Indiana Jones, Amaya, and Rayla met up with Josue, Kazi, and the leader. "I am so happy to see you guys made it back alive," Josue said, smiling.
"Thanks, we took care of those tanks," Indy said.
"And the men," Rayla said.
"We were able to free all of the slaves," Josue said.
"Though, we lost Callum," Kazi said.
"You lost Callum?" Rayla asked.
"He was counting to see if we got everyone when he noticed that the leader's brother was missing," Kazi explained.
"Shit, that means," Indy said, his face looking down solemnly.
"Indiana Jones! Knew you were the one coming in and creating all this destruction," a voice called out from behind.
Rayla and Amaya drew their weapons out, preparing to meet whoever was behind them. They were surprised when Indy lowered their weapons, smiling.
"Caitlin, it is nice to see you again," Indy said, turning around, "I see you have gotten my letter."
"I did, and you have captured my interest Jones," Caitlin said, "Elves and a magic tree, you must take me for a fool."
"No not at all," Indy said, "I figured you out of anyone would be an expert in the Yggdrasil."
"It is one of my studies, yes, but tell me Jones, why the kid?" Caitlin asked. She moved out of the way to reveal Callum covered in dirt and blood trickling down his nose.
"Callum!" Rayla shouted as she ran towards her friend and hugged him.
"So do you have any explanation for this?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah, " Indy said, "The letter I sent you, that is what's happening. We are in search of the fable Yggdrasil…"
"The tree of worlds," Caitlin said.
"Yeah, and we are in search of the keys of this tree and the map alongside it," Indy said, "These people here are not from our world."
"Oh yeah, Jones, and where do they come from?" Caitlin asked.
"We are from Xadia, madam," Kazi said.
Caitlin looked at the sun elf carefully, scanning her. The elf felt a bit uncomfortable. Caitlin just sighed, as she talked. "You must be telling the truth, Jones," she said.
"You believe us?" Callum asked.
"I sense a strange aura around you guys. Can not really explain it, but there is something up with you four," Caitlin said.
The leader walks towards the group of adventures as he began to speak. "He says he is very thankful for freeing his tribe from slavery. He is also indebted to you, kid, for risking your life and rescuing his young brother," Indy translated.
"Can you tell him thank you, but he does not have to be indebted with me," Callum said,
Indy translated what Callum said and the leader looked surprised. But that surprised turned into a smile. The leader spoke again.
"He asks if you are from nobility as the way you acted shows the signs of a great leader," Indy translated.
Callum thought for a moment and said, "I am the adoptive son of a king and my brother is the prince."
"Your father must have been a great king," Indy translated, "Now I will show you what you seek."
The leader guided the group towards a shrine. The shrine held many offerings and gold, but the thing that caught Indy's eye was a stone circle. He walked towards it, holding it in hands. He notices the engraving on it and sees it is in ancient Nordic. Rayla walks towards Indy and saw what he was holding.
"All that trouble, just for a stone circle?" Rayla asked, surprised to see the prize.
"Not just any circle, this is one of the keys to the Yggdrasil. This engraving here tells us a piece of the map of the tree and where to find the next key," Indy explained.
The leader spoke again, this time directly to Indy.
"What did he say, Indy?" Callum asked.
"He says that one of his ancestors was gifted this by a strange white god as a reward for healing him," Indy said, "And he, the leader, is gifting it to us as a thanks for rescuing his people."
Indy spoke to the leader, bowing towards him. The elves and the humans did the same. The leader left towards his people, who were celebrating. The group joined him, as they sat around a group. Some of the children of the tribe gifted the group wreaths of flowers, putting them around everyone's neck. A few of the children dragged Rayla and Callum to dance with them, both of whom are reluctant to do so.
As the celebrations were going on, the leader gave Indy, Amaya, Kazi, and Caitlin some fruit, which they took gratefully. The fruit was sweet and juicy as the juice trickled down Indy's face. While the festival is going on, Indy takes out the key and observes the writing on it. The writing was in old Norse, as Indy felt the etching along the surface.
"Something wrong?" Kazi asked, as she looked at Indy with worry in her eyes.
"No, not really, just taking a look at the key," Indy said.
"What does it say?" Kazi asked.
"To access the second key, one must search for where Sol resides at his strongest and Mani plays, to where the ground has become golden and to where the king lies," Indy read.
Kazi thinks for a moment. "Do you know what that means?"
"No," Indy said, "But I think I might be able to figure it out. The ground has become golden probably means sand, so the next key will be in the desert. Which is what I already figured out. Where the king lies, the Vikings probably thought the Muslim leaders were kings, so they identify them as kings. So where they might lie might refer to the burial ground of where their rulers live."
"Do you have an idea where this might be?" Kazi asked.
"I do, I figure from the old maps that have been recorded by historians, the next key will be in Tunisia. Looking at the riddle, I have a feeling we found the next resting place of the second key," Indy explained.
Indy looks up from the key as he watches Rayla and Callum smiling and having fun. They are dancing with the native children, having the best time of their lives. Indy nudges Amaya and asks her a question.
"Has your nephew ever had a normal childhood?" Indy asked.
Amaya was taken aback by this question. She then thinks for a moment.
"Before the king, his father, died, he and his brother were pretty normal children, well normal for sons of the king. Callum was more into art, though he did try his hands at being a knight. His younger brother, Prince Ezran and his pet loves getting into mischief, eating pastries and stuff," Amaya signed, "But it wasn't until the assassination of the king where everything went downhill."
Indy sits back. He thinks about the answer he was given. Indy looks at Callum again, and he sees that the kid is genuinely happy for once. Smiling, Indy lays down on the ground, putting his hat on the face. He falls asleep, as he snores the night away.
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