The Treasure in the Monkey's Fist

(continued)

By Rik Hunik

The next day Zayn and Thamar stood once again at the mouth of the cave that held the fabled Treasure In The Monkey's Fist. They were watching Azzat, the wizard Thamar had brought along from Gazni. Azzat had been peering through lenses and crystals, and pointing gold needles everywhere, for the past two or three hours. Now he put everything down, turned to them and said, "I can do nothing."

Thamar exploded. "Then what in all the hells am I paying you for?"

Azzat smiled slightly. "Ifyou had brought me along yesterday I could have saved you a bit of embarrassment. Wearing only a cloak on a windy day is not recommended for a modest man."

Zayn chuckled.

Thamar turned a glare on him, but his face softened and he let slip a thin smile. He turned back to Azzat. "You're right. I'm sorry. So what is the problem here? I know it's a spell, but it's old, hundreds of years old. It should be worn out by now, or at least be getting weaker."

Azzat shook his head. "Not this spell. It is simple, very basic, but very strong. It draws power from the gold and jewels and actually grows stronger as time passes. That's why only living things can get out now ."

Thamar was not ready to abandon the treasure. "Can't you just break the spell with a spell of your own?"

After a long pause Azzat said in a low voice, "I can think of only one approach that would have even a slim chance of working, and I think it was already tried, unsuccessfully, in the past." He waved his arm over the mass of tumbled rocks below. "That is what happened the last time somebody tried to break the spell. The five pillars of the Monkey's Paw came tumbling down. There is so much energy stored in the spell over the centuries that if it broke, the effects would be catastrophic. I'm afraid the whole mountain would explode."

Zayn asked, "What if we tunneled through from the other side?"

Azzat shook his head. "That wouldn't work. The spell is spherical, equally effective from any direction. There is nothing to be gained from staying here any longer, unless it is eye strain from staring too hard at gold you know you can never have." He shrugged and began packing his paraphernalia into its cases.

Thamar slumped on a rock. "No treasure, marginal profits on my trading, and paying for a wizard who couldn't even help me." He glanced up at Zayn. "This whole trip is a bust."

Zayn realized that, as a shareholder in Thamar's business, it would be his loss, too. But what could he do? What did he know about business and trading? Basically, you bought something cheap and sold it for a lot more. The trick was to find the right thing and get it to the people who would want it.

He remembered the girl's silver and turquoise jewelry and how she had complained about a shortage of silver. At the time it hadn't meant much to him, but now he knew the vast riches in the Monkey's Fist were inaccessible and he was a part-owner of a trading company. Maybe he was in a position where he could do something.

He explained his notion to Thamar, who said, "We don't have a great deal of silver with us, but we'll round up as much as we can get, and we can be back with more inside of two months. I'm sure we can work out a deal that is profitable for both sides." He slapped Zayn on the back. "We didn't get rich like we hoped. We won't make much money on this trip, but we'll still show a profit when we get back to Gazni, and there's a good chance we'll make a whole lot more from here in the future. Good work."

They turned their backs on the Treasure In The Monkey's Fist and returned to their caravan.