Day Two: The Pyramids (cont'd)

After getting out of the water, I spied some marble statues and a sarcophagus. I figured maybe moving one of them around could help me get to the next room.

I spied a pile of rubble which was blocking one of the doors, so I started chopping it up. Again, those weights at the gym really helped here.

When that failed, I opened up the sarcophagus, and only THEN did the door unlock. Whew!

In the next room, there was a switch that opened yet another hidden doorway.

After I opened six treasure chests in a row and a sarcophagus, I saw... a MUMMY!

Now, ordinarily, I'd have been thrilled and curious about it, but I was NOT in the best of moods. I knew it was late because I was exhausted. But there, before me, was a real live mummy. When I got out my camera to take a picture, the mummy jumped out at me and grabbed my neck...

"That should teach you not to trespass!" he grumbled in a gruff voice. I was in no mood to fight, so I was knocked out, right then and there.

Day Two: The Pyramids

Sanaa sent me on yet another mission -- this time to fetch 4 flame fruits from the Pyramid of the Burning Winds. I said, okay, I could do that.
My first mistake was getting there at a quarter to nine at night. I should have waited to tackle that the next day - but I only had a three-day visa and to tackle that pyramid on the last day was inviting disaster.

Before I went in, I decided to take a sip of water as my throat was parched.

I had to press against the door a certain way in order to get in.

When I walked in I was singularly impressed by the sheer opulence of the place. Just the one room I was in seemed a lot bigger than the Tomb of Discovery.

In the first room the only thing I saw was this huge pool of water, and all the doors were locked. So I decided to dive in the pool to see if there was a switch underneat to open the door. Plus the water was cool enough to refresh me after walking in the hot tomb.

After checking for any switches (and finding none) I was gasping for air, so I came back up.

Day Two: Meeting the Locals

I was so tired after adventuring that I'd crashed on the spot. Luckily, the tent in the tomb proved somewhat comfortable. It wasn't my bed at home, but it would have to do.

I woke up the next day, had a quick shower and decided to have a juice before setting off again, this time to deliver the gems to Sanaa.

"Savannah! You are back bright and early."

"Well, I was going to deliver the gems last night but I got back late and I was tired."

"No problem, thanks for them anyway." She gave me some more visa points, some ancient coins, and about five hundred simoleans, and then sent me on what amounted to a spy mission. "I need you to talk to the locals, and ask them about MorcuCorp, how they feel about the company."

I didn't have to go far to find my first victim, er, local. Her name was Zahra Diab, and after we exchanged recipes, we went into MorcuCorp. Unsurprisingly, she was not a fan of them. "They've come to take over," she complained.

Then, while I was picking up a photography book, I talked to the bookseller. He wasn't a fan of MorcuCorp either. According to him, supposedly they have some secret deal in place with the Landgraab family. This intrigued me, not only because they are my neighbors, but because I cannot imagine Caroline Landgraab involved in dealings as shady as those. I decided that I, Savannah Rachel Plumb, was determined to get to the bottom of this ever-deepening mystery.



Lastly, I spoke with Ahmed, the 'special merchant.' The 'special merchant' sells things and takes ancient coins instead of simoleans. He didn't look pleased at all. I tried to explain to him that I didn't speak Arabic, but he didn't seem to mind. He seemed to believe I was prying, which in a way I was. But I was doing what I like to call 'prying with a purpose.' He told me he wished MorcuCorp would stop digging all over the place.

With the information in hand, it was time for me to report back to Sanaa. "You are very impressive, young lady," she said. "You are a quick study."

Day One: The Jewel Hunt (cont'd)

I'd come near one of the pyramids and spotted another stone. That made two, so there were two more left to go.

I realized, while I was riding through the desert on Aunt Margaret's bike, that I was a paid mole for MorcuCorp. Not that I minded, of course. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty good at spying.
I ended up getting the other two jewels and decided to head back to base camp to turn in for the night. I was exhausted!

Except...I didn't go to the base camp.

I'd gone earlier in the day to purchase a portable tent from the marketplace, and I decided to fall asleep right in the first tomb I'd conquered in Egypt, the Tomb of Discovery.

I, Savannah Rachel Plumb, slept in a tomb.

Day One: The Jewel Hunt

It was still daylight (shock!) when I hightailed it out of the Tomb of Discovery and went back into the city to find Tahiya.

She was standing outside her home when I arrived. "I see you're back, and in one piece."

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose so."

"Thank you for retrieving my papers. I mean it from the bottom of my heart." She gave me a few visa points (the currency for how long I can stay), some more morsels of dried food, and a small cash stipend.

"What did you say your name was?" she asked.

"Savannah," I replied. "Savannah Rachel Plumb."

"Savannah," she repeated. "Did you know a savanna was tropical grassland? They are very warm, like here, but they exist south of here."

I chuckled to myself. Just like mom, to name me after grassland.

Then she sent me on to her lackey, Sanaa Madbouli, but told me that she wasn't sure she could trust her, so I needed to tread carefully.

But in contrast to Tahiya, I found Sanaa to be gracious and reasonable. After asking for my name, she complained that her boss (Tahiya) sends her to do all the dirty work. She said the locals who had been working for MorcuCorp hadn't been paid, so she needed me to find four turquoise jewels with which to pay them, and she said I needed to look near the river by the pyramids.

Within a matter of moments, I was off again.

While I was crossing the bridge on my bike, I realized that for the first time in my entire life I was truly happy. I was hungry, thirsty, my skin was parched, but I didn't care. I was free. Maybe this is what I was meant to do.

The Al Simhara sunset was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. After about an hour of riding, I spotted my first turquoise gem. I had three more to go before I reported back to Sanaa.

Day One: The Tomb of Discovery (cont'd)

After unlocking the door with the crescent key I ended up having to stomp on a moving square to open another one.

I shuddered a tad when I happened upon an exposed mass of bones. The remains of the person who they belonged to had to have been there for thousands of simyears. Most of the dead people I'd ever come across had been buried in caskets.

I looked around and saw there was another barricade behind a door. Who sets these traps, anyway? I thought.

I examined the big chunk of marble before me. Was there a way I'd have to move it to activate the switch?

I went about the business of moving the chunk of marble around until I found the next floor switch. Thankfully that strength training at the gym was useful there.

I was feeling pretty good about myself after finding the floor switch to walk through the next door.

After walking a few paces, I happened to spy another chest. Going closer to it, I realized this must be what Tahiya was looking for.

There was a manila folder with a pile of papers.

There was one thing I had to do. I had to go back to Tahiya.

Day One: The Tomb of Discovery

Before I began my first quest, I went over to Al Simhara Market and talked to the shopkeeper. I wanted to buy some supplies before I went into the tomb, namely a portable tent and something called a Shower-in-a-Can (I think the humans call it deodorant). I had some fruits from the garden with me in inventory, but I wanted some more of that dried food stuff just in case I got lost exploring.

When I saw the shopkeeper drinking water from a canteen, I decided I'd order one too, even though I had one with me. You never can be too prepared.

After leaving the market, I set off toward the Tomb of Discovery, which was near the Base Camp (where all tourists to Al Simhara go to stay while they're traveling).

When I got there, I noticed it had a barbed wire fence around it. I unlatched the fence and then went in through the wooden door behind it. My adventure would officially begin.

When I walked through the door, it was like I was walking through a window into the world's distant past. I was in awe. This building predated us by many thousands of simyears and yet it still stood, as strong and sturdy as ever.

Before I could turn the corner, there was a note near the entrance, in hieroglyphics of course. My experience in reading ancient scrolls is extremely limited, so I dismissed it, all the while filing it in the back of my mind.

I did a little walking and came to a dusty gray chest with some hieroglyphics engraved. Curious, I decided to open it. Inside, I found a marble key in the shape of a crescent moon. It was called a Crescent Keystone. The keystone glistened and glowed, beckoning me to pick it up.

I walked a little further and found a marble slab with a crescent-shaped keyhole. Hmm. Must be where this key goes.

So I walked up to the slab and fit the key to the hole, and voila! Another door opened and I could walk in.

To be continued...