So she came back from her mind and screamed,"RUN LIKE YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!"
"It sure does!" Dannyal sprinted.
OH MY GOSH! She didn't know how she survived this. The moment she sat down, the memory of coming here felt blurry to her. Must have been the shock from the traps.
They both fell down on the floor. Both of them breathless. Laughs surrounded the dead walls... after centuries. Sloane wanted to blame Dannyal but she found it fun as well.
Dannyal had scratched his legs in several places. Sloane threw the balm on him. He grabbed, before he could open his mouth, Sloane said,"Yeah, modern medicine."
Dannyal asked with a smirk, covered with sweat, applying balm "You found it amusing, didn't you?"
"I will skip that question." Sloane said while drinking water.
After their breaths came back, they saw a small treasury surrounded by dead bodies. Dannyal started running towards it.
Sloane stopped him and said,"All those protection not for this much? Look at that!" There was a small version of the deity they found at the entrance.
Sloane took that deity from the window sized shelf and door at the side opened which had a warning but who's reading that.
The room had the TREASURES shining with the vibrant glow of gold.
Dannyal said,"THIS MUCH?!"
"Worth the hassle,"said Sloane, her eyes shining.
Sloane figured there was protection for greed, not need. The Afghan merchant wasn't wrong...just incomplete.
While filling their bags, Sloane got a sword which looked darn cool to her. It had bright colors like red and yellow with a symbol of an elephant. She wondered who must have used it to slay the enemies.
She pulled that sword up, acting like a warrior, "I feel like Alexander!"
"Yeah, just feel." Dannyal teased.
"Better than acting like a theif."
"Theif? I saved you a moment ago, octopus." Dannyal said with an eyebrow raised.
"Alright, thanks, you win this one." Sloane said smiling. She gave a thought that he called her an octopus but didn't say anything. After all, she liked nicknames.
He smiled back, then started filling his bag." Welcome."
Before leaving the room, Sloane looked at the small treasury and said,"What could be in that?"
"Let not curiosity destroy us,right?"
"Yeah."
They found a small door at the back of the room and got out.
Dannyal said with a tired voice,"We still gotta catch the caravan an-"
"Let's take a break here,shall we?" Suggested Sloane.
They laid down on that dense forest. Birds chirping. Dannyal started laughing,"I said there will be no curse."
"Yeah." Sloane replied exhaling,"But maybe don't bring me the next time."
"Nah, you need practice." Dannyal said nudging her on shoulder,"Plus seems like Harbingers of peace actually can work together."
"Hmm." Sloane said looking at the trees. "We are kind of rich now, aren't we?"
Dannyal nodded,"We will treat ourselves with some shawarma."
After some time, they returned to the road. Luckily Dannyal had the map and they started walking towards the caravan after some rest and soon reached a market.
After all those traps, she guessed she got a bit of flexibility. They soon reached a bazaar by the evening.The dim lighty vibe hit her really hard with a nostalgia she never experienced. It felt like a place she came before but couldn't remember.
The bazaar was filled with red temporary tent like shops. The orangish purple light spread everywhere. The bazaar was filled with red temporary tent like shops. The orangish purple light spread everywhere.
People were bargaining with seller who were sitting cross legged on rugs and carpets smeared with the flickering light of lanterns. They were selling sweets like halwa and jalebi appealing enough to make her drool. Spices like cardamon and cumin were there.
Another thing she observed was veiled women in palanquins, probably royals. They were wearing muslin clothes, she had been dreaming since childhood to wear those. Those women were protected not only from danger but also sweat.
She grunted, must be great being born a royal no hardworking just pure luck and privileges.
A thought crossed her mind," would I ever talk about equality had I been BORN a royal? "
This made her think herself as a selfish person. But as her second thought, "well, everyone is like that, so, maybe I ain't so different. It's probably just my human trait. But I noticed it so I'm... a bit different."
This made her feel dizzy. So she concluded," Let's drop this philosophical questions in my head. Let it get handled by people who failed maths. "
She went back to observing the environment.
Some stores were like workshops where jewelries were sold and crafted at the same time.They looked beautifully decorated with colorful gems from probably Central Asia.
The smell of burning incense sticks blessed my noses.I took a photo. Funfact, she was the only one with a camera here. She just hoped the battery doesn't die.
While she was listening to all the people, especially moms, bargaining for one coin less, camels grunting, grandparents telling stories, some ones hair getting shaved while closing my eyes,
Dannyal shouted,
"LOOK,OUR CARAVA-"[Suddenly a group of bandits out of nowhere started attacking.There were soldiers but not enough to saveeveryone.]
They set fire to stalls, people ran around screaming and someone's samosas got burnt. Sloane thought, What a tragedy!
One of the bandits ran towards Dannyal with a knife. She just took out her sword and without thinking twice,
Sloane slashed that bandit's neck in half. It looked as if she have been practicing that shit for ages. That terrified her more than the blood.
But how she knew it was still a mystery to her. Must have been my instincts but only for this world she guessed.
But now Sloane felt as if those invisible judging eyes from the temple were now smirking. At her.
Dannyal's eyes widened expecting to see heaven. He exclaimed,
"Holy shit!"
"Let's protect the caravan,"said Sloane, confused where that courage had come from.
Every time danger approached, her body moved before her thoughts as if hesitation wasn't permitted.
Those unemployed guys? She sliced those bandits like onions and just like onions they made her eyes sting.
How could a person like her kill those people? Even though she knew it was right. That didn't make it lighter.
After the uproar, the bazaar was left in shambles. Destroyed shops, injured people and tied bandits. They joined the caravan, they acted as if Sloane and Dannyal were dead people.
One of the soldier came up to her and asked with suspicion,"Any chance you are a soldier?"
Sloane backed slightly, scratching her head,"Must be my ancestors doing an overtime protecting me. Hehe"
She almost said no, but something told her labels mattered more than truth here.
They believed her for some reason. Maybe they were superstitious.
But to her, it also felt like they were forced.
The people of the caravan were amazed that Sloane and Dannyal survived the temple. She told the Afgan merchant,"Maybe next time don't believe grandma's tales without questioning."
He replied with a smile,"You showed me to question age told believes."
"You could have gotten the treasures had you gone faster. It was easy,"said Sloane, smirking because she lied convincingly.
Dannyal was side-eyeing her cause of course Sloane yelled, why is it so hard a thousand times in the temple.
After a long journey, we reached Agra at last. But the distance felt longer than calculated.
It was a lot crowded than Sloane expected. The capital after all.
But how are she gonna change the system? Did they forget it was just the beginning?