Forbidden Treasure

“I swear this is the last time I'll ever do this!”

This is something I always tell myself, but I already know that is a lie. I really need the money and jobs are becoming less available as time goes by, with businesses slowly building up, hunters are starting to work for other people to earn their money as opposed to how they used to. Where is the sense of adventure?! In the distance I see the city I call home, that is the only place in this world I would even consider safe, regardless of all the thieves or scammers running amok in the streets for goods to steal and sell themselves. I walked through the shop center with the sack on my shoulder, ignoring the sound of people speaking to the merchants selling expensive supplies that they could find simply from the horizon in a mile radius.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite hunter!” Marcus cried out, “How was the trip?”

“You got my money?” I remarked back in exhaustion, all I wanted to do was rest.

“C’mon Marsh don’t be like that; I just want to hear about your adventure!”

Sighing, I placed my sack on the counter, “Same old same old Marcus, nothing new happened like last time, except this one had more traps and mud.” The head of some wild creature was what Marcus had me out for, I never question the jobs since they paid well.

“You did an amazing job for me, but business has been slow” Marcus said, “this is all I can give you for this, sorry bud.”

He handed me a small bag of silver coins, without even having to look inside the bag, I knew this was not close to how much Marcus offered me.

“Marcus!”

“I know, I know it's not the correct amount, with all those other businesses stealing potential customers, I’m running low on cash. If this keeps happening, I’ll have to shut down my shop.”

I slammed my fists on the counter, “You can’t be serious Marcus! If you close shop, who will give me a job? All the businesses out here already have contracts with other hunters!”

Marcus huffed, then ruffled my hair like an older sibling or a parent would do. “Look, it sucks bud but knowing you I’m sure you’ll find another shop to work with.” He tried to reassure me but so many thoughts were running through my mind from this news.

Why is this happening? Marcus is the only shop in the city without a hunter. Why is this happening to me?!

Exiting from Marcus’s shop I continued the walk home, passing the shop center I hear someone telling a story

“Some say the treasure can give the user untold powers to the person who wears it.” An elderly man spoke to some kids,

“Where is the treasure?” One kid asked excitedly

“Yeah!” Another kid spoke up, I too was curious.

The man chuckled, “I myself don’t know where this treasure is, it may be lost for all time. It could be anywhere.”

My defeat came as fast as my hope for riches.

Of course, it was some made up story. Old folks make the strangest things up, from talking about how the world used to be and now fake treasure.

My thoughts are interrupted with someone tapping me. I look to see a small child wearing nice fancy clothes, this kid sure has a death wish if they were strutting up on this city with the potential to be robbed, or worse, murdered. Grabbing the kid, I rushed to my home so no harm came to them if anyone saw them as targets.

“Excuse me, but are you by any-”

Interrupting the child I yelled “You know how dangerous it is to walk around like that?!”

“Whatever do you mean?”

I groaned in frustration. “Look kid, in this city, people that look like you don’t last very long here. Dressing like that is like wearing a ‘Please Rob Me’ sign all over you. Now what do you want?”

2

This better not be some trick.

The ride to the Lord’s land was exceedingly tedious. I was growing bored and wanted so badly to just jump out the wagon and let the birds peck away at me. The wagon came to a halt.

“Hunter Marsh, we have arrived!” The child spoke.

I looked up to see a big palace, something you’d dream of, or read about in fairytales. Entering the palace, the floor and pillars were made of marble, decorated with luxurious furniture and paintings. Each room was as beautiful as the last until we were met with a giant door.

“This is where the Lord is waiting for you.” The child stated while attempting to open the door.

I was flabbergasted by the interior before, but nothing would prepare me for the throne room. A rich red carpet draped perfectly across the floor with velvet stairs at the throne, a chandelier that seemed to be made of almost pure crystal. Gold accenting the details of the walls, and finally a blue canopy place behind the throne where the Lord sat waiting for us to enter. I didn’t feel worthy of stepping in such a room.

“Ah, thank you Duke, that will be all for now” the man wheezed out. Duke stepped out of the room leaving me alone with the Lord.

“So, I heard you were in need of a hunter?”

“Yes…I am, you see I need you to retrieve a certain item for me”

The Lord clapped his hands and a servant appeared almost out of thin air, handing me a piece of paper. “This map will help you in your journey…it is located in the Forgotten Lands.” The Forgotten Lands were a place that not even the bravest of hunters would go. Fear swelled inside me but the thrill of adventure overpowered those feelings. “I accept this challenge but about my rewa-”

“Oh, before I tell you about that, having just one hunter is too boring for my taste.”

“I didn’t know about this!” I was shocked, that kid told me I was requested by the Lord himself. The Lord clapped once more as they continued to speak to me.

“You will be with five other hunters on the search for this treasure…” the Lord explained as if on cue, the doors opened once again to show these so-called hunters. “Now that we’re all here, this is very simple, whoever brings me the item from the Forgotten Lands will be rewarded seven sacks of silver coins!” The Lord exclaimed while we looked around at our ‘competition.’

“Now off with you, and if you come back empty handed, you will be executed!”

3

The tension was so thick you could cut a knife with it. We had been walking almost all day, the sun was starting to set.

I tried talking but the words would stay stuck in my throat. Three of the other hunters were walking ahead. Probably to get the mission done and take the money for themselves.

“We can settle here for the night and continue in the morning”, a soft voice spoke. I found out her name was Sly, known as ‘The Completionist.’ She never fails a mission no matter the cost. The other hunters were Roach, also known as ‘The Silent Killer,’ he didn’t talk much when we met and kept to himself. Woe, known as ‘The Time Bomb,’ from hearing stories about her being dangerous, it's strange seeing the opposite with my own eyes; she was the first one to berate me with questions left and right as another person, Oaf telling her to calm down. She is one of the most wanted outlaws in the wastelands so I don’t get why the Lord had her join in this mission since she wasn’t a hunter, she is called ‘Madame Chaos.’ Finally, Mime, a quiet boy that might be a new hunter. I tried talking to him, but he was a nervous wreck. Everyone set up their sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep, but I could have sworn I heard people talking before falling asleep.

I could already hear birds chirping as morning came to, I couldn’t enjoy it much as I was being shaken awake. “Wakey Wakey Marshy! We have more traveling to do!” Woe giggled while violently shaking me like a maraca.

“Woe, they’re awake. C’mon!” Oaf spoke up, making Woe drop me and skip over to Oaf. “Alright, Mash.”

“It’s Marsh...”

“Whatever, we’re close so hurry up!” She shouted while walking away with Woe. I sit up, packing my stuff into my bag to follow in the direction of the group.

“Beware…”

Huh?

I look around me and see no one.

“Beware. Hunter of the east, for dark times are ahead of you...”

Turning my head in all different directions, I still spotted no one around me, Strange.

I ran after the group only to soon see a palace covered by nature, looking at the top, I spotted Woe trying to gain my attention. “There you are, everyone is already inside!” She spoke jumping from the top of the stairs. Climbing was such a hassle given how big they were. Finally reaching the top we headed inside to look for anything close to what the Lord wanted. After looking in four rooms, we spotted a corpse with a golden locket around its neck, untouched by time. Was this what we needed to find?

“Guys I think we found it!” Woe exclaims, resulting in the others rushing into the room. “So, who is touching it?” I asked, there were no volunteers until I noticed Woe grabbing it then putting it on.

“For safety so we don’t los-” Woe stops mid sentence and screams in pain, making us all jump, she shows her hands to us, and we see, she is turning into gold. She tried to remove it but it was almost as if her hands grew too heavy to lift. With one last scream, the room fell silent. All of us stood there in disbelief as to what just happened. Is she even alive?! Sly was the first to speak.

“This is what she gets, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.”

“You bitch! How can you even say that!?” Oaf yelled in Woe’s defense if she could hear her that is.

Sly spat back calmly, “We all came here with a goal, to return this to the Lord, not to mess around like children when we see shiny things. It's her fault for putting it on when she could have simply put it in her bag. She must’ve had a plan to use the locket against us.” Sly walked over to Woe’s body, removing the locket and handing it to Roach. Even Oaf wasn’t brave enough to go face Roach to get the locket.

The journey back was silent, like all the life of the party stayed with Woe back in the Forgotten Lands, the only talking heard was from Mime, begging us to turn back, which fell on deaf ears. Settling in for the night we heard screaming to see Mime had been turned to gold when sleeping. For once in my life, I regretted accepting a mission, there was a killer among us. It could be anyone. Roach was an obvious suspect as he has the locket in his bag, but that doesn’t mean the other two are just as innocent. Sly was just as guilty as she was unfazed by Woe turning to gold, and finally Oaf. An outlaw would do anything for money, so murder was not off the table. But am I just as innocent?

I may not have the locket but the doesn’t mean I won’t be framed for someone else’s murder. It's every man for themselves now to figure out the killer and not become the next victim of the locket’s touch.