[In the last MCoG, Mendoza struggled in a Spanish prison while the three Children began their search for the next City of Gold. A sudden cloud cut off the Golden Condor's supply of sunlight, but a mysterious light appeared, guiding the Condor to safety upon a mysterious island.]

Light came quickly to the sleeping three. The Condor watched over them, a guardian against the unknown inhabitants of this island. A smaller bird also stood watch, fluttering wildly -- Kukapetal, Tao's faithful parrot.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Esteban got back to his feet. He couldn't remember sleeping a wink since that night, but he must have -- his eyes were still wet from nighttime tears he did not remember. As it was, he felt great: he couldn't really remember exactly what he'd been crying about. He woke up Zia, who was sleeping on her back with her hands behind her head, and Tao, who was stretched against the Condor.

"Come on, you sleepyheads!" said Esteban with a grin. Zia giggled and bounded after him, leaving Tao to collect Kukapetal and rush after the two.

"White sand is actually pretty comfortable," Tao smiled. "After the Olmecs, I really needed that. Almost makes me feel at home." He winked at Esteban. "Wherever that is."

Giggling himself, Esteban nodded and headed back to the Condor. "Let's get breakfast."

~~~

As the children cooked and ate their maize, the children sat and talked, relishing the situation.

Zia was speaking. "When I was at the Mayan village, I happened to see some children making something like this. You know what they mixed the corn with?"

Esteban shook his head, but Tao knew and was more than happy to finish teasing Esteban. "Powdered snail shell."

Esteban himself got a funny expression for a while, but then he smiled at them and continued to eat. "It's good and filling! Pass me some of that paste… what did they call it?"

"Achiote, I think," said Tao. Zia corrected his pronunciation and explained that it was an inedible fruit with edible seeds and a pulp that could be used for both a flavoring and a dye.

"So that's where they got that red dye!" said Esteban exuberantly.

Zia nodded, smiling briefly before returning to her blank-mask look. "I'm not sure why you wanted those dyes, though…"

Esteban shrugged. "Mendoza suggested it. He told me that, since we were going places no Spaniard had been, we could make some maps."

Much to Esteban's surprise, Zia showed considerable delight at this. "Can I help?"

Tao laughed. "Not so fast, we have to explore before we can do anything…"

"Why? We can see the beach, the mountains, the shrubs. There's so much to illustrate right here," Zia insisted.

Esteban smiled tightly, never having suspected that Zia had any sort of passion for this sort of thing. "All right, I think we can spend a little time on that." He broke out the dyes from the Condor, placed some parchment on its floor, and began a quick sketch of the island around them. Many times Zia asked him to use blue.

~~~

The first major discovery was Tao's, bored as he was while he waited for the mapmakers to decide on the proper colors for everything. He shouted to the others to come and see, just as Esteban was about to reveal to Zia the gold he'd kept with him. Probably a good turn of events, though Esteban didn't know it.

The two scrambled off the Condor and followed the direction of Tao's voice. When they found him, it was in the midst of an obviously clear-cut section of jungle, a short wall rising before them.

"What is it, Tao?"

"I'm not sure… I'd say it was a temple, but I've never seen one with no roof before…" He pointed. "I think the entrance is over that way. Are we going to check it out?"

"Yes!" said Esteban and Zia simultaneously.

The three made their way around the wall, and came to a gateway composed of two walls on either side, leaving the top open.

"This temple looks deserted," said Zia.

"Whose do you suppose it is?" pondered Esteban.

"As you said, only one way to find out," replied Tao as he stepped through the gateway. He emerged in the wide courtyard. In contrast from the temples they'd seen so recently, this courtyard was wide open and empty. Up ahead, he could see seats for many people; to his left and right there was a building, one short and stocky, another tall and slender, like a tower. Esteban and Zia took to exploring these places; Esteban discovered a giant drum at the top of the tower, while Zia found what could easily be recognized as a kitchen. The two reported back to Tao.

"This feels more like a festival place than a temple," he said dejectedly. "But I wish I knew why it was abandoned."

"Well, we still have the other gateway to try," said Esteban, pointing to the far wall.

~~~

Upon emerging from the covered gateway, the three children gasped in awe. Dotted across the open-air "room" were high and steepled wooden pagodas, each resting on its own large stone base. To the right, which is where Esteban and Tao went next, was a masonry building barred by a wooden door, upon which was an intricately carved message. Esteban attempted to open the door, but after moments of struggling gave up. Meanwhile, Tao was beckoning him to wait.

"What is it, Tao?"

"There's probably an explanation in this message. Just a second……."

"…Can you read it?"

"I'm trying, I'm trying… there's some Hiva language here, but it's mixed with something I don't recognize." He consulted his encyclopedia for answers, then, when he got only minuscule results, began penciling in some of the letters for future study. "As far as I can tell, this shrine is dedicated to the founders of… something… which destroyed… something else."

Esteban stared in wonder. Perhaps it was a good idea not to go in after all.

"But that's not all. I see… something about the Cities of Gold!"

That caught Esteban's interest. "What does it say?"

"I think it's telling us the name, but it's an ideogram I don't know." He placed the Encyclopedia over it, carefully traced the design, and circled it for good measure. "I wonder if Zia knows… hey, where's Zia?"

Suddenly Esteban and Tao heard a shriek from nearby.

"Oh no!" cried Esteban. "Zia!"

~~~

They rushed up to a shivering Zia, who had just thrown herself from a nearby chair. It resembled a throne, except that two metal plates were carefully attached to the arms of the chair. Esteban comforted her while Tao investigated the chair.

"Esteban… when I sat upon that chair, I could not see, or feel my body…"

"I'm sorry for leaving you, Zia. I won't do it again." Unfortunately, as Esteban said these words, he had a sinking feeling that that was not the end of their separation.

Tao, meanwhile, was scrutinizing the plates especially closely, then as an experiment placed his hands upon them. With a jerk he tore himself away, then looked again. In his own good time, he examined the chair arms a little more closely.

"No doubt about it. There's some sort of conduction going on here!"

"Conduction?"

"A power like that of the Solaris runs through the arms of the chair. I'm guessing it's got a different function, though I can't figure it out…" Tao continued examining the chair. "Strange. The connections seem to go along the ground…"

As Tao continued to explore, Esteban gently let Zia away from him and walked over to the chair.

"Esteban, wait!" Zia called. "I'll do it. I know what to expect," she explained.

With those words, Zia pushed Esteban aside and sat once again in the chair. Her eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment, but she sat there for a moment before forcibly pushing herself out.

"What did you see, Zia?"

"I saw… the ocean, the white sand. I saw the remains of our fire."

"Really? You saw this island?" Esteban dug into his satchel and withdrew the map they'd made. "Where would you say you were?"

With mute surprise, Zia pointed right at the center of the map -- the very place where the Golden Condor had been.

"So, you saw things from the Condor's point of view…" Esteban mused. Tao's second discovery brought them over. He was standing by another throne, taller than the other, made entirely of stone, with foreign words written on a placard nearby.

"That looks almost… Urubu," thought Esteban.

"Maybe, maybe not," replied Tao, "but listen to this. According to this Hivan inscription, this chair was dedicated to the Sun God… I think it says Surya."

The two looked closer at the thing, feeling it.

"And that's not all. After tracing the conductive path to this chair, I discovered that the power flows directly into the placard. As for its purpose, I can't tell. There's no outlet."

Esteban looked at the throne, following it upwards with his eyes. The sun was just overhead, and shone over the throne, as though beckoning him to sit. He sat… and as the seat of the chair sank donwards, the sun shone full force. It began to shimmer, and the placard opened up. Within was a metal sphere, which Tao immediately took. As he did, the throne lifted up -- Esteban barely scrambled off -- and the space beneath opened, revealing a screen and a control panel not unlike that in the Olmec Flying Machine. On the screen…

"It's a map." Tao couldn't believe his eyes. "A map of the world… and a panel."

"But what does the panel do?"

"That's a good question, Zia. I can't help but think of Atlantis, and Mu, and the Olmecs when I see this. I don't want to do anything until I can figure it out."

"Maybe that device you have is important somehow?" interjected Esteban.

"Maybe…" he looked at the sphere, divided as it was like a Rubik's Cube. "I'd have more trouble finding out than I would with the control panel, though." Suddenly he saw Esteban pushing random buttons. "Stop! Don't do tha--"

Lights began to dance over the map.

"Now you've done it! You've just killed us!"

"It may be just me," said Esteban, "but I don't think we're dead. And one of those lights is indicating us." He pointed to the appropriate section.

"Hmm, you're right." said Tao. "In that case, I'm guessing it must be an information terminal. Would-you-stop-pressing-buttons?!"

Esteban stopped indeed, embarassed. "Sorry, Tao."

"What did you think you were doing?!"

"I said I…"

"Hey! Just a minute!" That was Zia, pointing at the screen. "Look! A red marker… right in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula."

"Right where the first city of gold lay…" breathed Esteban.

"…and there's a green marker there." Zia pointed at an elongated island. "That must be where the next City lies!"

"I don't like it," muttered Tao. "There should be six green markers, if each one represents a single City."

Esteban rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, embarassed. "That's probably my button pushing."

"Well, I'm gonna try and fix it… now, what switch did you -- woah!" Tao leapt back as the screen sank back into the ground, probably due to the waning sunlight. He snapped his fingers in disappointment. "That does it. We'll have to wait until morning."

The three weary travelers made their way towards the other gate, but just as they were going through Esteban caught a glimpse of something shining. He turned his head, and saw that the door was open. He thought of calling Tao, but thought better of it -- he'd felt a strange pang in his chest when he'd seen that glimmer.

Without a response, Esteban peeked into the room, and in moments his breath was taken by a giant pile of gold.

"What could it be?" Esteban remembered the inscription on the doorway, that it had something to do with destruction. "Perhaps it is the destruction of the Inca Empire? But why would that be? We're so far away from it."

He looked again at the gold. The feeling gripped him again, a feeling he was not used to. He was fascinated by the metal, ever since he'd seen the entire Golden City. Yet he had never actually touched any pure, solid gold… he ran his fingers over it.

As he did so, the earth began to shake. Deep beneath the sea, a powerful support structure was crumbling, attached as it was to this portion of the island. Cracks began to appear, as the manmade extension of the island slowly began to crumble. He was thrown to his feet, staggered up, and took one last look at the gold before the doorway sealed him in. He could hear the frantic voices of Zia and Tao, beating on the blocked passage with no effect, and he could see nothing. He tumbled around, unable to control himself in the quake, then the wall was ripping open and he was tumbling through that. Tao took one of his shoulders, Zia the other, and after picking him up all three ran to the Condor.

"Quick, let's take off!"

"We can't, there's no sunlight!"

"Esteban… quick, call out the sun!"

"WHAT?!"

"You've got to this time, or we'll lose the Condor!"

"I know, but…"

"Esteban! Hurry, please!"

…Zia's voice. He closed his eyes, and concentrated hard. He raised his hands and offered a prayer to the sun. But something was wrong. Whenever he tried to think of the sun, he could imagine only gold. Its beautiful gleam. Its weight in his hand. The way he could wave it at those townfolk at Barcelona, get them to respect him, treat him like a person rather than a tool.

"Oh, no… it's too late!" cried Zia.

The ground beneath them cracked and crumbled, and with a roar the ground beneath the Condor split, causing the great vessel to plunge into the sea. The children could only see the sinking vessel for a moment before the ground beneath them, too, gave way.

~~~

The three washed up on an island. A quick survey assured Esteban that it was the very same island that he had been on moments ago… just that a piece was missing. He rolled onto his back and stared at his two friends, who were already awake, blinking, and looking around at the island.

"What is this place?" asked Tao with incredulity to Zia. "We can't just be back on the same island!"

"That's where we are," replied Esteban.

"Esteban! You're all right!" shouted Tao, running up to him. "Thank goodness. You swallowed so much ocean I was sure you were a goner!"

Esteban made no reply.

"Esteban? Is something the matter?"

He turned in the direction of Tao. "Please, I need to talk with you. Alone."

Tao frowned. "Why alone? Weren't we all going to stay together?"

"I… don't want…"

Zia walked up, grateful to see that the group wasn't separated after all. She offered her canteen to Esteban.

"Here, drink this. You need to replenish your strength."

Esteban stared at the canteen for a long time. No one had yet blamed him for the loss of the Condor. He felt dirty, and needed more than ever to talk. Paradoxically, he didn't want to be around anyone. And yet here they were, two of the greatest allies he'd met in his life. He fingered the gold packet in his tunic. Then he felt the eyes of these two allies on him, and he took as small a drink from the canteen as he could manage without seeming ungrateful. After returning the canteen, he leapt to his feet and rejoined them.

"Stay there, I'll get you something to eat," said Tao, starting off in the direction of the jungle.

"Stay here? No way, I'm coming with you!" Esteban laughed as he ran after. His thoughts -- I'll just throw the gold into the ocean. No one will ever know.

Just as he finished that thought, however, he plowed into something -- hard. He sprawled to the side, and found himself face to face with a native boy. Other natives emerged from around, brandishing weapons…

[In the next episode of MCoG, the children meet the native Sasaks and are well recieved! (appropriate scene) All but Esteban, that is, who is charged with jeopardizing the Cities of Gold, and is harassed for it. (getting tripped to the amusement of a bunch of young natives) Only Zia and Tao can convince the Sasaks that he is a valiant hero, but just as they are making progress visitors arrive… (silhouette of ships) You'll learn more in the next episode of MCoG!]

Documentary-ish: Bali is known as the "Land of a Thousand Temples", and this is probably a literal truth. While Balinese temples vary in size, shape, and purpose, most of these existing temples are designed around the concept of an outer and inner courtyard. The inner courtyard faces towards the mountainous center of Bali, and possibly towards a particular mountain such as the mountain Gunung Agung -- the holiest shrines within a temple are located near this side. The other sacred direction in a Balinese temple is towards the sunrise, and in this direction you will find secondary shrines. Balinese towns traditionally have three separate temples -- those of origin, daily life, and death. In addition, temples can be found for agriculture, given Bali's dependence on effective irrigation, and each family has a temple of its own. Most of these temples, like the well known mosque, are still used today both as a place of gathering and as a place of worship, just as they were at their creation.

Goodbye... 'till next time.