Mysterious Cities of Gold Story     (back to main page)  The Year is 1532. Esteban is a young boy who lives in Barcelona. He is an orphan who has been under the guidance of Father Rodriguez. But there is something special about Esteban. Each time the the city is threatened by storms, the inhabitants parade Esteban though the streets to a flag pole with a crows nest. Once in the crows nest, the storm seems to dissipate and the sun shines through. This is the reason why they call him 'The Child of the Sun'.   This gift is brought to the attention of a the navigator called Mendoza, who realises that this is the boy that he rescued from the ocean years ago. He proves this to Esteban when he shows him the second part of Esteban's medallion that he has been carrying for all those years. He tells Esteban that the medallion comes from one of the 7 Mysterious Cities of Gold and that he must go with him and his colleagues Sancho and Pedro and help find them, and his real father. Esteban agrees and stows away on board Mendoza's ship, who's employer knows nothing of Esteban.   Here Esteban finds a girl of a similar age tied up, called Zia, who he helps to escape from her bonds. It is then that Esteban finds out that Mendoza had kidnapped her on the orders of Commander Gomez. It seems that Gomez has been sent on a mission by Governor Pizarro to retrieve Zia who he believes she comes from one of the Mysterious Cities of Gold and that she will lead him to them. But Commander Gomez and Gaspard, the Captain of the Guard, don't trust Mendoza and believe he has his sights firmly on the gold for himself. So they plan Mendoza's downfall. But on the journey back to the Governor, the ship enters a great storm, which rips the ship apart. Luckily Esteban brings out the sun and Mendoza, Esteban, Zia, Sancho and Pedro escape with their lives on a home made raft. All others seem to be lost at sea. After days of drifting, they come across an island that is home to some huge turtles. But this island also houses a monster that carries off Zia and takes her by boat to a nearby island. But Esteban isn't going to give up on his new friend and swims to the other island in pursuit, leaving Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho behind. Once he reaches the island, he finds a number of houses way up in the trees. It is here that he discovers that the monster is in fact a young boy named Tao, who had been wearing a mask.    It seems that Tao only had Zia's best interests at heart and wanted to save her from the Spanish, but Esteban insists that he can be trusted. Tao is eventually convinced to join the quest of Mendoza's, who catches up with them. But they find a ship called the Solaris which had been hidden underground for many years. It seems that this ship was built by Tao's ancestors, the people of Hiva, and it has the power to harness the suns rays. They sail the ship to the New World and it was here that they were surrounded by Pizarro's men. Mendoza claimed that he was bringing the children to the Governor, so they were taken to his Fort, where Pizarro believed the story. It became clear that Governor Pizarro wanted Zia to read a Quipu (an Incan way of recording information with knots), which would tell him where the Mysterious Cities of Gold were hidden. Mendoza said that he could get the girl to tell him before the next day, but it was a ruse, and instead he set fire to Pizarro's Fort and escaped. They escaped back to the Solaris, only to find that Gomez had caught them up in another ship and starts to fire on them.   Esteban accidentally pulls a lever on the Solaris which activates a weapon that concentrates the suns energy into a beam of light that sets Gomez's ship on fire. After this the group moor the Solaris and help an Inca Village that was under attack from the Spanish. While on land Gomez regroups and his men capture the Solaris. He then threatened to destroy the nearby Inca village, using the Solaris, unless Zia hands herself in. Gomez got his way and Zia surrenders herself to him (on board the other ship). But he didn't count on Zia escaping to the Solaris where Tao had smuggled himself and where they blew up the Solaris, taking the other ship with it. The group try to find their way to Zia's home village, but it is the other side of Pizarro's Fort. But they find a hidden temple underneath Pizarro's Fort. Here they found a priest that Pizarro had imprisoned years ago. But Pizarro knew where they had gone and tried to capture them. Luckily the priest helped them escape by melting an ice pillar which brought the temple crashing down. During this time the children escaped and were separated from Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro. At last Zia returned to her home village, only to find out that it is deserted. But not for long, as Pizarro had guessed where they were heading and sent Gomez after them. It is here that Gomez threatened to throw the children into a giant ants nest if Zia didn't translate the Quipa. The thought of this horrified the children and so Zia reluctantly translated it. It said "Go to the High Peak, to the north of the village of Puna".    But Gomez didn't hold the children captive for very long, as they escaped with the help of Weyna and Ketcha, who were two warriors sent by Kraka, the Great Chief of the High Peak, to free them. Once free, they were taken to the Fort of the Black Eagle, which defends the path into the hidden city of Machu Picchu. At Machu Picchu, the children spoke to Kraka, who informed them that their medallions are in fact the keys to the Cities of Gold. In the city they find further clues on how to get to the Cities of Gold and find out details of Esteban's father.    Meanwhile Mendoza had formed an alliance with Gomez after he was separated from the children. He promises to help Gomez and his army through the Forbidden Zone to the Fort of the Black Eagle, to where the children were. But Mendoza was desperate to join up with the children and to follow them on their journey to the Mysterious Cities of Gold. So he stole Gomez's cannon and took it to the Inca's to convince them (and the children) that his intensions were honourable. It was only Esteban's intervention that saved his life, by saying that Mendoza had risked his life to return the missing part of his medallion. Begrudgingly Mendoza return the missing part.   Gomez and his army eventually broke through the gates of the Fort of the Black Eagle and the children fled to Machu Picchu. The children tell Kraka that they have found a clue in Machu Picchu that points the towards the Cities of Gold ('Where the Sun meets the Star). Mendoza offers his services as an excellent navigator to help them get there. Kraka agrees and insists that Weyna and some of his men escorts them too (as he still doesn't trust Mendoza 100%). On the journey, they are attacked by the Urubus Tribe, who are race of giant men. They fire huge arrows at the group and in the confusion Weyna and his men are separated from the children, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro. Luckily they escape from the Urubus Tribe and continue on their journey where they find a mountain that has two peaks near the very top. When the sun set, it shone a beam of light across the valley into another mountainside. They climb the mountain to where the beam shone, where they find a statue of Pacha Mama (the Earth Goddess), which has 2 holes in it, one in each breast of the statue. Esteban and Zia try putting their medallions in the holes and to their surprise, the mountain splits in two and reveals a hidden city. Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro think they have found the first city of gold, but are disappointed when they find none. The city has been abandoned, but the children continue to explore. Esteban come across a room with a large medallion set into the wall. Carefully he removes it and a light shines through the hole, which bounces around the room to a point on the floor where a huge Golden Condor emerges.   Sancho and Pedro are in seventh heaven when they see the Condor and start to squabble over who owns it. But something more important is found, a Quipu in the Condor's mouth, which informs them that the inhabitants fled the city because the city was in danger and that they had headed for the land of the Mayas. They soon find out that the city was built in a volcanic crater and it is about to erupt!   But it seems that the Urubus Tribe hasn't given up chasing them and try to attack. Mendoza has a plan and removes the medallions from the statue of Pacha Mama and the mountain starts to close again. Mendoza makes sure everyone is inside the city before the Urubus can reach them.   But it seems that the volcano has decided its time to erupt and the group has nowhere to run. So they retreat back to the Golden Condor and climb onto its back, where they find a cockpit near the top of its head. They all climb into the seats hoping that they can survive. The larva erupts beneath the condor and projects them into the sky. It looks like its the end of their quest. It is only as they are hurtling to the ground that they find that the large medallion they found earlier fits into a panel in the cockpit of the Condor. Amazingly the Golden Condor comes to life and starts flying on a pre-determined flight path. But the condor is powered by the sun and as the sun starts to set it starts to lose power. It flies over the Nazca Plato which seems to have huge pictures carved into the earth. As it descends it flies over an outpost of Pizarro's. Immediately they send word of this Golden Condor back to Pizarro. Meanwhile the condor lands exactly on one of these huge pictures, a picture of a condor. It seems that these pictures aren't carved into the earth, but are instead made from stones that have been piled up. As usual Pedro and Sancho are looking at acquiring things and try to remove the gold medallion from the cockpit. But instead of removing it, it activates manual control of the Golden Condor. Eventually they decide to get some sleep before setting off in the morning, when they can take off on their journey again.   But before they can take off in the morning Pizarro arrives and has his men surround them. There is nowhere to run to, so Mendoza tells the others that they must surrender or die. Pizarro is curious about the Golden Condor and want to see it fly. So he asks Esteban for a demonstration, but makes sure he keeps his friends as hostages. But as usual, Mendoza has a plan. He wants Esteban to start the condor exactly when the sun comes up, and that the rest of them will run to the condor at the same time, with their eyes shut. You see, Mendoza had worked out that the condor gleams when first turned on and that it will temporarily blind Pizarro and his men. The plan works perfectly and they are able to get onboard the Golden Condor and fly off, leaving a fuming Pizarro. Now that they have manual control of the Golden Condor, Esteban becomes the pilot of the bird. To the shock of Pedro and Sancho, Esteban announces that they are returning to the High Peak, so that he can speak to Chief Kraka and find out more about the land of the Mayas. On the flight back, they see that Gomez's men have broken through the Fort of the Black eagle and have constructed a bridge across the ravine to get to Machu Picchu. Esteban uses the golden condor to destroy the bridge and the cannon that was being transported across it. But Gomez has already reached the other site and gets Gaspard to blast open the last defence of Machu Picchu (a cave sealed full of rocks). But this blast causes a land slide and they are all washed away. Machu Picchu is safe, as the way into the city has now been sealed forever.   Esteban lands the Goldon Condor in the city and asks Kraka the way to the land of the Mayas. But Kraka doesn't know and instead says that the only person that knew this was the Papacamayo of Puna, who went on a quest to find the secret fountain of the Mayas. Zia is shocked to here this name, as she informs everyone that the Papacamayo of Puna is in fact her father. But the whereabouts of the fountain is unknown and they head off in the condor towards the last place he was seen. Mid flight, the condor's control panel starts to light up and they can no longer control the condor. Suddenly the condor dives out of control and it looks like it will crash, but glides into a huge hole in the earth and lands at the bottom.   They find the condor's controls are dead and it lowers its head automatically and cuts into the rock, which reveals a hidden passageway which leads them to the heart of an ancient city (which is deserted as usual). This city is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by jungle. The children explore a number of rooms in the city and find a stone statue that looks like a snake with wings (a snake god). Behind this statue they find a passageway to a room that is covered in Mayan hieroglyphics and a strange Jade mask is set into the wall. Tao becomes engrossed trying to decipher them and works out that the Mayas had left the city to find the Cities of Gold. In the mean time Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho catch up with the children and when Pedro and Sancho try to pry the jade mask off the wall, they set off a defence mechanism and blocks of stone keep coming in and out of the walls trying to hit them. Luckily they all escape down a passageway that the blocks have revealed.    Later the children return and find out the blocks have stopped moving and that some of the hieroglyphics have been destroyed and are unreadable. But Tao decides to look through the eyes of the mask and reads an inscription that points them to the symbols on the walls. They press them and another chamber is revealed with a sarcophagus which contains a section of manuscript. When they exit the temple, they are captured by Dr Leguerra and Marinche, who are also looking for the Mysterious Cites of Gold. They take manuscript and Tao's jar off them. It seem that they have the second half of the manuscript. The children are taken prisoner. Luckily Mendoza turns up an threatens to strangle the doctor if he doesn't release the children. Reluctantly they release them and the children escape on their own with both parts of the manuscript and Tao's Jar. Eventually the children come across a lake that has a golden shimmer. Esteban decides to swim to the bottom of the lake to investigate and finds gold sand at the bottom of it. But when he resurfaces the local Indians start shouting at him and saying that he has desecrated the sacred fountain. Also Dr Leguerra and Marinche reappear, as it seem that they are friends of these Indians. The locals say that they will have to have a purifying ceremony for the sun god, where they pour gold sand onto the body of a priest who walks into the lake. Also the locals throw their gold valuables in and the children find out that they will be sacrificed to the sun god tomorrow morning. When Dr Leguerra and Marinche see the ceremony, they are already trying to work out how they could get their hands on the gold in the lake and know that it would be certain death if they were captured.   But three other people see this ceremony, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro. They discover that the lake has been man made and that they could dig a hole into the side of the lake that would flood the locals village and allow them to steal the gold. They work through the night trying to dig the hole, but eventually dawn starts to break. Its at this time they are discovered by Marinche who raises the alarm to the visitor. Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro frantically dig for their lives as the Indians swarm towards them. Luckily they break through the side of the lake just in time and the lake's water surges out into the village. But the three are upset that they don't have any time to collect any of the gold. The flood helps the children escape and kokopetal brings the manuscripts to them, which talks about a prairie. But they are chased by the Indians, Dr Leguerra and Marinche. But they come across a swamp an it looks like there will be no escape for the children, as they are surrounded by alligators. Mendoza turns up and helps to beat off the alligators.   But it seems that the prairie is the swamp and the group come across a statue of the rain god. They turn east from this point and come across a gap in the mountainside that the wind blows down making a howling noise. As per usual Sancho and Pedro aren't too interested in going through the gap, but as usual the others ignore them and venture in. After a rock fall, a hidden tunnel is revealed and they find the second city that was mentioned in the manuscript. But someone else has reached the city first, Dr Leguerra and Marinche. They threaten Zia's life if Tao doesn't help them decipher some writing on a statue of a jaguar. He reluctantly agrees, and the other children go with them inside a temple. Tao deciphers the writing, but it is Esteban that works out what it means and he uses his medallion to shine a light onto the statue, which reveals another hidden room. Inside is a golden statue with another manuscript. The Dr tries to get to the manuscript, but the floor starts to lower are he crosses the room, as the other look on. Tao pushes Marinche into the hole with the Dr and the children escape.  Continue Story...>> Mysterious Cities of Gold T-Shirts - NONE Mysterious Cities of Gold DVDs Region 2 (Europe) - Mysterious Cities of     Gold DVDs Region 1 (USA) - Mysterious Cities of     Gold DVDs Mysterious Cities of Gold Video Mysterious Cities of Gold Episodes Series 1 (1982)  1. Esteban, Child Of The Sun  2. Crossing The Atlantic  3. Heroes Again  4. Adrift On The Endless Sea  5. The Abduction Of Zia  6. The Ship Solaris  7. Secret Of The Solaris  8. The New Continent  9. The End Of The Solaris  10. Secret Of The Temple  11. Messengers Of The Region  12. Secret Of The Medallions  13. Mystery Of The Parents  14. Esteban's Medallion  15. The Subterranean Secret  16. The Urubus  17. The Great Condor  18. Maiden Flight Of The Great Condor  19. The Nazca Plateau  20. The Spaniards' Cannon  21. The Amazons  22. The Mirror Of The Moon  23.The Jade Mask  24. The Manuscript  25. The Lake Of Gold  26. The Swamps  27. The Doors Of Night  28. The Forest Of Statues  29. The Burning Shield  30. The Escape  31. The Village Of The New Sun  32. Attack Of The Olmecs  33. The Reunion  34. Revolt Of The Mayas  35. The Olmec Machine  36. Aerial Pursuit  37. The City Of Gold  38. The Great Legacy  39. End Of The City Of Gold  Mysterious Cities of Gold Images (click to enlarge) © JedisParadise.com Toys & Gifts T-Shirts Bargain DVDs