Alone in the Dark

Tao sat in the center of the hidden chamber, completely still, trying to fathom all that he had read. Like the hieroglyphics in the first ruined city and the third manuscript, the writing here seemed to be relating part of the history of the Cities of Gold. If he had translated correctly, there was something very important behind the great doors of this chamber.

Tao's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his stomach growling. The boy looked up in surprise. In the torch light of the great chamber he had no way of knowing how long he had been translating save that he was very hungry. The Hevan boy slowly stood up, stretching his cramped limbs. Zia and Esteban must have been sidetracked, Tao thought as he picked up a discarded torch and lit it on one of the sconces on the wall. He walked slowly to the stairs and made his way towards the temple at their summit, examining the pictographs that decorated the passage walls.

Some of the animals he easily recognized, giant turtles and iguanas among them, while others he had seen in his travels like jaguars, condors, and even the horses of the Europeans. But others were completely new to him. There were wild cats with stripes, bears with black and white markings, large dogs with long fur, and giant sea creatures.

As he continued up the flight of steps, Tao was surprised when he could not see light from the passage's opening. I couldn't be night already, the Hevan boy thought, or could it? Tao's heart jumped into his throat when the light of the torch bounced off the stone at the tunnel's end. The passage was sealed!

Tao ran foreword in a panic and pounded his fist against the hard stone that blocked his only was out. "Esteban! Esteban, this isn't funny!! Let me out!!! Esteban! Zia!!" Tao yelled until his voice was horse, yet there was no response.

The boy sat down on a step and tried to think logically. He wanted to believe this was only one of Esteban's jokes and that his friends would return at any moment, but the more he thought about the situation, the more certain he became that something was wrong. If he were going to escape from the temple, he would have to rely on himself.

*****

Tao sat in silence in the light of his torch, trying to come up with a solution. He had examined the walls of the passage and could find no way of opening the passage again. As the Hevan boy stared at the images on the walls of the corridor, he noticed an image of the sun on the passage opening. Tao ran his fingers across the icon, thinking that he had seen the same hieroglyph in the chamber below.

Hoping against hope that this symbol meant what he thought it did, Tao raced back down the stone steps into the great chamber. On the wall that faced to the north, Tao examined a sun hieroglyph that was almost identical to the image on the secret passage entrance. And next to the sun was the Winged Serpent. Silently praying, Tao worked his fingers around the eye of the serpent, lifting it slightly. The sound of stone grinding against stone filled the chamber and a section of the wall swung open revealing a black opening.

Even as Tao breathed a sigh of relief, he looked into this new tunnel with apprehension. Where would it take him?

*****

Tao walked carefully through the dark passageway, his small torch barely lighting the way. He had left the great chamber hours ago and, despite his attempts to explore carefully, Tao couldn't help but feel hopelessly lost. There were numerous branching routes and he had no guide to aide him in finding his way. These channels were not made of cut stone like those of the temple, but rather were rough rock that appeared to have been created by natural forces.

Time passed and Tao felt like he had spent days in the dark tunnels. The boy began to despair, thinking he would never find his way out. Tao paused to rest and calm himself. As he sat in the light thrown by his torch, Tao heard the sound of running water coming from somewhere in the maze of passages.

With renewed hope, the Hevan boy listened carefully to the welcome sound, trying to determine where it was coming from. After a few moments, he set out in a new direction, stopping periodically to listen. The sound grew steadily louder and Tao hurried on, searching for the water that created it. At last, he rounded a corner and saw a small stream of water running throught a three-way junction of passages. He continued on, following the stream upwards towards its source. But Tao's joy was short lived as the stream ended quickly in an underground spring in a large cave where several tunnels converged. Tao sighed in frustration. There was no way out here.

Tao sat down heavily and wedged his torch into a crack in the rock floor. The Hevan boy leaned forward and scooped some water up in his cupped hands.. His thirst quenched, Tao reached back to pick up his torch, but his hand accidentally bumped the handle. The torch rolled directly into the spring and went out with a sizzle. The pitch-blackness of the cave was overwhelming and Tao cried in frustration and fear. But when Tao opened his eyes again, a faint glow was emanating from one of the caves across the spring.

Quickly Tao stumbled to his feet and across the freezing water to the opening and entered without a moments hesitation. There was a slight draft in the passage and its floor sloped sharply upward which gave him fresh hope. The boy continued on as quickly as he could, ignoring his tired legs.

On and on the Hevan boy climbed until the tunnel came to an abrupt end. Yet, Tao felt a surge of joy when he saw the emblem of the sun. Running his fingers image, Tao located a small button and pressed it in. A large stone above the boy's head slid open yet the passages only light still came from the glowing moss on the walls.

Tao scrambled through the opening into a large temple. He nearly collapsed with relief. Though he was near exhaustion, Tao stumbled to the dark doorway of the temple. Stepping out, Tao could see the welcome lights of the moon and stars, and felt the cool, fresh night air. To his amazement, Tao discovered that the passage had brought him to the summit of the largest pyramid and he looked out over the ruined city.

Gazing down the main avenue of the city, Tao gasped in disbelief. There, next to the Golden Condor, he could see the glow of a campfire. Could it be Zia and Esteban? Tao clenched his fists and tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. It had been a joke after all. Yet a moment later, the Hevan boy felt a flood of relief. His friends were safe and, despite his ordeal in the Temple of the Winged Serpent, Tao only wanted to see his them again.

As quickly as he could, Tao climbed down the long stairs of the monstrous Temple of the Sun and made his way done the wide avenue that would lead to the Golden Condor. But as he drew closer to the condor, Tao began to sense something was wrong. What had seemed to be a small campfire from the summit of the pyramid was in reality a large bonfire. Caution overtook Tao's sense of elation as he realized Esteban and Zia would never build such a large fire. Tao decided it would be wise to cling to the shadows until he knew what he was dealing with.

As he approached the Condor, Tao saw light reflecting off of something shiny that was next to the fire. Tao's breath caught in his throat. Spanish soldiers! How did they get here?! Three armored men were relaxing in the warmth generated by the flames. The boy crept closer to the fire, trying to hear the soldier's conversation.

"…gotten here?" one of the men was saying. "It wasn't here when we passed through the city after La Noche Triste."

"Who cares how it got here," on of the other soldiers snorted. "All I want to know is if we get a share of the gold?" The third soldier laughed, agreeing with his assessment of the situation.

"But what about those children we found?" the first soldier insisted. Tao heart leapt into his throat. "The boy looked like he was Spanish... "

"He probably just ran away from the city, Alberto…"

"But the girl that was with him was definitely not an Aztec or Mayan." Alberto said persistently. "I don't think they came from the capital, Julio."

"Then how do you think they get here?" Julio laughed mockingly. "Do you think they flew?"

"I don't know," Alberto replied seriously.

Tao had heard enough. The boy crept carefully to the tail of the Condor, climbed up the back of the golden bird, and quietly dropped into the cockpit. He nearly jumped out of his skin when an inhuman shriek sounded right behind him, but it was only a moment later that he recognized the sound.

"Kokapedl!" Tao exclaimed in an excited whisper as he hugged his pet to him. But just as quickly as this joy came, Tao found himself clinging to the shadows again as the soldiers jumped to attention at Kokapedl's outburst. "Go Kokapedl, quickly!" Tao whispered desperately. The intelligent bird swiftly flew out of the shelter of the Condor over the soldier's heads. The Spaniards laughed upon seeing the parrot and settled back into their places around the fire.

Tao breathed a sigh of relief as Kokapedl flew back to him. The turquoise parrot avoided his outstretched hands and flew behind the front seats of the cockpit. A moment later he was back carrying a golden object in his claws. Tao recognized it as the bird dropped it in his hands. The sun disk that was the key to the Golden Condor. "That's fabulous, Kokapedl! You're a genius!!" the boy whispered as his pet preened.

As the sun began to light the sky in the east, Tao debated with himself as to what he should do. On his own, he knew he had little hope of helping his friends, but whom could he turn to for help? He could think of only one person who Tao could convince to save Esteban and Zia. Mendoza. But would he be able to find him? Only one way to find out. The rays of the sun struck the Golden Condor and Tao placed the sun disk in its proper place. The Condor's wings flattened, preparing to fly.

The Spanish soldiers scrambled out of the way in terror as the Golden bird lifted off. They could do nothing to stop it. Tao sat stiffly at the controls, hoping desperately that he could fly the Condor. It was one thing to give Esteban advice on how to do so, but it was quite another to do it himself. He could only hope that he would be able to find the Village of the New Sun and, even more important, that he would be able to land the Condor safely. Tao knew he must somehow accomplish this feat if he was to save his friends.

Next Time: The Ancient Legacy Chapter 5 - Old Allies, Old Enemies. Tao is returning to the Village of the New Sun in search of aid, but Mendoza, Pedro, and Sancho have been having trouble of their own.