Story: Urcaguary’s Amulet

This is a the story I wrote as part of a Christmas story exchange. The requester wanted a pair of anthro foxes turned into 150 foot foxtuars via a curse while exploring ruins. Below is what I came up with.


Urcaguary’s Amulet
by Varian Milagro


“We should turn back,” Brian said. “We never should have come here.”

“I’m not leaving empty handed,” Vivien said. She was using her headlamp to illuminate a scrap of leather with crude markings on it. “We paid a lot of money for this map and I intend to make it worth my while.”

“What do you think, Ty?” Emily asked her brother. Both she and Tiberius were anthro foxes, covered from head to foot in soft fur. Like their human companions they were bipedal, except she and her brother walked digitigrade, on their toes, like regular foxes.

“I’m game if you are. I love a good adventure, you know that.” Ty slid closer to Vivien to get a better look at the map.

Ty’s fur was gray over most of his body, except for the front of his torso, which was pure white. Emily’s coloration was an orangish red over most of her body, but most of her torso, arms and legs were white. While neither of the anthro foxes needed to wear clothing for warmth or to cover their modesty, he wore a red t-shirt and she wore a vest with a myriad of pockets and a pair of hiking shorts.

They were currently standing in a dimly lit subterranean corridor, their headlamps creating ominous shadows down the long passageway. The ever present cobwebs and dark, viscous liquid oozing between the large stones that made up the walls added an unneeded layer of creepiness to their endeavor. The air was thick with the smell of decay. Snakes as thick as fire hoses slithered about along the floor while spiders the size of softballs crawled above their heads. Vivien, an amatuer zoologist, had assured them earier that none of the species that they’d encountered so far were particularly poisonous, but it was still best to steer clear of the local fauna as much as possible.

“The tour bus isn’t going to wait for us forever and I don’t relish the idea of spending the night, hopelessly lost in the jungle,” Brian said.

“Oh my god, don’t be such a wimp,” Vivien said to her brother. “You’re worse than a girl sometimes.”

“Don’t worry, we have excellent night vision and a great sense of direction,” Emily said as she raised her cute black nose into the air, trying again to ascertain the origin of the malevolent odor that permeated the subterranean passage.

“And built in weapons.” Ty showed off his black claws.

“Fine.”

Brian had met a few anthros in his life, but hadn’t made any friends with one until this trip to Peru. Both of the foxes were fun to be around and Emily, at times, made him regret his marriage vows. Besides her constant smile and tender kindness, he loved the way her blonde hair framed her face, making her muzzle look all the more kissable. And her body! He longed to run his hands over her fur covered breasts.

They continued their journey, referencing the map at every junction, looking for any marking that might match those found on the map that Vivien had bought from the old man in a small curio shop back in Tarapoto. It was slow going, but after much searching they’d eventually find a mark that looked like one on the map when they squinted just right. By the time they’d found the stone steps leading to the second level enough time had passed that the tour bus had surely left the area without them.

With the option of continuing their exploration or turning back then facing the long walk through the jungle empty handed they decided to journey on.

The second level was a single, long corridor, that seemed to go on forever, eventually leading them to a large area, bisected by a wide, underground stream. It entered from the west wall and then around fifty feet later it exited through the east wall. A pair of boards, grey with age and covered with a slick, pale green algae served as a bridge. While they could all see the other side of the stream, neither the headlamps, nor the fox’s excellent night vision enabled them to see the far wall.

It was getting late and they’d been exploring for hours with as few breaks as possible, hoping to finish up before nightfall. They could either proceed and try to cross the fast moving water while exhausted, turn back empty handed, or make camp and attempt the crossing in the morning.

Figuring that an overnight stay was inevitable, Emily and Ty had gathered bits of combustible material throughout the day which they used to make a campfire. After a quick meal of dehydrated Beef Stroganoff they tried their best to sleep. The hard ground sucked the heat out of the humans quickly so they decided to pair off and share body heat. Despite Brian’s whining about having to sleep with another guy, he paired up with Ty while Emily tried her best to keep Vivien from freezing through the night.

Emily didn’t find it at all uncomfortable, sleeping with her body wrapped around another woman’s. She was quite confident in her sexuality and it was being done out of necessity, not desire. Besides, even after spending the day slashing through the jungle with a machete and then traveling through a damp, dirty underground passageways, Vivien still somehow smelled like she’d just finished bathing in a pool filled with fresh cut lilacs, which was one of Emily’s favorite flowers.

Ty would have much prefered Vivian as a sleeping partner over Brian. The man was a squirmer as well as a whiner. Ty was known for his kindness and patience, but this particular human was pushing his limits.

In the morning they were well rested, but faced with an entirely new delima. The room they were in appeared to be a dead end. The ceiling of their room was a good forty feet above them and had slits near the top, letting in enough natural light that they were able to make out the far wall.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to have to finally side with Brian,” Ty said as he poked at his breakfast, a pouch of soggy, reconstituted eggs. “The map has led us to a dead end. It's time to go.”

“We should at least cross the river and check the far wall. We’re so far away from it that we might be missing something.”

“My eyesight is better than yours and it looks like a solid wall to me. If it weren’t for the stream I’d want to have a closer look, but crossing it on those boards is too risky. If we fell we’d get swept under the wall before we could make it to shore. Besides, if we leave within the next couple of hours we can catch a ride to town on the final tour bus of the week.”

“We’ll be fine if we miss that,” Emily said. “We can hitchhike our way back to town. Surely someone will give us a ride.”

“You weren’t watching the road on our way here, were you?” Ty said. “I counted three vehicles going the other way during the whole trip. If we fail to catch a ride, we’ll miss our flights out of country.”

“In that case, I agree with Ty and Brian.” Emily said. “Better to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

“NO!” Vivien burst to her feet. “I refuse to give up. We’ve simply overlooked something.”

“What?” Ty tossed his eggs as he stood. “What did we miss? Tell me and I’ll change my vote.”

“We have a few hours,” Emily said. “Let’s use the time available to retrace our steps and see what we can find.”

They broke into two teams. Vivien and Ty searched the first level while Brian and Emily examined the second level corridor for any clue that might help them find a way forward. After exhausting the alloted time they regrouped back at the room with the stream.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t find any treasure, Vivien, but we really need to call it quits,” Brian said.

Vivien closed her eyes, her face knotting in concentration. Suddenly her eyes flew open. Pointing to the river’s exit, she shouted, “This room isn’t a dead end. Look!”

“You can’t be serious,” Emily stood next to her brother. “There’s no way to tell where that stream goes or if there are any air pockets along its course. It could be a 100 foot waterfall just on the other side of that wall.”

“It’d be like playing russian roulette with five bullets,” Ty said.

“On way to find out.” Vivien picked up her pack and then ran to the edge of the water.

“No!” Brian ran for his sister, but she had a head start and had leapt into the water before he could reach her. He watched helplessly from the edge of the stream as Vivien disappeared through the hole in the wall.

“Shit. I can’t believe that I’m going to do this.” Ty ran past Brian and leapt into the water after Vivien.

“Don’t be stupid,” Emily yelled after her brother as he too disappeared from view.

Brian crumpled to the ground. Emily knelt beside him and placed her arm around his shoulders.

“My brother is a very strong swimmer and can hold his breath for a really long time. I’m sure that he’ll be able to help your sister.” Emily didn’t actually know how long Ty could hold his breath, but she did know that he was a survivor.

They sat together at the stream’s edge in silence, tears streaming down their faces, time seaming to have come to a halt. It eventually occurred to Emily that at some point she’d have to make the decision to leave her brother behind. That time hadn’t some yet, but it would soon and she didn’t know if she was strong enough to leave without him.

“Emily, can you hear me?” Ty said over the small radio attached to Emily’s belt.

“Oh my god.” Emily grabbed her radio. “Are you alright?”

“We’re both a little bruised, but other than that we’re okay. You were right that there was a waterfall, but it was at least 300 yards past the wall and the fall was closer to 120 feet.”

“Do you see a way back to us, or at least out of the ruins?”

“We found it, Emily. We found the treasure. Join us. The fall is incredible, but it’s into a deep pool. Just space yourselves out so you don’t land on each other. See you in a couple of minutes.”

Emily stood and then picked up both her and her brother’s backpacks.

“You're not seriously considering jumping into that stream, are you?” Brian said. “120 feet? That could kill you.”

“They survived it.” Emily picked up Brian’s pack, too. She carried them to the edge of the stream and set them down. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. More treasure for the rest of us.”

“I’m sure that my sister will share with me.”

When Brian bent to pick up his pack, Emily put her foot on his rump and pushed with all her might. He let out a shriek as he toppled over into the fast moving water. It occurred to her as she tossed her pack and then her brother’s into the stream that she’d never asked him if he knew how to swim. That might have explained his reluctance to enter the water. She let out a deep sigh and then jumped in, letting the current carry her away.

The water was freezing, making her gasp, which in turned caused her to suck a bit of water into her windpipe. She spent the first part of her journey, trying to keep her head above water while coughing violently. What little light there had been in the previous room quickly vanished, plunging her into darkness, save for the little light that her head lamp provided which danced wildly on the ceiling and walls of the tight tunnel.

All too soon she was no longer moving horizontally. It felt like her stomach was going to fly up out of her throat as she rode the water downwards, falling, falling, terror rising within her, not knowing what was below. Would she miss the water? Would she land on top of Brian? Was this her last moments of her life?

SPLASH!

Sharp pain shot up her back when she struck the water followed by disorientation as the waterfall spun her around, making it hard to know what direction was up. Remembering something Ty had told her long ago, she let out a little air and then followed the bubbles to the surface.

She spotted Ty swimming toward her as soon as her head broke the surface. Her immediate concern was for Brian, still feeling guilty for forcing him into the stream.

“Are you okay?” Ty said when he reached her.

“Is Brian alright?” Emily turned her body in the water, trying to find the human male.

“Let Vivian worry about him for now. Once you’re on land I’ll help her.”

“No!” Emily snapped. “Help him. I can make it from here.”

Ty swam to the widder section of the pool, away from the waterfall that crashed into the water twenty feet from her current position. Spying one of the packs floating in the water she swam toward it, glad that it'd stayed buoyant through its journey. It was probably too much to hope that it had also stayed water tight. She could really use some dry clothes.

Once she made it to shore she finally looked up. The cavern was immense, reminding her of the time she’d been in the Houston Astrodome. Natural light poured in from somewhere near the ceiling, maybe a hundred and fifty feet above her. On the far side of the cavern she could make out a golden glow, that filled her with wonder and foreboding simultaneously.

She removed her clothes and then shook her body, trying to fling the water from her fur, glad that no one was around to see it. It embarrassed her to shake off water around others, especially men, but it was a very effective way to get dry.

A few minutes later Vivien, Brian and Ty emerged from the water, Vivien supporting her brother while Ty carried three backpacks.

“You bitch,” Brian said as soon as he spotted Emily. Like the others he was soaking wet, his clothing sticking to his body. “That fall could have killed me.”

“But it didn’t,” Vivien said. “And now we’re going to be rich beyond our wildest dreams.” She pointed toward the golden light.

“Can it really be?” Brian asked, the fury on his face turning to hopeful wonder.

“It has to be.”

“It has to be what?” Ty set Emily’s pack next to her.

“The lost temple of Urcaguary, the Incan god of wealth.” Vivien eyes were fixated on the golden glow. “Come, let’s find out.”

“Wait, you two should dry off first. You’ll get hyperthermia in those wet clothes. Plus, the river ride has given me an appetite,” Emily said. “Ty, why don’t you start a fire while I go through our packs and see if anything is dry.”

“Good idea. There’s plenty of dried vines around here we can use for fuel.”

Vivien spun around. “Did either of you hear what I said? It’s a lost temple. Untold riches. Let’s go now.”

“It’s been there for over five hundred years, it will keep for another hour,” Ty said as he picked up a large vine. Handing it to Brain he said, “Break this down into 18 inch pieces. I’ll round up some more.”

“I’m not going to let a little hunger or wet clothing stop me from my pursuit.” Vivien stormed away toward the golden light.

“Let her go,” Emily said to Brian. “There’s no sense freezing to death for the sake of greed.”

Brian nodded, glumly, and then proceeded to work on reducing the two inch thick vine into more manageable sizes.

The contents of their packs were soaked with water, but Ty had a fire going in less than ten minutes. Brian had worked a pair of sturdy vines into the ground and then strung a rope between them, making a clothesline which they used to dry their clothing. Emily found a large towel that wasn’t too wet and gave it to Brian so he could cover himself. Ty decided to let his t-shirt dry on his body. Emily left her clothes off, enjoying the fire’s warmth unimpeded.

For lunch they ate corned beef hash, which Emily had prepared using boiled water from the pool. The meal was interrupted by shouts coming from the direction that Vivien had gone. They rose in unison, ready to run to her aid, when they realized that the shouting was not of fear or anger, but of excited joy.

“I found it. Urcaguary’s amulet.” She ran to them, clutching a large gold necklace in her hands, her eyes filled with a wild passion.

“Are you sure?” Brian said as he ran to her.

“Look for yourself.” Without releasing her death grip on the chain, she displayed the large green amulet that was its center piece. “It’s incredible over there, so much treasure.”

“How did you find it so quickly?” Brian held up the green gem to his eye.

“It was around the neck of a golden statue of an Incan warrior. There’s scores of similar statues over there, all of them nearly seven feet tall.”

“That’s very pretty,” Emily said. She stood next to Brian, trying to get a look at the gem for herself. “Is it valuable?”

“Valuable?” Vivian laughed maniacally. “Is Fort Knox valuable? All of the diamond mines in South Africa? With this you could have both and anything else you desire.”

“The Peruvian government might take issue with us selling one of their national treasures,” Ty said. “Better to restrict our take to a few gold ingots and cash in on the finder’s fee for discovering the temple.”

“We could make plenty of money doing a lecture circuit on our discovery,” Emily said. “There’s book and movie rights to the story as well.”

“A few ingots? We’re taking all of it. Every last speck of gold dust.” Vivien slipped the necklace around her neck. “And you’re insane if you think that I’m sharing the amulet with anyone.”

“Don’t!” Brian reached for his sister.

“Do not touch me!” Vivien boomed in a voice that echoed throughout the massive chamber. “The power of Urcaguary is mine. If you cooperate I shall grant each of you a boon, but first I need to make some modifications to our forms. There is way too much treasure for the four of us to carry. We’ll need a beast of burden or two.

Light shot from the gem, striking Ty in the chest. His body stretched, adding several feet to his height. The top half of his body retained its original shape, but his lower half ballooned outward, forming into a thick barrel. A pair of nubs pushed out of the center of his torso, quickly growing in length, at first looking like tiny arms, but after a couple of seconds they looked more like smaller version of his legs.

“Stop it,” Emily yelled. “Turn him back.”

“I will once we’ve hauled all the treasure out of the jungle.” Vivien’s arms and legs had packed on muscle, looking like she spent her days at the gym lifting weights and shooting up steroids. “Now, unfortunately there is a lot of treasure over there. One foxtaur isn’t going to get the job done.”

“Don’t you dare change her!” Brian leapt in front of Emily. “You have magic powers, magic the treasure to wherever you want it to go.”

“That’s not how this particular magic works, now get out of the way, dear brother.”

“I’m okay, Emily.” Ty’s new legs were fully formed and he was standing on all fours. He looked like someone had taken the top half of an anthro fox and merged it with the body of a regular, albeit quite large, fox.

“How does it feel?.” Emily ran her hand along the top of Ty’s quadruped body.

“Strangely normal.” Ty trotted in a circle around his sister. “My new legs feel as natural as my original ones.”

“Leave Emily alone.” Brian squared off in front of his sister

“Ahh, do you have a thing for the pretty vixen?” Vivien sneered at her brother. “Let me help you with that.”

The emerald around Vivian’s neck glowed for a moment and then a beam of light struck Brian in the chest. His clothing vanished. Red fur sprouted on his forearms and calves, traveling quickly to the rest of his body.

“What are you doing to me?” Brian watched as helplessly as his feet lengthened and narrowed. He was forced up onto his toes, his legs reconfiguring themselves until he was standing digitigrade much like Emily.

“Making you more compatible with your new friends, obviously.” Vivien grew taller until she stood nearly seven feet tall. “Oh, the power coursing through my body. It is unbelievable.”

“Stop this madness,” Ty said. “If it’s treasure you want you can have it all. Change me back and let us leave.”

“And how do you propose to exit this room? The stream enters the cavern over a hundred feet above us and it seems to stop here at this pool.”

“This is wrong on so many levels," Ty shouted. "It’s rape. You’ve raped me and now you’re raping you own, brother."

Vivien rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”

Brian yelped when his tailbone pushed out, quickly lengthening into a two foot tail, sprouting long red fur like the rest of his body. When his jaw began to stretch outward he whimpered.

“Being a fox isn’t so bad,” Emily said as she rubbed his furry shoulder. “You’re much better looking this way.”

“You think so?” His ears, which had relocated higher on his head, swiveled toward her. He ran one hand over his new muzzle while the other checked out his new tail.

“Absolutely. Take a look past the fur.” Emily’s eye roamed over the newly minted anthro fox, taking in his muscular physique. “Your sister gave you a great body.”

Brian flexed an arm, making his bicep bulge, easily twice its original size. “Wow.”

Emily ran her hand up his chest, letting her fingers explore the contours of his muscular pecs.

“I hate to interrupt a budding romance, but there’s lots of treasure to be looted.” The gem glowed again, this time striking Emily.

“You bitch!” Brian yelled as he ran at his sister.

Emily’s body lurched upwards suddenly. Looking down she saw that her feet hadn’t left the ground, but her torso had doubled in length and was quickly gaining girth, at least the lower half of it. Knowing that she was about to go through the same transformation as her brother helped to calm her. At least she wouldn’t be the only one who would be walking on all fours. The stretching of her torso had been a tad painful, but gaining an extra pair of legs kind of tickled.

“I was going to give Emily to you once this was done, but now I think that I’ll give you to Ty instead.” Vivien’s voice had dropped a couple of octaves. “You’ll be his devoted sex toy.”

Brian was struck by the green light again. He and his sister underwent opposite transformations. While her breasts receded into her body, his swelled beneath his red fur. The crotch of her pants bulged obscenely while his hips flared outward and his ass reformed, looking like a juicy peach.

Vivien reached between her legs. Her eyes rolled upwards. “Growing a cock is the most amazing sensation. How does it feel to lose one?”

“I’m sorry I called you a bitch.” Brian groped one of his new tits while his other hand felt between his legs. “Change me back, please.”

“Maybe afterwards if you’re good and you show Ty a good time.”

“I don’t want to be shown a good time. I want you to change all of us back to our real bodies.” Ty stood by his sister, his arm around her shoulders. Much like him, it looked like someone had replaced a fox’s head with an anthro fox’s body.

Where Vivien had stood was a giant of a man, his skin a rich golden brown, his body looking like it had been chiseled from stone. “You’ll need to be bigger, much bigger if you’re going to haul all of my treasure for me.”

The gem hit each of the foxtaurs in turn. When it struck Ty, Vivien’s skin changed from golden brown to purely golden. On Emily’s turn Vivien’s skin no longer looked like skin at all, but solid gold.

As the two of them surged in height they realized that Vivien hadn’t budged since using the amulet on Emily. When their height passed twenty feet they became more concerned for themselves. Up, up, up they grew, passing fifty feet and then seventy five. The ceiling of the cavern rushed at them, making them wonder if they’d ever stop growing. On an on it went until Ty’s head scraped the top of the cavern.

Ty looked down. Brian was a good hundred and fifty feet below him. He looked over at his sister, she looked like she was about to go into a panic attack. “We’re okay. Just breathe.”

“We’re a hundred and fifty feet tall! This is not okay. I’m naked and now none of my clothes will fit. At least your t-shirt grew with you.”

“Maybe Brian can use the amulet to change us all back.” Ty knelt down on his forelegs to get closer to the tiny vixen. From his perspective she looked like she was two and a half inches tall at the most. “Brian, use the amulet to change us all back.”

Brian covered her ears, fearing that Ty’s massive voice would rupture his ear drums. “I don’t want to turn into a statue. I want my old body back, but I’d rather be a female anthro fox than a gold statue any day.”

“We could trade off,” Ty said, trying to soften his voice. Brian’s voice sounded tiny and fragile, making him realize that his voice must sound just the opposite to the minature fox girl. “If we only use it once or twice each we won’t change that much.”

“How are we supposed to get that amulet around our necks?” Emily said, her voice echoing off the walls of the cavern. “Mine is probably thicker than Brian is tall.”

“Well, shit,” Ty said, his shoulders slumping.

“I think we should get out of here,” Brian said, his voice sounding to him so much like Emily’s had before his sister had changed her into a giant foxtaur: high, soft and sweet. “My sister brought that on herself. Let’s contact the Peruvian government like you suggested earlier. Maybe someone up to speed on their Incan lore will know how to use the amulet properly.”

“I’m willing to concede to your wishes on this one,” Ty said. “You changed the most of all, not only becoming different species, but changing gender, too.”

Brian looked down at his fur covered breasts. “It’s going to take some getting used to, that’s for sure.”

Ty looked toward Urcaguary’s lost temple. Where before it had been nothing but a golden glow in the distance, he could now make out not only the building, but all of the statues standing near its entrance. He felt a sense of loss, knowing that he wouldn’t get a chance to so much as look inside the temple. Not even one of his hands would fit through its entrance.

Bending forward, Emily laid her hand on the ground, palm up. “Hop onboard.”

Brian climbed onto the palm of her hand, which was as large as a queen sized bed.

“I can help you with your adjustment. Being a female anthro fox can be a lot of fun, trust me.”

“Let’s get out of this place.” Ty punched the ceiling, his hand bursting through easily, showering himself with dirt, bushes and bright sunlight. He punched out another hole.

“Hold on,” Emily said as she cupped her hand and then lifted it high into the air.

“Woah, what a ride.” Brian held clumps of Emily’s fur with each hand, each strand being as thick as twine, but much smoother.

Ty continued punching ceiling, trying to make a hole large enough for his giant body. Emily held Brian close to her body in an attempt to shield him from falling debris, like trees and rocks the size of ponies. Once the hole was large enough Ty started working on the wall of the cavern, using his front paws to dig out foot holds they could use to climb out.

“Well, at least it’s not raining,” Emily said as she clammered out of the cavern with her brother’s help. He’d already made his way out and was kneeling at the edge, pulling her up by the hands while she used her feet to push from below.

Brian was already out, standing off to the side, out of harm’s way, next to the gold Incan warrior statue that his sister had become. She still wore Urcaguary’s amulet necklace around her neck. After seeing what it had done to Vivien no one in the party wanted to so much as touch it. It was their hope that someone at one of the many universities in Lima, Peru would be able to use the amulet to restore them to their original bodies, with the priority going to Vivien, who was no longer animate.

Once she was free of the cavern, Emily picked up Brian and then set the new fox girl on her shoulder. “We should come up with a new name for you.”

“Why not Brianna? It’s close to my real name and hopefully I won’t have to use it for too long.”

“Well, I have a whole bunch of clothes back at the hotel that you can wear in the meantime.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that. Wow, the view is amazing from up here.”

“Isn’t it though?”

TY cast his gaze across the vast jungle that stretched as far as his eye could see, feeling like he was standing on top of a miniaturized version of the world. The trees barely brushed her knees. Picking up Vivien’s statue, he said, “With our new size we should be able to make it to town in about an hour. We won’t have to stick to the winding roads which will make the trip go even faster.”

“Be careful where you step. We don’t want to kill anything.” Emily said.

“Good point. Well, in that case it might take us a bit longer to get back.” Ty peered down the mountain, wondering how many small villages were between them and their destination, the town of Tarapoto.

The massive foxtaurs left a trail of destruction despite their best efforts. Trees snapped in half as they brushed up against them and each of their four footfalls left craters three feet deep and twice as wide. Whenever they encounter a road, they stepped over it gingerly, hoping not to ruin any motorways. The mountain roads of Peru were in bad enough shape as it was already. When they spotted the signs of human habitation they made a wide berth.

“What are we going to do if they can’t change us back,” Emily said after they’d been traveling for nearly an hour. She was starting to get hungry and wondered if any of the restaurants in Tarapoto had enough food to satisfy her new body.

“I was thinking about that. I could probably get a job in office building construction, acting the part of a crane. You should go to South Dakota and offer your assistance on the Crazy Horse monument. With your size and creativity you’d help them finish it in no time.”

“Yeah, I guess. What are you going to do, Brianna?”

“I run my own consulting business, so I’m good for employment. I’m hoping that my wife has a bisexual side she’s been hiding from me. I already know that she loves all things furry, so I’m good there.”

“I think we’re going to be alright no matter what,” Ty said. “With the finder’s fee we’ll all be rich and I have no doubt that we’ll learn to cope if we end up staying like this.”

“It certainly could have gone worse,” Brianna said. "Besides, if nothing else we'll have a story to tell when we get home.”