Deep in the hart of an untamed jungle, two adventures, Sparky and Guz finally lay eyes on an ancient temple.

They had tracked for days trough the hot dense jungle of Castrovel to find it. Foliage had closed around them like some sort of living maze. But Gus's resolve and Sparky's magic had made it so they could prevail trough the wilderness.

Now, here, in this open clearing they can finally see the pyramid shaped building, of which they

had heard only rumors. Legend whispers of unimaginable treasure hidden within its walls.

The building is old and crumbly, over grown by moss, climbing plants and other greenery from the jungle. Maybe sixty meters high with chest high level steps. Within the middle of the front side a long stair presides where the steps are more reasonably sized.

After walking around it in awe, Guz breaks the silence: "Well the only way in seems to be at the top"

"Sure seems that way, doesn't it?" Sparky replies

The sense of anticipation grows with every step they take. "One hundred eighty two steps", Guz counted every one of them.

"That's the same number of days in a year on Castrovel, that can't be a coincidence" Sparky says.

At the top of the pyramid there is a small building, three walls and a roof, really. Three by three meters, with an opening in the front. There they find a series of hieroglyphs carved on the inside of the walls.

Sparky starts an attempt to decipher the writing, following the strokes in the stone with their fingers. Suddenly a noise comes from below them, clicking, stone moving over stone, a muffled thud.

Guz looks at questioning at Sparky "What did you doooooooooo" before he can finish his sentence the floor drops from underneath them. And they find them selves on some sort of smooth stone slide.

About a minute they twist and turn until the slide ends and they find themselves inside the dark interiors of the temple. They turn on their flashlights and look around. High walls on either side of them form a system of hallways.

"Looks like a maze" Guz says "better keep track of our route" as he gets out his data pad and starts drawing the hallways he can see from here.

"Be my guest, but I doubt we are gonna get up that slide to get out"

"Hey, at least we'll know where we have been"

They make their way trough the maze, with Guz all the while keeping track of the path they have taken.

"Wait" Sparky blocks him from moving any further with his arm.

"What's going on?"

Sparky takes his backpack off and throws a few meters in front of him. It lands with a puff of dust, and the floor shift a little bit. Suddenly the air in front of them is filled with arrows.

"Good call" Guz exclaims. "You think it is save now?"

"Only one way to find out" Sparky takes a steps forward and flinches... nothing happens "Phew, let's keep an eye out for other traps" he straps on his backpack.

They continue trough the maze, slowly, watching out for new dangers, but find none. A couple of times they reach dead ends and are forced to backtrack. Until they eventually reach a room.

Inside the room is a pedestal with a beautiful golden staf with a brilliant big red gem stone on top. This is what they came for. "Whoa" Sparky steps towards the pedestal and picks up the staff to inspect it.

Suddenly the room starts shaking, the roaring sound of stone scraping over stone fills the space, sand falling, the walls of the room start moving in. With a loud bang, the doorway, trough which they came is blocked by a stone.

"We're trapped!" Sparky clenches the staf, looks around, and sees their way out. "Up, there is no roof, it's our only way!" he shouts. He shoves the staf between the straps of his backpack, find his grip, and starts climbing the wall. About two thirds of the ways up, the walls have moved so close together that he can use the other wall to shimmy his way up.

Out of breath and exhausted he pulls himself over the edge. He turns around and looks down to see that Guz might not make it. The walls are starting to really close in. Sparky bends over, reaches down and grabs Guz's hand. But while doing so he feels something shift on his back. As he pulls Guz up, he hears a clang, as the staf falls on the ground and starts rolling towards the edge. He has to make a choice now, safe his friend or the treasure.

With one powerful tug he hoists most of Guz out of the chasm, and dives for the artifact. As his hands wrap around the cold gold, a sigh of relief goes trough him. It is short lived however, as a moment later Guz releases a shrieking yell.

He turns around and sees his friend, that has been with him on adventures since their time in the orphanage, looking at him with a panicked look in his eyes. The lower part of his left leg, and most of his right are stuck between the now almost closed walls.

With the staf still in one hand Sparky tries to free his mate, but it proves fruitless. The grating sounds of bones being grind to dust pierces trough Guz's yells of pain. Blood spurts out of the slit as the walls close, and pop his legs like over ripe tomatoes.

A year later Guz has cybernetic legs and is able to live a life again. But the the trauma prevents him from going on adventures again. Sparky overwhelmed by guilt visits him regularly, and although adventuring is his passion, the guilt prevents him from going out ever again.