CHAPTER SIX

"Why are we bothering anymore?" asked the youngest remaining soldier, Meherlet. "We should just go back home."
"We can't," said Jamie. "We promised the king that we would find his treasure, and that's what we will do. If we turn around now, it means that anyone else who is looking for it can find it. We've already lost so much time."
At the mention of lost time, the three men paused and remember their recent hardships. After the two soldiers had drowned in the river, Arnyu had refused to go on and went home before anyone could talk to him. They had stopped for a meal break, and because most of the food had been swept downstream with one of the men, someone had found some berries, and three of them had eaten them. The other three, Jamie, Meherlet and a man called Don had refused. They weren't exactly hungry.

Within an hour of the lunch break, the men who had eaten the berries suddenly just dropped to the ground and began groaning and writhing in agony, clutching their stomachs. Moments later, they were dead.
"I just think this trip is cursed," Meherlet said. By now, they were standing at the top of the gorge. Their incomplete map finished here.
"I have a feeling we have to go down there," said Jamie.
"Okay," agreed Don, and they began their descent down the steep trail.

* * *

Link, Lyla, Saria and Zelda could not take their eyes off the treasure. They stood there like dummies, mouths wide open, staring. Link was the first to drag his eyes away. He was looking for a way to get across to the treasure. The gap between shelves was far too wide for them to jump. He turned around, looking for some kind of rope or bridge, but was met by a huge blow to the head. Link barely had time to wonder why he suddenly had a headache when he fell into the depths of unconsciousness.

* * *

Everything was dark and hot. Link couldn't tell if he had his eyes open or not, but his head was throbbing. He tried to rub his head, but he couldn't move his arms. He tried again and realised that his arms were tied together.
"Saria?" he called out into the dark. "Zelda?"

Link's voice echoed back to him but there was no reply. He struggled to stand up, but was too disorientated and fell back into the dirt. Link waited for his eyes to become used to the dark, but they didn't. It was black all around.
"Zelda?" he called out again. Still no reply. Link strained to hear, the smallest noise, anything, in the hope that he might hear his friends.
In the deathly silence the sudden noise made Link jump.

"What was that?" he whispered in case it was one of his group. He listened, and the noise came again. It was the unmistakable hissing sound of a snake.

* * *

Zelda and Saria had been shoved into the dirt, and their clothes and faces were covered in dust. A tall man dressed in black tightened the ropes that were around them, and suddenly they were helpless to move. Lyla stood still in the corner; her eyes fixed on the men that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. After they had bashed Link, they pointed a large sword at his throat.
"We know who you are," a deep voiced man had said. Lyla recognised him, even though he was wearing a hood. "And we will kill your beloved Hero of Time if you do not surrender immediately. We want all of your equipment and your map. We don't want you finding your way out of here in a hurry."

Zelda had bent down and pushed their bags towards the man. Then another one had kicked her hard, sending her crashing into Saria. Both girls went flying onto the floor, where the man who had kicked Zelda tied them up.

"You have our stuff," Lyla spoke up. "Now take your treasure and let them go."
"Well well well, if it isn't you, the servant girl who got in the way."
"Zol, let them go," Lyla demanded again.
"You tricked us once so how do I know that you won't do it again?" Zol paused for a moment. "I know. Take him," he pointed at the unconscious Link, "and leave him somewhere. Somewhere... dangerous! So while they're too busy trying to save his life we'll be on our way out of here." One of the men had grabbed Link by the arms and dragged him off down the long passage.

"So untie them then," Lyla said.

"We will, as soon as we have the treasure. As for you, well we should have killed you. But now I'm glad we didn't. You led us here, and made the journey a lot easier. Thank you for the river-crossing trick by the way. But we DO have some unfinished business."

Lyla stared into his cold, evil filled eyes. She didn't say a word, but watched as Zol drew a long, thin dagger from inside his robe. He took a step towards her, and she took a step backwards. Zol laughed.
"You've got nowhere to go, servant girl."

Lyla looked behind her and gasped. She was only meters from the edge. The other two men were blocking the door. She looked back down the apparently bottomless drop. Zol stalked closer and closer, taking his time and enjoying her panic.
Lyla's mind was racing at a frantic pace. What should she do? Fight back? Accept her fate? Kick him? Punch him? If only she had a sword or a weapon. Kick him?
She looked back down at the dark drop, and then turned around, took a deep breath, and jumped.