MidReal Story
Jungle Quest: Secrets of the Lost City
Scenario: Cardano Nuts
Create my version of this story
“We’ve got a map, a medic, and a tech genius,” I replied with a grin.
“What more could we possibly need?”
The Amazon rainforest, 2019
“Guys, look at this!”
“A miracle,” Jack said dryly, but I could tell he was just as excited about this as I was.
I said, holding up the old piece of paper I’d found in the cave.
I grinned and took a sip of water before screwing the cap back on my bottle and putting it back in my bag.
Jack and Sarah came over to me and peered at it.
We’d been hiking through the Amazon rainforest for days now, exploring the dense jungle and searching for hidden caves.
It was a map, but not like any map I’d ever seen before.
It was all part of a research project that Jack was working on for his master’s thesis.
He was studying geology and wanted to see if there were any hidden caves or caverns in the rainforest that might have been missed by previous explorers.
It was drawn on a piece of parchment that looked like it was hundreds of years old.
So far we hadn’t had much luck.
The paper was yellowed and brittle with age, and the ink had faded so much that it was almost impossible to make out the details.
But I could still see enough to know that it wasn’t a map of any place I recognized.
We’d found a few small caves, but nothing that was particularly interesting or noteworthy.
“This is amazing,” Jack said, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
But that had all changed when we’d stumbled across this huge cave that was hidden deep in the jungle.
“Do you think it’s real?”
It had taken us hours to get here, and by the time we’d finally reached it, we were hot and tired and covered in sweat.
But it had been worth it.
Sarah asked, her voice hushed with awe.
I shrugged, my heart pounding with excitement.
Not only was the cave itself incredibly beautiful – with its shining limestone walls and crystal-clear pools of water – but it also contained an incredible treasure map that dated back to the time of the Conquistadors.
I’d always loved adventure stories when I was a kid, and this felt like something straight out of one of those books.
I still couldn’t believe it.
The map was incredible.
A hidden treasure map leading to a legendary lost city in the heart of the Amazon rainforest?
But it was real, and it was right here in my hands.
It was incredibly detailed and looked like it had been drawn by hand with a quill pen and ink.
I could hardly believe it.
There were winding paths that crisscrossed the city and led to hidden waterfalls and mountains shrouded in mist.
I squinted at the faded ink, trying to make out the details of the map.
There was even a small boat in the river that was marked with an arrow that pointed to the words “THE TREASURE.”
It showed a city nestled in the heart of the rainforest, surrounded by three rivers and three mountains, with a waterfall cascading down into a pool of water at one end.
It was so beautiful and delicate that it was hard to believe it had survived all these years without being damaged or destroyed.
“Come on, you two,” Sarah called from the entrance of the cave.
There were paths marked on the map, leading from the city to the rivers and the mountains, and what looked like bridges crossing over to the other side of the river.
“We need to get going if we want to make it to the city before dark.”
There were other markings too – strange symbols and lines that I couldn’t make sense of – that hinted at hidden secrets waiting to be discovered.
“I’m coming.” I said, sliding the map into my backpack and zipping it up.
I couldn’t wait to find out what they were.
“Look at this,” I said, pointing to one of the paths that led away from the city.
“Jack, do you have everything?”
“Do you think it’s a trail?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied as he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulders.
Sarah asked, peering over my shoulder at the map.
I followed suit and grabbed my walking stick, which was leaning against the wall of the cave where I’d left it earlier.
“Maybe it leads to something else – another treasure, perhaps?”
Jack suggested with a grin.
I asked as we made our way back down the path and into the jungle.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, I’m good.
“But there’s only one way to find out.”
Jack took his tablet out of his backpack and turned on the screen.
I’ve got plenty of batteries for my tablet and a few different portable chargers just in case.”
“Great,” I replied with a grin.
He held it up so that it was next to the map, and I watched as he carefully traced the outlines of the city, the rivers, and the mountains, capturing every detail in high resolution.
“You’re going to be the best-dressed zombie out there.”
When he was done, he turned off the screen and put his tablet back in his bag.
He laughed and gave me a playful shove on the shoulder.
“There,” he said.
We continued walking for a few minutes in silence before I couldn’t help myself and blurted out what I’d been thinking all along.
“Now we don’t have to worry about losing it.”
“I can’t believe we found that map,” I said.
I beamed at him.
“It was just sitting there in that cave, waiting for us to discover it.”
Jack was always one step ahead of everyone else when it came to technology.
Sarah, meanwhile, had taken out her first aid kit and was rummaging through its contents.
“I know,” Sarah said with a smile.
She pulled out a couple of bottles of water, some energy bars, and a few packets of dried fruit, and handed them out to us along with some wet wipes.
“It’s like something out of a movie or a book.
“We should probably make sure we have enough supplies for a few days,” she said.
I can’t wait to see where it leads us.”
“Me too,” I replied as we made our way through the jungle.
“They must have been planning on being gone for a while if they needed a map like this.”
I nodded in agreement and took the supplies from her.
“But I can’t believe how detailed it is.
Whoever drew it must have spent hours working on all those little details.”
“We should also refill our water bottles,” I added.
“We don’t know how long we’ll be gone or how far away the city is.”
“I know what you mean,” Jack replied with a frown.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses and put them on.
“Good idea,” Jack said with a smile.
“Let’s do it before we hit the trail.”
“Some of these symbols look really interesting.
I said, leaning over to get a better look at the map.
“Can you guys take care of that?”
He nodded and traced his finger over one of the symbols that was next to a small path in the jungle that was marked with an “X”.
Sarah asked as she put the rest of the supplies back in her bag.
“I think this one might mean danger,” he said thoughtfully.
“I want to take another look at the map and see if I can make out any more details.”
“Of course,” I said, and Jack and I headed back to the entrance of the cave to refill our water bottles from the stream while Sarah stayed behind to examine the map some more.
“It looks like there are some sharp rocks and maybe even some spikes.”
The cave was dimly lit by shafts of sunlight that filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, casting a mystical glow on the walls and making the whole place feel like something out of a fairy tale.
“I think you might be right,” I replied as I reached out and traced my finger over what looked like another symbol that was tucked away in the corner of the map.
“It looks like some kind of tree with branches that are twisted together.”
Sarah asked, looking over my shoulder at what I was looking at.
“I think it might be some kind of warning,” I replied with a frown.
“There’s an arrow pointing to it that goes straight to one of those hidden paths that is marked with an X.”
“You don’t think it could be some kind of hoax, do you?”
she asked thoughtfully as she looked at the map over my shoulder.
“Like something that someone drew up and then left here for someone else to find?”
She nodded and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know.I mean, it seems pretty unlikely that someone would go through all the trouble of creating something this detailed and then just leave it here in this cave for someone else to find.But I guess it’s possible that it could be some kind of prop or something that was left here by a previous explorer.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said thoughtfully as I looked around me and tried to imagine what this place would have looked like when it was still inhabited by people.
But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about this whole situation.
Something that didn’t quite add up or make sense.
A cold shiver ran down my spine and goosebumps broke out on my arms as I looked around me and listened to the sounds of the jungle all around us.
