They had been walking through the forest for hours now and had almost totally lost track of the time of day due to the lack of visibility of the sky and any other indications that may have helped them. They had still found no clues as to where they were headed or any indication that there may be a valuable treasure buried near by and tensions were starting to run high. Other then the occasional nagging feeling that Genie got suggesting something was watching them there were no changes to the sullen silence of the dark forest and still no signs of life other then their own.

"Are we nearly there yet?" asked Louie unenthusiastically. "My feet hurt" he added

"Well, do you see any treasure?" said Merill mockingly

"No" replied Louie

"WELL THEN WE ARE NOT YET THERE!" Merill cried out in Louie's direction

Louie was just about to protest against the outburst when Genie raised her hand to silence the group. They all froze immediately as Genie slowly examined the forest. Just as she was about to give up and suggest they continue onwards she heard a crack and a rustling noise in a nearby hedge. The tip of her broadsword swung instantly towards the source of the disturbance. Once again she examined the place where the noise had been heard. The others remained still doing their best not to disturb her and draw unnecessary attention to themselves. The waiting seemed to have lasted for hours when Genie finally turned and quietly signalled for them to move.

They had barely moved a metre before something shot out of a nearby hedge and aimed itself straight at the group of travellers. Genie turned to face the dog-like creature. It had thick, dark fur covering its body and sharp claws on all four paws. It snarled at her before deciding to throw itself at her in an attempt to over power her. She swung her broadsword parrying the beast with ease and sending the creature reeling back into the bushes beyond and out of sight. More rustling from several surrounding hedges told her it was not wise to linger here any longer

"Move!" she cried to the others as they all accelerated to a sprint.

Merill and Melissa now had weapons drawn and Louie had dug his wand from his pack. Every now and again one of the dark creatures would pounce at them from the cover of the hedges, teeth exposed ad claws ready to shred flesh, however every attempt was deflected by one of the group. It felt as if they had been running for some time when the attacks finally stopped although, driven by fear, the group had not noticed and ran on.

They continued running, only risking an occasional glance back for signs of pursuit when they noticed that they were no longer in among the tress but were surrounded by them. They had stumbled across a clearing in the forest somewhere. Merill, Genie and Melissa, all with weapons still drawn, studied the trees as they caught their breath.

"Wow" said Louie sounding shocked and amazed

It wasn't until they looked at him that the trio realised he was not facing the same direction as them that they turned to figure out what had startled the magician so much that he was silent. Nervously, Merill and Melissa turned around slowly and simultaneously followed by Genie a few seconds later until they all had realised what it was that caused the magician to stop and stare in awe. They gazed upon the huge pyramid shaped structure that stood before them. It seemed to glow a golden glow in the light of the sun and looked as though it was out of place among the dark and gloomy forest. The decoration was extremely detailed and a lot of time and energy must have gone into building something so spectacular. Without realising, the rest of the group were caught in amazement at the sight as well and were forced to spend a minute or two sharing in Louie's stunned silence.