Simos grunted and replied dryly.

Malreus and I shared an uneasy look and he reached out from the carriage to take my hand, but Boro was in a hurry. The vile man slammed the carriage door shut and sneered at me. "Goodluck, sweetheart. I don't even think you'll make it down in one piece, never mind finish."

"Funny..." I smiled at him; "That's exactly what your wife said about you."

Boro's face lit up with anger and turned an odd red. He grunted like a bear and barked at the footmen. The carriage drove off quickly, leaving Simos and I to our thoughts and worries.

Malreus touched the glass with fear and his eyes stared after me until he was only a dot in the desert wasteland. He was angry with me, I knew that, but some things had to be done.

Simos lifted the rope and took one look at it before chucking it to the side.

I frowned; "Um... If we're planning on climbing into a canyon, we might need that?"

"I'll bet you all the quanti you have it's boobytrapped." Simos pointed to the canyon's edge. "Let's not make this harder than it needs to be."

"Gods, Simos." I moaned and pointed down into the steep valley. "What does Manos want us to do here? What's the plan?"

"Well, this is the first trail and it's sponsored by Waldonius. We need to get down there-" Simos pointed to the bottom of the gorge, where a small cave was lit up with a torch. It was so small, I had to squint to just be able to see the opening. "It's where the idol is hidden."

"And what is this idol?"

Simos leaned in to me; "It's Waldonius' staff. It's the first treasure we need to get before we can advance to the next stage. But we need to be careful..." Simos' voice lowered; "Not only is the path down treacherous, but there are traps everywhere."

I sighed and nodded; "Of course; what did I expect?"

"And there might be a harpy or two..."

"Harpies?" I moaned; "I hate those things."

Harpies were ancient Greek birds of prey- half of their bodies were that of an eagle and the other half was of a young woman. They were vicious things; man-eating and had a shrill cry that shook you to your core.

"We have until dawn the next day to get the idol, so let's move." Simos grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the edge.

I looked straight down- there was literally no room for mistakes; if you missed a step, you were screwed. And it was a terribly long way down.

Simos gulped a bit; "It's funny looking at it as a competitor and not a spectator."

"Hmm. Funny." I narrowed my eyes and looked around; "Speaking of which, where are the spectators?"

"They're watching." Simos waved his hand in the air, signalling around. "Waldonius has magical spheres everywhere- these spheres send energy fields to the stadium and it creates a sort of video connection to where we are. They're watching us compete as we speak, but there's no sound."