Ch. 57 - Tomb Raiders

After seeing a few more of the sights around town and a trip to the book store we decided to follow the directions on the old museum map.  By mid morning we'd found our way to a forgotten burial mound.

The kids had bought excavation kits at the relics store and didn't waste any time trying them out when they found a few dig spots on the mound.

Helios and Helicia found some clay pottery and a few ancient coins. 

Hesper and I didn't find much in the underground chamber.

"Looks like this part of the tomb has been pretty much cleaned out."

Hesper didn't want to leave the mound empty handed since Helios and Helicia had already found a few relics above ground.  

"Let me clear some of this rubble and we can check the brick section of the wall mom."

With her vampire strength Hesper cleared away the rubble quickly.

The brick wall turned out to be a secret passage that lead to another doorway.  Helios opened it by standing on floor switch.

Hesper was able to collect a few ancient coins of her own while Helios cleared more rubble.

I activated a floor switch which revealed a hidden wall opening. The opening hid the switch for the locked doorway inside.

In the next camber we found more rubble.  I was beginning to get tired of all the dust and rubble but the children were having a blast so we continued on. 

Helicia found more coins and a money bag.

"Yes!  I'm going to go all out for prom with this."

I found a keystone and unlocked the next door.

Helios inspected the walls for more secret passage ways.

He found one with more pottery, gems and the remains of the poor soul who was trapped behind the wall.

The next passage led to a statue lined hallway.  The ears on the statues reminded me of my Fraggi and I wondered if the frolls had a hand in the building of these tunnels.

The floor switches in this area on the tomb required more weight than us just standing on them.  Hesper solved our weight problem by moving one of the statues on top of it.

There was more statue moving in the next chamber.

After realigning the statues and activating a hidden floor switch a secret stairway was revealed. 

It led to an underground maze and grave monument.

We wondered how no one had ever found this place before when we discovered a small camp site.  Like the jewel thief an explorer had become trapped alone within the tomb.

After writing down instructions for the proper authorities on how to navigate the tomb and marking where the remains could be found we sat down to a picnic dinner.  

We started our exploring again when I found an opening in the floor to inspect.  

"EEEEKKKKKK!  BUGS!  GET THEM OFF ME!  GET THEM OFF ME!!!!!!"

"Oh my me!  Hesper, Helios, Helicia gather your things we're leaving now.  I think you've gathered more than enough extra credit to improve your grades.  And if your teacher doesn't pass you I'll turn him into a toad.  Let's go."

The kids didn't make too big of a fuss about leaving a day early.  They got to visit shops, the museum, explore a tomb, find buried treasure and they all had new scooters to get around on when they returned home.  All in all it was a wonderful trip but I was ready to return to my sunny sandy beaches.

"I'd like to book four first class tickets to Sunlit Tides please."