Chapter Two- The Fourth Tomb

Finished, Mahad thought with satisfaction a few weeks later. After much planning, building, and construction, his latest traps had been laid. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the traps to be triggered and the culprit to be revealed. Mahad was most eager to see if his spell worked. He had studied it and its twin spell and practiced their pronunciations during the building of his traps and was quite confident that he had it right.

"Well done, men," he said. "Let us return to the palace." He led the guards back save for the ones assigned to the tomb. He was thinking of how long he would have to wait when his Ring glowed and the pointers on the right rose and pointed to the right that led into the desert. A criminal nearby. It could be our tomb robber or a minor criminal. I will let him go for now.

"Master Mahad?" one guard asked, noticing the magician had not moved.

He shook himself from his musings. "It is nothing," he said upon seeing their concerned faces. He continued to lead them home.

"The tomb's traps are laid?" Atem asked.

Mahad knelt. "Yes, my pharaoh. They are set and so is the spell that will reveal the one responsible. I plan to lie in wait in a false tomb in order to arrest him."

Atem nodded. "Clever plan, Mahad. As he is targeting your traps, you will make certain he will come to the false one."

"Yes, but I must wait for the new traps to be sprung before ending the criminal's robbing spree."

"When you learn his identity, please inform me."

"Yes, my pharaoh." Mahad left the room and headed off to teach his students. Magic was his joy in life and teaching others was also a pleasure. He quickly recalled what he was to teach them today and he smiled. Ah, conjuring water from thin air. This will be an enjoyable lesson as well as a useful spell and later on there will be a review lesson for Mana. He strode into the Training Hall to see his students gathered and waiting for him. They bowed and chorused, "Master Mahad."

He nodded at their greeting before saying, "Today, we will learn to conjure water out of nothingness." He allowed his students to murmur comments before continuing. "Naturally creating anything from nothing requires focus, concentration, and magical talent. I know you possess all three. Now, the spell for this feat is thus…"

He felt satisfaction as his students left. Most haven't managed to produce any water, though they gave it their best effort. He had assured them that they would devote several classes to the lesson. In the meantime, he recommended they practice the incantation so that it would be memorized by next class. Seto criticizes that I don't train my students hard enough, but he does not know how trying learning a new spell can be on one's mind. It can be mentally exhausting. I know from experience when I was an apprentice.

Mahad looked up from his musings when his top student, Mana entered the room. Mana definitely had the gift of great magic. She could do more than his other students. The only thing was she had a problem with focus. She would use a spell with no problem but lacked the focus to undo it. A prime example was the freeze spell. Mahad knew she could undo her spells and encouraged her to practice and improve.

"Master Mahad, I've been working real hard for today's lesson," she said.

"Have you really?"

"Yes, Master. My focus had gotten better."

Mahad smiled. "Well as this is a review lesson, show me how much you have improved."

"Yes, Master."

Two hours later, Mahad dismissed her, pleased with her progress. Her focus had indeed improved and he promised that they would start learning a new spell in her next lesson. The smile on her face as she left gave Mahad a good feeling. He absolutely loved seeing his students learning spells and working hard to perform them. He knew that his teacher had felt the same way with him. His gift of magic resulted in him performing advanced spells at a younger age than usual. All that led to him becoming a powerful magician and a desire to teach the next generation of magicians.

He directed his feet to the library while his mind dwelled upon Isis' vision. She said she saw someone stealing his Item. A plot of treachery and deceit she had said. The people he interacted with daily wouldn't betray him just to get his Item and the same certainty went toward those he saw almost as often. No one I know would deceive me to steal from me, so that means I must be cautious if I choose to make a new friend. Hmm, it would be nice to have someone new to talk to; to share my hopes and dreams and hear theirs in return.

His thoughts then turned to the new tomb. He reviewed the traps that had been laid and again, felt pride in them. He thought of the new one and the spell put after it. The target wouldn't feel the spell wash over him which was perfect. The spell would merely capture the target's appearance and its counterpart spell would make the image visible. Once the tomb has been plundered, we will either have the thief or know who it is and what he looks like.

Bakura eyed the tomb entrance with an expert eye. He had been informed by one of his men that a new tomb had been completed and that Mahad had laid the traps. He had been thrilled to hear that. He had been itching to rob another tomb set by the magician. Now, he laid in wait nearby for an unguarded moment to enter. I wonder what kind of traps he set this time. Maybe a magical trap? That would be exciting and challenging to avoid. That does make me wonder: Why not protect the tombs with magic instead of the traditional traps? Ah, no matter. I don't mind the normal traps. He continued to examine the entrance from his hiding spot. It didn't look as if there was a trap in the doorway which re-enforced the need for guards. He wasn't afraid of the guards, he would easily disarm and kill them. But, he had killed anyone before and wasn't' sure if he could. No, not could. If my life is threatened, I will kill the one who threatens me.

The hours ticked by and Bakura continued to watch the guards intently. They showed no sign of their attention flagging and he growled to himself. Damn, how can I get by them? He felt a tingle, looked down, and gasped softly. His hands were fading out! He looked past his hands and saw his entire body was fading and, for a second, he saw the coils of his monster, Diabound. He grinned as he completely faded away. Diabound just granted my desire to slip past the guard. They'll never see me coming.

Bakura strode forward, confident that no one could see him; even his footprints were invisible. He walked past the guards, and once inside, smirked. He didn't laugh as that would just alert the guards and even though he was invisible, he knew it wouldn't last forever. He moved forward and as he stepped into the darkness, his invisibility wore off. He wasn't too concerned; Diabound likely needed to recover its strength so it could help its master escape later.

Bakura scanned every foot before him, his eyes able to discern Mahad's traps as he had the last three times. They weren't the same traps; they were new and, for a normal robber, they would be near impossible to avoid. But, Bakura wasn't normal. He skirted the traps quickly but paused in the center as a brand-new, intriguing trap faced him. It was new as it could be triggered by one of at least a dozen pressure panels. The trap result would be several swinging blades from overhead. He scanned the area and then smirked as he saw the path of safety and gracefully made his way through. He had avoided the trap and as he continued on, didn't feel the spell capture his image. His focus was on beating the traps that stood between him and the riches he decided to take, despite the fact that he really just wanted to beat the traps of a magician in hopes of meeting the man, befriending him, and when the time was right, he would calm the Ring for his own. He smirked as he left the tomb later on, invisible. His plan couldn't fail.