Messengers of the Region

"" is the eleventh episode from the first season of The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

As the children continue toward Zia's village, they discover they are being followed by two strange men dressed in panther skins. When they get to Zia's village, they find it abandoned and soon run into Gomez, Gaspard and their soldiers. There, Gomez threatens to feed Esteban and Tao to a nest of army ants unless Zia reveals the message of the golden quipu. She relents, saying that a City of Gold lies atop a nearby mountain peak which lies beyond a haunted forbidden zone. The children are eventually rescued by the two strange men, Wayna and Kecha, who explain that their great chief Kraka wishes to meet them.

The children, still en route to Zia's village, find themselves pursued by two men wearing panther skins. They run away, sliding downhill on an old log and landing in a cactus patch. Pizarro orders Gomez and Gaspard to head for Zia's village. The children stop by a murky river to catch their breath, only to find that the two men have caught up with them, and once again the chase is on. They find themselves on a mist-shrouded hillside which Zia doesn't recognize, and she fears she may have led them the wrong way. Esteban tries to cheer her up, and the mist lifts, revealing the village nearby. However, the village turns out to be deserted, except for Pachu, Zia's pet condor...and Gaspard's soldiers. The children seek refuge in the village temple, but Gomez is waiting there with more soldiers. Desperate to extract information from Zia, he first threatens to burn down the village, then to feed Esteban and Tao to ravenous ants. Reluctantly she reveals the message. "Go to the High Peak, to the north of the village of Puna." The children are locked up for the night, only to be rescued by their two strange pursuers. They introduce themselves as Weyna and Kecha, sent by Kraka, chief of the High Peak. They escape via a secret passage from the temple. Attempting to give chase, Gaspard's soldiers trigger a booby-trap which causes the temple to collapse, preventing them from giving chase. Weyna and Kecha, meanwhile, lead the children to the High Peak.

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