The Adventurer Wakes

My name is Athena Dawnchild. I was, I suppose I still technically am, an artist, a very good one. Now though I'm much more and this is how I started to become such.

---

As I said I'm an artist by profession, giving me an eye for detail, and it has served me well since a friend had put me down the road to being some sort of real-world Lara Croft. My life had become a rut, just an endless loop of making paintings and then selling them, and I think Bella had recognised that, leaving a brochure for a Brazilian jungle resort behind after one of her visits.

The brochure sat on a table in the lobby for about a week before I began leafing through it. There were pictures of long sandy beaches and a busy marketplace, with accompanying text naming the marketplace as the Puerto Llamante. I had just finished a profitable commission, the painting itself sitting boxed up by the front door, but felt unfulfilled and I was curious to see what this Selvadorada had to offer.

---

The humidity was the first thing I noticed when stepping from the small passenger plane. The tanktop I was wearing was almost instantly soaked, unpleasantly sticking to my full breasts and firm stomach, and the material of my cargo trousers seemed to darken before my eyes.

A guide was waiting when I got to the gate allowing access from the runway to the resort and he escorted me to the property I'd rented. He pointed out a museum and then a cantina that opened onto the marketplace.
"That's the El Arbor del Jaguar. There's a party happening tonight, if you're interested that is."
"Thank you."
The guide left me when we stood in front of the rental house, citing other responsibilities, and I let myself using the key provided, stepping into the main ground floor chamber and looking round the room.

To the right a pair of sofas were on either side of a low table, one sofa backed by a full bookcase, and a fold-away table, currently host to a variety of measuring devices, stood against the wall just to the right of the front door. A door to a bathroom was tucked away behind the staircase in the middle of the chamber and a combined kitchen/dining room, similar but smaller to the one I had back home, was to the left. Crossing to the bookcase I pulled a random book from the shelves, flipping it in my hands to check the cover. The image of a ruined step pyramid, from one of the ancient American civilisations, stared back at me and I glanced out through an archway towards the jungle on the other side of the patio.

---

I hadn't come here to stay indoors though and after spending a short time organising the possessions I'd bought with me I locked up the house and began wandering around the resort. There was a partially hidden great stone arch, covered in jungle greenery, in a section of the resort park and I pulled out my camera, snapping a quick picture for a future painting. Continuing on my exploration I eventually left the park behind, walking across a sturdy rope bridge towards the more commercial part of the resort. The marketplace was the first thing I spotted, stomach rumbling as the smell of cooking food reached me, and I entered the walled district, turning to look at a food stand in the one corner.

The man operating the stand smiled when I approached, pausing his tending to the food, and I smiled back.
"How much for something?"
I gestured at the full trays on the stand's counter, not having a clue what was on them, and the man laughed.
"For you, it is €3 for a salgado." I pulled out three eurodollar coins, going to hand them over, before the man laughed again. "And your name."
I also laughed, bemused by his flirting, and accepted the salgado offered.
"I'm Athena. And you are?"
"Antonio."

---

I skipped the cantina for the time being, knowing already that I'd be attending the party, and instead headed for the museum. The exhibits fascinated me, especially the narrative images carved onto squares of stones, and I took multiple photos of each square. My being snap-happy soon attracted the museum curator, a non-local if his appearance was any indication, and I lowered my camera as he got nearer.
"I see you've been looking at the story panels."
"Is that what they're called?" I slowly spun to take in each square, looking for a complete story, before pointing at the one we were in front of and the second square in the room. "These two should be switched by the way."
The curator glanced between the squares, moving to closely inspect both, before he turned to me.
"Well done. God knows how long they might have stayed like this." I had the good graces to look bashful and watched while the curator scribbled out a note to himself. "You seem to have an eye for detail."
"I'm an artist. An eye for detail is almost a requirement."
The curator nodded before pausing, as though struck by an idea.
"Come round tomorrow if you want to see more. I might also have a task for you."

I left the museum after that, planning to return to my rental house to prepare for the party. I had packed something posher than tanktops and cargo trousers, a shiny red minidress I sometimes wore when throwing private exhibitions, and I judged it worthy to be worn tonight.

---

I had just re-entered the park, stepping off the rope bridge, when I noticed the gem hiding in the undergrowth. It turned out to be a ruby, uncut but still glorious to my eye, and I tucked it into a pocket before hurrying back to the house. Letting myself in I peeled off my tanktop, striding across to the bathroom, and kicked off my trainers at the door. The bathroom was nicely decorated in the local style, a sink and toilet on one side and a large shower on the other.

Removing my trousers and underwear I turned on the shower, letting the water run for a few moments before stepping into the shower. The cool water poured over me, darkening my red hair and forcing it to lie flat against my back, and I luxuriated in the sensation. I must have been under the water for at least ten minutes before stepping out, reaching for a towel and patting myself dry, and then I slung a smaller towel over a shoulder to use later on my hair.

Padding naked up to the bedroom I went through the contents of the wardrobe and pulled out the minidress, placing it on the bed.  I took hold of the towel as I moved to stand in front of the mirror, admiring myself for a moment before starting to dry and style my hair. Eventually I was finished, my usual long ponytail descending towards the middle of my back, and then I wriggled into the minidress.

---

The sun was setting when I set out for the El Arbor del Jaguar, the trees lining the west bank of the river casting long shadows over the water. A young couple, based on their accents I'd say they were French, from the house next to mine met me as I began crossing the rope bridge. They, Marianne and her husband Dion, said they were here on their annual visit to where an ancestor of Marianne's had died and I offered meaningless condolences.

The marketplace, the stalls moved to the edges, in front of the cantina was already filling up, the sounds of South American folk music drifting on the wind. Antonio was sitting on the ground by the fountain in the middle of the marketplace, a guitar in his hands, and I paused to listen to his music. Marianne had gone inside the El Arbor del Jaguar, leaving Dion in the marketplace, and I walked to sit on the lip of the basin, lazily running a hand through the water.
"Your music's beautiful."
Antonio glanced up at me, a smile on his lips.
"It is a tune of my family, passed down from father to son."

I stood as the museum curator approached, remarkably at ease for someone of his profession, and smoothed down my minidress.
"You're weren't exaggerating when you said you had an eye for detail. That dress looks perfect on you."
"Thank you..."
"You can call me Max." He turned to Antonio before gently taking hold of one of my arms. "If I can steal...
I had blushed at Max's compliment and when he glanced at me I sketched out a slight bow as I answered his unspoken question.
"Athena."
"If I can steal Athena away?"
I let Max guide me inside the cantina, he didn't wait for Antonio's response, and I took out my camera when we sat at a table, flicking through until I got to the picture of the stone arch.
"Maybe you could help me?" I showed Max the photo. "I saw this in the park over the river."
"Oh?" Max examined the photo for a moment before straightening. "That is part of what I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow."

I stayed inside the cantina for a while, mingling with the others there whilst enjoying free cocktails courtesy of the bartender. He turned out to be Antonio's brother, the Selvadorada resort being a family affair, and it was Dion who told me that the brothers would often take advantage of drunk beautiful women. I stopped drinking then and headed back out to the marketplace. Antonio had gone back to strumming his guitar and the attendees were breaking into couples to dance.

I found myself paired up with Marianne, holding on as the French woman assumed the dominant role. We must have danced for at least half a dozen tunes, strings of lights outlining the boundaries of the marketplace turning on as darkness fell, but eventually I became tired. Marianne escorted me back to the rental house and the woman followed me inside, claiming that she just wanted to make sure I got home safely.

---

I turned to thank her and my eyes widened when she kissed me. I stumbled backwards, bumping into the bottom post of the banister. Marianne pursued me, aligning the post to sit between my shoulder blades, before reaching around me to unzip my minidress and try to remove it. I managed to escape when Marianne stepped back to get a good look at me, darting to halfway up the stairs, and I gazed down at her.
"What are you doing?"
The French woman smiled and went to put a foot on the bottom step.
"You danced so beautifully. And I've never had an English woman before."
"What about your husband?"
Marianne looked confused for a minute before smiling again.
"Do you want him here as well? I can certainly go find him."
I was feeling flustered, and a little drunk, but I shook my head.
"I don't want either of you. Please leave."
Marianne pouted and climbed the stairs to kiss me again before she went to leave. Pausing in the doorway she turned to face me, a sensuous but predatory grin on her face.
"Another time then. Selvadorada has a party nearly every night."

I stayed on the staircase for some time after Marianne had left, feeling the ghost of her lips on mine. I admit that her actions had aroused me and as I climbed the rest of the stairs I could feel the silk rub against erect nipples. Stripping once inside the bedroom I let the minidress pool on the floor before crawling naked onto the bed, lying sprawled out atop the covers.

---

I woke the next morning, blinking as slits of light came through the gaps in the window shades. Rising from the bed I pulled a fresh tanktop and underwear from the wardrobe, holding them while walking down to the ground floor. My trousers were still in a pile on the tiles of the bathroom where I'd left them and I scooped them up to put them on after a shower, moving the ruby from its pocket to a countertop.

It didn't take long for me to get to the museum and I sat on the steps leading up to the front entrance while waiting for Max to appear. From where I was nearly the whole of Selvadorada was visible, with only the marketplace being obscured from view by the cantina. Everything was peaceful, the silence broken only by nature, and I quickly took a handful of photos of the resort, already thinking of what to do with the paintings I'd create from them.

The doors behind me opened with a click and I turned, seeing Max inside the museum with a key in hand. Standing I walked into the building and followed Max into the basement storage area. Max's office was also down there, every surface covered by notes and sketches related to archaeological studies, and a single story panel was propped up against the desk.

"You've already discovered the arch in the park?" I nodded and Max searched his desk for a moment before retrieving a single sheet of paper. "The arch is the gateway to the ruins of the original people who lived here, a group called the Omiscans. As curator I control who can go in and who can't."
"You're letting me go in?"
"I am. I'm hoping that you might find the companions to this story panel. And on top of that you might find Omiscan artefacts that we'll pay you for." Max took a full-looking backpack from behind his desk, placing atop the surface. "In here is everything I think you'll need."

---

I paused after completing a swing that had seen the machete I held cut through a cluster of thick vines. The gap I had made was large enough to slip through and I used a cloth to wipe the sweat from my brow before pushing through the vines. I'd cut through two such barriers since being allowed into the ruins, each time entering an area that had long since been stripped of anything useful all the way down to the ground. This fourth area though was like a gold mine, ancient pools still full of warm waters spread out in front of me. The remains of walls stuck out among the barriers made by rampant tree growth over centuries but there was enough for me to start investigating, especially when I found a stretch of wall decorated with several story panels. The pictures depicted appeared to be of a coronation ceremony and I took multiple photos of both the whole stretch and each individual panel. Turning away from the story panels I paused when I noticed a small pile of rubble tucked into an alcove on the other side of the pools.

Most of the pile was worthless, just dirt clumps in the shapes of artefacts that crumpled when picked up, but there was something buried at the heart of the pile. I pulled the battered knife from the soil, carefully turning it round in my hands, before putting it down so I could take a photo. Discovering one artefact excited me and it raised the possibility that others existed in the pool area, as well as maybe in the other areas. Spinning I cast my eye over everything in sight, searching for anything that is out of place. Nothing on the surface caught my gaze but inwardly I groaned, looking at the pools.

I stripped down until I was naked, my clothes stacked next to the recovered knife, and cautiously began wading into the main pool, testing the stone before me before committing myself. The water was warm, relaxing and, when deep enough for me to be fully submerged, surprisingly clear. Disturbingly, while diving in a pool isolated from the others, I found multiple skulls littering the bottom, and after returning to the surface I discovered a story panel that partially explained the pool. It depicted a priest-like figure performing what appeared to be a sacrifice but, with the other panels missing, I lacked qualification.

---

After dressing again, and carefully putting the knife into the backpack, I did a final check of the area. I didn't find any other way to continue without going back and so squeezed through the vine wall, stepping into the reclaimed area. I'd been moving in a clockwise fashion around each area, the pool being the first offshoot I'd explored in the second major area I'd come across. The second offshoot was a dead-end but after cutting through into the third offshoot my jaw dropped.

A large pyramid complex sat in the middle of the clearing, intact enough to make me think it could still be occupied, and I instantly whipped out my camera, taking more photos than is probably healthy. The outer wall was blank but intact and there was only one intended way for people to get into the complex. Considering the skulls I'd found in that one pool though I had my assumptions about the Omiscans and I didn't want to test those assumptions unless I was in a position to overcome them. I made a final circle of the complex, checking for anywhere I could hop over the outer wall. It was fruitless though and I ended up back at the sole entrance, getting the sense that the complex was somehow mocking me.

There was nothing else to do. Hefting the backpack riding from one shoulder I marched through the opening. The pyramid, and the steps up to the room at its tip, was directly in front of me, a pair of small rectangular buildings flanking the large construction. I moved to the building on the left, taking out my camera as I stepped into its single room interior. Story panels were set into the walls of the building, light shining in from a square hole on each wall. The panels told the story of how the settlement was established, how it spread out from the location of the pyramid. I took photos of each panel before putting away the camera, slowly backing out of the building and glancing at its twin on the other side of the pyramid.

It was home to story panels detailing the abandonment of the settlement. Images depicting the appearance of some kind of disease, apparently emerging from within the pyramid, dominated the panels and I frowned to myself as I stood at the base of the triangular building. With a deep breath I began climbing the steps, trying to imagine what it would have been like to have lived here during its heyday, and turned when I reached the top. I could imagine that someone would have been able to see the entire settlement from up here, certainly I could just see the pools, and it was probable that the pyramid was the central building in every sense for the settlement, likely home to the chief as well as the religious leadership.

Walking into the room I did a quick check but the walls were blank of decoration. There was a spiral staircase descending into the pyramid's interior but I was interested in the large vase-like object in one corner. If the ruin was Graeco-Roman I would have said that it was a large amphora but I didn't know what the local equivalent was. Prising the lid from the vase I carefully glanced into it, trying not to scream when I saw the skull sitting in it leering up at me. I moved away from the vase, letting my heartbeat settle, before leaning over to take a photo to show Max and then making my way down the interior spiral staircase.

There were three levels, each divided into bedchambers and a single large room, and I felt that the opulence decreased when I moved down from the second to the first floor. Again I was taking photos, gazing in wonder at the ruins of once grand furniture and decorations, and I actually discovered a mouldy shawl that had likely once been worn by someone who'd lived in the pyramid.
Reaching the ground floor I gasped upon entering the common room. Exquisitely carved statues and wall engravings filled the room, each one depicting a beautiful woman, and I slowly spun in place, realising that the entire level had likely been used by the chief's harem. Going through the door on the northern side of the common room I walked clockwise through a long passage, diverting to explore the many bedchambers it allowed access to. Each possessed a feminine feel, strengthening my belief that this was where a harem lived, and they were the subjects of the final photos I took.

---

Max was extremely pleased when I returned to the museum, his eyes widening when I produced the knife.
"This'll be a fine addition to the museum collection! And your photos! They'll be used to make replicas I can exhibit."
"I'm glad I could help."
I put it down to my unfamiliarity with story panels that I couldn't tell that they were fake but was glad they were. I copied the photos I'd taken of the ruins onto Max's computer, watching the progress bar fill up, and disconnected the camera. Max rose from the desk chair and began escorting me from the basement, bringing me to a halt when we were above ground.
"If you're interested I can put you in contact with some colleagues."
I nodded, giving Max an email address, and walked from the museum, glancing at the story panels and imagining one I'd discovered being among them.

The thought excited me, the idea that I could put the skills I'd developed as an artist to use uncovering the past, and as I made my way back to the rental house I almost couldn't wait for the holiday to be over so I could return home.