Jed received a whack on the head that left him woozy, when he refused to leave Krena and Luna. Sax convinced him that he wouldn't do any of them any good if he put up a big fuss. He reminded him of the scene in the arena. They followed the guard back up to the cavern behind the tented area and both men stared in mild shock at the surroundings.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you about all this," Chessery whispered.

Sam came from behind a screen and held out his hands. "Please, sit." He was out of his Sky God costume and into a pair of faded shorts and an old t-shirt with an image of a lit cigarette and the words, 'More Than One Way to Fly' underneath. "Can I offer you a beverage?" He pointed to a large pitcher and several clay mugs.

"Water would be great, thanks. "Sax answered.

"Anyone else?"

"Can we just cut to the chase here?" Jed s napped, avoiding the glare from Sax.

"I cut to chases much better with something to drink." The statement landed like iron and Jed swallowed his pride and sat in silence.

"Since small talk is not popular, let's talk about your treasure." Sam turned toward Chessery, handing her a cup of water.

"We don't even know if there is one; I believe it's quite probable but where it is, is still a huge mystery My map only led us to this city. And as I said before, we thought it was abandoned."

"What about this map, where did it come from? Why even believe it?"

Chessery sat back and crossed her legs. "It's a long story that really doesn't matter here. The point is, I do believe it. It doesn't make it real but for me, it makes it worth looking for."

"How about you," Sax asked. "All the time you've been here you haven't had any hints about a treasure or whatever?"

"As I told her, I'm just a figurehead here. If I didn't have my toys, which by the way are becoming fewer, batteries don't last as long in this climate, I might become a waste of their time. You haven't got any spare AAs by chance, have you?"

"But you can move around freely, right? Go wherever you want to?" Sax ignored the question.

"Pretty much. I don't push it though."

"What about our friends?" Jed interrupted. "What happens to them?"

"You noticed that it was me who told them what to do with you. Where to put you and when to bring you out. That means they don't care one way or another about you people."

"So we're free to go?" Chessery stood quickly

"I said, they don't care. I on the other hand, am very interested in this treasure business."

* * *

In the interest of gaining the best advantage of their situation, Chessery and Sax told Sam the entire story right from the beginning, including the origin of the map from her father.

"If anyone is following you these guys will know it and they will intercept them, believe me. I've been here three years and only a handful of visitors have stumbled on this place, none of whom stumbled out again I might add."

"Our concern then is that our followers might blab about the alleged treasure if they get caught." Sax warned.

"They got one already"

"Is that what Tapuk was taken out for, to translate?"

"Yup."

"So what happened?"

"The boys took him away to try him."

"The boys!" Chessery looked alarmed. "Not that arena business."

"If he doesn't pass muster."

"My god can't you do anything about that horrid ritual?"

"Yeah, I can mind my business so I don't wind up in the same place."

Sax raised his hands, patting the air. "Okay, look, let's deal with what we do now." He looked at Sam expectantly.

"What?"

"You've been here three years, surely there must be some place around here where there might be something valuable stashed.

Do these guys have anything? Any gems or whatever?"

"Nothing I've ever seen." He sat back and stared up at the propeller fan. "I've never been allowed down where the totem god is, it's in a small grotto behind this place. There's always a group of the boys standing guard to the entrance."

"What do they do there?" Chessery asked.

"No idea except that it's all very hush, hush and serious. That's where they do their trials. That prisoner will be in there now."

"So if there was any treasure that would be the most likely place." Jed said.

"For my money" Sam filled his cup again and drank.

"Then we need to have a look." Chessery said, with cavalier determination.

"Good luck there, lady." Sam snorted.

"Wait a minute, don't they all attend these trail things in the arena?"

"They weren't all there with us." Jed reminded.

"No, but that was a show for our benefit, right, Sam?"

He nodded. "Normally there is big public ceremony after a trial and before the uhm- arena business."

"So we could chance a peek then." Chessery pressed.

"Wait a minute, we don't have our weapons anymore and I don't relish fighting these guys on their terms." Sax said.

"I can get those back." Sam said. "They don't even know what they are; they think they're just fancy clubs."

"Alright then, let's get them and get the hell out of here." Jed stood, anxious to move.

"What about the treasure?" Chessery asked.

"Screw the treasure. What's more important?"

Sax stood and put a hand on Jed's shoulder. "I know what's eating you but we hired on to do a job; our extra baggage doesn't alter that... it just makes it a little tougher."

"Christ, Sax, she's a young mother with a little girl!"

"Yeah, and you're a soldier with a responsibility to a mission."

Sax walked away and turned around. "Try thinking about Anson and the other natives; they gave a hell of a lot more to this trip than your little family out there. Tapuk and Matzumen are down there with them, did you give any thought to them?" Jed flushed and bit his lip, feeling the others watching him.

"You said you could get our weapons." Chessery stood and faced Sam.

"Right over there." He waved his hand toward the corner of the room.

Sax strode across and picked up the two automatic weapons, checking the magazines.

"Where is my Glock?"

"That I'm keeping." Sam lifted his t-shirt and showed Sax the gun. "If I'm joining this little expedition I want my own protection."

''Fair enough. So now how do we do this; we need our two guides-" Jed stepped forward, about to protest. "And the woman and her daughter." Sax finished with a dark look at his lieutenant.

Sam lifted a hand. "Certainly not while they are in the grotto, pal. We'll have to wait until dark."

"Can you get the others up here?" Jed again.

"Somebody will have to stay down there; they won't release everyone to me. After all, you guys discovered their existence, they'll want to have a meeting about what to do with you."

"So what's the difference"

"They don't come in here. This is the Sky God's private domain and they are a little frightened of some of these gadgets that still work." He flicked his lighter as an example. "If we are all in here they couldn't get at your group."

"What the hell, we can't get past them, what's the damn worry?"

Jed was becoming agitated and Chessery pleaded with him to calm down.

"Actually," Sam said with a smile. "We can." He walked across to where a section of wing with braided rope decorations hanging over it stood against the wall and slid it aside. A small hole appeared in the wall just large enough for a normal sized person to squeeze through.

"What's this?" Sax asked kneeling down to look inside.

"Three years of patient digging." Sam grabbed an old rubber covered flashlight from a shelf and shone a weak light into the opening. Sax saw a short tunnel that ran about twenty feet, then natural light lit it the rest of the way and he could feel a slight breeze on his face.

"Where does it go?"

"Out the north side of the Jaguar's head and then there's a ten or so foot drop into the vegetation. I've gone out a few times just to get away from this place and the constant observation. I just take a walk in the jungle, go back and check out the crash site sometimes"

"Don't they know or stop you?" Chessery asked.

"I told you, they won't come in; they don't know if I'm in here or not. When I go out with them I'm constantly followed. Curiosity about what the Sky God might do; I'm never allowed out there so..." He waved a hand at the hole in the wall.

"Okay, so we slip out this way tonight and take a peek in the grotto and see what's what, then." Sax turned off the flashlight and handed it back to Sam.

"You realize that if anything happens, the best the Sky God can do is turn this on," he held up the flashlight, "or flick my lighter. That's about the extent of my magic. The phone died ages ago."

"Well these clubs still hold a little magic." Jed raised his rifle.

"There is still the problem of our guides and Krena and her daughter." Sax reminded everyone.

"Let's think about that," Sam walked back and sat down in his chair. "We've got a couple of hours yet before it gets dark and the ceremony begins, they're pretty regular timewise."