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Italy 1999...
The ice-pick in Leo's right-hand dug into the icy rock above him- once he was sure it was secure, he then used it to pull himself up as far as he could, before using the pick in his other hand to repeat the motion.
The group were about half-way up the mountain, with the young Italian taking the lead and using his impressive knowledge of the Alps, as well as his equally impressive climbing skills to guide them further and further up the ridge at a record pace.
Below Leo, but connected to the same stretch of climbing rope, was Della, then Donald and finally Scrooge.
They all watched as the teen reached the top of the precipice and pulled himself up onto it. He disappeared from view for a second, before calling out to them.
"Come on up!"
Using their lead's hand and foot holds, the three ducks pulled themselves up onto a moderately flat portion of the mountain. A large overhang from a cliff provided shelter from the ever-worsening storm and a section of cave provided a patch of snow-free stone.
Unclipping himself from the connector rope, Leo entered into the cave. - "We'll make camp here tonight," - He announced as he pulled his backpack off and opened it. - "It's too dangerous to climb any higher with the sun setting."
Scrooge examined the cave with clear scepticism. - "Are you sure Lad? It doesn't seem too stable."
"It's fine." - Leo reassured, as he searched his bag. - "I've camped here lots of times, I even carved my initials into some rock over there." - He muttered, gesturing over to a far portion of the wall where indeed the letters L.G were scrawled into the stone.
Setting down a strange black and silver, small holed pot, Leo began to fill it with pellets from a small waterproof sack.
"What's that?" - Della questioned, taking a seat beside her new friend.
"A campfire." - He answered, as he reached into his coat pockets, looking for his lighter. - "I thought you guys were adventurers?"
Donald scoffed. - "We are, it's just Uncle Scrooge prefers to 'rough it'," - He muttered, making air quotes with his fingers. - "You know make our own fires and stuff."
"Making your own fires is cool, but when all the wood is either frozen or the only thing stopping a cave-in, then you realise bringing your own campfire is helpful." - Once he'd set some water up to boil, he reached back into his bag and pulled a few ration packets out. - "MRE?" - He offered. Both twins took one, but Scrooge refused. - "Your really should, it's dangerous to climb on an empty stomach."
Relenting and taking the meal packet, Scrooge took a seat at the opposite end of the campfire. - "I'm surprised your parents let you climb the mountain." - He admitted, - "But if you're a professional, I guess they're use to it by now."
The teen took the now hot water and poured it into his pack. - "Actually I'm an orphan." - He said, before handing the rest of the water to Donald who was sitting beside him.
"Oh. How long..?"
The teen shrugged, his eyes locked to the fire. - "I'm not sure. I was raised by the nuns in the local monastery since I was a Hatchling. Never knew my parents." - He shook his head and looked back up. - "Sorry for dumping that on you."
"It's no problem."
"Our parents are actually not around either." - Della admitted, stirring her unappetising-looking spaghetti with her spoon. - "They passed when we were young... Car-crash."
"I'm sorry." - Leo shook his head. - "I didn't mean to make you remember painful history." - The teen laughed. - "Well, let's talk about something else, the previous topic was depressing." - He turned to Scrooge. - "What are you looking for anyway?"
The old duck put his untouched MRE packet down and reached into his red-coat, retrieving a leather-clad journal from a cushioned-pocket. - "It's called the 'Storm-Maker'." - He proclaimed, opening the book before handing it to Leo, who had also put his food down.
A double-page spread was dedicated to the treasure. Most of it was background, lore about how those who inherited the hidden temple in the Alps came to inherit it.
But there was also a ancient drawing of the artefact... The Storm-Maker was a pure golden staff, measuring around 7-foot in length, topped with what looked a cracked white gem. Looking closer, the young Italian noticed that the gold part was intricately engraved with what looked like clouds, thunderbolts and tornadoes.
Apart from that, the dedication also included a description of the power it possessed. Which of course, was the power to create and control any type of weather-event.
Leo chuckled. - "You think with the amount of time I've spent in these mountains, I'd stumble across a hidden temple at least once in my life."
"You'd be surprised by the amount of times we've completely missed the obvious."
With a burp, Donald alerted the rest of the group to his finishing of the MRE- the only one of the four to do so.
"I think you're the only person I've ever led up these mountains that's finished one of those." - Leo admitted.
"I'm going to bed." - Donald yawned, pulling his sleeping bag off of his bag and laying it out, before promptly collapsing on it. Having only stayed awake for as long as he did, was to get something to eat.
"I'm going to bed as well." - Scrooge proclaimed. - "Keep it down will you?". - Following his nephew's example and setting out his sleeping bag, having the decency to actually get under the covers, unlike Donald.
Seconds later the Scotsman was soundly snoring and only Leo and Della were left awake.
"We should probably get some sleep as well." - He whispered, not wanting to disturb the two sleeping ducks. - "We've got a lot of climbing to do tomorrow."
"Yeah, I guess " - She muttered back, pausing for a moment. - "Goodnight."
Putting a lid on the campfire, Leo smiled. - "Goodnight." - He responded, as the fire was snuffed out.
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A couple of hours later, Della awoke.
It was still dark out, but it was early and it wouldn't be long till the sun rose. The storm had clamed to the point where it was nothing more than a light flutter of snow.
Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she took a look at the rest of her group, her Brother was in a deep sleep a couple feet away, snoring away. While Leo was also napping on the other side of the extinguished campfire.
Uncle Scrooge however, was missing.
Not wanting to wake the others until she knew something was definitely wrong, she quietly got out of her sleeping bag and tip-toed out of the cave.
Out of the cavern, she spotted her Uncle sitting the furthest he possibly could away from the entrance to the cave, his old oversized flashlight placed beside him, giving off the same amount of light as a small bonfire.
Creeping closer, she could finally hear his Scottish accent over the roar of the winds. He was talking to someone, which was impossible as the only other two people on the mountainside were fast asleep.
Then she heard the voice of the other person. - "Oh Scroogie, you know how this ends, me with the Storm-Maker and you at the bottom of the hill."
"Goldie?" - She questioned out loud.
The female duck, who Della couldn't see at first past Uncle Scrooge, greeted the teen warmly. - "Do you want some coffee?" - She questioned, holding up a flask. - "It's freezing up here."
Della shook her head. - "How did you get up here?"
The woman lifted her ice-pick. - "Climbed." - She deadpanned.
"Hilarious." - The teen fake laughed. - "Now why are you here?" - She questioned, taking a seat between the two older ducks.
Goldie smiled, taking a sip from her own coffee cup. - "Rumour has it that you-" - She looked to Scrooge. - "Bought the Liber Thesaurorum?"
"The Book of Treasures." - Scrooge translated from Latin, nodding. - "Cost me $10,000,000."
"Ten mil for that dusty old book? I would've just stolen it." - The three turned to the mouth of the cave, which Leo had just exited. - "Mind if I join you?"
"Take a seat." - Scrooge announced, gesturing to the frozen ground beside him.
The teen took the invitation and sat with his legs crossed, between Scrooge and Goldie and opposite Della. Once he was sitting as comfortably as he could, the teen missed his warm bed roll. Zipping up his jacket, Leo blew into his hands to try and warm them up, before giving up and putting them into his pockets.
Goldie grinned at the new arrival. - "You adopt another one, Scroogie." - She joked. - "At least you finally got one with a good head on their shoulders."
"Goldie, this is our guide. Leo Galló. Leo, this Goldie O'Gilt." - The two shook hands, before Scrooge leaned in and gave the boy a wiry smile. - "A nugget of advice Lad, earning something is much more fulfilling than taking it."
"Duly noted." - He looked to Goldie. - "What were you saying about that old book?"
"The 'Liber Thesaurorum' is an book estimated to be a couple millennia old, recovered from an uncovered library during an archaeological dig of the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Aegar. It's said to contain maps to the most valuable treasures ever lost to time." - The old duck explained. - "The moment I heard that you had bought it, I knew I had to follow you-"
"As we would you lead to a treasure, that you could steal out from under us." - Della finished.
"You know what they say. 'The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese'." - Leo said, smirking.
The group paused as the sun finally broke the horizon, blanketing the group in warm sunlight.
"Well I guess it's safe to start climbing again." - Goldie stated, standing up and brushing the collected snow from off her clothes. - "See you at the top." - She smirked, pulling her grapnel gun from her belt and firing it up.
The hook disappeared into the clouds above, before the rope went taut and Goldie was pulled up the mountain.
Leo whistled in approval. - "I gotta get myself one of those."
"C'mon Lad," - Scrooge shouted, returning to the cave and grabbing his pack. - "We've got to beat her to the temple."
"How could she know where the temple is?" - Della questioned, kicking her Brother awake. - "We have the book right?"
"I don't know how she knows." - The Scotsman answered honestly. - "But I wouldn't bet against her."
Leo, who had just finished packing away the campfire, slung his pack over his shoulders, before fastening it tight. - "Who is she, anyway?" - He questioned, exiting the cave and looking scouting the next portion of cliff to climb.
"Goldie O'Gilt," - Scrooge answered. - "She's a rival treasure hunter and professional thief."
"Am I right in assuming that there's some sort of history between you two?" - The teen asked, as he slotted the connected rope back into the clip in his harness.
"She's- uh. Well... It's hard to describe our relationship."
Donald exited the cave and scoffed. - "What's so complicated about it?" - He muttered, not happy having been woken up from his dream of the comfy coffee shop he didn't get to experience. - "You're together until one of you betrays the other, then you're apart for a few months, then you're back together. Cycle repeat."
"That's not what happens."
"Please, Uncle Scrooge." - Della objected, taking the connecter rope from Leo. - "That's what always happens."
Scrooge scoffed. - "It doesn't matter what typically happens, all that matters now is us beating her to the temple and making sure that she can't sell the Storm-Maker to some crook with the fattest wallet."
"She's selling what she steals?" - Leo questioned, making sure that all four were connected to the rope, before beginning the next portion of the climb.
"Yeah, a load of corrupt billionaires love stolen treasures." - Scrooge spat, preferring to donate his discoveries to museums or keep the powered artefacts out of criminal hands.
"Billionaires you say." - The Italian teen muttered under his breath as he began to from a plan.
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*Thanks for reading Ch.27 of 'Legacy', I hope you enjoyed and also hope you comment, vote follow-me and read Ch.28 -MM*