Still, one hut looks a fraction bigger than the others, and it’s very close to the village’s central fire. It’s been helplessly decorated with various trinkets and skulls, so if I know anything about the tribes here, that must be the chief’s hut. And obviously that’s where the gold must be.
I stride over, kick in the door and search the dark interior of the hut.
And I find it. It’s not even hidden. The gold items are proudly displayed on shelves and walls.
I grab one of the knives from the wall. The handle has a thin stripe of gold. But it’s gold leaf, thin and far too little.
“Ridiculous,” I sneer as I grab the next weapon, and the next. All have tiny rings and stripes of gold leaf, but otherwise they’re useless, all base iron and wood.
A set of drinking cups matches the one I have, but there’s only three of them and the gold won’t be nearly enough.
I rummage through the whole hut, tearing down everything from the walls, emptying every basket and every pot on the floor. But that’s all. There’s no treasure.
I spot a shadow darkening the hut, so I storm out and grab hold of an old man. “Where is the gold?” I demand. “Where is the treasure?”
An old, wrinkled face looks up at me in horror. “Dragon!”
“Yes, yes.” I shake him. “Gold! Where is it?”
“There!” he points into the hut.
“No,” I tell him. “This isn’t gold. This is gold leaf. There’s barely enough to cover one fingernail. Where is the real treasure?”
“The treasure,” the man gasps, scared half to death. “In the crater! The women! Five of them!”
I frown down at him. “What? Women? That’s not treasure. Where is the gold, you old idiot? Thegold!”
I hold a knife up to his face and point to the thin gold ring.
“The gold is in the cave!” the man wheezes. “The sacred cave! None may enter, save for the shaman.”
“Ah. Where is this cave?”
He lifts a thin arm and points, his whole hand shaking. “In the hidden cave. That’s where the gold is.”
“How far?” I demand, shaking him again.
“Three thousand paces,” the man manages.
I’m about to toss him away when a stray thought crosses my mind. “What was that about the women? Five women?”
“They’re in the Impossible Mountain,” the man says. “Or close to it. Even now, the tribe is going to get them!”
Ah. Perhaps that’s why the village is empty. “They’re going there now? To get five women?”
“Yes! They brought huge hammers and chisels to carve away the rock obstacle. It took months to make them! But now the tribe will take the women and bring them back here.”
“The gold,” I say, suspicious. “Is there an obstacle to stop me from getting it?”
“There’s only a cave. The gold is hidden in the cave.” He points again, desperate to please me. He shows more proper spirit than Morgan usually did.
Morgan. She talked about five women. The women she’s going to help. And now this silly tribe is going to the same place! Surely Morgan will be there by now.
Just in time for the tribe to attack her, as well.
“The gold,” I say. “How much is there?”
“Much,” the man says, hanging limply from my hand. “As much as can fit in that hut.” He nods to the chief’s hut.
