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Authors: Jason Brannon
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letter ‘A’.
“That could stand for alpha,” Sadie noted. “It’s the first letter in the Greek alphabet. It usually refers to the beginning of something. Maybe the artist who created the map used it to represent the beginning of our journey here.”
“That would make sense,” Edward said.
“You sure didn’t have much trouble coming up with that hypothesis,” Franklin noted. “You and Kelly in on this together?”
Sadie glared at Franklin. “Don’t start, Griff.”
“What are those triangles?” Kelly asked, pointing at several places on the map.
“That could stand for delta,” Sadie explained, turning her back on Franklin. “That’s the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet.”
“Interesting,” Franklin said, not really meaning it.
“Normally delta is used to represent changes of some sort. Or at least that’s the case in mathematics.” Henry noted.
The group turned to study Henry for the first time. The old man shrugged and straightened the lapels of his sports coat. “I was a high school science and calculus teacher for twenty-five years.”
“I was in a sorority in college,” Sadie added.
“Maybe Nero picked you for your school spirit,” Franklin said.
“And maybe Nero picked you to be our Gilligan,” Sadie replied.
Not used to being the butt of the joke, Franklin snatched the map away from Edward again and studied it, ignoring Sadie. “If the delta symbol represents change, maybe that’s where we will find more clues. It could be talking about a change in understanding.”
“It’s only a short walk to the next chest,” Edward said. “Let’s stop fighting with each other and go check it out.”
Chapter 8
They trudged along the beach, looking for anything suspicious, searching for that place on the map that might yield more clues. They had seen too much not to be wary and took each step carefully as if fearful of stepping on a land mine. As had quickly become custom, Edward led the way, making inroads through the sand. Their journey was set to the mournful sound of a violin.
Nero was nearby. Watching them.
“I have a feeling I will hate all classical music by the time we get off this island,” Franklin said.
“Country music too,” Kelly added, trying to make light of the situation. “Except in Nashville, they call ‘em fiddles.”
“Does anybody else know anything else about the Nero mentioned in history?” Edward asked.
“The Great Fire of Rome began in the Circus Maximus,” Sadie said. “Some accounts favor Nero as the arsonist. The theory holds that Nero started the fire because he wanted to bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking. Fires in Rome weren’t all that uncommon, but this one burned for five days and was set to the accompaniment of Nero’s fiddle. When the fires finally died down, ten of fourteen Roman districts lay in ruin. In order to raise money to rebuild the city, Nero imposed tributes on the provinces of the empire. Needless to say, this made Nero even more unpopular to the Romans. Nero diffused the blame and flexed his governmental muscle by targeting Christians. Some were thrown to the dogs. Others were crucified or turned into human torches. Nero burned Christians at night to illuminate his garden parties.”
“Whoa! Back the truck up,” Franklin said. “You rattled all that off too easily. Where‘s the textbook?”
“What do you mean?”
“That little book report about Nero sounds like something that has been memorized and recited. I’ve learned never to trust women, and you, darling, are setting off my Spidey Sense.”
“As much as it pains me, I agree with Franklin,” Henry said. “I was a history teacher, and I have to confess that your knowledge on the subject came a little too readily. I couldn’t have done quite so well. Why do you know so much about this subject again?”
“I’m a history
“That could stand for alpha,” Sadie noted. “It’s the first letter in the Greek alphabet. It usually refers to the beginning of something. Maybe the artist who created the map used it to represent the beginning of our journey here.”
“That would make sense,” Edward said.
“You sure didn’t have much trouble coming up with that hypothesis,” Franklin noted. “You and Kelly in on this together?”
Sadie glared at Franklin. “Don’t start, Griff.”
“What are those triangles?” Kelly asked, pointing at several places on the map.
“That could stand for delta,” Sadie explained, turning her back on Franklin. “That’s the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet.”
“Interesting,” Franklin said, not really meaning it.
“Normally delta is used to represent changes of some sort. Or at least that’s the case in mathematics.” Henry noted.
The group turned to study Henry for the first time. The old man shrugged and straightened the lapels of his sports coat. “I was a high school science and calculus teacher for twenty-five years.”
“I was in a sorority in college,” Sadie added.
“Maybe Nero picked you for your school spirit,” Franklin said.
“And maybe Nero picked you to be our Gilligan,” Sadie replied.
Not used to being the butt of the joke, Franklin snatched the map away from Edward again and studied it, ignoring Sadie. “If the delta symbol represents change, maybe that’s where we will find more clues. It could be talking about a change in understanding.”
“It’s only a short walk to the next chest,” Edward said. “Let’s stop fighting with each other and go check it out.”
Chapter 8
They trudged along the beach, looking for anything suspicious, searching for that place on the map that might yield more clues. They had seen too much not to be wary and took each step carefully as if fearful of stepping on a land mine. As had quickly become custom, Edward led the way, making inroads through the sand. Their journey was set to the mournful sound of a violin.
Nero was nearby. Watching them.
“I have a feeling I will hate all classical music by the time we get off this island,” Franklin said.
“Country music too,” Kelly added, trying to make light of the situation. “Except in Nashville, they call ‘em fiddles.”
“Does anybody else know anything else about the Nero mentioned in history?” Edward asked.
“The Great Fire of Rome began in the Circus Maximus,” Sadie said. “Some accounts favor Nero as the arsonist. The theory holds that Nero started the fire because he wanted to bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking. Fires in Rome weren’t all that uncommon, but this one burned for five days and was set to the accompaniment of Nero’s fiddle. When the fires finally died down, ten of fourteen Roman districts lay in ruin. In order to raise money to rebuild the city, Nero imposed tributes on the provinces of the empire. Needless to say, this made Nero even more unpopular to the Romans. Nero diffused the blame and flexed his governmental muscle by targeting Christians. Some were thrown to the dogs. Others were crucified or turned into human torches. Nero burned Christians at night to illuminate his garden parties.”
“Whoa! Back the truck up,” Franklin said. “You rattled all that off too easily. Where‘s the textbook?”
“What do you mean?”
“That little book report about Nero sounds like something that has been memorized and recited. I’ve learned never to trust women, and you, darling, are setting off my Spidey Sense.”
“As much as it pains me, I agree with Franklin,” Henry said. “I was a history teacher, and I have to confess that your knowledge on the subject came a little too readily. I couldn’t have done quite so well. Why do you know so much about this subject again?”
“I’m a history
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