Chapter 2: Pushing Apples
Bill Weasley and Abdullah Sadat found themselves knee deep in a muddy creek bed outside of Abydos. "Remind me never to let you lead the Apparation again," Abdullah grumbled, wiping stray mud splatters from his shirt sleeves.
"You said you wanted to Apparate outside of the city limits," Bill replied with a shrug. "I've never been here before. It was an educated guess." The pair slowly pulled through the muck and up onto dry land. With a quick flick of the wand, the mud was removed from their clothing.
"So," Bill started as they walked towards the town. "All Leftwick told me was that there are unusual vibrations coming from the place."
Abdullah nodded. "It's strange, really. You would've thought that we would have noticed something like this before now. It doesn't seem to be your standard entry-prevention ward. It doesn't even seem to be a more popular 'mummy ward', as a couple of the guides have lovingly coined it."
"Mummy ward?"
Abdullah laughed. "You wouldn't have had experience with those. It would never be used to guard an inner burial chamber like an entry-prevention. No, a 'mummy ward' is a curse that makes entrants believe that something is going to get them. You know, pop out of the walls, drop from the ceiling, chase them down the chamber… that sort of thing."
"That a mummy is going to emerge from the tomb?" Bill added.
"Exactly!" Abdullah replied, smiling. "They're quite fun to watch. We at Gringotts don't bother removing those. The workers who set them in ancient times, we believe, were doing it for the laugh. And far be it from us to ruin one of the longest running jokes in history."
The city of Abydos wasn't one that many casual tourists considered on their usual travel itinerary. It didn't have the western comforts of Cairo, and therefore Muggle tourists were usually limited to researchers who came to study the vast number of burial sites in the area. However, despite the apparent lack of modern comforts, it did hold a rather large wizarding population and likewise has become known to Muggle travelers as a 'site to see if you want something weird to happen' to quote one of the brochures that Bill had found lying around one the bazaars in the Cairo cities. Those Muggles who did come found it very exciting when something seemed to 'magically' appear on a bazaar table, or claims of odd sounds or languages spread throughout the town. Because of this, the wizarding establishment did very little to discourage interaction with tourists, short of outright exclaiming 'oh look - I'm a wizard… want to pull my wand?'
And because of this high tolerance for magical happenings, Abdullah found it easier to extract information from the citizens here than in places such as Cairo. There one had to be more careful whom discussed magical happenings with. Here, one needed only to walk up to one of the shopkeepers and ask. Which was precisely what the pair planned to do.
Bill grabbed an apple from one of the carts. "So, do you have any idea who we need to talk to?"
"What we need-"
"What you need is to pay for that apple you have just stolen!"
Bill and Abdullah turned their attention to the angry, obviously old and weather-beaten man standing beside the apple cart. Bill guiltily slipped the once-bitten apple behind his back. "Forgive my friend," Abdullah replied. "He is a bit impetuous. I cannot take him any where without him causing trouble." He smiled, reaching into his pocket and retrieving two silver sickles. He tossed them both to the cart keeper, who hastily bit into the pair to prove their value.
"One for the apple," Abdullah explained, leaning closer to the cart keeper, "and one for answering a question."
The cart keeper moved his eyes from the easily-gained silver in his hand to meet Abdullah's gaze. "Anything for such a loyal buyer, Mr… hmm…"
"Sadat," Abdullah supplied.
"Mr. Sadat," the cart keeper repeated. "And your friend?"
"Weasley," Bill replied, glancing suspiciously at a trio of women who'd stopped their weaving in a neighboring enclave to listen to the conversation.
"Mr. Sadat and Mr. Weasley, I am Al-Baradai," the cart keeper said with a smile. "Whatever I can answer, I shall answer."
"We have been informed of some odd things happening on the far side of the city," Abdullah explained.
"Vibrations of sorts," Bill continued. "Do you know anything about that?"
Al-Baradai paused, rubbing a hand absently through his graying beard. "It is strange. I do not go to that part of the city, but you are not the only two to be looking for such a disturbance."
Bill perked up. "Who else has been asking?"
"I… do not remember…" Al-Baradai murmured. Abdullah reached into his pocket and tossed the merchant another silver sickle. "Ah yes, it is coming back to me," he replied, pocketing the money as soon as he caught it. "There were two foreigners, a man and a woman. They came thought not more than an hour ago. Asked me the same question. And I gave them the same answer I shall give you."
Bill leaned in closer. "Which is?"
"To the North in Umm el Ga'ab," Al-Baradai answered. "The cemeteries are located in Umm el Ga'ab and there has been talk of an unsettling feeling laying down upon the area."
"What sort of unusual feeling?" Abdullah asked.
"I… cannot remember the specifics," the merchant murmured, laying an open hand upon the cart. Abdullah filled it with another sickle. "I think I may remember," Al-Baradai replied. "I have heard it from wizard and Muggle alike."
Bill nodded. "Thank you, you've been most helpful."
Al-Baradai bowed slightly. "I do what I can, which is not much considering that I am but a humble merchant, pushing my apples."
Bill and Abdullah moved quickly through the winding streets of wizarding Abydos before finding and slipping into an alleyway to talk. "I thought you said that it was one of the pyramids," Bill asked, dodging children running from shop tent to shop tent. "The pyramids are on the southern side of the city."
"We thought that it was one of the pyramids," Abdullah replied. "And I still think it could be."
"But the guy back there said that that wasn't where all of the noise was coming from," Bill said, motioning back at the apple pusher. "I think we should go on that."
"And I'm just saying that our detection charms have not had a faulty reply yet," Abdullah countered.
Bill glanced out from the alley and into the streets of the bazaar. "Ok, this is what we're going to do. You head to the pyramids and I'll head up to Umm el Ga'ab. That way we'll get both of the areas searched before nightfall and be able to tell Leftwick something." He tapped his wand on a string of beads he wore around his wrist, and did the same for Abdullah. "The communication charm is set. I'll notify you if I find anything."
Abdullah nodded. "Agreed."