Strange Cargo

Unanswered questions were flowing around Kurtis's head that very night as he laid there awake next to Lara who had already fallen soundly asleep along with all the snoring she was making. She did not talk much nor any further explained about what took place in the latter part of the evening, as they each showered and got ready for bed. The Lux Veritatis warrior could read the body language and the expression on Lara's face that she was not in the mood for a conversation, but it was worth a try…

"Lara…I…" The legionnaire began but was soon cut off by the archaeologist like she had read his mind.

"Please Kurtis, I need time to process what happened tonight. I promise I'll explain more about it in the morning." She stated in a composed demeanour and proceeded to kiss him as a sign of good night.

"Okay, night Lara." He gave a weak smile to her as she tucked herself in the covers and closed her hazel eyes.

'Is she hiding something from me?' A thought randomly occurred as Kurtis continued to stare at the bedroom ceiling in darkness. He reran through the events that transpired earlier, trying to figure out if there was any little detail he missed during the peculiar encounter. However, nothing came to him as he glanced over to his wife.

'No…why am I doubting the person whom I love…I made a commitment to her in our marriage, and I would be betraying that trust between us…besides hopefully more should be made clear in the morning…' Eventually tiredness got the better of him and he soon drifted off to sleep.

A couple of hours later…

The sounds of many raindrops were heard falling upon the bedroom windows where still snoozing away underneath the thick duvet was none other than Kurtis himself. That was until the rainfall became heavier and not long after he awoke from his slumber.

"Lara?" A weary Kurtis sensed the absence of his partner, as his sapphire-coloured eyes scanned the cluttered room and confirmed it to be true.

'Hmm I wonder…' He shook his head knowing where she would be, but he decided to first get himself sorted ready for the day ahead before going to see her. Making his way to the other side of the upper level of the manor, he soon found the adventurer sitting in her vast library scribbling down notes as she studied the ancient scroll that was previously presented to the couple beforehand.

"There you are! How are you feeling this morning?" Kurtis made his entrance from the doorway and immediately startled her.

"Hey! Great thanks, you alright?"

"All good thanks, you sound more cheerful than you did prior going to sleep."

"Yeah about that, I'm sorry for my behaviour last night as it wasn't fair on you. A lot was going through my mind and I was not in the right state to talk about it." Lara apologetically explained.

"I must admit it was a bit awkward but don't worry about it, I understand in that kind of unusual circumstance…though I'm glad you're back to being yourself."

"Thank you." The couple fully embraced in a passionate hug where for that invaluable moment in time everything around them ceased to exist.

"Anyway, how long have you been up for?" Kurtis began as they broke off the warm embrace and got back to the matter at hand.

"Oh, I've been up for about an hour, just reading through this manuscript that was shown to us by Christian. I have made another riveting discovery from the text, so do I dare tell you what that is." She gave him a cheeky wink.

"Go ahead then, let's hear about this little revelation you've made." He jokingly chuckled. It certainly was one of the many things he loved about his wife which was that never-ending enthusiasm for her field of work.

"Very well since you asked kindly. I managed to translate some of what I was unable to make out last night from the writings with a bit of help from this rare book of ancient languages. Interestingly parts were so erratically encrypted it is near-impossible for me to decipher, which leads me to suggest that whoever wrote this made this so classified and did not want just anyone finding out what their secret was. According to what I managed to roughly translate; it concerns how this unknown group were tasked into hiding a cargo that was delivered during the New Kingdom of Egypt period by order of the monarchy at the time this was written. I must say they certainly covered their tracks in style."

"What kind of cargo was it?" He quizzed.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't mention it here. But whatever they were transporting must of had significant worth to someone high up at that time and they did not want it to be shown in public at any cost, hence this underground chamber was built as a sanctuary for the cargo."

"Intriguing…so never to be seen again?"

"As far as I am aware yes, so I'm hoping this map will lead us to where the hiding place would be, who knows could be a tomb of sorts or even a sanctum."

"But do you know the whereabouts of this location? There would be too much ground to cover if not."

"Ah ha, that's what the next part is about. The scription roughly translates the co-ordinates of the supposed burial of the contents, my hypothesis is that it is somewhere in Luxor, most likely in the Valley of the Kings as the dates and information gathered thus far all seem related to that location." Lara briefed Kurtis who wholeheartedly nodded in agreement of her findings.

"Good point why wouldn't someone around that time with power be buried alongside their precious treasure in a tomb amongst the kings. It looks like we got a commendable lead on this then. So, what's the deal with Christian?"

"Ah that topic…okay as promised here it goes. Before going to Cambodia for my first adventure, Werner had introduced me to one of his star pupils at the university he was working at, that very person was Christian Schneider and he certainly made a good first impression. Even though after what happened at Angkor Wat where the friendship between Werner and I had soured and our rivalry began, I was still on good terms with Christian. We were writing to each other, talking about our latest adventures, and even meeting up on occasions and as time went on, he and I became close until…"

THUD!

"What was that noise!?" Kurtis alertly said.

"That came from downstairs…the treasure vault!" Lara gasped.

On the double the two made their way to the ground floor of the mansion and they both separated with Kurtis heading towards the concealed entry to the artefact room whilst Lara dashed to the secret switch to unlock the door. She inputted the sequential code and as the gears of the mechanism were lifting the hatch, they both gazed at the intruder inside.

"Ah top of the morning to you both, you found me." Christian joyfully said. He seemed to be unfazed by the darting looks he was getting from the couple.

"Christian! What are you doing in here!?" Lara blurted out.

"Not to steal if that was your first assumption, but I came in here to admire your collection of course Lara, from one archaeologist to another. Some of these wonderful relics should be in a museum for everyone to see and enjoy."

"That's still quite sneaky of you to let yourself in." Kurtis suspiciously tutted at him.

"I know it is, but I could not help myself. Von Croy had previously talked with awe about how magnificent the Iris artefact is, so I just had to see it with my own eyes. I also thought it would be a fun challenge to solve the puzzle you have set and beat the timed door to this vault. I meant no harm so if I am trespassing my apologies, the eagerness got the better of me."

"Alright, but if we catch you in here again there will be trouble. Anyway, we have some great news about the scripture you showed us…"

Lara began explaining the new discoveries as Christian intently listened to the details. This time around Kurtis noticed that she seemed more confident of her findings, probably because they were seemingly both in approval of the proposed theory before being interrupted by the noise.

"Fascinating, I knew Marie and I were onto something special…so have you made your decision on whether you will join me for this new adventure Lara?"

"I have yes"

"What's your answer?"

"I will go with you to find out the mystery that is down there."