makes all kinds of sense. Do you have a rule of your own?”
“Of course,” I state confidently, having no clue and thinking fast.
“What?”
“Never eat sap straight from a tree.”
“That’s Brank’ox’s Rule?”
“Yes. Or rather, it’s ‘Brank’ox’s Rule as Inspired by the Recent Actions of Dolly, Famous Creator of Dolly’s Rule’. So it is partly yours.”
“That rolls right off the tongue. Fine, point taken. I won’t eat more sap. At least not straight from the tree. Speaking of that embarrassing event, do you happen to have one of those minty little pills left?”
I get the box out of my pouch and hold out the open box. “It’s not embarrassing. Only you and I will ever know. And I will forget. It will be like it never happened.”
Dolly picks a dried ball of herbs and spices and puts it in her mouth. “Well, I won’t forget it anytime soon. I can still taste it. Who makes these pills? Is it you?”
I take one myself. “Each warrior makes his own. In my tribe, at least.”
Dolly sucks on the pill and leans back, supporting herself on her arms. “I think your old tribe must be pretty good, Brank’ox. I mean, they have these things. And the shaman has a musical instrument. And while you may not see it that way, to some of us it is obvious that it’s a good tribe if it could produce you.”
For a while I don’t know what to say. I have never heard better things said about myself. Even when I became Swordmaster.
“I could say the same about your planet,” I finally manage.
Dolly lays her head back and smiles into the sun. “Maybe. It’s not a bad place. Brank’ox, did you say something about a treasure last night? Or was it a dream?”
She’s giving me a way out, a chance to change my mind. She must realize how important the treasure is to me. Well, that decides it.
“I have a small treasure that I want you to see,” I say. “If you want.”
“Can you give me a clue about what it is?”
“I think it’s better if I just show you. We’ll soon be there. In fact, we should keep going now.”
We pack up and continue through the jungle as the noontime heat fades and the afternoon haze starts.
Then the familiar low ridge is ahead of us. I lead Dolly all the way to the bare rock face and stand there for a moment, checking for clues that anyone’s been here. But there’s no sign of it, and the leaves and twigs I have carefully placed in secret places have not been disturbed. With dragons in the jungle, one can’t be too careful.
“Stand back,” I order, and Dolly takes two steps backwards.
I thrust my hand into the soft ground right up to the cliff face until it’s buried to the wrist. My fingers stroke against the hard edge, dig their way under it, and lift the slab of black rock until it’s vertical and I can grab one of the heavy sacks in the hollow underneath.
Letting the slab down again, I untie the sack and place it on the ground where the afternoon sun can reach it. I kneel down and arrange the top of the sack so the contents are exposed.
The big heap glitters warmly in the sun. I could just stare at it for hours.
I look up at Dolly.
Her mouth is hanging open. “Oh my…”
“Gold,” I state, my tongue dry with excitement. “Exactly what the dragons crave so much.”
12
- Dolly -
The big sack is full of a shining, glittering, yellow metal. Lumps and crystals, nuggets and dust.
“May I?”
I reach in and take out a regular crystal. It glitters in the sun as I turn it around in my hand.
Taking out more pieces, I find they’re all the same material.
I bring one piece to my nose and smell.
Well, it’s gold. In a way.
The scientific name is pyrite. But the most common term is ‘fool’s gold’.
And Brank’ox has collected a hundred pounds of it, at least.
“I have four more sacks.” He looks at me expectantly.
Five hundred pounds, then.
“Where did you find this?” I ask, carefully.
“There’s a place,” he says vaguely. “I always knew about the yellow metal there.”
I hold one crystal up to the sun. “I’m not quite sure that this is gold, Brank’ox. I think real gold would be much heavier.”
Now he’s frowning. “But it’s yellow. It shines like the necklace the chief in my old tribe has around his neck. And that’s definitely gold.”