Saturday, 1 November 2014

The Ruins of Delphi (an Archaeological Mystery)



My name is Brook Triton and I am on a journey to unearth one of the world’s greatest lost mysteries of all time. Actually you can also call this a rescue mission, since my friend’s daughter, Angela fell prey to one of the many notorious traps the Ruins of Delphi is infamous for. She is a young lady of 21, lithe and cunning as an Amazon. She is fair in complexion and has striking brown curls of cinnamon colour. She has a natural talent for Archaeology just like his ex- grandfather Mr .Roland who was a renowned Treasure Hunter in his time. He also had an attempt in solving the mystery of the Ruins of Delphi but the traps hadn’t been as kind to him as to her granddaughter.
I myself am a highly skilled professor in the Oxford institute currently teaching Archaeology (what a coincidence), so that’s why I was personally chosen by my friend to help him search for his daughter. Both of us together are a great team since he is in fact a heavyweight champion under his incognito- The Red Kangaroo or Kanga since his kicks are as powerful as a Kangaroo (but I think the nickname is fitting because he always carries a Fanny Pack everywhere he goes, even in this trip). So I was the brain of the team and he supplied the brawn.

Enough introductions, let’s get in to the main part of the story when we start this quest. The entrance to the ruins is situated in South America, inside the deepest part of the Amazon forest. The entrance was no big mystery because tribal people and other explorers had discovered it long ago but what lies inside is a secret from everyone. But no one can stop the ever-flowing, exaggerated rumors and legends of that place. Some say that inside is a store house of treasure kept centuries ago by the Incas and they wanted only the most worthy of humans to unearth it. There is another legend that it is the lair to a mythical creature that devours anyone foolish enough to enter its den (I hope that’s not true because that would mean Angela is as good as Mythical Meat). But the scariest talk about it is that it is home to a very dangerous type of ghosts who possess any living body it touches causing its host to suicide in many weird methods. This theory is supposedly proven as many explorers who have come out alive report that they have seen decaying corpses and skeletons twisted out of shape and holding knives pointed at them.

We used our knives to clear the overgrowth guarding the entrance, and behold the Ruins of Delphi. The inside was mossy and covered with dampness. Moisture was hanging in the air and water was dropping from crevices on the ceiling. Skeletons and bones were littered on the rocky surface. But it all changed after a few meters into the cave. We came across a dead end; bones seemed to be heaped in piles around the area. But the strange thing was that the bones were piled in certain areas making it a pattern, also there were 5 rocks jutting out of the supposed dead end. Suddenly something clicked in my mind, I told Kanga to push the only boulder which didn't have bones near it. After a lot of heaving and shoving we uncovered the secret hole beneath the boulder. I was too curious to see what would have happened if we chose the wrong boulder. Since we had an escape route I gave a quick push to one of the rocks and saw in awe how the “dead end” came closer to me, I jumped in the hole and saw the wall flatten against the wall at the far end. So one of the mysteries were solved- because of this bone crushing mechanism, everything in an explorers body including the knives tended to bend towards the body so it looked as if  they killed themselves with the weapons.

We continued on through the glittering cave, light refracted off the amethyst and sapphire and emerald that covered the walls. The colored light confused as to where we were supposed to go. It would almost seem tranquil if not for the various death traps littered around. I almost fell into a pit filled with snakes but Kanga saved me with his lightning fast reflexes. Was this the great legacy that the Inca had left for us? Just a pile of gemstones? I think not. After all Angela had journeyed on, we are merely following her footsteps.

All of a sudden we heard two things, the shriek of a young girl and a deep rumbling sound. We made our way towards the sound and found a huge clearing with all sorts of…..scientific paraphernalia? And at the midst of them was a lake filled with the clearest water I had ever seen. We also saw a man trying hopelessly to dress up like a monster with horns but failed impeccably. Inside the costume was a scrawny old man who seemed to have aged for a thousand years. He did look a bit formidable in that outfit. “Come one step and I will kill the lady” said the man .We looked desperately for this ‘lady’ and saw Angela strapped tight to a pole. “Whoa there slow down, big guy!” said Kanga.  “We are here to talk what’s going on here?”

“I am the only Inca left in this world, the last hope for mankind. You might be wondering how I lived for so many years, I have created a concoction using this sacred spring, few herbs and the knowledge of the Incas. It is the elixir of life, anyone who drinks it will be immortal”, said Mr.Inca.
“So it was you who laid all the traps to kill anyone who comes in your way, last Inca or not you must be captured and imprisoned for taking the lives of hundreds of explorers.” I said. But as soon as I finished talking he lunged at us with a scabbard that just materialized in his hand. Kanga fast as ever took at his Katana and swung back with as much force as he can muster. An epic sword fight took place; both seemed equal in power and reflex. It went back and forth with steel clanging against steel. I took the time to free Angela who was unconscious, but when I turned back I heard a deafening clash and the Katana flew from Kanga’s hand and the old man hacked away at his stomach. “No Kanga! Look out” and I threw what I thought to be a bottle of the ‘Elixir of Life’ at Kanga in a desperate situation to save him. The old man kept surprising me, he swung at the bottle as it flew through the air and all its purple content exploded around him. “NOOOO” shrieked old man, “the only potion that went wrong and you had to throw that”. “AAUGH” he shouted with unbearable pain. His body turned blue and blisters formed and popped on his arms like craters. With his last breath he tried to reach for one of the potions which should have been the true Elixir. I took it away from him and fed it to Kanga who was close to death. As the liquid swished through his system a pink glow surrounded him and his wounds closed up by themselves. “What happened?”

“Oh nothing of much importance, you started sleeping after your battle and I had to kill him instead” I said looking at the smoking corpse. “Come on, Everyone’s safe now let’s go home”.
So this was how our epic journey came to an end, we gave Angela the honour of discovering the secrets to the Ruins of Delphi. Kanga became famous because he was the first and the last man to live forever, though he wasn’t too happy of his state. And I wrote an article on our adventures together which you just finished reading. And if you are wondering about the Elixir and its whereabouts it’s still in the cave, and if you want to get your hands on it then you should either be very stupid or desperate since it’s guarded by Kanga himself.


THE END

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