Chapter 4

Chapter four, "A treasure map?" breathed Sienna. "For real?" "Yes! Look!" Lyra pointed to the top right-hand corner. "That's a picture of the school with Sparkle Lake and here–" she pointed to the bottom left-hand corner– "is a tower." "And the bit in that corner," added Evie, "looks like a maze. That mark right at the very edge could be part of an X!" Sienna gasped. "X marks the spot! Oh, wow! It really could be a treasure map!" "What does the writing say, Lyra?" asked Evie eagerly. Lyra screwed up her eyes. The letters were really faint and the handwriting was hard to read. There were four lines. "It's just a list of random things." She read them out. "The Northernmost Door, The Phoenix's Claw, The Salamander's Stare, The Dragon's Lair."

"What does it all mean?" breathed Sienna. "I've no idea, but I'm sure if we can work them out, we'll find the treasure– whatever it is!" Lyra's eyes were wide with excitement. "Wait." Evie took the paper from Lyra and examined it carefully. "I think this is just one part of a treasure map. Look, these two outside edges are very old and curled but these two edges are much sharper, almost as

though they were cut by scissors. The picture of the school isn't a complete picture; it's been cut in half. The tower and maze too. I think this is just a quarter of the map." "So where's the rest?" said Sienna. "Maybe there's more in the hole," said Ivy. Lyra lay down on her tummy again and felt around, but there wasn't anything else under the floorboards. "No, nothing there," she said. But as she sat up she caught sight of the underside of the piece of paper in Evie's hands. "There's more writing on the other side!" she exclaimed. Evie turned the map over. "This writing is newer; it's not so faded. Listen! "Go to the woods for what you seek, Find Daybreak, move stone, follow river deep. Where spiders live and a cave answers your call, The piece lies behind a glittering wall." "It's a riddle," said Ivy. "It's not just a riddle," said Lyra, taking the piece of the map from her. "It's a clue! A clue that will lead us to another part." "But why would someone cut a map up and hide the bits separately?" wondered Evie. "I have no idea," said Lyra. Her eyes shone with determination. "But this is a mystery we are going to solve." Just then, there was the sound of a distant gong ringing. "It's dinner time!" said Sienna. "We'd better get a move on. We don't want to miss it." "Definitely not!" agreed Lyra. After dinner a famous archaeologist called Dr Briar was going to be giving a talk to the students. Lyra couldn't wait. They hurried back down the staircase and out from behind the tapestry. Lyra had just pressed the button to close the secret entrance when the four boys from Topaz dorm came clattering down the stairs. "What have you been doing?" said Sam, who was tall and thin with wavy blond hair. He looked down his nose at Lyra. "Have you been having a dust bath?" said Archie with a grin. "Or cuddling spiders? You've all got cobwebs in your hair," said Reuben.

Lyra shrugged. "We've just been messing around," she said vaguely. "How about you?" asked Sienna, quickly changing the subject. "What have you been up to?" "We've been practising crossnet all afternoon," said Archie as they set off to the refectory together. "We're definitely going to win the inter-dorm tournament tomorrow." Crossnet was a game played on unicorns. Each player had a stick with a net on and they had to pass a ball from player to player, scoring points by throwing the ball through the goal at the end of the pitch. It was fast and furious and lots of fun! "Boys are the best," chanted Nawaz. "In your dreams!" Sienna said scornfully. "We'll beat you hands down tomorrow." "I don't think so—" said Reuben. "What's that?" Sam interrupted, pointing to the piece of the map that Lyra was holding.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a bit of paper I picked up." "It looks really old," said Sam, stepping closer. "Yeah, well, I'm into history and old stuff," said Lyra, stuffing it into her pocket. "You should show it to my aunt; she might be able to tell you more about it," said Sam. "Your aunt?" "Don't you know? My aunt is Dr Angelica Briar, the archaeologist who's giving the talk after dinner." "Your aunt is Dr Briar?!" Lyra exclaimed. "Yes." Sam was almost bursting with smugness. "I've helped her on

digs before and I'll be assisting with her talk tonight." Lyra felt a flash of jealousy. "Oh." They soon reached the refectory, a long room with windows overlooking the lake. It was lit by hundreds of tiny white lights that sparkled prettily against the dark sky. "Enjoy the talk," Sam said to Lyra. "If you're very lucky, my aunt might even give you her autograph." He grinned in an annoyingly superior way and walked off. Lyra scowled after him and then spotted an elegant woman with neat shoulder-length dark hair, who was sitting at the top table with the teachers. Her hair was held back with a diamanté clip and she had rings on all her fingers. She was talking to Ms Nettles, the headteacher. Dr Briar! Lyra thought with a lurch of excitement as she recognised her from magazine articles she had read. "Hey, do you think Sam's right? Shall we show Dr Briar the piece of the map after the talk?" she whispered, nudging the others. "Good plan," said Ivy. Sienna and Evie nodded. Lyra crossed her fingers. Would Dr Briar be able to decipher the words on the map? She really hoped so! Dinner was delicious– veggie burgers with sweet potato fries and salad followed by gooey chocolate brownies and ice cream. When it was over, the top table was cleared and Sam helped Dr Briar lay out ancient artefacts. Lyra felt a pang of envy as she watched. "Why are they wearing funny gloves?" asked Ivy, peering over Lyra's shoulder. "Because the oils in your hand can damage anything old," Lyra explained. "I hope this talk isn't going to be boring," muttered Sienna. "It won't be!" said Lyra. She was right. When Dr Briar began her talk, it quickly became clear that she had a wonderful way of bringing history alive, telling the students fascinating stories of how people had once lived and how they had used the objects. To Lyra's surprise Sam chimed in at times and seemed just as enthusiastic as his aunt. He seemed to be genuinely into history and archaeology. He brought round some of the ancient pots, tools and jewellery for everyone to examine.