Hello and welcome back! Here's the next chapter!

Eleven

The Task

"There you are!" They jumped a little when Amelia rounded the corner towards them. "I've been worried sick, sick I tell you!"

"No, we're fine," Larry answered, though he sounded panicked.

"So, what's our next move partner?"

"I don't know, but we've just got to get this tablet translated."

"Well lucky for us, one of us majored in Ancient Egyptian history." Nat took the tablet from Larry and studied the glyphs. "Okay... So we've got bird, man with a spear, a sideways fish, beetle, and vase."

"Okay, and what does that mean?" asked Larry.

"I don't know!" she cried, slamming the tablet against his chest. "I only know what each symbol means, not what they mean as a whole. Too bad the only other person we know here who can also read hieroglyphs wants to kill us."

"I have an idea," said Amelia. "Come, follow me." They followed her down halls and through corridors, back through the art gallery where they had been before.

Suddenly, giant tentacles blocked their path and the giant squid sat in front of them.

"Oh great this guy again," sighed Larry. "Look buddy we don't want any trouble-" However, following the squid's gaze, he found that maybe the creature didn't want any trouble either. Instead, it was eyeing a moving painting of the ocean. Passing the tablet back to Nat, Larry took the painting off the wall and dumped the water over the squid who squealed happily.

"Hmm, look at that," remarked Amelia. "Looks like our sassy cephalopod was just a big fish who didn't like being out of water. He's not such a ballywagger after all."

Just as they were continuing on, the tentacles wrapped around Larry and the squid cuddled him into a thankful hug.

"Oh - you're welcome," said Larry. "Glad you're happy." He wiped slime from his uniform.

"Help! Anyone? A little assistance!" called a familiar voice down the hall.

"Oh, hey, Teddy! Perfect!" cried Larry when they saw the bronze statue of the chest and face of Teddy Roosevelt. "Maybe you could help us."

"I'd love to help but first thing's first: my nose is itching up a storm and it's driving me insane. As you can see, I'm missing a few body parts, so if you wouldn't mind-"

"Oh, yeah, no problem-" Larry reached out and scratched the statue's nose.

"Thank you!" Teddy cried. "Theodore Roosevelt at your service."

"Twenty-sixth president of the United States, rough rider, founder of national parks and a bunch of other stuff," Larry added.

Teddy was surprised. "Have we met?"

"Oh no, we've got another Teddy over in New York."

"Really? What's he like, this other me?"

"Uh, well, he's pretty much the same except with..."

"With what? Say it. Except with a body?"

"Yes..."

"Oh!" Teddy cried, sounding wounded at this knowledge.

"And a horse-" continued Larry. Nat nudged him.

"Excuse me," Amelia interrupted. "We really need to translate what's written on this tablet. Do you read hieroglyphics?"

"Yes I do."

"We already know that these symbols mean bird, man with a spear, a sideways fish, beetle, and vase."

"Yes indeed."

"And what does that mean?" asked Larry.

"Oh, that's a simple one. Well this is just a rough translation, but it means 'a man with a spear trapped a bird and a sideways fish in a vase'." A pause. "And there was also a beetle."

The trio exchanged a glance. "I don't think that's it..."

"Well that's just one possible translation. Another would be 'you will find the answer you seek if you figure out the secret at the heart of Pharaoh's tomb.'"

"Now that's more like it!" cheered Nat.

"Okay and what does that mean?" pressed Larry.

"I don't know, what do I look like, the Sphinx?" demanded Teddy. "Why don't you ask your New York Teddy, with his full body, and a horse!"

"Mr. Daley, Miss Bentley," Amelia said as Teddy continued to rant. "I think we'd better make our way to the sculpture gallery. I think there's someone there who might have a better thought on this." Calling a quick 'thank you' to Teddy, they followed Amelia out of the room.

"The fellow we're looking for is just through here," she said, leading them into another wide gallery. She stopped when she was greeted by a Degas statue of a dancing little girl.

"Why hello there young lady." She began dancing with her.

"Uh, excuse me, could we keep moving, please," Larry urged.

"Well we certainly could, but then we might miss a rare opportunity," Amelia answered, still dancing. "You don't let yourself enjoy things much, do you Mr. Daley."

"Yeah it's just I've got to get this translated, save my friends, and I've got a pitch at Walmart tomorrow morning, so..."

Amelia sighed. "He's right here. I think he'll have a thought on this." She led them over to the statue of the Thinker. "Mr. Thinker, we're sorry to interrupt your contemplation but we really need to figure out 'the secret at the heart of Pharaoh's tomb.'"

The Thinker thought for a moment. "I'm thinking... I'm thinking... I'm thinking... I'm thinking..."

"It's not happening with him." Larry shook his head.

Suddenly, the Thinker broke out of his 'thoughts' and began flexing his muscles. Turning, they saw that he was trying to impress an Ancient-Greek-looking statue of a young woman, who giggled.

"Hey! Hey buddy! Over here! This is serious!" called Larry, trying to regain the statue's attention.

"It's kind of a matter of life and death," put in Nat.

"I'll tell you what's a matter of life and death: that beautiful lady over there," said the Thinker, the female statue continuing to giggle.

"Well he's certainly no Einstein," said Amelia as the Thinker ignored them.

"Hey wait, I saw a bunch of those earlier-" Larry began heading for the gallery window.

"A bunch of what's?"

"Einsteins."

"Where?"

"Over there, in Air and Space." The other building sat across the courtyard. "We've got to get over there." He started down the long gallery hall, searching for an exit door.

"So, how long have you been guarding antiquities?" asked Amelia, matching his pace, a bounce in her step.

"What - oh, no. I'm not a guard."

"Oh, well, I just thought with the fancy getup and all."

"Yeah, no, I borrowed this. I was a guard, actually, back in New York. But that was a while ago."

"Yes, Miss Bentley was telling me you worked together. Why did you leave? Did you not enjoy it?"

"No I loved it I just - things sort of took off in another direction so..."

"Oh. So what do you do now?"

"Well I sort of design products and sell them."

She gave an excited gasp. "You're an inventor!"

He smiled. "Yes, yes I am an inventor."

"Like the rocket ship?"

"No..."

"The sea plane?"

"No."

"The dirigible?"

"No, not aircraft, more small scale stuff like - well the Glow-in-the-Dark Flashlight, that was mine." He trailed off.

She regarded him. "So this new job, do you like it?"

"Yeah, yeah I like it a lot. It's exciting." Now she looked confused. "What?"

"I'm just confused is all. I'm just wondering if you don't find it exciting then why do you do it?"

"I-I am excited by it, I just said-"

"I know what you said Mr. Daley, but what I see in front of me is a man who's lost his moxie."

"I've not, I - I haven't lost my moxie," he defended.

"Do you know why I became a pilot?"

He shook his head. "I don't, no."

"For the fun of it!" Now there was an excited glint in her eyes. "And why else would anyone do anything?"

Yeah you said it Amelia! ;) Who's your favourite NATM character? I love Larry, Nick, and Amelia, Lancelot, Ahk... I love them all! ;) Haha thanks so much for reading!