Chapter III

After entering the chinese airspace with certain difficulty making use of Diana's diplomatic privileges, Lara piloted the jet over the Gansu area. They could see the Zhangye National Geopark from above, its vast Rainbow Mountains shining as the sun was rising in the horizon.

[Rainbow Mountains: entry/rainbow-mountains-china-danxia-landform_n_3683840 ]

"They are extraordinarily beautiful!" - whispered Diana with gleeful eyes. Her mother and the Amazons would truly love that sight.

"There is a flat area over there. I'll land us."

As Lara turned the jet and prepared to land, the colors shimmered on the mountains, making them look alive.

Once on land, they grabbed their gear and started heading to the enchanting view. Lara offered to carry the stone box for a while, as she knew it was heavy, but Diana declined, causing Lara to glance a suspicious look at her new partner. "How can a museum director hardly sweat while carrying such a heavy thing?" - she thought.

In Lara's brown hiking boots that she borrowed, Diana felt indeed like an archaeologist. The used leather felt smooth against her shin, being sturdy at the same time and assuring every step was steady. Working at the museum, Diana forgot that feeling of exploring the unknown. She thought of her days in Themyscira, so long ago… Lara looked very comfortable in her coffee colored jacket and black pants. Her long hair was tightly braided and away from her face and her eyes scrutinized the landscape looking for a path.

When they reached the middle of the mountains, they dropped their gear and looked around. It was indeed a majestic place. They could have stayed there for hours just admiring its beauty, but suddenly the box started sounding like drums again.

"What's that?!"

"You can hear it too? It comes from the box."

Lara leaned over to examine the box. It's cyan blue was glowing strongly. The side of the box showed the poem once more and highlighting the part where it read "See us in the woe where the first piece shall be."

"Diana, look! We must be getting close."

"But what could the 'woe' possibly be in such a beautiful place?"

"Could be an accident that happened, or an unexpected death, maybe?"

"Or a story, a myth. We should find some locals, they might know."

"There: smoke."

They went to the direction of what seemed to be a human-built fire, a few kilometers away. Approaching the fire, they saw a tent and two elderly men preparing food. They were startled as they caught sight of the two women, as if they hadn't seem people in a long time.

As they got close, Diana and Lara smiled and bowed. Diana stepped forward and spoke to them in mandarin:

"Nǐ hǎo, my name is Diana and this is my friend Lara. We are tourists and want to learn more about the mountains. What can you tell us?"

Lara and the men were amazed on how fluent Diana was speaking to them.

"Yes, we can tell you about the Rainbow Mountains. Come, sit, have some food".

Diana signaled to Lara and they joined the two men and had some of their meal, just to establish trust, as they did not want to eat food that those people probably had difficulties getting in the middle of the mountains.

"So, where do you come from?"

"England" - replied Diana.

"Oh, long way! Do you like the mountains so far?"

"Yes, very much! They are mesmerizing. But I can't help but feel a bit of sorrow…" - Diana fished for a segway into the solving of the riddle.

"Ah, you are right. There is much sorrow here. Legend tells of a forbidden love between a soldier and a princess. They fled to these mountains and hoped to escape the emperor's fury, but it was not so. The emperor's soldiers had heard their plans and arrived in the mountains before them and hid themselves between the colorful striped peaks over there. When the princess and the soldier arrived, they went into a cave between the peaks and the hidden soldiers killed them by rolling a huge rock that trapped them inside the cave forever. They were together in love for only a few days before they died."

Diana translated the story to Lara who turned to look to the direction of the said cave.

"But don't go there! It is cursed! After the soldiers trapped them, they regretted it and tried to re-open the entrance, but it was impossible to move the big rock. In great woe, they killed themselves by the entrance and for the emperor's eternal shame."

"I am so sorry to hear that. It must have been very difficult to the people at the time. Do you know when this legend started?"

"Oh, long time ago. During the Yuan dynasty."

Turning to Lara, Diana spoke in English: "That was between 1271 and 1368 AD. It fits with the construction of Notre Dame".

They both felt the adrenaline rush in as they were closing into the mystery.

"Thank you kindly for your hospitality. We will continue our journey around the mountains."

"Yes, yes, go explore, they are beautiful! But stay away from the cursed cave. Although it's a legend, one never knows if legends are true or a figment of someone's imagination."

"You could not be more right, sir." - replied Diana, being a type of legend herself.

"Safe travels!"

Lara and Diana bowed. They started walking on the opposite direction. When they were far from the elders view, they turned back towards the colorful speaks the man had pointed to. The drums from the box intensified as they approached the cave.

They finally saw a huge rock covering the entrance of a small cave. It was indeed impossible for mere mortals to move. Diana of course had the strength to do it, but how would she do that without exposing her true self to Lara?

"Well, that is a dead end. We will need extra resources to be able to pull that rock out of there."

"Humm, I think that, with the appropriate leverage and angle we can manage."

Lara laughed. "Diana, with all due respect, I am sure many men through the centuries have tried to open that cave using dozens of horses, and, most recently, maybe even tanques. Why do you think the two of us can do it?"

"Don't be such a pessimist! You said it well: 'men tried'. We are not men."

Lara chuckled under her breath.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is physically impossible. We'll have to arrange contraction tractors and what-not and come back."

"We can't. You felt the urgency from the drums coming out of that box. We don't have much time. C'mon, humour me."

Lara sighed and agreed. They positioned themselves and started pushing. At first, nothing happened, but as Diana continued to push displaying an enormous effort, the rock started moving slightly. Lara was then convinced and actually helped. Diana played the part and showed how hard it was but made sure it happened. After several grunts, the rock was finally pushed enough for them to sneak inside the cave.

"We did it!"

"Yeah… we did…" - Lara was skeptical and suspicious, but knew there were more pressing matters at hand.

They entered the cave. It was small but deep. Lara warned Diana that they would probably find human remains there, if the legend was true and the lovers were indeed trapped. Lara went ahead with a flashlight trying to find evidence. She suddenly stopped at the sight of skeleton silhouette. She leaned down carefully. Diana followed.

"It's true! They are both here!"

"And she seemed to be a princess indeed, look at that gold necklace."

As Lara reached out to touch it, the drumming started again. She put the flashlight closer. The necklace had an odd shape with a cone-shaped pendulum too big for its string. As she carefully tried to remove it from the woman's body, the cave started to shake.

"Quickly! Grab the necklace and let's go!" - yelled Diana as she took the box and fled to the entrance.

Lara followed closely, but tripped on a rock and fell, staying behind as the huge rock rolled back blocking the exit as the ceiling started collapsing.

Diana turned around and saw the cave closed again and still rumbling inside. She had no choice. Her secret identity as Wonder Woman was not nearly as important and Lara's life. She ditched the act and grabbed the giant rock with her bare hands and lifted it, throwing it far to the side. With the speed of Hermes, she grabbed Lara and left the cave seconds before it completely collapsed.

Lara looked half-conscious but said to Diana: "You have some explaining to do", before blacking out, holding the necklace tightly in her hand.

To be continued...