“Atlantis is my first objective, but the Southern Kingdom will be next,” Akula said. “Eventually it too will fall under my control. Besides I never did like those Southerners and their fat ruler, Kano. I am glad to see that so many were killed.” Akula smiled at his deviousness. “Soon, very soon, Atlantis will be mine,” Akula said to Hokum. “I will become sole ruler of Atlantis for all eternity, just like it was meant to be. So it is written..........”
“And so it shall be done,” Hokum added.
Kano and his soldiers cautiously stepped forward. They were alert and prepared for anything. Kano thought of Sunder’s words.
“You know what will happen,” Sunder said. “When we surrender, Akula, Klamath and Liu Tzu will demand their share of the treasure we have collected from your kingdom to cover their expenses for the war. But if you allow us to escape, we will hand over all the treasure to you only.”
Kano had to admit that Sunder was right. He was well aware that his companions, and especially Akula, had set their greedy eyes on the loot the Atlanteans had stolen. “There is no way that I am going to share treasure, that rightfully belongs to my kingdom, with Akula,” Kano said determined. That is why he had struck a secret agreement with Sunder. In return for all the stolen treasure, Kano would allow them to escape.
“It is better to be careful than to be sorry,” Kano thought. “For all I know, this could very well be a trap. The Atlanteans could have planned a surprise attack. After all, they had done it before by attacking my kingdom without any warning and there is no reason for them not to do it again.” But to his relief, there were no enemy soldiers in sight. At last, they reached the top of the hill and Kano could see it all. Sparkling in the sunlight were all the precious stones, golden objects and other valuables the Atlanteans had plundered from the land. The Atlanteans had kept their promise.
Kano was truly amazed. He had always thought of his peasants as people, who possessed very little. But judging from the amount of gold and other valuables the Atlanteans were able to gather, he had made a grave mistake. “I was a fool,” Kano said to himself. The peasants had more money than he had ever thought. “But no matter, as soon as this is all over and everything is back to normal, I shall raise the taxes.” Kano was already calculating how much he could steal from his people and add to his own treasury. “Perhaps this whole ordeal might turn up something good after all,” Kano thought and he ordered his soldiers to start moving the treasure.
The soldiers were almost finished when they stumbled upon a large chest that had been hidden under all the gold. It was really something extraordinary and the soldiers were very impressed by it. One of the soldiers wanted to open it, but his commander told him not to. Kano would be very angry if he found out that he had not been informed. Instead, he ordered one of the soldiers to go to Kano and tell him of their curious discovery.
Kano looked at the magnificent chest, which was lavishly decorated. “It must contain something very valuable,” Kano thought. “Otherwise its owners would not have bothered to build such a splendid work of art.” He stepped forward and touched the golden handles. There was no lock as far as he could see. “What a masterpiece!” Kano said. “I cannot wait to see what is under it.” He lifted the top and..........in the blink of an eye Kano and his soldiers disappeared in a bright flash of white light.
--o--
Click on Part 11 for what happens next in this series.
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