act35side

Is it really true, Titi?

There was unexplained access made using your pass both last night and this morning... what if someone investigates?

That can't be! I wiped all the records clean.

So you've finally admitted it.

I didn't... I...

Well, this I can cover up... but the mummy coming back to life, on the eve of the Flood Festival, is another matter.

What's your plan?

To keep the museum closed until things blow over.

No way!

Look at that <i>badgir!</i>

A windcatcher, yes, the most common type of tower here. Those openings catch the cool, high winds and guide them into the building through vents.

Cool air flows into the space below, pushing the hot air out the opposite side.

I didn't know you were an architect.

I'm not. But I met the talented architect who invented the badgir.

Do you sense the gems yet?

I'm sorry... I can't sense any nearby. Maybe I could tell you something else.

Are you not curious how the gems retain one's memory and consciousness?

Well...

I AM curious. I figured it was some kind of Sarkaz witchcraft related to the Zhayedan.

People in my time believed that life consists of three parts: Body, Name, and Soul.

Body is the physical vessel, and Name is the identity known to others. The Soul, however, is what truly makes us human; it is the emotions and experiences that form our character.

All three parts must be preserved together, in order for life to be eternal.

The Body can be replaced with something more durable. The Name can retain its meaning by being passed on through generations.

I know. That's the genesis of Sargonian noble heritage.

The Soul, however, is the frailest of the three.

During the Age of Shadow, it was discovered that part of the Soul can be preserved, in a manner of speaking, by etching it upon a pure gem with Originium circuits.

Like the gem in your chest...

Yes.

I've only ever read about it in ancient texts... Scholars call it superstition, borne out of a lack of understanding of the nature of life.

That is a misinterpretation.

However, the true mystery, the method by which a life's journey is engraved, has long since been lost to time.

Or, it might exist, to some degree... gems with engraved Originium circuits can still be found in this city.

Last year, a gem with Originium circuits that could change the ambient temperature in a small area was sold at auction for an incredible price.

Some things survive the test of time, only to become barely recognizable.

The sun's about to rise. We should get back before the museum opens. Let's go.

The museum is just ahead. I don't want to crawl through another hole. Why don't we use your Arts to make a shortcut?

One moment, Pepe.

Have you sensed the gem?

No...

I would like to see the sunrise.

The one thing that the passage of time cannot change.

Okay. Just for a bit.

How lucky. It is still bright, glorious, brilliant.

It still brings warmth.

<i>Inudi harek, Horakhet.</i>

Zubayr slumbered for centuries beneath the sands, with only darkness for company.

He squints straight at the sun rising in the east, the brilliant wheel of flame.

Sunlight shines upon him for the first time in a very long while, illuminating his golden body.

Pepe can barely open her eyes, so bright it is.

Is it time to go back?

You can stay a while longer, if you like being in the sun.

We have a little bit of time.

The sun is up.

Four days... no, five, since Narantuya went missing.

Focus, Ajazi! This work requires attention to detail!

You're sure that the communicator fell into this drainage outlet when we left the museum, right?

I'm sure.

Well, we've been dredging through it every day, but we haven't found a shadow of it.

We can't reach Narantuya if we don't find it. if we can't reach Narantuya... what will we do?

...I remember Narantuya saying we should find a way to get money when she's not around.

You're right, Ajani!

We need to pull a big job.

That way, we can buy a new communicator and get in touch with the boss!

Let's go. We've got work to do at the museum.

Alright...

Huh?

Hey, Ajazi, I think I hooked something!

What do you think, Lazvar?

A hue like the night sky, and the wavy patterns it like lava gently flowing across it...

It was dug up from the deep Obsidian veins decades ago. It's a rare treasure today, given the state of Mount Siesta.

The gem vendors in town dare not give a hasty quote for it, and you've been away from the post these past few days...

There is no Originium circuit on this gem.

I'm afraid I cannot give you a high price for it.

The blue fowlbeast that was perched on the overseer's staff flies up, grabs the Obsidian, and places it gently on the scale.

The scale comes to a halt, and the young overseer looks at the reading.

Three hundred and seventy dinars.

B-But a Siestan collector offered a much higher price for it! The equivalent of thirty-seven thousand dinars!

Could you perhaps be mistaken?

You could always go back to that collector.

Ah, er, well, it's not that I don't trust the overseer's eyes and scales...

But if we were in Londinium, Lungmen, or Siesta...

We're in Menat-Ha'mait.

There are treasures here beyond reckoning. The sand beneath your feet was perhaps at one time gems brighter than the stars.

That is why we value the power of a gem far more than its appearance.

Three hundred and seventy dinars is the most I can give for an ordinary Obsidian, with no Originium circuits or special powers.

Can we really sell a rock that we reeled in from the sewers?

Even the roads in this city are paved with gems. Try holding it under the sun.

What am I supposed to see?

Nothing. It's like the plastic handle of my toothbrush.

Well, don't be discouraged, Ajani. It could help Narantuya's great endeavor, even if it's not worth much.

Like, she could enjoy ice water for an entire week once she comes back. Added with lemon slices and dried dates for sure.

Hey, you! Yeah, you, behind the counter.

Me?

Yeah. You're the receptionist, right?

Receptionist? No—

It's our first time here. We want to... to... what do we want to do, Ajazi?

To get this gem appraised and sell it for good money!

Yeah, that's right. Do you know where the queue for gem appraisals is?

...Give it to me. I can appraise it.

Wow, even the receptionist at the gem trading post knows how to appraise gems!