Hey guys!
You guys ready for another story into the past? Now, unlike the last chapter, as I said before, this one includes an evil sphinx and a riddle, so prepare yourself, because it's going to get 20% cooler!
The Land of Sand and Pyramids Part 3
After checking in with the Cario International Airport flight control, Blu landed down on the runaway reserved for the small private jets, touching down smoothly and rolling on the runaway until coming to a stop. As the airport workers got the mobile stairs against the plane's door, Jewel and the girls all picked up their bags and were ready to leave. Blu came out from the cockpit and although looking a little tired from flying the plane, offered to carry Jewel's bags for her.
"Need a little help Ms. Yearling." Blu asked.
"Oh, thanks Blu…" Jewel said back as Blu gently took Jewel' bags.
"My pleasure." Blu smiled. "So how many days are you going to be here?" Blu asked, needing to know so as to get the plane ready to go back to Rio.
"Only about three to four days, it's going to be a quick research trip." Jewel answered.
"Well, that will give me plenty of time to sightsee." Blu happily chuckled, Jewel chuckling along.
As Blu and Jewel separated ways, Jewel led the girls out of the airport and to where the camel taxis were, basically a row of camels ready to take the other animal travelers where they needed to go. As Jewel, in her author's outfit of course, and the girls came to the taxi row, the camels who knew Jewel were all eager to taxi her where she needed to go.
"Ms. Yearling, Ms. Yearling!" The camels all shouted. "Take me!"
"Alright, calm down, I can only pick one of you, but I'm also here with my friends, so I have to bring four of you." Jewel informed the.
After Jewel and the girls finally settled on their camels, the one taking Jewel looked back at her.
"Where to, Ms. Yearling?" The camel asked politely.
"To Sorrelambula please." Jewel told the camel.
"As you wish." The camel replied.
And with that, Jewel and the girls were on their short trip to Sorrelambula, the village coming in view as the great pyramids of Giza stood nearby. Everything was so different than in Rio, palm trees lining the Nile riverbank and sand colored brick buildings in rows, animals about on the streets, crowding them as many stalls for personal businesses were set up against the side of the buildings. However what really stood out was the giant statue at the center of town, a stone one of a female Blue macaw, wearing a blindfold over her eyes…
"That's far enough, thank you for the ride." Jewel said to the camel taking her as they arrived at the statue.
"It was my pleasure Ms. Yearling." The camel replied, Jewel taking out some money to pay for the ride, only for the camel to deny the payment. "No need for that, however…" And the camel turned his head back and took out something from his personal pack, the first Daring Jewel book. "Can you sign this for me?"
"Wait, you carry that around with you all the time?" Gracie asked as she and the other girls were with Jewel now.
"Of course, I always had hope I would meet the famous author." The camel smiled. "So can you sign your autograph please, Ms. Yearling."
"Of course." And Jewel took out a pen from her bag and signed the camel's book for him. "There we go."
"Thank you so much Ms. Yearling, enjoy your time in Egypt." The camel replied before going back with the other camels to the airport.
As the camels were gone, Jewel told the girls their next move in the trip.
"Okay, now before we can go protect the sting of Sorrelambula's glowpazs from the professor, we need to be sure that he is in fact here." Jewel said. "I know someone that can help us, an old friend of mine named Cerberus."
"And who's he?" Marion asked, curious to know who this Cerberus is.
"He's a Cobra, don't worry he's very nice and smart, knows everything that goes on around here." Jewel answered, Marion's expression changing from curiosity to afraid. "But first I got to change into Daring Jewel, so he knows who I am."
After going into a private ladies' room between two buildings, Jewel changed into Daring Jewel, after a few minutes coming out with her olive green shirt and adventurer's hat.
"Ready girls?" Jewel asked Bia, Gracie, and Marion, to which they nodded "No". "Great, lets go."
Jewel and the girls walked through town, looking for the Cobra, but he was nowhere in sight, until that is they passed by an usually dark shaded stall. Hissing could be heard as a Cobra came suddenly out of the shade, scaring the girls, but not Jewel of course.
"Cerberus, you know you can't scare me…" Jewel reminded the Cobra.
"Well, looks like I scared your friends." Cerberus chuckled as the girls were all hugging each other in fright.
"Girls, it's fine, he's not going to eat you." Jewel told the girls, a bit annoyed.
"Are you sure?" Gracie asked, in a shaky voice.
"Yes." Jewel reassured her.
"How do you two even know each other?" Marion asked, dumbfounded why Jewel would know a certain Cobra.
"Well, Daring Jewel here saved me when a band of bandits demanded all my money and business, she drove them off and boy is she a fighter." Cerberus answered Marion.
"Okay Cerberus, I wish I can talk about the past, but I'm here on serious business, I need to know, has Professor Harry been spotted in Egypt?" Jewel asked.
"Jewel, are you sure you need to know?" Cerberus asked in return, knowing about Jewel's past as well.
"Yes, I need to stop him and protect the treasure." Jewel replied, in a determined tone.
"Very well, he has been spotted in Cairo a day ago, he has brought other thieves and is planning on coming here tomorrow to steal Sorrelambula's glowpazs." Cerberus reported.
"How do you know all that?" Gracie asked, amazed.
"I have my sources and ways." Cerberus answered.
"So, what's so important about this Sorrelambula anyway?" Bia asked, wanting to know more about this Egyptian hero.
Cerberus looked to Jewel and Jewel nodded her head in approval, allowing Cerberus to tell the story since they had the time to do so.
"Well long ago, Egypt was ruled over by an evil sphinx, who demanded most of the crops grown by the Nile…" Cerberus began as in their imaginations, it was shown how the sphinx ruled over the land, towering over all the other animals of Egypt. "One of the villagers who lived in a village along the Nile named Sorrelambula didn't have much like the other villagers around her, but she used what she had to keep others from losing hope." The imagination showing how Sorrelambula gave up the pearls she wore around her neck to pay for a loaf of bread to give to an old female Pelican.
"Wow, that's some sacrifice." Marion commented.
"Indeed, in fact, the son of the pharaoh, Prince Tomada, a Peregrine Falcon, was so moved by her compasion that he vowed that no animal would go hungry again." Cerberus continuing. "But when Tomada stood up to the sphinx, the beast captured him, telling the pharaoh that the only way to get Tomada back was to solve her riddle." In the imagination, the shpinx flying back to the pyramid where she resided. "No animal would volunteer to save the prince, no animal except, Sorrelambula…"
(This is where it gets 20% cooler!)
As if the story became real, Sorrelambula ran towards the pyramid, leaving behind the pharaoh and his army to the sphinx, to free Prince Tomada, then taking off and flying as fast as her wings could take her, charging inside the pyramid and landing down when she reached the main room, the sphinx standing like a skyscrape over her tiny form.
"The sphinx gave her the riddle…"
"I shine brightest in the dark, I am there but cannot be seen, to have me costs you nothing, to be without me costs you everything." The sphinx gave the riddle to Sorrelambula, getting right up to her face at the last part with an evil smile, showing her huge and sharp teeth.
(Before I continue on, can you guys answer the sphinx's riddle?)
"As Sorrelambula thought of the hardships she and her fellow villagers have experienced, she instantly knew the answer…"
"Hope!" Sorrelambula answered with a gleaming smile.
"The sphinx was so enraged that she still refused to release the prince."
The sphinx roaring out loud in anger as she still stood in between Sorrelambula and the tied up prince.
"So Sorrelambula asked the sphinx for one more challenge and if she succeeded than the sphinx would leave the kingdom forever."
Sorrelambula proposed, showing the sphinx that she was still determined to save the prince no matter what.
"The sphinx quickly agreed, only asking Sorrelambula that she walk across to the prince, over a deep pit with a swinging bridge, blindfolded, further the sphinxe placed a spell that prevented Sorrelambula from flying."
The sphinx popping a blindold and then the spell on Sorrelambula, the sphinx only giving out an evil laugh as she pushed Sorrelambula in front of the bridge.
"But Sorrelambula never lost hope, she knew she needed to make a leap of faith to save the prince, guided by the sound of the prince's voice, she easily made it across."
And in fact Sorrelambula did and the sphinx was so angry that she failed that she roared again and flew out of the pyramid, never to bother the kingdom again. meanwhile, Sorrelambula, using her beak, untied Prince Tomada and then Tomada took off Sorrelambula's blindfold.
The story now came back to an imagination setting as Cerberus finished the last part of the story.
"The Pharaoh asked how Sorrelambula prevailed." Cerberus continued. "And she explained that she always hoped that she can male things better for her animals and that hope had carried her through."
The imagination then showed Prince Tomada coming froward to Sorrelambula with a sting of bright green glowpads.
"The prince replaced the pearls Sorrelambula gave up with a sting of glowpazs, as a sign that he wanted her wing in marriage. Sorrelambula accepted and the two were married very shortly after and had two chicks, a falcon boy and a Blue macaw girl." Cerberus finished.
"So that's why you named this village Sorrelambula and have a statue of her in the town center." Bia stated.
"Yes, but rumor has it that Sorrelambula was buried alongside Tomada in the small pyramid besides the sphinx, legend has it that if the sphinx was ever to come out again and try to take control, that Sorrelambula and Tomada would be right there to stop her." Cerberus stated.
"Well I think that's enough storytelling for one day, we should get to an inn and rest for tomorrow." Jewel advised the girls. "Thanks Cerberus for the information."
"Of course Jewel, goodbye for now my friend." Cerberus smiled and went back inside the shade.
"You know, for a kind cobra, he's still creepy." Marion commented.
"Agreed." Gracie shuttered.
Jewel and the girls went to an inn by the riverside, going to their rooms to rest up from their trip and get some goodnight's sleep. As Bia tried to sleep as she laid down in her bed, she couldn't and went to Jewel's room, her door open. Bia quietly opened the door a little bit and saw Jewel staring out of the open window, she was looking up and down, for her window was facing the Giza pyramids, of which there was the sphinx and the small pyramid, easily seen because of the full moon's light that was shining down.
Clearly she was thinking about tomorrow…
And that's a wrap!
And as I said, this part is directly based on Daring Done, just because I really liked the part of the tale of Somnambula (Played by Sorrelambula in this case), but added a small twist at the end!
Oh and…
Sorrelambula, aka, Sorrel belongs to Sorrelwing
Tomada belongs to Tomadahawk
And see you next time!
