CHAPTER ONE
A young girl, about seventeen years of age sat by the edge of a large pool, eating her lunch. Her feet were dipped in the water, and she gazed thoughtfully at the beautiful scenery around her. It was the time of day that Lyla looked forwards to the most. She was allowed fifteen minutes a day of break, to eat. There would have been no break at all, except that her boss, Kormand Delfire believed that if his servants ate, they would be stronger to do more work for him.
"You like the pool, do you?"
Lyla looked up to see the ugly face of one of Delfire's "slavedrivers", as the servants called them.
"Well, why don't you clean it then?"
The next thing Lyla knew was that she was falling forwards into the water. Her naturally quick reflexes enabled her to stand in the cold, waist deep water before she went under, however the ends of her waist-length brown hair were now dripping wet, as were her light clothes. She heard a soft "plop" to her left, and looked to see a net sinking slowly in the water. Stretching out her arm, Lyla caught it before it could hit the bottom.
"Make it crystal clear. Delfire likes it that way." The ugly man lumbered off down the path, and Lyla thought he was probably going to see who else was around to torment.
Actually, Lyla was a fairly optimistic person, and she didn't mind being in the pool, even with her clothes on. She had always wanted to swim in it, and now here was her chance. Holding the net out in front of her so it would catch any stray leaves, she dived underwater and swam along the bottom of the pool. The water was cold, but it felt refreshing as Lyla streamed through it. Because she hadn't had much experience swimming, she had to surface frequently to enable herself to take a breath. The cool water made her feel clean and revitalised. Lyla swam as she worked, and soon the pool was free from debris. However, after some time the wind began to pick up, and as it blew it sent shivers running through her body. Reluctantly she climbed out of the pool, which only made her feel colder. Shivering, she ran several hundred meters to the mansion, where she huddled in a corner, out of the way of the wind, until she had begun to dry off.
* * *
Miles away, in the deep forest, a young boy was also swimming. He was quite a strong swimmer, who loved to dive. Standing over the edge of the pond was his best friend, a childlike looking girl.
"Throw another one!" the boy, Link, said, surfacing with a triumphant look on his face as he raised his arm in the air to reveal a Deku Nut. The girl, Saria, grinned, and threw another. Deku Nuts were heavy enough to sink quite fast, and they made for a great item to dive for. Saria watched as her friend took a deep breath and dived under the murky water. While Link was under the water, Saria glanced up, and saw, through the thick canopy of the forest, that the sky had suddenly become very dark. She looked back at the pond and waited for Link to return at any second now. She waited... and waited... and waited. Link had been gone for a long time now, a lot longer than it had taken him before. Saria stared expectedly at the water, but still there was nothing more than a few bubbles that rose upwards and broke on the surface. She began to get worried. Maybe he had become entangled in something underwater, and couldn't get up... or maybe... More and more bubbles floated upwards, and then suddenly there was an almighty splash. Saria jumped back, away from the water's edge.
There was a loud gasping noise, and then Link said, "Were you worried?" He began to laugh, a laugh that sounded awfully distorted because he was also trying to catch his breath.
"Link, really, that wasn't funny. What if something really had happened to you?" Saria said, not attempting to hide the fact that she'd fallen for his act.
"But wasn't I under for ages? I've been practicing holding my breath, and that was the longest I've ever done it for!" He swum over to the edge of the pond and climbed out. Saria moved out of the way so that he wouldn't drip all over her.
"You think you're so funny," she said, however Link didn't hear her because all of the sudden the heavens let loose with an enormous crack of thunder. Both of them jumped because it was so loud and so unexpected.
"Wow," said Link after a second.
Saria, who was quite afraid of thunderstorms didn't agree. "We'd better get home soon, because it's going to pour," she said.
"Okay," replied Link, but no sooner had they turned around there was another crash of thunder, and immediately it began to rain. The droplets were large and fell fast, stinging Saria and Link wherever they struck. Link began to sprint, and Saria did the same, and they ran back through the forest while shielding their faces with their arms. The rain came down harder, but Link and Saria continued to run in the blinding rain. Link nearly tripped on a tree root that he didn't see, and both nearly crashed into several trees along the way. Finally they entered the clearing that was the Kokiri Forest, and they made a mad dash for Saria's house. They arrived there, saturated and out of breath.
When Saria had caught her breath, she grabbed two towels off a shelf and threw one at Link. They dried as much of the water off as they could, but their clothes were still waterlogged, and cold.
"I think I'll run home and change," yelled Link over the thunder. He walked over to the doorway, took a deep breath and sprinted out into the rain, which was now harder than ever.
Thank goodness Link's house wasn't far from Saria's, however he was even more wet than before when he arrived. He quickly climbed up the ladder, and then once he was inside he quickly peeled off his wet clothes, dried himself off, and then put on a fresh, clean, and most importantly, dry tunic. The one thing Link hated the most was the feeling of wet shoes, and his boots were absolutely saturated. They were the only pair he owned at the moment, and he would just have to wait until they dried. Now that Link was feeling dry and warm again, he realised that he was really hungry. It was mid afternoon, and so Link just decided to eat an apple. He picked out the largest one from his fruit bowl and bit down hard. In just a few seconds, the apple was gone, and now Link was bored. The rain prevented him from going outside, and it was still coming down too hard for him to go back to Saria's. He went outside and stood on the sheltered part of his porch and watched the spectacular lightning show in the sky above. As he watched, a particularly bright jagged forked raced downwards. Link's eyes followed it, and he watched it hit a tree not far from the Kokiri Forest. It was close enough for him to hear the loud crack and see the little fire that was left behind after part of the tree fell to the ground. The fire had no chance against the fierce rain. Link hoped that the lightning wouldn't hit the Kokiri Forest.
* * *
In the distance, Lyla heard the low growling sound of thunder. She hoped that Delfire or the slavedrivers wouldn't make her work out in the rain. The wind picked up further, and although it was cold it soon dried out her thin clothes. Her hair remained partially wet, but because it was so long it always took a while to dry. Lyla used a couple of ties from around her wrist to first pull her hair into a ponytail, and then she deftly wove it into a long plait. She walked around he perimeter of the mansion until she reached the entrance. Actually, mansion wasn't the right word to use. It was more like a mini-palace, yet it was still huge. Kormand Delfire was an important man in Hyrule, running a building company, Delfire Construction. The King of Hyrule often hired his men for important tasks, however Delfire himself never did any actual work. He sat there raking in the money while his employees laboured for ten-hour days. Lyla thought that he was disgusting because he lived it up by getting everyone else to do his work for him. She wished that she could leave, but at least the job provided her with a place to stay, and some money, however small the amount. Money had never been important to her.
As she walked inside, she was greeted by some loud shouting coming from within. Lyla paused to listen; however before she could make out the words, another slavedriver approached her.
"You," he said. "Lyl. Get in the kitchen. The master's havin' guests tonight, and you can waiter. There's an apron on the bench, put that on and then Lonnie'll tell you what to do."
Lyla looked at him and thought that he was actually quite good looking. That is, if he wasn't a slavedriver and didn't have such an awful personality.
"Okay," she said, turning away and walking down the hall towards the kitchen.
"First set these on the table," said Delfire's cook, Lonnie. She was also a servant, who was harassed by the slavedrivers, yet in turn she loved to lord it over anyone who was working in the kitchen with her. The plump, stern cook handed Lyla a basked containing many knives, forks and spoons. Lyla took it into the grand dining room where eleven places had been set up. She quickly lay the cutlery out on the table and returned the empty basket to the kitchen. Lonnie opened the oven to check on her roast. Inside, Lyla saw a cucco, which was a type of chicken. It is known throughout Hyrule that it is hard to kill one of these birds without being attacked by its friends, and to give it to someone to eat was considered a great honour. Delfire must really want to impress his guests. Yet Lyla realised that her boss wouldn't care if one of his servants got attacked. A great honour from Delfire would be if the man went and killed the bird himself.
"It's almost ready," said Lonnie, "And the guests have arrived."
Sure enough, Lyla could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing in the dining room next door.
"Here, serve this," Lonnie ordered, shoving a large glass decanter in one hand and a stack of glasses in the other. In the decanter was a yellow drink, probably something expensive and exotic. Lonnie gave Lyla a push towards the dining room, causing her to stumble and almost trip.
"Don't push me!" muttered Lyla under her breath. "I know how to walk myself!"
"Ah, excellent, the drinks have arrived!" Delfire's middle aged face lit up when Lyla entered the room. Then he turned back to his guests and began talking with them as if she wasn't even there. Silently, Lyla went around to each guest, placed a glass in front of them, poured the drink, and moved on. Delfire paid absolutely no attention to her, however, of course she was really there, listening to every word that was being said.
"So Kormand," said a tall, thin man. Lyla thought that he looked strange, almost comical in a sinister kind of way. He had a shiny bald head and a huge smile, yet his eyes were narrow and positioned close together, giving him an evil appearance. The other guests at the table waited eagerly to hear what was about to be said.
"I cannot wait any longer," the man continued. "Was the project successful?"
"The building project?" asked Delfire with a playful smile. Lyla didn't get it.
"Don't push it Kormand. You know I mean the other project."
"Relax Zol," Delfire laughed. "I was just getting to that." The bald man, Zol, apparently didn't think it was a laughing matter. He looked deadly serious.
Although Lyla had already poured the drinks, she hovered in the hallway just outside the dining room. She wondered what kind of 'other' business Delfire was up to. She had heard several rumors, and now saw her chance to find out.
"Did you get the map?" Lyla heard Zol ask.
"Well, like we arranged, when we heard the rumors that the army had it, we immediately sent our men, under the command of our Number One, Bowan Kirt, over here, to intercept them."
"Yes sir," said a new voice.
"Bowan tells me that none of the Hylian soldiers would give up the map, so we threatened them with death. Even in the last moments before the bombs went off, they were silent."
Zol cut in, "Wasn't it a bit careless to use bombs? What if the map had been blown to pieces, or it had caught fire?"
"Sorry," said both Delfire and Kirt. Then Delfire continued, "Bowan, why don't you tell the rest."
"Okay," agreed Kirt. "We blew the soldiers sky high, but just as we turned to watch my men noticed a figure running away from the explosion. When it was safe to go back, I sent two men in the direction of the running figure and the rest of us combed the remains of the hut where the soldiers were, looking for the map. But about fifteen minutes later my first two men came back, and they had it."
"Yes!" Zol exclaimed.
"Apparently one of the soldiers had escaped the explosion and made off with the map. But he was badly wounded and was found asleep behind some rocks or something. Hidden inside his coat was this..." There was a second or so pause, and then several exclamations.
"Wow! Unbelievable! And he even made copies!"
Lyla peered around the doorframe and saw all the men in the dining room huddled over something on the table. She couldn't see what it was, but she guessed it was the map. Then Zol spoke, and Lyla quickly ducked out of sight.
"What became of the soldier?"
"Well," Bowan replied, "Let's just say he went to sleep and never woke up!" He laughed; a deep throaty laugh.
"So Zol," Delfire said. "Now that we have the map, we just have to find the treasure, and then we can share in its unmeasurable riches!"
"You already are rich, Kormand," Zol said. The talking stopped, and Lyla heard some quiet scuffles, followed by a loud bang.
"Sorry," someone said.
"Yes Kormand," Zol spoke again. "You were a rich man. You got me this far. Now I do not need you, and you do not need any more money. It works out better this way."
Lyla looked down and saw a trail of blood slowly seeping out into the hallway. She quickly moved her foot to avoid getting it on herself, but in doing so she lost her grip on the large glass decanter she was carrying, and it fell to the ground, smashing into a million pieces with a huge crash.
"What was that," someone in the dining room asked, but Lyla didn't wait to find out who. She sprinted down the hall, made a sharp right and hid in a small alcove that was sometimes used for storage. Thankfully now it was empty. Trying to keep hidden, Lyla peered out into the corridor, and saw Zol and four other men examining the glass smithereens.
"Someone's been listening," one of them said. They all turned and looked down the seemingly empty hallway, and then headed across towards the kitchen. Lyla knew that if she remained hidden she would be safe, but on impulse she quietly ran back down the hallway and went into the dining room. What she saw shocked her, and Lyla did not get shocked that easily.
Delfire, along with six other men were still sitting on their chairs, as if nothing had happened. But the amount of blood covering them and everything around them suggested otherwise. Lyla wondered how these people could make so much blood. She saw an old piece of paper on the table, and went over to examine it. It was definitely a map of some sorts, but it must have been important enough for Zol to kill over it. Lyla saw a couple of newer pieces of paper, onto which the map had been copied out. She quickly took one, folded it and hid it in one of her pockets before deciding to leave the room of death before Zol returned. But it was too late.
"What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Bowan, at the same time as Zol said, "Get her, men!"
A young girl, about seventeen years of age sat by the edge of a large pool, eating her lunch. Her feet were dipped in the water, and she gazed thoughtfully at the beautiful scenery around her. It was the time of day that Lyla looked forwards to the most. She was allowed fifteen minutes a day of break, to eat. There would have been no break at all, except that her boss, Kormand Delfire believed that if his servants ate, they would be stronger to do more work for him.
"You like the pool, do you?"
Lyla looked up to see the ugly face of one of Delfire's "slavedrivers", as the servants called them.
"Well, why don't you clean it then?"
The next thing Lyla knew was that she was falling forwards into the water. Her naturally quick reflexes enabled her to stand in the cold, waist deep water before she went under, however the ends of her waist-length brown hair were now dripping wet, as were her light clothes. She heard a soft "plop" to her left, and looked to see a net sinking slowly in the water. Stretching out her arm, Lyla caught it before it could hit the bottom.
"Make it crystal clear. Delfire likes it that way." The ugly man lumbered off down the path, and Lyla thought he was probably going to see who else was around to torment.
Actually, Lyla was a fairly optimistic person, and she didn't mind being in the pool, even with her clothes on. She had always wanted to swim in it, and now here was her chance. Holding the net out in front of her so it would catch any stray leaves, she dived underwater and swam along the bottom of the pool. The water was cold, but it felt refreshing as Lyla streamed through it. Because she hadn't had much experience swimming, she had to surface frequently to enable herself to take a breath. The cool water made her feel clean and revitalised. Lyla swam as she worked, and soon the pool was free from debris. However, after some time the wind began to pick up, and as it blew it sent shivers running through her body. Reluctantly she climbed out of the pool, which only made her feel colder. Shivering, she ran several hundred meters to the mansion, where she huddled in a corner, out of the way of the wind, until she had begun to dry off.
* * *
Miles away, in the deep forest, a young boy was also swimming. He was quite a strong swimmer, who loved to dive. Standing over the edge of the pond was his best friend, a childlike looking girl.
"Throw another one!" the boy, Link, said, surfacing with a triumphant look on his face as he raised his arm in the air to reveal a Deku Nut. The girl, Saria, grinned, and threw another. Deku Nuts were heavy enough to sink quite fast, and they made for a great item to dive for. Saria watched as her friend took a deep breath and dived under the murky water. While Link was under the water, Saria glanced up, and saw, through the thick canopy of the forest, that the sky had suddenly become very dark. She looked back at the pond and waited for Link to return at any second now. She waited... and waited... and waited. Link had been gone for a long time now, a lot longer than it had taken him before. Saria stared expectedly at the water, but still there was nothing more than a few bubbles that rose upwards and broke on the surface. She began to get worried. Maybe he had become entangled in something underwater, and couldn't get up... or maybe... More and more bubbles floated upwards, and then suddenly there was an almighty splash. Saria jumped back, away from the water's edge.
There was a loud gasping noise, and then Link said, "Were you worried?" He began to laugh, a laugh that sounded awfully distorted because he was also trying to catch his breath.
"Link, really, that wasn't funny. What if something really had happened to you?" Saria said, not attempting to hide the fact that she'd fallen for his act.
"But wasn't I under for ages? I've been practicing holding my breath, and that was the longest I've ever done it for!" He swum over to the edge of the pond and climbed out. Saria moved out of the way so that he wouldn't drip all over her.
"You think you're so funny," she said, however Link didn't hear her because all of the sudden the heavens let loose with an enormous crack of thunder. Both of them jumped because it was so loud and so unexpected.
"Wow," said Link after a second.
Saria, who was quite afraid of thunderstorms didn't agree. "We'd better get home soon, because it's going to pour," she said.
"Okay," replied Link, but no sooner had they turned around there was another crash of thunder, and immediately it began to rain. The droplets were large and fell fast, stinging Saria and Link wherever they struck. Link began to sprint, and Saria did the same, and they ran back through the forest while shielding their faces with their arms. The rain came down harder, but Link and Saria continued to run in the blinding rain. Link nearly tripped on a tree root that he didn't see, and both nearly crashed into several trees along the way. Finally they entered the clearing that was the Kokiri Forest, and they made a mad dash for Saria's house. They arrived there, saturated and out of breath.
When Saria had caught her breath, she grabbed two towels off a shelf and threw one at Link. They dried as much of the water off as they could, but their clothes were still waterlogged, and cold.
"I think I'll run home and change," yelled Link over the thunder. He walked over to the doorway, took a deep breath and sprinted out into the rain, which was now harder than ever.
Thank goodness Link's house wasn't far from Saria's, however he was even more wet than before when he arrived. He quickly climbed up the ladder, and then once he was inside he quickly peeled off his wet clothes, dried himself off, and then put on a fresh, clean, and most importantly, dry tunic. The one thing Link hated the most was the feeling of wet shoes, and his boots were absolutely saturated. They were the only pair he owned at the moment, and he would just have to wait until they dried. Now that Link was feeling dry and warm again, he realised that he was really hungry. It was mid afternoon, and so Link just decided to eat an apple. He picked out the largest one from his fruit bowl and bit down hard. In just a few seconds, the apple was gone, and now Link was bored. The rain prevented him from going outside, and it was still coming down too hard for him to go back to Saria's. He went outside and stood on the sheltered part of his porch and watched the spectacular lightning show in the sky above. As he watched, a particularly bright jagged forked raced downwards. Link's eyes followed it, and he watched it hit a tree not far from the Kokiri Forest. It was close enough for him to hear the loud crack and see the little fire that was left behind after part of the tree fell to the ground. The fire had no chance against the fierce rain. Link hoped that the lightning wouldn't hit the Kokiri Forest.
* * *
In the distance, Lyla heard the low growling sound of thunder. She hoped that Delfire or the slavedrivers wouldn't make her work out in the rain. The wind picked up further, and although it was cold it soon dried out her thin clothes. Her hair remained partially wet, but because it was so long it always took a while to dry. Lyla used a couple of ties from around her wrist to first pull her hair into a ponytail, and then she deftly wove it into a long plait. She walked around he perimeter of the mansion until she reached the entrance. Actually, mansion wasn't the right word to use. It was more like a mini-palace, yet it was still huge. Kormand Delfire was an important man in Hyrule, running a building company, Delfire Construction. The King of Hyrule often hired his men for important tasks, however Delfire himself never did any actual work. He sat there raking in the money while his employees laboured for ten-hour days. Lyla thought that he was disgusting because he lived it up by getting everyone else to do his work for him. She wished that she could leave, but at least the job provided her with a place to stay, and some money, however small the amount. Money had never been important to her.
As she walked inside, she was greeted by some loud shouting coming from within. Lyla paused to listen; however before she could make out the words, another slavedriver approached her.
"You," he said. "Lyl. Get in the kitchen. The master's havin' guests tonight, and you can waiter. There's an apron on the bench, put that on and then Lonnie'll tell you what to do."
Lyla looked at him and thought that he was actually quite good looking. That is, if he wasn't a slavedriver and didn't have such an awful personality.
"Okay," she said, turning away and walking down the hall towards the kitchen.
"First set these on the table," said Delfire's cook, Lonnie. She was also a servant, who was harassed by the slavedrivers, yet in turn she loved to lord it over anyone who was working in the kitchen with her. The plump, stern cook handed Lyla a basked containing many knives, forks and spoons. Lyla took it into the grand dining room where eleven places had been set up. She quickly lay the cutlery out on the table and returned the empty basket to the kitchen. Lonnie opened the oven to check on her roast. Inside, Lyla saw a cucco, which was a type of chicken. It is known throughout Hyrule that it is hard to kill one of these birds without being attacked by its friends, and to give it to someone to eat was considered a great honour. Delfire must really want to impress his guests. Yet Lyla realised that her boss wouldn't care if one of his servants got attacked. A great honour from Delfire would be if the man went and killed the bird himself.
"It's almost ready," said Lonnie, "And the guests have arrived."
Sure enough, Lyla could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing in the dining room next door.
"Here, serve this," Lonnie ordered, shoving a large glass decanter in one hand and a stack of glasses in the other. In the decanter was a yellow drink, probably something expensive and exotic. Lonnie gave Lyla a push towards the dining room, causing her to stumble and almost trip.
"Don't push me!" muttered Lyla under her breath. "I know how to walk myself!"
"Ah, excellent, the drinks have arrived!" Delfire's middle aged face lit up when Lyla entered the room. Then he turned back to his guests and began talking with them as if she wasn't even there. Silently, Lyla went around to each guest, placed a glass in front of them, poured the drink, and moved on. Delfire paid absolutely no attention to her, however, of course she was really there, listening to every word that was being said.
"So Kormand," said a tall, thin man. Lyla thought that he looked strange, almost comical in a sinister kind of way. He had a shiny bald head and a huge smile, yet his eyes were narrow and positioned close together, giving him an evil appearance. The other guests at the table waited eagerly to hear what was about to be said.
"I cannot wait any longer," the man continued. "Was the project successful?"
"The building project?" asked Delfire with a playful smile. Lyla didn't get it.
"Don't push it Kormand. You know I mean the other project."
"Relax Zol," Delfire laughed. "I was just getting to that." The bald man, Zol, apparently didn't think it was a laughing matter. He looked deadly serious.
Although Lyla had already poured the drinks, she hovered in the hallway just outside the dining room. She wondered what kind of 'other' business Delfire was up to. She had heard several rumors, and now saw her chance to find out.
"Did you get the map?" Lyla heard Zol ask.
"Well, like we arranged, when we heard the rumors that the army had it, we immediately sent our men, under the command of our Number One, Bowan Kirt, over here, to intercept them."
"Yes sir," said a new voice.
"Bowan tells me that none of the Hylian soldiers would give up the map, so we threatened them with death. Even in the last moments before the bombs went off, they were silent."
Zol cut in, "Wasn't it a bit careless to use bombs? What if the map had been blown to pieces, or it had caught fire?"
"Sorry," said both Delfire and Kirt. Then Delfire continued, "Bowan, why don't you tell the rest."
"Okay," agreed Kirt. "We blew the soldiers sky high, but just as we turned to watch my men noticed a figure running away from the explosion. When it was safe to go back, I sent two men in the direction of the running figure and the rest of us combed the remains of the hut where the soldiers were, looking for the map. But about fifteen minutes later my first two men came back, and they had it."
"Yes!" Zol exclaimed.
"Apparently one of the soldiers had escaped the explosion and made off with the map. But he was badly wounded and was found asleep behind some rocks or something. Hidden inside his coat was this..." There was a second or so pause, and then several exclamations.
"Wow! Unbelievable! And he even made copies!"
Lyla peered around the doorframe and saw all the men in the dining room huddled over something on the table. She couldn't see what it was, but she guessed it was the map. Then Zol spoke, and Lyla quickly ducked out of sight.
"What became of the soldier?"
"Well," Bowan replied, "Let's just say he went to sleep and never woke up!" He laughed; a deep throaty laugh.
"So Zol," Delfire said. "Now that we have the map, we just have to find the treasure, and then we can share in its unmeasurable riches!"
"You already are rich, Kormand," Zol said. The talking stopped, and Lyla heard some quiet scuffles, followed by a loud bang.
"Sorry," someone said.
"Yes Kormand," Zol spoke again. "You were a rich man. You got me this far. Now I do not need you, and you do not need any more money. It works out better this way."
Lyla looked down and saw a trail of blood slowly seeping out into the hallway. She quickly moved her foot to avoid getting it on herself, but in doing so she lost her grip on the large glass decanter she was carrying, and it fell to the ground, smashing into a million pieces with a huge crash.
"What was that," someone in the dining room asked, but Lyla didn't wait to find out who. She sprinted down the hall, made a sharp right and hid in a small alcove that was sometimes used for storage. Thankfully now it was empty. Trying to keep hidden, Lyla peered out into the corridor, and saw Zol and four other men examining the glass smithereens.
"Someone's been listening," one of them said. They all turned and looked down the seemingly empty hallway, and then headed across towards the kitchen. Lyla knew that if she remained hidden she would be safe, but on impulse she quietly ran back down the hallway and went into the dining room. What she saw shocked her, and Lyla did not get shocked that easily.
Delfire, along with six other men were still sitting on their chairs, as if nothing had happened. But the amount of blood covering them and everything around them suggested otherwise. Lyla wondered how these people could make so much blood. She saw an old piece of paper on the table, and went over to examine it. It was definitely a map of some sorts, but it must have been important enough for Zol to kill over it. Lyla saw a couple of newer pieces of paper, onto which the map had been copied out. She quickly took one, folded it and hid it in one of her pockets before deciding to leave the room of death before Zol returned. But it was too late.
"What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Bowan, at the same time as Zol said, "Get her, men!"
