Page 132 - Musings 2021

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The Tale of the Sherwood Forest Treasure Hunt
Rishabh Surana
2019A3PS1121P

It was a dark, eerie night in Sherwood Forest. The air was foggy and it seemed as if a cold,
misty blanket was covering each and every nook and corner of the forest. There was an
unsettling silence which was only disturbed from time to time by the howling of wolves
which seemed to be coming from all directions. This however did not rattle young Tom Peach
from moving forward in his quest to find the treasure of Randy el’ Gould. This treasure had
been missing for the last 500 years and if he managed to recover the same then it would be
his biggest achievement as an archaeologist. Over the years he had been drawing
comparisons with Indiana Jones amongst his peers which was one major motivation for him
to continue down this daunting forest in his search for the treasure as he always aspired to
emulate his favorite fiction hero. What added to his thrill and fear both at the same time was
the very fact that his arch rival Samuel was also searching for the same treasure and wasn’t
too far behind. This treasure hunt had turned into a race against time between the two of them
to actually see who ultimately wins the battle for eternal glory. Tom had spent hours in the
forest trying to figure out where he was and in what direction he was heading but it was in
vain. He kept on trudging on, every step feeling heavier than the previous one as he was
feeling extremely exhausted. The several lacerations and injuries covering his entire body
were beginning to take a toll on him too and every fiber of being started to hurt. The only
thing which was spurring him forward, keeping him going was the very fact that he was so
close to the end. The good part was that he was in possession of the final clue that would lead
him straight to the treasure which he uncovered from the depths of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

The bad part however was that it was a complicated riddle which needed to be decoded and
solved. It stated: Audistis quia ego dixi prius, sed tu magis ausculta quod loquor iterum. Et
iterum autem vocatis me donec moriar. Sherwood ’in silvam non mentior, si potes me tandem
invenire tentant. Upon translating, the final clue stated, you heard me before, yet you hear me
again. Then I die till you call me again. In Sherwood Forest I lie, you can finally find me if
you try.

The irony was that so far upon trying for so long he had made no progress whatsoever, in fact
he was lost and absolutely clueless about what to do. The riddle was not making any sense to
him and he knew he had to hurry up and figure the clue out as quickly as possible else
Samuel would overtake him and beat him to the prize. With this thought, he suddenly
developed a spring in his step and tried to move faster. He was still clueless as ever but his
desperation to end this search was overpowering the pain in his body and swiftly he carried
on deeper into the misty abyss. All of a sudden out of nowhere he heard an echoing noise
coming from someplace close by. At that very moment everything made sense to Tom. He
felt like an absolute genius and he wished he realised things earlier. The clue was indicating
the fact that the treasure lay somewhere near a place where echoing noises could be generated
or heard from as echoes are one such thing that can be heard again and again and until a
sound is made again eventually echoes die out. He made a quick decision to follow the noises
as he had no alternative plan since he was extremely lost. He hoped he would be on track to
coming ever so closer to the treasure since he was growing frustrated with his helpless
condition.

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