Sindbad and Jaber retraced their route back to the caravan in total silence, neither of them fancied speaking what he was thinking of after leaving two kids to venture alone into a city rumored for its danger and threats.
By the time their companions loomed in sight, Sindbad had burst. " I can't bear this!"
" What do you think you can do? Even if you go back, you will never be able to help." Jaber half reminded half reprimanded him. If it was left in his hands, he would have never allowed them to go.
" Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing." Sindbad's horse slowed its pace as his gaze dropped, his mind trying to make sense of the last events.
Jaber slowed and kept to his friend's side. " What do you mean?"
By that time, Sindbad's horse halted as he looked up at a mass of dust gleaning in the distance. " Something is definitely up. I can feel it. Like a coming storm."
" Speaking based on gut again?"
" My gut had saved us a thousand times in the sea, Jaber."
That, he couldn't deny.
Sindbad's frown deepened as he mulled over it one more time. " Now thinking about it, I still don't know who tipped Zarqa about the city of gold. She must have heard of it somewhere in the Souks. But who?"
His eyes widened as he was struck by a sudden epiphany. " I'm heading back to Wadi Al-salam!" He cried steering his horse away from the caravan and back towards the city they had left behind, prompting his horse to hurry.
" Wait!" Jaber groaned as he was left in Sindbad's dust before he headed towards the caravan.
" Jaber!? Where Sindbad is going?" One of the traders asked worriedly as he saw the man rushing away.
Jaber's horse was still agitated, rounding on its spot as if demanding to be allowed to run after its friend. It probably wasn't any better than Jaber. " That idiot said he is heading back to the city. He must have figured something up."
" Then, what do we do?"
" Proceed as planned." With a snap of the reins, the horse pelted after its brother.
" Sindbad, what's going through your mind?"
━━━━━━━༺ *** ༻━━━━━━━
Ali Baba's eyes twinkled like the night stars as they delved deeper into the valley. The further they went, the more gold they found. And by that point, it was all piled up in stacks all around them. The boy was happily hugging a haul of it and was yet looking for more.
" You should stop!"
" Why?" Ali Baba questined in annoyance. " Just look at this Zarqa. If we go back with all of this gold, even Al-yamama is bound to survive."
Zarqa's face contorted into a deep frown as she looked around, as though anticipating something to happen, some kind of… punishment. " There is something wrong with this! All of this gold, laid down here as though waiting for us!"
" There is something wrong with your mind if you don't grasp this chance. Just how many valleys gorged with gold have we passed now? None! And this might be the only one! So I'm taking whatever I can," he said defiantly as he tottered among the piles, picking whatever got his interest.
Zarqa worriedly followed after him, feeling the hair on the back of her neck standing on the edge and frantically looking from one pile to the other. " Can't you feel that?"
" What?" The boy was comparing a tiara he picked up and the one in his own stack to decide which to take.
" Like… if someone is watching over us."
There was a loud clatter as Ali Baba dropped the tiara and everything else he had in hand. As if snapping out of a trance, his eyes narrowed sharply, and he looked over his shoulder." Damn it!" He gritted his teeth as he grabbed Zarqa by the hand and dragged her into a rather hidden place in between the stacks of rocks and gold. " I was so distracted by all this I let my guard down! What a foolish thing to do!" The gravity in his voice was all but unignorable.
Morjana was flying overhead in circles yet didn't approach them, only cawing loudly. Almost afraid and startled. The boy kept silent as he strained his senses, trying to catch the slightest sign of movement.
The crunching of the sand, the clinking of metal, the wailing of the wind… A few minutes went by with him standing still like a statue, processing all of it, before he looked up at Zarqa, finger held to his mouth then pointing in the direction of the cliff. The path was considerably lacking in gold stacks compared to the middle of the valley, which meant it was less likely to be approached by anyone.
Zarqa nodded as she comprehended his intentions and, with much caution and wry in her steps, made towards the cliff, Ali Baba closely behind her, still ears and eyes strained.
The boy continued to curse at his own stupidity. Years of sneaking around and escaping, and he made the worst mistake a thief could make.
He felt safe.
All of those years were forgotten in the span of a few seconds, the moment his eyes landed on the treasure. Zarqa was right, it was more like a trap.
Morjana's cries got louder. Ali Baba grabbed Zarqa by her hand and they knelt by a jutting boulder. A moment of heavy silence went by, utterly unbearable.
" Hell of a bird! Get lost!" Something was flung at Morjana, but she managed to avoid it. " Annoying thing!"
Ali Baba and Zarqa held their breaths, sweating buckets as they pressed themselves against the boulder, as though they would disappear the moment they no longer breathed.
The cry was that of a man, and he didn't sound far from them. Danger was close, closer than any of them thought. The few yards towards the cliff seemed like a trap-filled long bridge all of a sudden.
Something clattered somewhere behind them. As Ali Baba wondered whether he could outrun whoever was out there, Zarqa's hand squeezed his, almost breaking his fingers. They were sweaty and shaky.
" There are more than one…"She let out a single hoarse and trembling breath.
" Don't scare it away! We could do with some meat! We hadn't had it for weeks!"
" That small thing would never fill our guts! But this beauty here will!" The jingle of coins falling to the ground caught them, it was coming from the piles to their left.
The sound of sand crunching, someone was walking up to them. Zarqa jolted, Ali Baba reached for his dagger, ready to retaliate in a heartbeat.
A head peeked around the corner. Zarqa and Ali Baba tensed, the boy's knife drawn. Both sides took a moment to consider the other, and it was then the two kids realized who stood in front of them.
He was a boy, apparently older than them and fairly tall he seemed to walk in a haunched way. His hair was dark brown, matted, and slightly long it fell on his narrow hazel greenish eyes. His clothes were loose and patched, they exaggerated how lean and thin he was.
At first, he was taken aback by them, but then he was watching them with curious, excited eyes that shone from behind his curtain of hair.
" Brat! What you've got there!" A voice like the rumble of thunder cried and the boy jolted as though it shook his inwards. He glanced at the two kids and motioned them towards the cliff before turning back.
" Nothing, I just thought I'd seen a hare or something. Turned up to be mouse."
" Don't you dare leave our sights!"
" I might accidentally end up stabbing you again if you do get away."
"..."
" Where's that mouse? I can make something of it."
"By the way! I thought I'd seen a chandelier made of jewels somewhere over there!"
" Where?"
" There, the pile at the center!" The voices faded as their owners walked away.
That was their cue.
Ali Baba and Zarqa bounced to their feet and threw themselves forward while keeping low, hoping to cover the distance between them and the cliff as soon as possible. But as all that was left were a few paces, a large shadow threw itself before them.
Unable to break their dash, they ran right into it. It felt stiff and soft at the same time. Before they could understand what happened, something wrung around them, squeezing air out of their lungs. They were lifted off the ground, left with their feet dangling and flailing in their attempt to break free. " Boss, look wha' I foun'!"
Zarqa looked up at the one breathing down her neck, and she froze. The man was large, larger than any she had ever seen. Bald with a swelling face and nose, and she could count the teeth in his mouth on one hand.
He held both her and Ali Baba like some dirty puppies picked from the gutter and flung them towards the man he had just called.
He was short, with lots of untamed facial and breast hair that broke through his shirt like an explosion. His face was scarred and he appeared to be missing half of his right ear. The way he moved was that of a jumpy cat about to claw at whoever came close to it, whether to hit or pet, it didn't care.
The shorter man looked at them and then grabbed the older boy's hair and pulled him down, pushing his face on the ground. " You damn brat! Those were the mice you were talking about right?!"...