Hello again everyone! This is part one of two of Tilly's holiday with Ben, Flora and Dante in Al Simhara, so be prepared for adventure! Also don't forget to check out the prompt from Chapter Three written by Oneofthosepeopleonthestreet, as it's really good. Like, really, really good.
And now, on with the story...
New Year's Day
My New Year's Resolutions:
* I will not continue to stay out after midnight on the full moon 'just for the supernatural status of it'.
* I will quit obsessing over Dante, and will not act out imaginary conversations in my head between us whenever I see him from a distance.
* Whenever possible, I will attempt to get out and about more so that I can gather inspiration from everyday events in order to help me with my writing career.
* I will no longer continue with Emelie's and my 'Magic Jellybean' game of slipping the jellybeans into unsuspecting Sim's drinks at parties just to see what happens.
Especially not five of them at once.
* And finally, I will try to like Flora Goodfellow again, and will refrain from complaining about her irritating twittering and goody-goody habits.
Friday, 18th January
3:13 am:
Bloody hell. Who knew that getting out of an extremely comfortable bed at 3am would result in me wishing that I didn't have to go on holiday? The only thing that made me practically sleepwalk down the stairs to the kitchen was the thought of the pyramids, and thoughts of finding tombs and treasures.
3:50 am:
When Flora and Dante turned up in a taxi to collect Ben and I, I thought I was about to collapse from the stress of getting my suitcase to shut. Of course I had attempted to be economical and choose only the most sensible tomb-raiding gear (I mean, tomb-exploring gear) to take, but what about if we go out to an Egyptian nightclub or something? Surely allowances must be made for that? Ben was having the same problem. He was all for taking two suitcases but Flora put her foot down firmly and stated indignantly that 'he would get left behind if he even thought about doing such a thing'. Anyway, after sitting on my suitcase and managing to shut it, Ben and I lugged our cases out the front door and piled everything into the taxi. On the other hand, I did have Dante to help me carry mine. Tee hee hee.
5:15 am:
Have boarded the plane, and have somehow managed to end up sitting next to Flora. How on earth did that happen? Why isn't Dante sitting next to me? Still, Flora did say that the two of them will probably end up talking about boring 'guy things' for the whole flight, so I guess that that is a blessing. In total disguise.
5:20 am:
We're off! On our way to Egypt, land of mummies, pyramids and sand. This experience is bound to open my eyes to the world, which is good as I need some new material for a book.
Almost forgot to say, Pip is going to be looking after Lydia and Fred for me, which is a relief. Hopefully I don't arrive back home and see that both my beloved pets have grown wings. Emelie has gone to stay with her cousin Emmy for the New Year, (and says that if she sees my mum or Lea, she'll say hi.) Becky and her husband Dennis flew to Sunset Valley on New Year's Eve. She told me that they have a summer Snowflake Day over there, which is something they've both always wanted to experience. And Dwayne and Erica are packing themselves and their kids away to Appaloosa Plains, to 'get a taste of the country'.
5:24 am:
Personally, I think it was, 'to get a taste of the country animals', but I didn't like to say anything.
Saturday 19th January
8:00 am:
Got here yesterday around one pm. We were all so tired that we just got into our tents and slept for ages. It's so hot here. Green floppy palm trees, bushes and sand everywhere. Thank goodness I bought along a lot of white floaty T-shirts.
Anyway, this morning we're all going to the local market to have a look round and meet some locals. I plan to buy some Egyptian recipe books, and Flora says that she wants to look at the relic store. Meanwhile, Dante says that he'd like to try charming a snake. I hope he's joking.
8:15 am:
The market is much smaller than I would have thought, but it's still pretty cool. There's a water fountain in the centre, sandy brick-coloured shops all around, and a view of the Sphinx when you're standing in the right spot. After a quick confab, us four all decide to go to the bookshop, which isn't like any other bookshop I've ever been to before. Wooden bookcases grace nearly every wall, pictures of ancient Egyptians are hung round the room, and small golden and silver relics are placed on the cash register desk. Standing behind the desk is the bookshop owner, who is a tall, tan woman with long black hair by the name of Layla Lufti.
"You have all come here from Moonlight Falls, you say?" she says, after we've introduced ourselves. "I see a lot of Sims come here for holidays from other neighbourhoods, but not many from Moonlight Falls. Do you have many plans so far?"
8:17 am:
"Well, we're planning to explore the pyramids and go and visit the Sphinx," Flora adds, looking up from the book she's flicking through ('Tomb Raiding For Dummies'), "and just explore everywhere, really."
Layla smiles. "How lovely. One of my good friends went exploring in the Great Pyramid last week or so. However, he tragically lost one of his beloved possessions presumably in a stone chest, and hasn't dared to go and look for it since." She shakes her head sadly. "Poor Abdul. He'd need at least a team of explorers to look for this item, after all, he's terrified of going into the pyramids alone lest he runs into a mummy."
8:19 am:
An idea begins to form in my head. Looking round at Flora, I can see she's thinking the same thing.
"Hang on." I say, slowly. "A team of explorers? That would be equivalent to the four of us! So we could help your friend out, couldn't we?"
"In terms of extra Visa points and Ancient coins, that's a very good idea!" Flora gasps, her eyes bright with anticipation, glancing at Ben and Dante for approval.
The two of them look at us like we're crazy.
"So, are we just going to rock up to the Great Pyramid and try and find this thing?" Dante says, raising an skeptical eyebrow. "As in, right now?"
"Oh, not straight away, surely!" Flora shakes her head. "We need a couple of days to rest, don't we, with jetlag and everything." She beams at Layla. "But don't worry. We'll all soon be ready to help."
"That's very kind of you four to volunteer." smiles Layla. "I'll get in touch with Abdul and tell him."
8:42 am:
Needless to say, Ben and Dante didn't look too eager.
So, like it or not, it seems like we've landed in the middle of an adventure.
But it can't be so bad. We'll be exploring the pyramids, and surely dead Egyptian mummies can't really come alive and run round on two legs like everyone else, right?
8:43 am:
Right?
4:00 pm:
We finished looking round the markets, then decided to go and see the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. It had a lot of stone stairs leading up to the front of the building, and I probably would have keeled over from exhaustion had it not been for Dante behind me (as I would have fallen on top of him otherwise). When we got to the top and into the tomb, we had a walk round the sandy brick tomb to see if we could find anything exciting in terms of relics or treasure. Nothing.
"Did you bring your magnifying glass?" Dante muttered to me as we walk down the hallway. "Because I think there might be a few fossilized grains of precious golden sand that we might just have missed back there."
I laughed and said, "We'll look for relics and coins tomorrow. Wonder what we'll find?"
Dante looked thoughtful and said, "That guy must have lost a pretty valuable item and all. What do you think it'll be?"
4:03 pm:
I was about to reply with a suggestion like a camera, or a fashionable tomb-exploring hat, but was interrupted by Ben randomly pointing at one of the statues and saying, "I wonder how much he'd weigh in real life if he wasn't made of gold."
Monday, 21st January
9:19 am:
After a good sleep, shower and bowl of cereal by the campfire, Flora, Dante, Ben and I are ready to report in to this Abdul guy for Operation Rescue Remedy. Hopefully this thing won't take us days to find, that is, if we find it at all.
The sun's risen properly now, casting a bright light over everything, making the sand look like it's made of fine gold grains. We're all dressed in white shirts and are wearing what I call 'tourist shorts', which are all different colours. Ben, however, is wearing a bright yellow shirt with a picture of the Sphinx on it. At times like this, I'm glad I'm wearing flat shoes.
"I can't wait to go inside the pyramids and explore all round!" chirps Flora as we walk up the sandy slope to Abdul's house, waving her arms (and wings) round in excitement. "Where's everyone's sense of adventure?"
"Mine's still asleep in the tent at the base camp." says Ben, causing three out of four of us to laugh.
9:21 am:
Barely three seconds after Flora rings the front doorbell of the house, the door is opened by a guy who I automatically know is Abdul Kamel. He's quite muscular with short dark hair and smiling grey eyes, and he's wearing what I think is a kaftan. He's very good-looking, I guess, in an exotic sort of way.
"You must all four be the explorers who are going to help me!" he says, his grey eyes smiling at us.
"Yeah, that's right." I say. "I'm Tilly, this is Flora, Dante, and Ben." (I notice that Ben is staring at Abdul and not saying anything, so I tread on his foot).
"Ow!" Ben then seems to come to his senses and mutters, "Hi. I'm Ben."
Abdul looks round at us and says, "It's very good of you all to come. Many Sims wouldn't be brave enough to venture into a large tomb, but this is surely a blessing from Horus."
Us four smile and nod, though I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who knows who Horus is. Everyone else is looking quizzical.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Dante wonders.
Abdul waves a hand and says, "Now, my explorers, I will tell you..."
10:30 am:
"Does anyone know who Horus is?" Ben wonders, as we trudge nearer to the Great Pyramid. I have to say it's enormous up close. Bet that even King Timbucktoo didn't anticipate how many tons of brick and sand it would take to build, I think, as we approach the entrance.
"In Ancient Egypt, he was the god of the sun, war and protection." I answer, as Flora and Dante attempt to open the enormous pyramid door by banging on it. "He was a man with a falcon head. We'll probably find out something about him in here."
Suddenly, the ground begins to shake, as the pyramid door slides open, and dust billows out everywhere.
We've gained entry!
10:34 am:
"Remember, everyone, he said we had to look for a room of yellow brick and brown flooring which had two stone statues, three sarcophagi, one of which was gold, and a stone chest in the middle of the room." Flora rattles off as we walk into the tomb. The air smells old and musty, and the sounds of our footsteps and voices echo slightly off the walls. I shudder as we pass a skeleton lying on the floor, parts of its bones crumbled away from age.
10:35 am:
"Did he say where exactly we had to go to look for this thing?" Dante asks as we enter a small room, bare except for a couple of old stone pillars placed beside a flight of stairs leading downwards.
"Erm, not exactly, but it'll probably be lower down somewhere." I add, which I know is an extremely unhelpful answer.
A few hours later...
2:30 am:
So far, we've gone down two flights of stairs, encountered rooms full of statues, doors chained shut, old stone chests, fire traps (!) and slabs of stone. And each room weirdly seems to look the same; sandy brick walls and tiled floors, piles of sand everywhere, bits of brick wall that turn out to he hidden doors, and even some mysterious holes in the walls and floors of some of the areas which I'm pretty sure were more traps. (Flora had a narrow escape with one of the fire traps when her wings almost caught fire).
On the plus side, we've found a few relics and piles of Ancient Coins. But on the downside, we're still no closer to finding this object, whatever and wherever it may be.
2:35 am:
As Ben turns the handle on a set of green double doors, Flora gives an exasperated sigh and wails, "Oh, Horus, where are you? We need to gaze through your famous eyes so we can find out where on earth this bloody thing is!"
I smother a giggle as the door swings open with a creak. Fancy Flora swearing! Never heard that before!
As we all troop into the room, my mouth nearly falls open in wonder. There, right at the end of the room, is a white sarcophagus, with six stone chests evenly spaced apart, lining both walls.
"Should we open the sarcophagus first?" I ask in a whisper, glancing at it as though I'm expecting the door to creak open and a mummy to appear.
"We'll leave it 'til last, shall we?" Ben asks, as I head towards one of the middle stone chests to examine it. It looks pretty ordinary, but you can never tell.
Dante crouches down beside me as I struggle to lift the heavy lid. I may be a vampire and all, but my supernatural strength seems to have waned a considerable amount since I got here. Maybe it's the hot temperature.
2:37 am:
"Here, let me." Together, Dante and I pull up the lid, which makes a very loud creaking noise, then we both stare at what's inside, not saying anything. A pile of gleaming Ancient Coins, a small cut turquoise stone and a bronze relic of what must be an Egyptian king. "Wow, look at it all!" I whisper, awestruck. "What should we do with it all when we've–"
2:38 am:
"Um, guys?" Ben's voice cuts in, sounding terrified. "I think you might want to have a look at this..."
"Just a minute, Ben." I say, too absorbed by the contents of the chest.
"No, Tilly," Dante shakily tugs at my arm, staring at something near the end of the room.
"What's wrong now?" I tear my gaze away from the chest. "It can't be that–aaargh!"
2:39 am:
The mummy standing beside its sarcophagus slowly turns its head towards us and begins to stumble forwards, rooting me to the spot in terror. Its bandages are unravelling in some places, the Egyptian garments that it's wearing are yellowed with age, and there are two gashes in the gauze where its eyes should be.
All four of us slowly take a few steps back, but it still comes closer, arms outstretched.
"It probably doesn't like us looking in its chest of special things." Dante mutters frantically. "Should we ask it whether its okay to look, but not touch?"
"Um," Flora squeaks in terror, her eyes wide as the mummy advances, "it doesn't look very friendly."
The mummy is now more than a few feet away, every step coming closer.
"Run!" Ben shouts in a panic, and we all rush for the exit and out into the tomb. We run back down the corridor, round a corner, past a hole in the wall, into a room with stone hierograph pictures on the walls and through a stone door.
2:45 am:
Finally, we stop running.
"Right, we're not opening any more sarcophagi until we're quite sure there's no mummy in them, all right?" Ben pants, leaning against the wall.
"Agreed." Flora says, fluttering her wings quickly to and fro.
I take a look round the room we're in now. The walls are made of a yellow brick, with a brown tiled flooring. The light from the torches on the walls gives off an eerie glow, throwing shadows over the statues and three sarcophagi placed in a circle on the other side of the room. And a strange light is cast over the stone chest in the middle of the room.
Hang on...
"Guys!" My voice rises in excitement. "I think this is the room we've been looking for!"
Dante looks round and grins at me. "At last! Horus is smiling down upon us." He looks at the stone chest. "Who wants to do the honours?"
2:51 am:
In the end, all of us decided to retrieve the object together (though Ben said that he'd keep an eye on each of the sarcophagi just in case). Putting a hand each on the lid, we open it up. And there it is. Between piles of Ancient Coins sits the object.
And for a moment, we just stare, gazing at it in stunned silence.
Tuesday, 22nd January
11:05 am:
"I can't believe that he had us risking our lives for a baseball." Dante says, looking devastated as we walk up to the door of Abdul's house. "I mean, we could have been killed in there by that mummy."
"Don't forget, though, at least we've had an adventure!" Flora says attempting a smile, though her wings are drooping. "And we're going sightseeing again this evening, so we can at least have the day off."
11:06 am:
Abdul answers the front door. When he sees Ben holding the baseball, he smiles all around at us. "Oh, thank you, thank you. I thought I would never find this again. My father handed this down to me, years ago, as it was his when he was small." Abdul takes the baseball from Ben and tosses it up and down. "You have well deserved your reward. Here is your pay– (he takes a bag of what must be Ancient Coins out of his kaftan pocket and hands them to Ben)– and I will settle your Visa levels as soon as I can."
Flora beams at him. "Thank you very much. We've had a lot of fun in the pyramids, actually. Haven't we?" She glances round at all of us, silently daring us to disagree.
Ben, Dante and I all answer, "Certainly!"
11:09 am:
As we all turn to leave, I notice that Abdul is pulling Ben aside and saying something to him. I can't think what, but all of a sudden, Ben's grinning at him and nodding.
"What was that about?" I ask him as he catches up to us.
"He wants to know if, later, we'd like to go on a sightseeing tour with him to Abu Simbel." Ben replies. "So I said, yes, that'd be great. And he also said that he liked my yellow T-shirt."
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Is that all? How thrilling."
"Until our sightseeing tour, I'm going to read my new book about the first mummy film director, and phone the rest of the family in Moonlight Falls." Flora says eagerly.
11:11 am:
I'm just about to say that I'm going to have a good look round the market again, when Dante gets closer to me and mutters, "Hey, Tilly, do you want to have our own sightseeing tour this afternoon?" He smiles at me and shrugs. "You know, just the two of us?"
Wow...wonder what will happen there...? Gosh I'd love to go to Al Simhara just for the chance to explore the pyramids, though not to get chased off by a mummy... :P
