The Lost Treasure Map Series by V Bertolaccini Page A

was
attracting the attention of the birds.
    The rest of
servants appeared, with the butler leading them towards the castle.
He was sure that they had walked from where they had parked their
vehicles. They more than likely had left them at a place on the
road that would not be covered over in deep snow, under a thicker
part of the wood, where they could reach the main road from.
    He was not
aware of how dangerous it was. Why had nothing happened to them
before? Surely people had walked through there, in the dark,
countless times, over the years. The place would have had the same
weather conditions – the climate had created many blizzards over
the years. Could the place somehow be out of reach of the things in
the wood? Moreover, had he come across it by accident – being
incredibly unlucky? Its haunts, according to the stories, were at
distant and unpopulated regions of the estate. There was no
noticeable logic to this logic!
    He listened to
the servants enter the building, laughing at a joke. He realized
that they might be able phone the local council, or where the
snowploughs were, for the region, to ask them to clean the
road.
    “ Let’s
go ...” Mortimer muttered, moving to him.
    Merton and
Mortimer led him to their room – where they put on some thick
jumpers and jackets.
    Once along the
corridor, they increased their pace towards the back door. However,
as they moved outside, and they saw the depth of the snow, they
walked at a normal speed, trying not to become too tired.
    On their
entrance to the trees, he looked for anything suspicious in front
of them. There were no footprints or anything like that, but he saw
a few marks that looked as though something large had been there,
but it became clear that it was just the wind blowing through some
trees.
    Distant
screeches of crows appeared and vanished from ahead of them, and he
listened for any sign of anything. He realized that it was the
complete absence of normal things, and the unusual silence, which
hid everything there. (Sounds did not seem to carry very far, and
the crows were probably screaming, communicating.)
    His tired
eyesight was all he had to detect anything there, and the vast
amount of shapes and shadows, constantly changing about him, was
too vast to search. There could be someone behind any of the
hundreds of trees. If they had a dog, it would have helped
immensely.
    He wondered if
humans had been losing senses that could put them in danger in such
places – which all the other animals seemed to rely on, for their
survival.
    What captured
his attention, more than anything else, was that Merton and
Mortimer were in a rush to see the tombs. They were not just tombs
to them – they were something important.
    Had they came
upon something that had told of something, which told them that
something existed out there, which could perhaps show them why the
place had something haunting it, or perhaps solve part of the
mystery? However, if the others had affected them enough, it might
be something to do with the money. But where would they have found
that information?
    As they went
deep into the wood his curiosity grew, especially because Merton
and Mortimer refused to speak about it, and trudged on, determined
to complete their mission. He tried in vain to slow them.
    “ What is
so important about
going there?” he finally groaned, walking beside Mortimer, who had
perspiration over his brow, and was breathing deeply.
    “ It
interests me,” he replied, making Bryson smile.
    “ Does it
have to do with: finding the money here?”
    “ That as
well!”
    “ Perhaps
I can answer your queries first – since I have been there and
looked around there – and you will not have to wait to acquire the
information!”
    “ That’s
an idea!” Mortimer replied, finally slowing down, to a reasonable
speed, allowing him to think.
    “ What’s
the main thing that you wish to know?”
    “ We
really want to look about there, to see if we can find out anything
–