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Zia tugged at Mendoza's hand. "But what happened here?" she
asked, looking up at him.
"I don't know," Mendoza replied, and not for the first time
during these travels in the New World seemed completely stunned by what
he had just witnessed.
"M-m-maybe it was a s-s-sign f-fr-from the heavens!" Sancho
and Pedro clung to each other, shaking, just behind the rugged sailor.
Zia glanced at Esteban and Tao, who were rolling their eyes at each
other in light of that comment, but were otherwise just as shocked as
Mendoza. She looked back up at Mendoza, then back to the boys. Frowning
a little, she tugged her hand out of Mendoza's and without further warning
proceeded to the spot where the little metal sphere rested.
"Zia!"
"Come back here!"
"J-just wh-what do you th-th-think you're doing little girl?"
But Zia had already picked up the sphere. Instantly Tao was in her face.
"Yes, just what DO you think you are doing?" he demanded,
hands on hips, leaning forward, one eyebrow arched. From his shoulder
Kukapetl fluttered up into the air, agitated by his master's latest
temper flare.
"Yes Zia, you could be killed!" Esteban agreed, running forward.
Zia frowned at them and held it out for them to see. "But look--there's
writing on it!"
"Huh?" Tao stopped ranting almost as soon as he started and
turned his eyes to the ball. "Ah! She's right! Everyone come and
see!" Zia dropped the sphere into his eager hands.
"N-not me!" And Sancho and Pedro clutched each other all the
more tightly.
But Mendoza strode forward to investigate what Zia had found, his cape
swirling about his knees. His eyes widened as well. "Tao,"
he said to the ecstatic boy, "Is it possible these words could
be in your encyclopaedia?"
"Yes, Tao-see what it says in your encyclopaedia!" encouraged
Esteban. Tao, however, had already thought of that and had passed the
object on to Esteban, who could get a better look at it while Tao looked
it up in his encyclopaedia.
Zia peered at the writing. She could speak Spanish, and read and write
it, as could Esteban and Mendoza, and she read quipus as well-the beaded
records that her people, the Inca, used in everyday life. During her
travels with the others she had come across Mayan glyphs, some of which
she recognized on the sphere and said as much.
"More and more mysterious!" declared Esteban as he and Zia
continued to scrutinize the sphere. After a bit, though, there were
no more glyphs to wonder at, and Zia transferred the object to Mendoza,
who took it up and nonchalantly tossed it up and down a couple of times,
testing its weight. "Hmmm." He looked at Tao. "Well,
any ideas, my young fr--?"
"Shh!" Tao cut him off hastily and held a finger to his lips
as he perused the pages in his encyclopaedia. "Mmm-hmm. Hmm. Uh-huh-um-hmm."
Zia caught Esteban's eyes, and they grinned at each other knowingly.
"A-HA!" Tao suddenly exclaimed and slammed the book shut.
"Zia, you're right! Those are Mayan glyphs! You see this?"
He gently dropped the encyclopaedia and held out his hands. Mendoza
tossed him the sphere. "See this here? I thought it looked familiar.
It's a date: 13 Rabbit."
"13 Rabbit?" said Zia, eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"That's a funny way to date things!"
"Y-yeah!" Pedro and Sancho agreed. "V-ve-very str-s-strange!"
"But see?" Tao went into explanation mode. "The Mayas
are an old race, long gone. They were a very intelligent people. It
was their ruins we were in when we met Marinche and the Doctor-all those
crumbling temples. They disappeared many years ago, long before Pizarro
even landed in your homeland. Their kings always dated
everything according to their own reigns. This king's name was Rabbit
and this was made in the 13th year of his reign."
"But what does that translate to?" Esteban wanted to know.
"That's what I don't know," admitted Tao.
"I guess that old book doesn't have everything in it after all,"
Pedro whispered to Sancho-but Tao heard him. If it wasn't for Esteban
and Mendoza grabbing his arms to hold him back- Sancho and Pedro, sensing
impending doom, moved as one back behind Mendoza.
"Can you tell us what the other glyphs mean, Tao?" Esteban
asked hurriedly, partly out of curiosity and partly to help Tao refocus
on the situation at hand. He and Mendoza let the boy down as he calmed.
Tao straightened himself up and said, "Of course." He again
took the sphere from Zia, who had held it during his outburst. "I
think I've got a rough translation-I'm not sure what it all means-but
this line here, it says something about the rising sun. And this next
glyph is a glyph that matches one in my encyclopaedia. It means another
race, one that lives far to the north of here. They are called the Aztecs."
"The Aztecs!" Mendoza frowned. "I know of them. Another
explorer, like one Francisco Pizarro, has gone there to their capital
city. Hernan Cortes. He is a friend of Pizarro's. And, my friends, if
you think Pizarro was ruthless-he is nothing compared to Cortes."
He turned to Tao abruptly. "Are you sure that's what the writing
means, Tao?"
Tao blanched. "I said it was a rough translation, but yes. I will
stand behind it. We must go to the capital city of the Aztecs. We must
go to Tenochtitlan. For there the writing says there is another city
of gold, to reveal its splendor at the solstice dawn."
"Another city of gold!" Esteban exclaimed. He looked wide-eyed
at Zia, who returned the favor.
"Yes, Tenochtitlan." Mendoza narrowed his eyes. "But
we must be careful, friends. I have heard that the capital city is a
dangerous place. The Aztecs are reported to be even more bloodthirsty
than the Olmecs." He paused. "On second thought--perhaps Cortes
is even worse." He sighed. "Yes, we would do well to be careful.
Either way the city could be a very dangerous place."
"How far do you think we are from it, Mendoza?" asked Esteban.
"Yes," chimed in Zia, "how long do you think it will
take us to get there?" The children looked innocently up at the
sailor expectantly as Kukapetl circled above them, coming to rest on
Tao's shoulder and who also then looked up to Mendoza for an answer.
"Overland, it would take days," the mercenary sailor admitted,
rubbing his chin. "What we need is a boat. But first, we're on
the wrong side of the continent. Judging from the company's maps I've
seen, I believe we need to strike out due north. There we will find
the sea, and perhaps a ship or boat to take us a little way up. We may
save time that way. Tao--how much longer until the solstice?"
Esteban picked up his encyclopaedia and handed it to him. "According
to my encyclopaedia," Tao said, "we have eighteen days, not
counting the solstice itself. Is that enough?"
"More than," replied Mendoza thoughtfully. Just as suddenly,
he snapped out of it, and swirled his cape about him. "Well then.
Shall we?"
"North it is then!" cried Esteban excitedly, pumping a fist
into the air.
"Yes," added Zia, clapping her hands together and smiling.
"To the next city of Gold!"
"I th-think t-this is a b-b-b-bad idea."
"Well, don't come then. Cowards!"
"Tao, be nice..."
"H-hey! W-wah-wait up!"
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