Z) You decide to investigate the tunnel up ahead of you. Your steps echo through the dusty air. Suddenly, you hear voices! You wonder if you are not alone down here. You see the glimmer of torch light on the tomb walls. As you round the corner, you see two men wearing woolen kilts and head coverings. One man is carrying a valuable game board made out of ivory and lapis lazuli. The other carries a golden dagger and many necklaces, bracelets, and other items made of gold. These men must be grave robbers! Your heart pounds in terror as the thought enters your mind. You stay completely still, trying not to breath too loud. The men argue over who will carry a priceless mosaic standard. The mosaic depicts the three main social levels in the city of Ur. Accidentally, you knock a bit of stone free and it bounces down the tunnel to where the men are. They look up! One draws the golden dagger, and the other picks up a large rock. The man with the dagger lunges at you, but misses and stabs the wall. You grab a torch from the wall and wallop the grave robber over the head. He drops to the ground with a "Yelp!” You stumble and slip. As you look up you see the second grave robber standing above you. "You really shouldn't be in here he says. They say that there is a curse on this place. Well, that doesn't matter to you now does it?” he exclaims. With that he brings the rock down on the top of your head with full force. Over four thousand years later, in 1927, a British archaeologist named Sir Leonard Woolley discovers your bones along with many priceless artifacts in the ruins of the Royal Tombs of Ur in southern Iraq.

THE END

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copyright Jay D'Ambrosio 1998