Jungle Ruin
1.12: Genuinely Authentic
“As myself, Antwan, and Misty continued to dig for artifacts and the unknown, Vincent kept up being upset he was not part of the excavation. The rest of the party had finally cooled down.
“When it came time for lunch, I completely forgot something about one of my team members.
“When it came time to authenticate our findings, I was happy to see that most of our digs were true genuine artifacts.”
We continued to excavate the site. I think Antwan wanted another skull for his collection. He really liked the one I gave him when I asked him if he’d like mine in exchange for the mask he found last time.
And Vincent continued to watch us with a pouty look on his face.
I could hear things were continuing to get better where the others were. No more arguing. Adrian was talking about food. I glanced at my pocket watch to see it was around eleven-fifteen. When we’re done with the site here, we’ll have lunch.
Rickie talked about the foods he liked. I glanced over at Marguerite once again. Now she is relaxing under the avocado tree. That’s good. She needs a breather.
Maybe Vincent needs to go relax under the avocado tree because he is not letting up on Antwan that he should be able to help as well. There is plenty of room. We get Marguerite’s company when she decides she needs to know what is going on over here.
A little after noon, we all three of us had found something. Vincent looked down with disgust. Marguerite smiled as we were finishing up because I guess she was hungry after all, and did want to eat. I told her we would be grilling out here.
Antwan found a large dirt clump that is definitely holding something inside. Misty discovered some type of statue. And I found another skull. I may just gift this to Antwan later.
We went back through the archway to the Trailhead where I left the cooler. Luckily it was still there. I grabbed the frozen hamburgers and started grilling.
I think Antwan ended up feeling for Vincent that I hear him offer to help pack things up tomorrow.
Soon after, the hamburgers were ready. I call my team to lunch around one o’clock. They gather around the picnic table.
Marguerite is grossed out we’re eating next to a dirty garbage can that has attracted flies. I think Vincent is as well.
Misty seemed to be lost in thought while Mindy was watching her with a questionable look.
Antwan and Vincent were enjoying my grilled hamburgers.
Not so much for Misty. I completely forgot that she was a vegan. It was even on her application.
I quickly go over to her and apologize.
I could count on Adrian to crack a joke. And I think she meant well from it, because it was a little funny. Behind me, I could hear her say, “You should have made grilled cheese sandwiches, not grilled hamburgers. Get it? ‘Grilled’ cheese?” Yes, Adrian. We got the joke.
Everyone finished eating around two-fifteenish. Even though it was a short day, I wanted to make time on the workbench and try to authenticate anything that my expedition team had discovered these past few days.
When we arrived back to our lodging, I gathered everyone around the workbench. I looked back and asked who wanted me to see what they found first. Misty chimed in first. I let everyone else go do what they want until it was their turn with their item for me to look at.
This statue was bigger than I had imagined. I looked closely at it. Misty was curious if there any books written about the different types of Omiscan statues.
It doesn’t take me long to clean it up and research my findings. I was excited to tell Misty this was a true authentic statue.
Antwan noticed I was done with helping Misty, and he brought his big clump of dirt with him. This thing was huge.
As I worked on uncovering what was under this huge lump, Antwan started to dance to or do some voodoo with the pot that was behind him. It also seemed he was telling it a story.
It turned out there was a mask hidden under this large clump of mud and clay. And it was genuine as well. Two authenticated digs so far on their second excavation digs. Hopefully we can keep this up.
Mindy overheard and was happy to hear she came over to congratulate Antwan on a beautiful find.
Since Mindy was here, I had her give me her dirt clump she dug up yesterday. She watched me closely as I used my magnify glass and chipper to carefully unlock the mysteries under this clump.
Three for three. Under this long clump was a genuine knife. The second one we found since our expedition started. Mindy said she’d take good care of it.
Adrian was a little disappointed when I asked her what she had for me. She said all she found was bone dust. I had dug up a mask in one of my digs, so I told her she could have that. I need to do some investigation on it first, though. I need to see if it was real or fake.
Adrian seemed to be impressed with my scientific discoveries. Hopefully when she gets home, she takes what she has learned from out here and shares it with her classmates at school. I don’t think many teenagers will say they’ve been out on an expedition dig before.
Adrian didn’t have the patience to wait like the others before her. She said she was going to go find something to read while I continue trying to authenticate the mask.
Around four twenty-five, I finish and call Adrian over. I told her I have some great news. My scientific findings of the mask is real as it can be. I know I requested to keep her first findings, but since she complimented me tonight, I had no objections on her with the mask. I only hope she takes great care of it.
I was getting hungry and some of the other team was probably as well, so I cook up some dinner. I thought I’d have a little fun and make grilled cheese sandwiches, since Adrian made a joke about it earlier.
I let everyone know dinner is served.
Myself, Vincent, Antwan, and Mindy ate in the kitchen. Mindy thought she had a lot of fun out here the past week and she is taking a lot away from it. Hopefully we’ll cross paths or do another expedition together sometime.
I wanted to check up with the rest of the team, so I excused myself. I went outside to see Rickie, Adrian, and Marguerite eating at the table. And it smells horrible out here. Then I noticed the over a day old food sitting on the table. We already have enough flies out here. No need to attract more. I asked that one of them please clean that up when they are done eating. I’m actually surprised they can eat out here the way it is.
I don’t see Misty in sight and call out her name. Rickie said she was heading back towards the Trailhead. Oh, Misty. Don’t go wandering off please!
It looks like she found another dig site. Sadly we are done, though. No more digging.
At about seven-thirty, I was back to work. Yesterday, Vincent had found a clump of dirt and clay as well. So I’m going to uncover what lies underneath it.
My suspicions are that it is going to be a skull, but one can never be sure until it is discovered.
And after chipping away and cleaning it up, it’s not a skull after all. Guessing is not always correct. It turns out it is a genuine Omiscan vase artifact from a long time ago. I tell him this could be a nice gift for his wife at home who probably misses him.
Rickie also found a statue similar to Misty’s. I can only hope, and Rickie as well, that is is real and created by an Omiscan tribe member. I quickly get to work on it.
As I continue to research and check out the statue more deeply, Rickie says he is going to go help clean up. Thank you, Rickie!
Uncovering all the dirt and checking for the realistic parts, I was happy to call Rickie back over. At the beginning of the expedition he was hoping to find statues. Of course, he said naked lady ones. But at least now he can tell his family and friends he is an owner of a real Omiscan statue.
Last, but certainly not least, is Marguerite. She found a fossil rock. This peaked big interest in me. I was curious what I could extract from it.
It turns out, llamas existed in the jungles. I was able to extract a llama toe from the fossil rock. I wondered if Marguerite liked llamas. I make a joke to her about I wonder if they were as large as dinosaurs. She just looked at me weird.
The lodge was soon quiet. I looked at the time and saw it was a little after ten o’clock. The night is still young, but many were exhausted and tired. I saw that Misty and Mindy were relaxing on the couches. I joined them. We talked about the week. I told Mindy I have another expedition to Salvadorada coming soon after this one. And I heard rain showers are in the forecast.
When I was done chatting with the gals, I headed upstairs to check on everyone else. Many were fast asleep already.
Author’s Note: I completely forgot that one of Misty’s traits was vegetarian. Sorry, @AdamsEve1231! Also, I was excited to see that all their finds were authentic and genuine, hence the title of the chapter.