Aztec : Malédiction au cœur de la cité d'or

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Little Snake is a young Aztec living in the Atoyac village, near Tenochtitlan. While hunting, he attends the murder of a nobleman by an Otomi warrior. Before dying, the noble gives him a necklace adorned with two snakes surrounding a circle of obsidian. He also murmurs the name of a poet, Tlatli. Shortly after, the murderer denounces Little Serpent to the guards, making him pass for the killer. When he returns to his village, he learns that his parents have been abducted and that a strange disease is affecting the area.

He then goes to the commercial district of Tlatelolco where he learns of the death of the poet. His slave tells him that before he died, Tlatli had asked him to go to the artisans' quarter to look for Turquoise. The dead also possessed the necklace given by the noble. In the artisan district, Little Snake meets a young warrior named Chimali who tells him that Turquoise is a young courtesan living in the area. She learns that Tlatli was leaving the area with a craftsman, Chacoatl. Gradually, it also appears that the two murders are related to the evil that gnaws the country: Tlatli had indeed a parchment mentioning this evil.

With the help of Chacoatl, Small Serpent wins the palace of Emperor Moctezuma and meets his counselor the Snake-Woman, who imprisons him. It is actually a ploy to ensure that the meeting is not known to the Emperor's enemies. A pact is finally concluded: if Little Serpent does not discover the origin of the evil, his parents will be sacrificed. In Tenochtitlan, Little Snake gives money to a beggar who gives him a gold bracelet. Upon his return to the artisans' quarter, Small Snake is launched on the track of the manufacturer of obsidian necklaces, which teaches him that five necklaces were manufactured in all. They were given to the lord Three Rabbits. A slave of the palace of the noble explains to him that the lord used to go to a temple of the Ceremonial Center.

With the help of Turquoise, Little Snake infiltrates the temple and discovers that the noble and priestess Papatzin are plotting to poison the water and discredit the emperor. In investigating, Little Serpent finds the source where the conspirators poison the water of the city. The leader of the plot is the Black Flower Lord who gives him the choice between poisoning the aqueduct or drinking the poison. Little Snake chooses to drink the poison and then jumps into the water.

He is rescued by Chimali and is treated in a village. The Serpent-Female Lord has been poisoned and Small Serpent must bring him the antidote. He is, however, stopped by Three Rabbits. He finds himself on the sacrificial altar, but at the last moment, the emperor sees the beggar's bracelet. He had a habit of begging to evaluate the goodness of his people. He graces Little Serpent and his family who can explain and expose the plot.