Unexpected Findings
“That’s it, we’re lost” declared Mark, throwing down the Mountain Warehouse rucksack his mum bought especially for this Duke of Edinburgh expedition.
“What do you mean we’re lost?” said Jason, ridding himself of his own rucksack. Jack and Evelyn took their leads, glad to be rid of the weight of their borrowed camping equipment.
“As in, I don’t know where the fuck we are. According to this” he squinted at the laminated Ordnance Survey map “we should be approaching a town called Sutton Bridge, but we’ve been in these woods for a good ten minutes”.
“Well, are there woods anywhere near Sutton Bridge?”
“There’s a golf course just north of the town”
Jason leaned over him to study the map and swore under his breath.
“The only woods I can see are closer to Long Sutton” he used his fingers to calculate the distance “approximately four kilometres away”.
Mark groaned “So we’ve walked about an hour in the wrong fucking direction. And because it’s October, we’ve only got about two hours of daylight left to finish this bloody trek”
Evelyn inserted herself between the boys, keen to be included in the discussion. “It’ll be fine. We just need to retrace our steps to the farmhouse, then take the correct fork this time. Then we’ll only be a kilometre or so away from the Foul Anchor campsite”
“You’re a genius” Mark kissed his girlfriend softly on the lips, much to Jason’s bewilderment.
“I still don’t know how you made such a rookie error,” said Jack, pointing his vape accusingly at Mark “You insisted you knew what you were doing.”
“And I did!” Mark exclaimed “But I couldn’t concentrate between Jason and Evelyn singing about a Yogi Bear, and you harping on about your Crown Jewels”
“Hey! If you’d paid any attention, which you clearly weren’t, you’d know I was on about the Legend of The First Crown Jewels of England. King John lost them in quicksand somewhere around here and I was hoping we might have a little treasure hunt”
Once again, Evelyn inserted herself in between the boys “Mark, don’t rise to it. Jack, if you want to keep your Crown Jewels, I suggest you shut the fuck up.”
Fed up with the latest instalment in the feud between his two friends, Jason wandered over to a pile of leaves, kicking them in frustration. A blend of yellows, oranges and reds rose up around him. Suddenly, his right foot hit something solid. He shouted out, falling to the floor in pain.
When the pain subsided, he looked up, slowly unwrapping himself from his doubled over position. His friends, unconcerned about his throbbing foot, were instead gathered around a large wooden chest. On the lid, a red wax seal with a man sitting on a throne holding a sword in his right hand and an orb in the left. King John’s seal. Jason recognised it from a school trip to see the Magna Carta in Lincoln Cathedral.
Jack’s eyes lit up in glee as he opened the casket. “The Legend. It’s True!”
