The Tiger’s Den

The jeeps edge their their way carefully along the planned route. At many times, progress slows to walking speed or a complete halt. Hours tick past.

The uninhabited area teems with wildlife. Gibbons swing in the forest. A leopard growls angrily and breaks cover as the jeep passes. Wild elephants watch curiously from the treeline. Much of the fauna is less picturesque. Snakes infest the jungle. Bodies of water hide hungry leeches. Flies, mosquitos and ticks abound.

The heat and humidity are oppressive. Even within a space of hours, sweat and scraping branches cause jungle sores. Simple nicks risk becoming infected.

"So close!" Taylor thinks when he sees that the expedition has run out of steam.

The party makes decent progress on its first day. But a night sleeping under mosquito nets saps their strength. The next day, the jungle, heat and humidity take their toll. The energy needed to push, dig and manhandle the jeeps dissipates. They manage to reach the telegraph line. Stretches of the track have become overgrown with thickets of bamboo. Hacking with machetes, bashing with the jeep, they make slow headway.

Taylor realises that they have reached a tipping point. Another mile, and the team will have run themselves ragged.

"Let’s stop right here while we still have strength. We’ll stay here tonight. And walk in tomorrow morning, taking only what we need."

At the edge of the temple complex, the party scout and observe carefully. Perhaps it is the evening light that helps them, or this is the team’s true skill, as they spot almost everything of note in the area.

— a machine gun has been set up in the stupa behind the temple*, with stones removed to form firing slits on each side
— there are a handful of people in the buildings. Two appear to be priests, one a local civilian , and two soldiers wearing (captured?) Japanese gear
—Bear realises that the folk in the ruins have somehow sensed their approach, without knowing their exact position. The two soldiers have entered the stupa where the machine gun is posted

Vikram realises that he knows a surprising amount about the temple. Much to his puzzlement, he sees that:

— the ruins resemble Hindu, rather than Buddhist remains. They must be very old, originating from an early period when Burma was more ‘Indianised’, influenced directly by Indian Hinduism.
— they are ornamented and inscribed with guardian symbols— sacred lions, winged moneys— that indicate guardianship and protection

Even Taylor, usually levelheaded, is overwhelmed by the amount of information collected.

"Who the hell are they? Locals, ya think? And they’ve seen us, Bear? Dammit."

" A machine gun? Probably a Jap ‘woodpecker’ if they have got hold of IJA gear. We could try to move up using the stupas as cover, but it is risky. Maybe one of us could go and talk?"

He also responds to Vikram’s report about the religious significance of the place.

"That figures. Let’s hope they are defending gold, rather than some old sacred scrolls…"