A solemn mood had overtaken everyone as the sun set across the horizon, creating a stark contrast between the sky and the large island that was casting shadows on your canoe. There was a slight jolt as the canoe slid across shallowing waters of the beach, allowing everyone to jump off and tie it to a sizable rock so it wouldn't float away. You gathered the supplies from the canoe and lay them on a few coconut tree leaves on the sand as your sister, not by birth but by heart, put together a fire. Tairua dug out a pit in the sand with her hands and allowed Waione to start the fire before building the hangi out of smooth stones and driftwood that were collected along the beach.

Footsteps approached us quickly, accompanying a triumphant hoot as Kairaki came out of the sea with a small net full of fish. "I had to throw some back because I didn't think we would eat all of it. There are so many fish here!" He was the only one laughing, even though you tried to crack at least a small smile on his behalf. This wasn't a night for celebrating. It had become somewhat of a tradition that every six months, upon the return of islanders that were sent exploring for new resources, a few of the younger islanders would be sent to Lalotai to give the best treasure that was recovered to the great crab, Tamatoa.

A long time ago before he was banished to Lalotai, the ancestors had struck a deal with him. He would leave the humans alone and help to keep other monsters at bay as long as they agreed to offer him a sacrifice of shiny treasures twice a year. Many had argued that this could be ceased since he had been banished and therefore had no way of even keeping up his part of the bargain, but your people loved to stand with their ancestors. Traditions were very difficult to break and usually continued, thanks to the elders of the island, despite no longer making any sense.

The four of you had been chosen to make the voyage this time as you and Tairua had officially come of age and had to make a voyage in order to be considered wayfinders. Once a young man or woman turned 18 on your island, if they so wished to become a wayfinder, they were to go on a voyage with no more than 5 other islanders. You must be gone for a minimum of a week and by the time of your return, you should be able to come and go from your island with no help from others. Kairaki was slightly older than the two of you; he was an experienced fisher for the island and was chosen to accompany you so that you wouldn't starve. Waione, however, was the experienced wayfinder of the lot of you, and was there to ensure that everything went smoothly. Though he left most of the work to you and Tairua, he stepped in were it necessary.

The fish and a few vegetables that were packed were cooking on the hangi now, wrapped in the cabbage leaves to prevent burning. All of you settled into the sand around the fire that was set back behind a strand of rocks to block the harsh sea breeze and started to discuss the plans for the following morning. Traversing the walls of the entrance to Lalotai at night was a very dangerous and almost impossible feat so the plan was to sleep through the night, taking watch shifts, and setting off at first light.

"Waione, you packed the ladder and ropes, right?" you turned to him and he nodded. "We wouldn't be here, had I not. We need our means of getting in and out, don't we?" He chuckled slightly at your foolishness. This wasn't his first go around, but you were rather nervous as you had been chosen to accompany him into the depths of Lalotai. Tairua was terrified of heights, so she opted to stay with the canoe and Kairaki was to stay at the top of the mountain to help pull you back up out of the realm of monsters.

After the food had finished cooking, Waione offered to take first watch as the rest of you made pillows out of a bit of extra fabric and lay down in beds you had made from the soft sand. The mountain may look harsh and unforgiving, but at least the sand was soft and free of debris and pebbles.

Morning came much sooner than anyone had expected and you were surprised when you were woken up without taking a watch shift. Tairua smiled at you and mentioned that she figured you needed the sleep and she didn't as you had been tossing and turning in your sleep. Of course you had been. You were having a nightmare of a giant crab chasing you and using his giant claws to snap you in half! You shake your head and brush the sand off of you, tying your hair back. The two guys were already at the base of the mountain waiting on you.

"Aratika!" You turned when you heard your name as Tairua grabbed the back of your neck and pressed your foreheads and noses together. "Good luck, tuahine." You smiled at her and nodded, heading over to start your ascent up the mountain. Grabbing hold of the first notch, you pulled yourself up, ensuring you had enough room for your feet and that it was sturdy enough to support your weight before continuing on. The climb took about an hour since the three of you had to back track several times as the direction you were heading wasn't durable enough. With you in front, you were a little nervous about accidentally kicking dust into the eyes of Waione who was directly below you, but he never complained and encouraged you the whole time.

'Had Kairaki been behind me, he would definitely be making a few rude comments. I guess that's just one of the reasons why Waione is so dreamy.' You can imagine you're in Waione's arms with his hand gently lifting your chin so he can look you in the eyes as he presses his firm, yet soft lips against yours. Suddenly your foot slips off of the tiny ledge you were climbing up onto, scraping your shin and causing you to be ripped from your wonderful daydream as you clamber up the last few steps onto the top of the mountain.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Waione jumps up after you and grabs your ankle, directing your leg onto his lap. You shake your head and use your knife to slice off part of the bottom of your skirt to use, which Waione takes and gently bandages your shin while scolding you for not being more careful. "Serves her right, to be honest. If she weren't so dense, maybe she could do something right all the way to the end." You heard Kairaki before you saw his hands appear on the top of the mountain, pulling him up. "You got blood on the mountain, by the way, so thanks for making it even more slippery." You scowled at him and let Waione pull you to your feet as Kairaki started the chant that was needed to access Lalotai. Waione pulled the ropes and ladder off of the makeshift backpack he had created and started to tie the ends to a few sturdy rocks off to the side.

The mountain began to shake as a hole appeared in the center of the platform and the ladder fell into the darkness. "Ok, Ara. We're going to be climbing for a while. It's pretty far down, but it's an easy descent. About a fourth of the way down, we'll find ourselves in water that will take us into Lalotai. There is a bit of a fall from the bottom of the sea to the ground underneath, so I will be going forth to ensure that you land alright on that leg of yours." Waione said as he tied the rope around your waist and shoulders, then to his own. You were to be tied together so that if one of you were to slip, the other could hold your weight as you made your way back to the ladder.

Thankfully, since there was actually a ladder this time, the way down into Lalotai was rather uneventful, if not very dark. As was expected, you slipped into the water. It was pleasantly cool as you had worked up quite a sweat from all of the climbing you had done in the last few hours. As if by magic, you were pulled down farther into the water like it knew where you were headed. Just as your lungs were starting to burn for oxygen, you emerged from the water and fell through the air right onto a bed of fallen leaves from the trees that were growing...under water? You looked back up to see that the water stopped far above the top of the trees but you just shook your head. You were already growing to expect the strange and abnormal from this place.

Waione smiled at you and took your hand, holding a finger to his mouth to indicate you should remain silent as he led you down a pathway under the trees along the side of what seemed to be a stack of coral and giant shells. As you reached the bottom, you were able to see the surrounding area more and more clearly because a blinding light seemed to be emanating from a giant shell at the bottom of the odd stack. Reflected light from...something..that was moving inside of the shell was glinting off of scattered pieces of gold around the sand where the two of you stood and a soft humming came from inside. You looked over at your partner and was surprised to see how on edge he was. Waione was always one that wore a smile as if he thought he could deter any tension around others by smiling at them, which wasn't false. Everyone seemed to love being around him for that reason, including most of the young, single women on your island.

But now his look was stern and filled with attentiveness as he led you into the mouth of the giant shell. A loud clicking filled your ears as a 50 foot crab turned to look at both of you. "Tamatoa." Waione stepped ahead of you, letting go of your hand and reaching behind him for our most recent discovery. "I have traversed the sea with my companion to bring you our offering. I can only hope that you are pleased with it." The giant crab was over on your side of his cave-like shell in a matter of three or four steps, requesting that the gift be unwrapped. Waione did as he was asked, pulling the cloth off of a massive, battered fish hook. The crab's eyes widened in surprised and knocked Waione out of the way as he gently picked the hook from the ground, giggling euphorically and taking it over to a large pile of golden objects and coins off to the side of his cave. "I can honestly say this is the best treasure thus far, humans. Good job not being completely useless." You look at Waione questioningly, wondering why he was making such a big deal over a giant fish hook.

Tamatoa glanced over at you with one of his eyes, keeping the other on the hook. "The demigod Maui's magic fish hook will be a great addition to my shiny collection."

Note :

Kairaki - sky eater

Tairua - two tides

Waione - stream on the beach

Aratika - direct path

Hangi - traditional maori means of cooking

Hakari - feast

tuahine - sister