Finn had deposited the last bit of wood to the pile as Roxton lit a match to start the fire when they heard several gunshots.
�Did you hear that?� Finn reached got up from her crouched position. �It sounded like it came from the river.�
�Marguerite and Veronica must be in trouble!� He grabbed his rifle when he saw Malone and Challenger make a grab for their own guns.
He took off in the direction of the shots knowing that his friends would be following. After running for a couple minutes they still hadn�t heard anymore shots but kept heading for the river knowing that was where they would have been last. Roxton was getting worried they hadn�t heard anymore gunshots.
They stopped running when they found a dead raptor and knew this is where the shots had to have come from. The raptor was freshly killed, but not by one of Veronica�s knives or Marguerite�s pistol. There was a very large bladed sword sticking out of the raptor�s side. To make matters worse, Roxton counted at least 5 sets of prints and he could see that at least Marguerite had left with them.
�They must have been taken with them. The tracks lead this way. They can�t be more than a few minutes ahead of us.� Roxton led the way following the many sets of footprints hoping Marguerite and Veronica were both all right.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
�The Protector? Well then you should be treating us like royalty! Veronica�s mother is the damn Protector!� Marguerite tried again to get to Veronica but the men seemed to expect her to struggle now and didn�t let her budge.
�Watch your language.� The warrior on her left said.
Marguerite rolled her eyes. �Yes, mother.�
�We do not wish to harm you or the Protector�s child. We are-�
�Marguerite!�
Marguerite turned as much as she could in the tight grip and saw the cavalry had finally arrived. �Roxton!� She turned to face the warrior on her left. �You can still let us go and no one will get hurt.�
Roxton, Malone, and Challenger stepped closer with their rifles trained on the men while Finn had her crossbow out. �Release our friends! We don�t want any trouble!� Malone shouted.
�We cannot.�
Roxton and the others saw that while Marguerite was not hurt, Veronica was unconscious in the arms of one of the men who was still walking away from them. They didn�t know how seriously she was hurt, but they couldn�t risk her getting hurt more in a fight.
Challenger stepped forward but lowered his rifle and hoped he could negotiate. �We do not wish to start a confrontation. We only want our two friends and we will be on our way. There is no need for any violence.�
Veronica woke up and the first thing she realized was she felt awful. The side of her head was pounding and it didn�t help that every step she took hurt her head more. Wait�couldn�t be walking, she just woke up. She opened her eyes and saw she was in the arms of a man whom she didn�t recognize. �Hey! Put me down!�
She was prepared to fight him if she had to, injured as she was, but was surprised to see he stopped walking and placed her on the ground. When she swayed on her feet, he reached out with his arm and steadied her. She almost thanked him when she realized she didn�t even know who he was or why she was with him. The last she remembered she and Marguerite were being attacked by a raptor and she had to drop to the ground. She must have hit her head on something hard and lost consciousness. That would explain why her head was hurting so much.
Remembering the raptor and Marguerite she looked around and saw that she was being held by two men and the others had guns trained at them. She saw Challenger talking to the men, no doubt trying to reason with them. Her head was still pounding but she started to make her way towards them. She looked more closely at the man who was still helping her walk on her right. She had seen a man dressed similarly once before as a child, and had a hunch that these men were Avatar warriors. Remembering what her father told her about them having to listen to her, she decided to test the theory.
When she came close enough, she heard Malone and the others shout to her. She waved to them. �I�m fine, don�t worry.� She turned to the two men holding Marguerite. �Let her go.� The two men lifted an arm to each of their chests and bowed their heads in respect.
Marguerite stepped away from them to Veronica rubbing her wrists. �Are you all right?� She saw there was a small trail of blood on the side of Veronica�s face and when she felt there she found a nice bump. �I bet that hurts.�
Veronica took her arm and let her walk her over to her friends. �I�m okay, just a little dizzy.�
Having seen her wince at Marguerite�s touch, Malone had already dug out the first aid kit from his pack and handed it to Marguerite. �Are you ok, Veronica?�
Veronica nodded her head and regretted it. She closed her eyes and let Marguerite bandage it for her.
�Who are these guys, Vee? And why did they kidnap you and Marguerite?� Finn still kept an eye on the several warriors, but so far they hadn�t moved from their positions.
�They�re Avatar warriors and they didn�t kidnap us.�
Marguerite scoffed and muttered under breath. �You could have fooled me.�
�They serve the Protector and when they saw us get attacked by the raptor they probably came to help us. I had a feeling we were close to Avalon and that�s probably where they were taking us.�
Marguerite paused in her administrations to Veronica�s head and glared at one of the men who were holding her. �Why the hell didn�t you just say that?!�
The man raised an eyebrow. �You did not ask.�
Marguerite continued to mutter under her breath as she finished bandaging Veronica�s head. When she finished, she helped her to stand and Roxton and Malone stood at each side to help her walk. They both knew that if she could walk, she would, but they would be close at hand in case she needed help.
Veronica looked at the nearest Avatar warrior. �Take me to my mother, please.� The man bowed his head, as did the others, before turning and walking in the direction they were heading before they had to stop.
Roxton called ahead to one of the warriors. �How long do you expect it will take for us to get there? It�s almost dark.�
�We will be there momentarily.�
�They�re certainly a talkative bunch.� Roxton said aloud.
Marguerite snorted from her position on his left. �Oh yes, I had a lovely little chat with them earlier. Marvelous conversationalists.�
�Holy crap!�
The others turned to look at Finn and her odd choice of language and saw she had stopped walking and had her mouth open wide.
�Oh my god�� Malone trailed off and found that he was speechless and when he didn�t hear anything he realized his friends were as well.
�Is that all gold?� Marguerite managed to recover and string a few words together into a coherent sentence.
They had followed Finn�s gaze and it rested upon a wall, at least twenty feet tall with manned guards in several areas. The gates were open as if they were waiting for their arrival. It seemed everything that reached their eyes was made of gold. The buildings they saw inside the city seemed to be made of gold as well.
On cue, all eyes turned to Marguerite. �Are you drooling, Marguerite?� Roxton chuckled at her expression. Marguerite had reached heaven and he knew he�d have a tough time trying to get her to leave later.
Marguerite shook herself out of her daze. �What? No, I was just�admiring the architecture.�
Her friends all laughed and she scowled. �Well, I was.�
�Right, Marguerite.� Veronica rolled eyes and turned to the Avatar warrior who was waiting for them.
�Follow us please. We will lead you to the Protector.�
The Avatar warrior led them through the city at a slow enough pace for Veronica to be comfortable and for everyone to look around. It wasn�t everyday you saw a city of gold.
�You know, this could be El Dorado.� Marguerite commented while looking around.
Malone shook his head. �I thought Qinaq said Prince Apep destroyed it the last time he got out. How could this be El Dorado?�
�She said they moved the city after it was destroyed. Who�s to say this isn�t it?� Marguerite continued to look in the city in awe and wonder how more people on the plateau didn�t know a place like this existed.
Finn looked confused. �I thought you said this place was called Avalon.�
Challenger nodded. �It is possible that this place has many names. If it indeed was in that previous location on the plateau it then stands to reason several people must have seen it. We all know the plateau is a place of countless peoples. There must be several legends and myths about Avalon. El Dorado is most likely just one of many myths that we�ve come to hear.�
Veronica thought back to the incident with Apep. It was not one of her proudest moments. She was easily misled by him and his shape shifting minion. But with the help of her friends, she was able to trap him again and stop him from bringing destruction to the plateau. �Qinaq did tell me it was possible that my parents were in El Dorado. And if that is another name for Avalon then it could have been a past Protector who trapped Apep. That might explain how I was able to let him out.�
�Excuse me, my lady, we have arrived.�
They all looked up and saw they had reached a structure much larger than those in the city and assumed it was the palace. The warrior bowed and turned to leave going back the way they came.
They climbed the steps which led to a very large door, similar to the large doors that were guarded at the gate. When they got closer, the two warriors on duty opened them and bowed their heads in respect to Veronica as well. Veronica was starting to feel uncomfortable and hoped that everyone she met wasn�t going to keep bowing to her.
They walked through a well lit long hall which led into a large room that was decorated with rich tapestries and paintings. There was a large fire roaring in the fireplace which was in the center of the room. Surrounding the fireplace, there were several very comfortable looking chairs that were arranged around the room.
One of the chairs had been turned towards the fireplace and there was a side table with a tea set placed next to it. As they moved closer, they saw a hand place a cup of tea onto the little table.
�I�ve been expecting you for quite some time now.�
The group stopped their approach when they heard the voice. The male voice. The man rose from his seat and turned to face the group.
�Summerlee!�