Ruins Raiders: Book Two

Chapter Ten, The Pyramid

By Relm

You would think the notion of a camel which was used to running on sandy unobstructed terrain would have trouble running fast in a dense jungle. There were all kinds of trees, roots, bushes, low hanging branches, strange animals and bugs to trip up a fast moving camel. And yet the camels all seemed to navigate the strange terrain with the greatest of ease. It certainly made up for all the time they wasted at the start of this journey.

The strong desire that the camels had to get food made Zelgadis wonder if they had been fed in a while. They were acting like there were starving. Zelgadis didn't know much about camels he figured they could last a while without food as they did with water. And Petunia like the other camels was eating all those bugs too. Could they really still be that hungry?

However Lina was also urging the camels on. And if it was one thing that Zelgadis knew about Lina, she lived for food. Any person would be if they could eat whatever they wanted and never seem to gain a pound. Her energy could be influencing Petunia egging him on towards the source of the smell.

If that were true the same couldn't be said for the other four camels. Lina was only riding Petunia after all, why would the others be spurred so easily? The only conclusion that Zelgadis could come up with was that the smell was so temping it didn't matter how hungry they were, they wanted a taste.

Zelgadis himself couldn't place what it was he smelt. The closest thing he could come up with was that it smelled like a barbeque but more of a smoky flavor. He tried to think of what he knew about the kinds of foods Velnqxbosian people ate but he realized he didn't know much. As it was the area had turned into a desert wasteland with much of its people dead or missing. It was possible that the people of Velnqxbos had migrated when the climate had changed but conspiracy theorists believed some unnatural tragedy wiped the Velnqxbosian people out of existence. Much of the people who now lived in Jhonwxa weren't indigenous people to area but the descendants of those that travelled to Jhonwxa from other countries.

Much of what Zelgadis and the others knew of Velnqxbos was a mystery and one they were going to get real answers to. It was very exciting but also very nerve wracking. Innocently chasing after a strange meal could get them all killed. They had to be careful.

The one good thing about the camels hurried pace was that they seemed to be heading towards where the pyramid was so at least they were heading in the right direction.

"Lina can't go barging in there and steal whatever food is being cooked!" Zelgadis tried to rationalize with the woman in front of him.

"I know!" Lina grumbled. "Obviously I'm not going to let Petunia just go right in there and expose us."

"So what is your plan then?"

"I'll stop him, tie him to a tree and then go and sneak in to steal the food."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "How are you going to stop Petunia and the other four camels?"

"I'll pull on Petunia's reigns. I'm sure the others can do the same with their camels." Lina exclaimed in annoyance. This clearly wasn't thought out well but Lina was too hungry to care. She had been so preoccupied with her work that she didn't realize how hungry she was.

The pyramid was very large now, you couldn't even see the top of it when you looked up. They were close very close.

The smells that was spurring the camels (and Lina) on turned out to be a big fire pit with a large assortment of meats, vegetables and fruits being roasted. You couldn't tell just by looking what meat it was but the fruits and vegetables should have been easy to identify. But as it was they didn't look like any produce any of the future travelers had seen before.

Lina and company didn't get much a chance to investigate as when Lina tried to stop Petunia before they reached the fire pits the camel like the others didn't like to be told what to do. So as such all the five camels rebelled and threw their riders off making them land in a heap right in front of the fire pits.

While the camels stole whatever food they could manage from the pits without being burned Lina and company tried to get up while nursing their now aching bones and muscles. They had all landed very hard and very suddenly that they hadn't expected the fall.

"Owww... stupid camel." Lina grumbled while rubbing her sore bottom.

"Um... Lina we have a problem..." Zelgadis mumbled while poking Lina in the ribs.

"What?" Lina looked up angrily to see just what he meant. Surrounding them all were at least twenty muscular men all brandishing sharp wooden sticks aimed right at them. "Oh shit..."

...

The Velnqxbosian people didn't speak much as they ushered Lina and company through their city towards their pyramid but what they did say was like gibberish to the future travelers. It wasn't like any spoken language they had ever heard before. There were the occasional click and pop in their speaking that did remind Lina of a few tribes she had studied before but it was still too radically different.

As far as the Velnqxbos people they were as Lina expected they would be. The men were lean muscular and very tanned. The women were delicately petite and also tanned. They wore very little in the way of clothing which wasn't surprising as it was very hot and humid. What did surprise Lina was their hair. Usually when one thought of jungle tribe people you assumed they would have dark hair. Dark hair was very common after all especially in warmer climates. But these people all had brightly coloured hair. Blond, red, blue, pink... just about every colour in the rainbow you saw on these people except black. They were exotic and beautiful just like the land that surrounded them. If this were a normal non-threatening situation Lina might have taken the time to really take in the incredible sight around her. However having your hands bound behind your back and being shoved forward by men with pointy sticks was a mood killer.

Many eyes watched them as they were being led through the city. You didn't need to understand their language to know what they were talking about. They were talking about the strange people who suddenly showed up in their city. It was clear that the people of Velnqxbos weren't accustomed to having visitors.

"What do you think they are going to do to us?" Zelgadis wondered out loud to Lina.

"OHOHOHOHOH! Why kill you of course!" Naga responded with her usual gusto.

"Why are you so cheerful for?!" Lina hissed at Naga. "If they are going to kill us they will kill you too of course you ding dong!"

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOH! Oh no, they will kill you but me they will worship because I look like a beautiful goddess." Naga boasted rather proudly. "If you are lucky I will have them spare your pathetic lives."

Lina rolled her eyes. "You are a delusional idiot."

"OHOHOHOHOH! You only call me delusional because you know I'm right! OHOHOHOH!"

Each time Naga belted out with her boisterous laughter the surrounding Velnqxbosian people flinched and hid from the noise. Clearly they were not used to such a loud and obnoxious sound.

"Naga stop laughing you're scaring the locals." Lina snapped at her.

Naga rolled her eyes at Lina's comment but she did heed it and refrained from laughing again. She wasn't the most sensible of people but Naga wasn't stupid.

"You know if you had darker skin Miss Lina you probably could pass off as one of the locals." Xellos pointed out.

"Yeah except I can't speak their language. The minute I opened my mouth to say something they would know for sure I wasn't one of them." Lina mused. "I can't understand anything they are saying. And I've studied many languages in my day and this one has got to be the weirdest."

"I know... the amount of variations of sounds and syllables seems lacking for a spoken language. Even if the tones were a factor there isn't enough change to make it proper." Filia agreed with Lina. "But they also seem to gesture a lot with their hands when they talk... Perhaps it's a combination of gestures and sounds that make up the Velnqxbosian language. Like a combination of talking and sign language."

"That makes a lot of sense." Lina admitted. "It's a shame you are from South Rixx University. With your brains you're more like North Rixx material."

"No, she means East Rixx." Zelgadis corrected her.

"Excuse me I meant North. Don't try and pimp your school into the conversation. Mine school is best." Lina snapped at him.

"I beg to differ. The only reason why North Rixx is as highly regarded as it is is because of you Lina. If you weren't there they'd have nothing." Zelgadis shot back.

Lina blushed but she was going to let simple flattery make her loose this argument.

"You're both wrong." Filia stepped in. "South Rixx was the original and therefore the best. If anything you two are both working for the wrong schools."

"If South Rixx is the best then why can't they spring for better plane tickets when they send us places?" Val grumbled in his two cents.

"As much as I love an argument especially one between three rival schools I feel as though I should be the voice of reason." Xellos interrupted. "We are as you all know prisoners being taken gods knows where for purposes we're unsure of at this time. Don't you think it would all be in our best interests not to be arguing like petty little children when they take us to wherever we are meant to go? We might have to plead for our lives." He reminded them.

As much as everyone hated to think it, but Xellos was right. Rather than add anything on the subject all of them chose to be quiet. At the very least if they needed to escape it would be better to observe their surroundings for opportunities.

Getting closer to the pyramid Lina and company could see that the structure was a single solid shape as it appeared from afar but many many blocks of stone stacked and fused together forming a pyramid shape. Each block appeared to be the exact same shape and size and had different symbols carved onto them. The intricacies of the structure were so elaborate that it didn't seem possible to construct such a thing from man power alone. It had to have been made by a machine it was the only way to explain the blocks being the same dimensions. Even the most diligent person could make a few things that looked alike as nothing man made ever looked exactly alike. But they were in the past long before anyone had even invented the concept of electricity. This wasn't possible and yet it was.

"They're all the same..." Lina mumbled in awe. She just couldn't believe it. Inside the little kid that couldn't wait to open presents at Christmas was squealing inside. These were exactly the kinds of mysteries that drew Lina into her line of work. She loved to discover the answers to long unanswered questions. For years people had wondered how a seemingly primitive race such as the Wlomnas with their limited resources could build the great pyramids of Wlomnak. This wasn't Wlomnak but Lina was in the heart of a race of people who achieved something just as great. If she could answer the question of how the Velnqxbosian did it then the Wlomnak pyramids would be easy to explain. Assuming of course they didn't die first.

They walked up the many steps of the pyramid until it led to an altar with a chamber behind it about halfway up the pyramid's height. From the red stained stones of the altar and the steps under it Lina knew right away that this spot was used for whatever sacrifices the Velnqxbosian people did to pay tribute to their gods. Lina had no proof to support this assumption but history had recorded ritual sacrifice all over the world. Many cultures believed in or did believe in some sort of sacrifice or offerings to appease or get blessings from their god/gods. It didn't amuse Lina as it was quite possible that they were destined to be the next sacrifices but it did make her think.

Inside the pyramid there was long hall that lead to throne made purely of gold. This throne also appeared to be an altar of some sort where the person sitting on said spot would be revered as a god. What made this throne special wasn't that it was grand and made of sparkly gold but that it was also encrusted in various gems with symbols etched into them. The one that stood out the most was the palm sized orange yellow gem with symbols etched into it. This was the very same gem that had sling shot them into the past. All they had to do was get at and they could get home.

To that they would just have to get past the man sitting in the throne before them. With his amber eyes, long light violet hair and contrasting tanned skin he was very beautiful. He looked at them with curiosity but in the way that would make you believe he was out for blood. He wished for answers that much was obvious. He made a gesture with his hands and spoke a few sounds but it had little meaning to Lina and the others. When he didn't get the response he wanted he reached into his pocket and pulled out another palm sized gem. This one was green and the symbol on it glowed yellow. He pushed the center of the gem and the whole room glowed green for just a few seconds. "I said who are you people?" The man spoke again.

Lina and company blinked in surprise. They could understand him?