Hugo and Patsy Part 2 (of 8)

Almost a year had past since Hugo took the letter to the King. His own Kingdom had now been saved and the country was still in jubilation. But he still remembered about his friend Patsy. She was only 2 inches tall and terrified of heights. But without her help his kingdom most likely would be in ruins.
The last he saw of the tiny woman she was being swept down by the river and Hugo had been unable to rescue her. He thought that she most likely had drowned in the rapid waters.
But for now Hugo was just in his house trying to relax and have some dinner. He was now fairly wealthy since his King had paid him handsomely for delivering the letter. The house itself was fairly large in comparison to the other houses in the area. He had a few valuable items lying around as well.
But while he was eating his meal he heard a loud knock at his door. He quickly got up and went to answer it. He didn’t know who it could have been. But instead he saw one of the local shopkeepers.
“Hello?” asked Hugo.
“Hugo I need to ask you a favour,” replied the Shopkeeper.
“And what may that be?”
“Please may I come in and explain. I think it’s going to rain soon.”
“Of course.”
The shopkeeper then went inside the house and he had what seemed to be a map with him. Hugo took one more quick bite from his dinner and then he went back to the Shopkeeper. He then opened the map and put it onto the table. The map itself seemed to be old and a little wrinkled.
“What’s this?” asked Hugo.
“It’s a map,” replied the Shopkeeper. “It’s a diagram of a place and it’s normally to scale.”
“I know what a map is. I want to know what it’s a map of.”
“Oh. It’s of a deep jungle a long way from here. But there’s suppose to be treasure somewhere around there.”
“And what do you need me for?”
“Obviously I can’t go by myself. I’m trying to assemble a team to go with me. You will be given an equal share of the treasure.”
“Interesting.”
“And since you’ve done a long distance journey through dangers you were one of the top on my list.”
“Have you recruited anyone else?”
“I’ve attempted to but many others are too afraid to go. There were rumours of a giant living there. A few have seen the vile creature.”
“A giant you say?” To Hugo that sounded a little familiar. He knew that there was only one person who could be a giant.
“Yes and for that reason many won’t go. Will you?”
“Yes I’ll go.”
“Splendid now I only need a few others to come and then we can leave. I think it be wise to take some weapons with us just in case the giant decides to turn up. At least we can defend ourselves.
“Sure.”

A few days past and a group of men had been assembled for this grand adventure. Each one was brave enough for this trek. Although Hugo knew the truth he didn’t want to say anything. He thought that it would be more fun if everyone thought that there was a giant there.
The shopkeeper assembled the men in a small house that he owned. Including him and Hugo there were five of them. The Shopkeeper Lyon was the leader of this group. Harris was the definite weapon expert. Joey was the tracker, he would be able to tell if anything dangerous was around. Finally Spike was the one who kept the map. His skills for map reading and things like that were almost superhuman.
The map itself was put onto a table in the middle of the room. All five men began to look at it. Spike knew how to get to the treasure from just looking at it. Hugo began to wonder a few things.
“Ok this is where the treasure is suppose to be,” said Lyon. He then pointed at a on the map. “It’s going to be dangerous. But the reward at the end should make this all worthwhile.”
“What dangers are there exactly?” replied Joey.
“Well there’s dangerous animals there like leopards and hippos.”
“Hippos aren’t dangerous.”
“Believe me they are very dangerous. We also have poisonous frogs and spiders to worry about. But don’t forget the giant. That’ll be the biggest danger of them all. Anymore questions.”
“How much treasure is there?” asked Harris.
“I don’t know. But its suppose to be enough to make each one of us very, very, very rich.”
“Oh.”
“Anything else.”
“What’s the chances of us coming back?” replied Spike.
“If we stay out of trouble then we should all be fine. But other then that your guess is as good as mine.”
“And can we have just a little food right now?” asked Hugo. “I’m pretty hungry and I suppose the rest of us are.”
“Fine I’ll get something in a minute.”
“Wait one last thing,” said Harris. “What if we run into this giant?”
“Prayer to a higher power.”
Lyon then got some food for the men and they began to eat it. The next day they would go out on their little quest. There was going to be a lot of trouble on the way. No one was really sure what was going to happen or even if any of them were going to come back alive.
But for now the group had to rest. They needed all the strength that they could get. They would need it all for the next morning when their journey began. Since no one could really afford a horse they would have to go on foot. This would make their journey longer and more difficult.
The only one of them that had done anything like this was Hugo. But he still missed Patsy. He thought that there was a way that he could have saved her and not let her get swept away. It was a thought that would sometimes haunt him. But now it seemed to be stronger then before.

The next day all the equipment was packed up and ready to go. But they had to make sure that they didn’t take too much. If they took too much equipment it would be too difficult to carry. But if they didn’t take enough they would most likely need a piece of equipment when they needed it the most.
The five men were right at the edge of town. They were all looking at the map. Spike began to point out a possible route. But he was explaining how this route was quite dangerous.
“So what exactly is that way?” asked Joey.
“Well there’re rapid rivers, dangerous creatures and poisonous vegetation,” replied Spike. “Normally I’d try and stay away from this route. But since it’s the only way to the temple then it looks like we don’t have a choice.”
“What’s the chances of us getting through?” asked Lyon.
“I admit not very high.”
“Well we all know the risks so is anyone backing down?” No one said a word. “Good then we better get going.”
The men began to walk away from the town and closer to the temple. For now the journey was going to be nice and safe. There weren’t any dangers coming up but they just had to watch out for thieves and people like that.
After a day of travelling they reached the opening to the jungle area. Not many people came this way since they wouldn’t last five minutes in there. Spike looked at the map once more and then looked into the jungle.
“It’s definitely that way,” said Spike.
“Is there no way around it at all?” replied Harris.
“No.”
“Then we’ll have to go,” replied Hugo.
They carefully went into the jungle and they looked around for anything that was remotely a danger. But Hugo eventually slipped down what seemed to be a slope. He went tumbling down and the others could only watch him. Eventually he was out of sight and the others were trying to decide whether they should leave him or go back for him. They all looked at Lyon.
“Well boss?” asked Joey.
“Go and get him,” replied Lyon.
“Fine.”
Meanwhile at the bottom of the slope Hugo was picking himself back up. He had hurt his ribs. But not too far away from him he saw the bushes begin to shake a little. He was afraid that it was some kind of predator who wanted to eat him. He was in no condition to fight anything.
He grabbed a large stick that wasn’t too far away from him. He was going to defend himself to the death.
“Hugo,” said a female voice.
“What?” replied Hugo.
Just then out of the bushes came out a tiny woman. She was only a foot tall with long red hair and green eyes. She wore her yellow and blue one piece suit. Hugo instantly recognised her.
“Patsy!” he shouted.

Hugo stared in disbelief for a few moments. He didn’t know whether he had suffered some kind of head trauma and was imagining it, or he was actually seeing his old friend. Patsy. But she was taller then he remembered. Last time he had seen her she was no more then two inches tall. But now she was a foot tall.
“P-Patsy,” he said.
“Hugo are you alright?” replied Patsy.
“Yeah I’m fine. But am I dreaming?”
“No I’m real silly. Touch me.” She then paused for a moment. “But not anywhere that’s indecent.”
Hugo then touched Patsy on the top of her head. He felt something solid so he knew that he was awake and not delusional. After that he picked up his tiny friend and gave her a big hug. This lasted a couple of seconds and then he put her back down on the ground. But he was curious.
“How did you survive?” asked Hugo.
“Survive what?” replied Patsy.
“That river where I lost you. I thought you would have drowned for sure. But here you are.”
“Well the current was pulling me away from you and downriver. Thankfully I hit a rock but I was able to crawl up it and land on the top. Since I was too small to get off it became my temporary home. I used anything that floated down the stream as a tool and I caught my own tiny fish. After a couple of months I eventually had my growth spurt and I was able to jump from rock to rock. I began to go on my way back to my hometown. But I kind of got mixed up with where I was going so I ended up here.”
“Your survival skills are amazing.”
“I know any place any size I can survive. Sometimes I feel that it’s easier to allow myself to die then to actually try and keep living. But I don’t like doing things the easy way.”
“Hugo are you down there!” shouted a voice.
Hugo then looked up the slope that he had fallen down and he could see the others looking down.
“I’m down here!” replied Hugo. He then looked at Patsy. “We’ll get you out of here when we’re actually leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the temple to acquire unthinkable riches.”
“You’re going there? It’s far too dangerous.”
“I’ve been to worse.”
“Believe me no you haven’t.”
The others then slowly came down the hill. They eventually reached the pair and they were all amazed to see Patsy. They had never seen anyone so small in their entire lives. They thought that she was some kind of magical creature.
“Is she a pixie?” asked Spike.
“I’m not a pixie,” replied Patsy. “I’m a human just like the lot of you. Except I’m a little smaller.”
“A lot smaller.”
“Ok a lot smaller.”

“What exactly is she?” asked Lyon.
“She’s a friend of mine,” replied Hugo. “She’s saved me more then once before.” He felt proud of her.
“That’s not answering my question.”
“Like she said she’s human. But smaller then normal. But she’s still growing right?”
“Not for a while,” replied Patsy.
“She’s harmless.”
“She’s pretty fit,” added Spike.
“Thanks I guess,” replied Patsy.
“Ok we’ve wasted enough time here Hugo,” said Lyon. “Leave her and let’s keep going.”
“No wait she can help us,” replied Hugo.
“How?”
“Patsy you said you’ve been to the temple right?”
“Right,” replied Patsy.
“So what better way to get in and out of the temple with a guide? She’ll be paid out of my share of the spoils. So you lose nothing.”
“You have a point there,” answered Lyon. “Very well she can join. But she better not be more trouble then she’s worth.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Ok let’s keep moving.”
Hugo then picked up Patsy and put her on his shoulders. She was a little scared with being so high and she held onto Hugo’s head for dear life. Her nails were going into Hugo’s skin causing him some discomfort. But he couldn’t stop walking. He dared not fall behind. Not only did he want his share of the treasure but it was also very dangerous to be by himself.
“Are you alright up there?” asked Hugo.
“Yeah I’m fine,” replied Patsy. There was some nervousness in her voice.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m sure.”
“If you’re uncomfortable…”
“No I’ll be alright. I’m just remembering that it’s best to fight your fears. Even if you need a change of underwear.”
Just then everyone heard a loud cracking sound. They quickly stopped in their tracks and they began to look around. They couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But Lyon was a little sceptical.
“Harris see if you can find out what it is,” said Lyon.
“Right,” replied Harris.
He then went into a nearby bush to see if he could find anything. He disappeared from view. But a few seconds later he gave out a scream of agony and then fell silent once again.
“Harris!” shouted Lyon. “Harris!”
But there was no reply. Everyone’s hearts began to pound in their chest. Something wasn’t right.

“Stop screwing around Harris!” shouted Spike.
But there was still no reply. Everyone was getting worried at this point in time. Lyon was trying to think of a solution. He looked towards Hugo and Patsy. He pointed towards where Harris had gone.
“Go check it out,” said Lyon.
“What about Harris?” replied Hugo.
“Hopefully you’ll find him.”
Hugo then quickly began to walk where Harris had gone. He got a dagger out of his pocket for some form of protection. He slowly walked forwards and he made sure that Patsy was safe. She was a little scared but she still tagged along with him. She’d prefer to be with him then the others.
“Any idea what happened to Harris?” asked Hugo.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Patsy.
“Are you sure you want to stay with me?”
“Yeah I’ll be fine.”
Just then Hugo nearly tripped over something on the ground. When he looked down he found a severed leg. He quickly backed away from it and kept down any vomit that was coming up.
“I think we found Harris,” said Hugo.
“Part of him anyway,” replied Patsy.
Just then there was a rumbling in the bushes. Hugo quickly looked towards them and he began to back away fairly quickly. He was a brave man but this was a senseless encounter at best. He also wanted to keep his skin intact.
But then they saw a bush not too far away from them rumble as well. It was the opposite direction from where the other bush was.
“No creature can travel that fast,” said Patsy.
“Unless,” replied Hugo.
“Unless what?”
“Unless there’s more then one.”
They then began to hear some growling noises. Hugo backed away slowly. But he could hear more noises around him. But when he looked around he could see nothing. His heart was pounding in his chest.
“Get us out of here,” said Patsy.
“Don’t make any sound,” replied Hugo.
Patsy fell silent as Hugo continued to back away from the bushes. But just then Patsy saw an ape like creature jump towards them from above. She screamed out in terror and Hugo looked up and saw it.
“Oh crap,” he said.
The monkey then landed on Hugo’s face and he fell to the ground. This made Patsy fall to the ground as well. But when she got up she saw several other monkeys coming closer to her.
“Oh crap,” she said.

Patsy didn’t have many options. Since Hugo himself was being attacked she couldn’t rely on his protection. She tried to think of all the times she had been in a situation where her survival was in jeopardy. But as far as she could remember this was probably one of the worst situations she had ever been in.
Hugo himself was ripping off one of the monkeys from his face. It slashed him several times. But eventually he was able to rip it off and throw it to the ground. He stamped on its neck breaking it.
But immediately Hugo went to the aid of Patsy. He kicked several of them away. But one jumped onto his back and began slashing again.
“Hugo!” called Patsy.
Hugo was able to throw this monkey to the ground. He then picked up Patsy as best as he could and then ran away. They both had more brains then to stay here. Also they would be safer with the others.
But they were being chased by the vicious monkeys. They were a lot faster then Hugo had anticipated. He really picked up the pace just so he could get away from them. But to his horror they seemed to be getting closer. Patsy was panicking a little and she looked over to Hugo.
“Can’t you pick up the pace?” asked Patsy.
“I’m running as fast as I can,” replied Hugo.
“I thought you were fast.”
“I am fast. But these things are faster.”
Thankfully to their delight they were able to reach the others. But they wasn’t sure what was happening. All they could see was an out of breath Hugo with his small friend. Lyon quickly went to them.
“Did you find Harris?” asked Lyon.
“Get the weapons,” replied Hugo.
“What?”
“Just do it.”
Just then they all saw the monkeys coming out of the bush. Spike immediately grabbed a dagger. Lyon backed away as he saw the monkeys come closer. He was in some stage of shock and horror.
“What are those things?” asked Lyon.
“Tation Monkeys,” replied Patsy. “Very dangerous.”
“How do you kill them?”
“Hit them until they don’t get up.”
But as they watched they saw more of the Tation monkeys coming into sight. They were all in fear. But by now everyone had weapons to try and fight them. But it was going to be difficult.
“I can’t die like this,” said Lyon.
“If you talk rather then fight then you will die,” replied Patsy.
“Right.”
As the Tation Monkeys came in closer towards them. Spike panicked a little and just began to stab them left right and centre.

Just then a Tation Monkey jumped onto Spike’s back. He tried to throw it off but it clung on. As he struggled more of them began to jump onto him. Hugo went to help him but Patsy quickly stopped him by grabbing onto his leg. He then looked down at the small woman.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “He needs our help.”
“There’s nothing we can do for him,” replied Patsy.
“There’s gotta be something.”
“If there was I’d be doing it right now.”
More Tation Monkeys were jumping onto Spike and everyone was powerless to help. They watched as he fell to the ground and he was ripped to shreds. It was a scene Patsy couldn’t bear to watch.
But after they had finished with Spike the Tation Monkeys turned towards the others. They were still out for blood. Lyon used a bow and arrow to kill one of the Tation Monkeys but they still came towards them. Everyone didn’t want to end up like poor Spike.
“The river,” said Patsy quietly.
“What?” replied Hugo.
“Go to the river now.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Hugo and the others followed Patsy’s direction to the nearby river. The Tation Monkeys were directly behind them. The group quickly jumped into the water and swam across to the other side.
When the Tation Monkeys reached the river they stopped dead. The group expected them to try and cross the river. But instead they moved away from it. They seemed to be afraid of it.
“What’s going on?” asked Lyon.
“Tation monkey’s really don’t like water,” replied Patsy. “Too bad I couldn’t remember in time to save Spike.”
“As long as we’re safe. Spike and Harris gave their lives so that we can live. Its best we remember them as heroes.”
“What now?” replied Hugo.
“Simple we keep going.”
“Is that really the best course of action? Two of us have already died. If we keep going then we might all die.”
“I’ll have to go with Hugo on this one,” added Joey. “I think its getting too dangerous to keep going.”
“You can't quit now,” replied Lyon.
“I’m not leaving this place by myself. You know what they say. Safety in numbers.”

“If we quit now our comrades would have died in vein,” said Lyon. “But if we keep going and find the riches then they know that they gave their lives for our quest. Their share of the wealth will go to their families.”
“It is very risky,” replied Hugo. “But at least with Patsy here we can get a heads up on anything. She knows this place like the back of her hand.”
“Ok so I vouch we keep going.”
“Fine,” replied Joey. “But if we lose anyone else I say we abandon the quest altogether. No treasure is worth our lives.”
“Agreed.”
But none of the men were unsure which way it was to the temple now that their map expert had been killed. But then they all looked at Patsy. They remembered that she had great knowledge of this jungle.
“Patsy any idea which way the temple is?” asked Hugo crouching down to his foot tall firend.
“There’s two ways to get there,” replied Patsy. “There’s the quick way that’s dangerous or the safe way. The safe way is much longer but obviously it’s a lot safer then the quick way.”
“Why is the quick way dangerous?”
“Because we have to get past quicksand pits, creatures that can shred us to pieces and there’s plants that can eat a man whole.”
“How long would it take us to get through the quick way?”
“A couple of hours at the most.”
“And if we went the safe way how long would that take?”
“Roughly a week maybe two.”
“And in that time we could get attacked by anything.”
“Well yeah.”
“I say we go the quick way,” added Lyon. “We can get in and our of this jungle relatively quickly.”
“What about the risks?” asked Hugo.
“I think the risks are greater on the safer route rather then the quicker. On the quick route we might find danger immediately. But if we go the safer, longer route we could run into those Tation Monkeys again. I go for the quick route.”
“I prefer to be on the safe route.”
“I don’t mind either way,” said Patsy.
Joey now had the deciding vote. But he wasn’t sure which way to go. He didn’t particularly want to go the quicker route. But he didn’t want stay in the jungle for that long either. He then gave out one sigh before making his decision to the others. But he was still unsure whether it was the right one.
“I say the quick way,” said Joey.
“Then it’s settled,” replied Lyon.

Patsy began to lead the men through the more dangerous route. She feared for her own safety along with everyone else’s. She stayed on Hugo’s shoulders. She would have liked to be on the ground but it was too dangerous.
Joey accidentally put his foot into the edge of a quick sand pit. He was lucky that only his one leg went in and not his whole body. Because of this he was easily able to put it out. If he had been a couple of more feet to his right he would have been in real trouble. He would have been sinking and no one would have been able to help him.
But as they walked further everything seemed to be getting darker. It wasn’t just because the day was getting on. But the trees above them were getting thicker and less light was coming through them. It was almost like walking through pitch darkness. This made everyone cautious.
“Is there anything dangerous around here?” asked Lyon.
“Believe me there’s danger all around us,” replied Patsy. “I warned you about this route.”
“I know but how much further do we have to go?”
“Not far the temple is on the other side of this wood.”
“Good let’s get going.”
Lyon then went to walk away but then he heard a howling noise. He quickly stopped in his tracks and looked around.
“I think the Tation Monkeys are back,” said Lyon.
“That wasn’t a Tation Monkey,” replied Hugo.
“Stay sharp.”
They began to look around to see if they could see anything. But it was too dark and they couldn’t see a thing. They slowly walked towards an opening that lead to the temple. At first they couldn’t hear anything again. But as they went further they heard the same roar again.
“What’s that Patsy?” asked Hugo.
“I don’t know I haven’t heard it before,” replied Patsy.
“Some guide you turned out to be,” added Joey.
“Hey.”
“Shut up for a second,” demanded Lyon.
He then began to listen for anything unusual. He heard a twig snapping not too far from where they were. He looked in the direction from where it came but he could still see nothing.
But just then he could see the outline of a creature not too far away from him. He was getting scared and he drew out his weapon.

As the outline got closer to them the men pointed their weapons at it. It took a few moments for a strange looking creature to come out. It had a long trunk like an elephant but it was roughly the size of a cow. Joey went to fire at it but Patsy quickly stopped him. She knew that there was no threat.
“Don’t shoot,” she said.
“What is that?” replied Joey.
“There’s no name for it yet. But it’s a herbivore.”
“Oh. Is it dangerous?”
“As long as we’re careful then we’re alright.”
But just then a leopard like creature jumped out of the tree and landed on top of the herbivore. It bit into its neck and the herbivore was quickly killed. This caught everyone by surprise.
But after the leopard killed the herbivore it looked at the group and snarled. It began to edge forwards towards them.
“Its going to eat us,” said Lyon.
“It’s not going to eat us,” replied Patsy. “Its defending its kill. If we move away then it’ll go back.”
“Right now that sounds about the best idea you’ve come up with.”
Everyone began to back away from it and like Patsy said the leopard went back to the herbivore carcass and it began to feast on it. This had been a lucky escape for the group. If the leopard had decided to make them the prey they would have most likely been killed by now.
All they could do was continue down the path towards the temple. They were very close to it right now. They could practically see the temple from where they were. It was a lot larger then they had expected.
“Gentlemen we have arrived at our destination,” said Patsy.
“I don’t believe it,” replied Lyon. “I didn’t actually expect that I’d actually see such a sight.”
“So you thought we’d all die?” asked Hugo.
“Of course not. But just to be here is amazing.”
“I hate to interrupt but its best that we went inside,” replied Patsy. “its getting dark and some nasty creatures come out at night.”
“Fine.”
The group then made the final steps towards the temple. It was getting dark pretty fast and they didn’t particularly want to be out at night. Even Patsy would find a safe haven during the night hours.

The group quickly entered the old stone temple. But the first thing they saw was a long corridor. They couldn’t see the end of it. It was too dark for that and it would be unwise to explore at night.
“Patsy can you guide us in here?” asked Hugo.
“I can do but its much easier when its lighter,” replied Patsy. “I suggest we rest here for the night and continue the next morning.”
“That sounds reasonable,” answered Lyon.
Everyone was tired from the travelling and running for their lives. Although the ground was hard it was better then sleeping out in the open. It was a lot safer in here then it was out there.
It didn’t take long for the group to drift to sleep. They were relatively safe in here. Although they would be defenceless if anything attacked. They just hoped that nothing would attack them.
The hours flew by one by one the group slowly woke up. It was past dawn and the corridors were a lot lighter then they were the previous night. They could clearly see everything now. They saw a lot of overgrown vegetation and a couple of holes in the wall.
“So where is this treasure?” asked Joey.
“It’s around here somewhere,” replied Lyon. “I hope that our little guide here can show us the way.”
“I have some idea where it is,” answered Patsy. “But I can’t guarantee you anything I’m afraid.”
“But it’s in here somewhere?”
“I think so.”
“Then lead the way.”
“Before we start I must warn you. This place is booby trapped. One wrong step could get you half a dozen arrows in your chest.”
“Right.”
Patsy began to lead the men down the corridor. She was looking at the ground at the same time to see if there were any switches that would set off a trap. As far as she could see there was nothing.
But Hugo placed his hand on the wall and a switch was activated. Patsy noticed this and she shouted to them.
“GET DOWN!” she cried.
The men fell to the ground immediately while a hail of arrows passed over them. It lasted for a couple of seconds before ending. They slowly got back up to their feet and knocked the dust off of their clothes.
“That was close,” said Hugo.

“Thankfully we saw that one coming,” said Patsy. “The other traps aren’t as easy to get past.”
“Then we’ll have to keep an eye out,” replied Hugo
They all slowly got back up to their feet and carefully kept walking down the corridor. They were constantly looking out for any kind of switch that would set off another deadly trap. But for now they couldn’t see anything.
But eventually they came up to a room that had a very deep fall. Joey grabbed a rock and a dropped it. It took several seconds for it to reach the ground. This indicated that it was a very deep pit.
As lucky would have it there was a bridge going over the pit to the other side. They all tried to walk across it at once. But they heard it straining so they quickly stopped and got back onto their side.
“I think its best we went one at a time,” said Lyon. He then carefully walked onto the bridge and kept walking. He could hear it straining but eventually he got over to the other side. “It’s safe.”
Hugo carrying Patsy was the next to walk over. But Patsy had the misfortune to look down and she held onto Hugo tightly in panic. Unfortunately for Hugo this was around his neck and he was struggling to breathe.
“Patsy loosen up will you I can’t breathe,” said Hugo.
“Too high,” replied Patsy.
“Just relax. I’ve got you, you won’t fall.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
This relaxed Patsy a little and she lessened her grip a little. She closed her eyes as Hugo continued the journey across the bridge. When he got to the other side he looked over and waved to Joey to indicate that it was safe. He then tended to Patsy who was still clutching to him.
“Patsy we’re on the other side,” said Hugo.
Patsy then slowly opened her eyes and she saw that she was indeed on the other side. She gave out a huge sigh of relief and she seemed to be calmed. Although she was still higher then she liked she knew that she was in safe hands.
Joey then started his journey across the bridge. But he accidentally stood on a weak piece of wood and it gave way. His foot went through the wood and he fell a little. Everyone was panicking a little but he was able to get his foot out. But this had scared him somewhat.
But Joey kept going and he staggered to the other side. But they would be in for more trouble.

Now that everyone was on the other side of the bridge the treasure was on the opposite side of the next room. All the riches they could imagine were just a few minutes away. But they knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
When the group got to the next room they saw the treasure on the opposite side of the room. But there seemed to be water separating them from the treasure. There was no bridge connecting one end to the other.
“What now?” asked Harris.
“Simple we swim,” replied Lyon.
“I wouldn’t if I was you,” added Hugo. He then picked up a stick and dipped it into the water. A couple of seconds later he took it out and the stick had dissolved. “This isn’t water. It’s acid.” He then looked at Patsy. “Patsy can you get us across?”
“I can’t,” answered Patsy. ”This was as far as I could get.”
“Ah.”
“Well the people who built this temple must have had some way of getting to the other side,” replied Lyon.
“Maybe we could climb on the walls.” He then pointed to walls. There was a ledge that was just above the acid. “We could just about climb to the other side.”
“Sounds about the best idea we’ve got.”
The men then went towards the wall. Patsy decided to stay behind since she was too small to be any use to them. She also thought that she would be a lot safer. But she did worry about the men. Especially Hugo.
The men on the other hand just began to shuffle themselves. But the ledge was very slippy. One false move and it would be fatal. But it was Harris at the front of the group and he was particularly slow.
“Hurry up!” said Lyon.
“I’m going as fast as I can,” replied Harris.
“The sooner we get there the sooner we can get the gold.”
Harris then began to hurry up a little. But he put his foot on a part of the ledge that was very week. It crumbed and it made him lose his balance. He quickly fell back into the acid. All Hugo and Lyon could do was helplessly watch as Harris dissolved quickly in the acid. Within seconds all that was left behind was his skeleton.
“Methinks we need to take extra care,” said Hugo.
“I think you’re right,” replied Lyon.
They carefully continued their journey. They carefully placed each foot with extra care. They didn’t want to end up like poor Harris.

After several minutes both men reached the acid pit. Lyon could see the priceless amount of gold that was right in front of him. His eyes began to glow as he looked at it all. A huge smile appeared on his face.
“We’re rich!” he shouted. “We’re rich!”
“Yep this should buy me a town or two,” replied Hugo. He then noticed that there was so much treasure that no way that they’d be able to get all out of the temple. Too many of their numbers had been killed and Patsy wasn’t really big enough to carry any of it. “Grab what you can and let’s get out of here.”
“Fine.”
The men then began to fill their pockets with gold and they carried whatever else they could. But on the other side of the acid pit Patsy was still standing there. But she accidentally stepped on a button and she felt the ground shake.
“Oh crap that can’t be good,” said Patsy.
Everyone expected something bad to happen. But then a stone bridge appeared from Patsy’s side and it extended to Hugo and Lyon. They both stood there in amazement. It was definitely not what they had expected.
“Are you telling me that this was there all that time?” asked Lyon.
“Not all the time,” replied Hugo. “Just when Patsy activated it.”
“So Harris died in vein?”
“Unfortunately yes.”
“Oh well. At least now we can carry more treasure.”
Both men then picked up as much as they could and steadily walked across the stone bridge. It took them a full minute to do this since the bridge wasn’t too particularly wide. Like Harris they could fall into the acid and die a horrible death.
Patsy stepped aside when they got to her side. They quickly went to leave the room. But they were confronted by the weak rope bridge again.
They were unsure whether the weight of the treasure would make this journey any more difficult. But Hugo wanted to take the risk. He put Patsy onto his shoulders and he slowly began to walk across the bridge. Patsy closed her eyes the entire time since she was still too afraid to look down.
It only took him a couple of minutes to reach the other side. When he did he signalled Lyon to come. But he was carrying a lot more treasure then Hugo was and he began to walk the bridge. But he heard it begin to buckle and he ran.
But no sooner had he started to run the bridge snapped and he jumped to grab some rope. He was right next to the edge and Hugo extended his hand and Lyon grabbed it. But he was too heavy to pull up.
“Lyon lose the treasure,” said Hugo. “I can’t keep my grip.”

Will Lyon get rid of his treasure? Find out next week.