Jungle Adventures: Old Friends

“If it isn’t Zaiden Bradshaw,” a voice sneered just loud enough to be heard over the Rumbasim music playing in the Cantina.  Zaiden didn’t have to turn to know it was Raul Wulfstein.

At one point, Zaiden and Wulf had been friends.  They’d even partnered up at one time. Treasure hunting wasn’t exactly a profitable business unless you were able to fund the hunts for yourself.  Most of the time hunters were hired to go into ancient ruins and bring out treasures for their employers who did whatever they wanted with them. Teaming up, he and Wulf had been able to expand their clientele, ask for higher fees.  Zaiden had been able to take a sabbatical from teaching and eventually resign his job at the Sulani Community College.

Unfortunately, working together did not work out. Wulf thought that Zaiden was too conservative and careful.  He didn’t like it that Zaiden wouldn’t just take any job that fell into their lap. Zaiden, on the other hand, felt Wulf took needless risks.  He also didn’t like it that Wulf would work for whomever was paying no matter whether the client was a collector, a government, or a criminal. And since criminals often paid better, Wulf wanted to do those sorts of jobs most often…hence the dangerous risk-taking.

The two had parted ways after only a few years.  Luckily they’d made enough as partners that Zaiden could continue working on his own as long as he lived frugally and was willing to take smaller, but more frequent jobs.  He sometimes missed the bigger jobs, but he didn’t miss the dangers that went with them.

Zaiden turned to greet his old friend and current rival.  “So you’re here, too.” 

Wulf was there grinning at him.  “Of course. Couldn’t pass it up.”   

As usual, Wulf was flanked by two of his goons, the rough men who did most of the physical work while Wulf reaped all of the credit.  When they weren’t hunting treasures or exploring, they served as Wulf’s bodyguards. When they’d been partners, Zaiden hadn’t realized how much of the work he had actually done on his own without Wulf’s help.  Wulf had said that he would handle the “business and client side” of their partnership and would use that as an excuse for why he couldn’t do any of the more labor-intensive work.

Zaiden actually knew one of the two goons.  He was the bigger, burly one who called himself Blaze.  Wulf had hired him on as “protection” when they were going after the most valuable treasures.  Zaiden had thought it a wise precaution at the time. But he’d never liked the man.

Blaze saw Zaiden looking at him and sneered.

“Blaze,” Zaiden greeted him with a grin that he knew Blaze hated.  The other man might be physically stronger than Zaiden, but he’d always been able to outsmart Blaze and he used humor and sarcasm to rile the other guy up.  From Blaze’s scowl, Zaiden figured that it still worked.

Turning back to Wulfstein, who’d taken a seat next to him at the bar, Zaiden said, “You know I’ve been searching for these relics for nearly a decade. What makes you think you will have such an easy time finding them?”

Wulf laughed in a high-pitched and condescending way that made Zaiden’s lip curl.  Most of their association together, Zaiden had tried to curb his natural tendency to joke and mess around.  Wulfstein’s laugh was like fingernails on a chalkboard. It really was a wonder that the two of them had been able to work together as long as they did.  It had been good to laugh again once he’d quit Wulf’s company.

“I don’t think it will be that difficult to find the relics,” Wulf said snidely.  “That doctor has done most of the work for us, don’t you think?”

Zaiden gritted his teeth.  What Wulf said wasn’t far off from the truth.  Dr. Avirelle Adamson had found tablets out in the jungle that detailed how the Ancient Selvadoradan’s had separated and then buried their magical artifact.  Damn her.  

But Zaiden wouldn’t let Wulf know that he was worried that Dr. Adamson’s discoveries could pose a danger to achieving his greatest treasure hunt…the one that he’d been pursuing since he started exploring the ruins of Selvadorada.

He scoffed at Wulf, giving a snort of laughter and shook his head.  “Not all of the work. Her tablets only added more information on the background and research.”

Wulf shrugged.  “Well, her finding those lost tablets last summer made it so much simpler, no?  Now everyone knows where to look and what to do when you find the relics.”

Again Zaiden scoffed and waved off what Wulf was saying.  “Anyone willing to do research could find out basically what was in the tablets.  That doesn’t mean that actually finding the relics is going to be any easier.”

Again Wulf smiled in that way that made Zaiden want to punch him.  “Ah, but you are forgetting one thing…the map.”

Yes, damn it, one of the tablets that Avirelle had found had a crudely sketched map and some details about the traps that protected the artifact pieces.  Not for the first time, Zaiden wished he had never told her the stories of the magical artifacts. He wished that she had let it go and focused her damned archaeology on other areas of the world. But she hadn’t.  She’d come back to Selvadorada and continued her infernal digging. Zaiden didn’t know why it had taken her nearly seven years to discover what she had, but those years had paid off for her…big time.

“Well,” Zaiden glared at his rival, “I still don’t think it is going to be as easy as you think, maps or no maps.  They were crude at best, and not entirely intact. The tablets gave few details. It will still take some brainpower to figure out what else is down there.”  He lifted an eyebrow in a way that he knew Wulf hated. “Do you think you are up for the mental challenge?”

“But of course.”

“We’ll see.  I’d wish you luck, but I know I’ll find the artifacts well before you even clear the first trap.”

Wulf gave his high-pitched laugh again, grating on Zaiden’s nerves.  “I don’t need to clear the first trap, Bradshaw. I just need to beat you to the last one.”  With that, Raul Wulfstein walked away, his two henchmen following. Blaze gave him the finger before leaving the cantina.  Zaiden returned the gesture before ordering another drink from Tim, who was manning the bar that night.

“You know there are ways to make someone disappear in the jungle, right?  No one would ever find them?”

Zaiden turned to face his friend Maximilliano who must have overheard some or all of the exchange with Raul Wulfstein.  Max was a local who had been helping Zaiden since he’d first started coming to Selvadorada so many years ago. They’d become friends and sometimes Max came out to help him search the ruins.

“Unfortunately, we’d have to make his two buffoon guards disappear as well.” Zaiden said.  “That would be much harder to hide, my friend. But it is a nice thought. We’ll keep it as a last resort.”

Max shrugged.  “Accidents happen.”

“Doesn’t matter.  I don’t think Wulf is going to have any more luck than I have.  I was serious when I said that Dr. Adamson’s maps were crude and incomplete.  They really don’t help much.”

When Avirelle published her writing on the Selvadorada tablets, he’d studied the pictures she’d taken and even managed to get a look at the actual pieces that she’d donated to the National Sims Museum of Arts and Culture.

Translating the tablets himself, he noticed immediately that parts were missing.  There were gaps in both the maps themselves and the pictograph writing. He wondered if she knew.  Her paper didn’t mention anything except the possibility that there were more tablets to be found.

He’d tried to get a meeting with her in Britechester, but he found out that she wasn’t working for the university.  In fact, she hadn’t even received her doctoral degree from UBrite and had never been employed by them.

In a lot of ways, Avirelle Adamson was as elusive as the relics Zaiden was hunting.  The publisher of her paper on the tablets just claimed she was a doctor of Cultural Archaeology with a specialty in Selvadoradan History.  It didn’t divulge whatever institution she was working with. Doing an internet search on her didn’t reveal much more. She hadn’t published anything else besides the paper on the tablets.  She also didn’t seem to have any social media presence after leaving Britechester. No Simbook or Simstagram, nothing.

He did find out that her parents had lived in Windenburg, but they had both passed on a few years earlier, her dad of cancer and her mother of what seemed like old age.  In the obituaries, not much was said beyond that the two were survived by their daughter and granddaughter.

Reading that, Zaiden realized that Avirelle must have gotten married and changed her name.  Even though she used Adamson as her professional name, that didn’t mean it was her legal name. Once he realized that, Zaiden gave up looking for Avirelle. Finding her would be nice if it was possible, but he’d just have to search for the relics on his own.  She probably didn’t know any more about them than he did anyway. And so he headed to Selvadorada to do what he’d set out to do so many years ago. He was going to be the one who discovered the relics. And since he was doing it on his own, he wouldn’t have to share his find with anyone.  All profits, glories, and accolades would be his and his alone.

Zaiden headed out of the cantina, saying goodbye to Max before he left.  “I’m going to resupply and call it a night.”

“You heading back out tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.  Not that I think I’ll do much better, but I can’t give up.  Especially not with Raul Wulfric here.”

“Want me to help?” Max asked.

“Nah.  Thanks, though.”

In the marketplace Zaiden saw that Emelina was working one of the booths.  He smiled and waved at her.

“Zaiden,” she smiled, greeting him in the Selvadoradan way.  “I heard you were back.”

“I am.”

“I’m glad.  We should get together while you’re here.  We had such fun last time.”

Zaiden remembered and grinned.  

“I would love that. I need some supplies right now and I’m heading into the jungle tomorrow, but if you can close up soon, we can get a bite and head back to my hacienda.  You can tell me all that has happened since I was last here.”

Emelina agreed and even decided to close early.  They ate Curanto from the street vendor and talked.  Emelina flirted outrageously as she filled him in on the local gossip. She even told him about meeting Dr. Adamson when she’d been in town the previous year.

“Oh I liked her,” Emelina said.  “She was nice and polite, not like some of the more obnoxious academic types.  She actually got to know some of us and asked us questions beyond the normal, boring history questions those archaeologists usually ask.”

“Was she alone last year?  Not part of a larger group?”

Emelina thought about it.  “I don’t remember others at the time.  She had her little daughter, the cutest girl you’d ever see, but no other professors or students or anyone that I remember.”

“I wonder how she got funding to come out here on her own,” Zaiden said, causing Emelina to shrug.  “Well, she was really lucky, then, to have one of the greatest finds all to herself.”

“I don’t know about that,” Emelina said, “but it has been good for business.  Many others have come since she came and found those old tablets. Who knew there were such things out in the jungle?”

And that’s when Zaiden remembered that while Emelina had been a lot of fun, she wasn’t that smart. Emelina should have been grateful to Dr. Adamson. Most of Selvadorada’s tourism business stemmed from the ruins in the jungle.  People had always found things out there. Most of it was worthless except as cultural exhibits, but there was enough riches to be found for men like himself to continue coming back time and time again to search the ruins.

“Emelina, do you mind if we postpone the rest of our date until I get back from the jungle?” Zaiden yawned hugely.  “I am feeling quite tired and I need to get an early start tomorrow.” Zaiden hadn’t completely lied to her. He did need an early start, but really, he just didn’t want to take her up on her flirtations.  Thinking of Avirelle Adamson was distracting him. If only he’d been able to find Avi before he’d come back to Selvadorada!

Emelina pouted prettily, but she told him she understood.  They stood and put their food plates into the trash. Zaiden thanked Emelina for hanging out with him and then gave her a brief kiss, promising her that he’d see her when he got back.  She blushed, but didn’t seem bothered that he left her.

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