Yaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!! *sings* no more exams! No more exams! Yeah, no more
of them awful exams! Happy happy happy happy happy! *stops awful singing*
umm... yes. Sorry. Anyway, here is my new chapter which gets good at the
end but is slow to start off with. Thankyou to reviewing people, I had
such a nice surprise when I logged on and had reviews waiting for me!
^____^
Chapter 5
The grey concrete shimmered under the hot sun, and the gang had to shield their eyes to make out the shifting figure of the person heading towards them.
'Solomon!'
'Arthur!'
The two old friends embraced and clapped each other on the back, laughing happily.
'Welcome back to Egypt, my friend,' Arthur's eyes glittered excitedly under a wrinkled and well-weathered brow. 'I can't wait to show you everything.'
'The only thing I want to see at the moment is a Hotel,' replied Grandpa, grinning. 'I'm not spry enough any more to drag suitcases around the desert. Although,' he said with a laugh, 'I have plenty of young blood around to do that for me.'
'Yes, I can see that. You seem to have a lot more grandchildren that the last time we met, Solomon.'
Grandpa laughed again. 'No, only this one's mine,' he said, pulling Yugi towards him. 'I believe you've met?'
'Of course. A pleasure to see you again, Yugi.' Arthur extended a hand. Yugi took it with a polite smile.
'You too, Professor Hawkins. And these are my friends, Joey, Tea and Tristan,' he said, turning to gesture to each of his friends, who waved or smiled in response.
'Oh, and this is Seto Kaiba,' he introduced the young man who was climbing down from the cockpit and heading over to their group.
'A pleasure, Mr Kaiba. I must thank you again for bringing my friend to share in my discovery.'
Kaiba took the proffered hand but remained silent. Unperturbed by Kaiba's lack of warmth, Arthur spoke to the whole group with an excited grin.
'Well, we'd best be going, then. My discovery awaits!'
He led them to a couple of trucks parked near the airfield, which were large enough to somehow seat seven people and many items of luggage. Arthur revealed that they would first have to travel to a smaller town several miles away, where they would be accommodated, so he led in the first truck and Kaiba followed in the second.
A few hours later they had arrived in an old, dusty town, which was nevertheless bustling with activity, and the hot air was filled with cries from the marketplace and busy chatter. Yugi, Tristan, Tea and Joey wondered, wide-eyed at the new sights and sounds all around them as the group made it's way down a road paved with worn, dusty stones.
The hotel itself offered little more than a bed and a shower, but there wasn't anything else available to people with their finances, so they made do. Kaiba refused to check in, planning to return to the larger city and stay in another, more luxurious hotel. He waited impatiently for the others to unpack and change into something more appropriate for the desert.
Joey and Tristan were the first to appear, dressed in thin jeans and loose tops, followed by Yugi in much the same. Tea turned up in shorts and a sleeveless top, and the took it in turns to lather themselves in sunscreen while waiting for Grandpa. (me: ya gotta be sunsafe, people.)
When Grandpa finally appeared, he was dressed in what was clearly his old 'explorer' attire, with five canteens slung over his shoulder. He gave one to each of the others, and Yugi remembered the story Grandpa told him - the one where Arthur and Grandpa had run out of water and had duelled for the remainder. He hoped that a situation like that wouldn't arise.
They again boarded the trucks and soon dunes of pale sand, which rose and sank like waves as they passed by, replaced the grinding sound of gravel under the tires. 'You see that line of rocks on the horizon?' Arthur pointed Yugi at the shifting line of black in front of them. He had to squint to make them out.
'Yes?'
'They're know to the natives as the Lock-guardians, or the Black Range. Archaeologists have guessed that there might be some sort of temple or lesser tomb there to give them that name, but no one's found anything.'
His eyes glittered again. 'Until now. They were looking in the wrong places.'
The hills of rock continued to loom, black and foreboding, on the horizon, until Arthur pulled over where there was evidence of a makeshift campsite.
'Why are we stopping here? The rocks are still ages away.'
The Professor grinned at Yugi's question, as Grandpa sometimes did when he had no intention of telling Yugi straight out. Sure enough..
'Does anyone know the best way to hide an entrance?' he asked the assembling group.
'.. it's a hundred degrees and he's asking us riddles.. ' muttered Joey, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of one hand.
'Make it really tiny?' hazarded Tristan.
'Put it in plain sight?' guessed Yugi.
Arthur smiled smugly.
'True... but in the desert, there's only so many ways to disguise a door.' He walked up to the top of a large dune as he spoke, and the others followed.
'Well, then... since we're all the way out here, how about: stick it a long way away from the actual place?' reasoned Yugi.
Arthur turned to look at Yugi, surprised.
'That's right.' He seemed a little disappointed that someone had guessed, which made Grandpa crack up laughing.
'I learnt a long time ago not to ask Yugi something unless you want the answer, Arthur,' he laughed.
Arthur smiled.
'Well, then, since you already know, I guess there's nothing left to do but show you...'
He had reached the top of the dune by now, and gestured down on the other side. As they reached the top as well, the others opened their eyes wide in amazement. Below them, surrounded by large mounds of sand, was a small pyramid, unadorned except for the eye of Horis emblazoned on large, stone double doors, about seven feet high.
Once initial wonder had worn off, Joey turned to the professor.
'So... what is it? An Egyptian outhouse?'
'You'll see. The best bit is still to come.'
Half-running, half-sliding, they descended the dune to approach the small building. Arthur put his shoulder to one side of the doors and strained against it, Grandpa rushing to lend a hand. The old door slowly swung open, moving in grooves carved into the pitted stone floor. Impenetrable shadow lurked inside.
Arthur removed an old-fashioned torch of reeds from his backpack and lit it with a pocket lighter, then went in. The others followed one by one, following the warm yellow glow that lit up the shadows. A few metres in, the floor changed to stairs, and they descended.
'Hey, no offence, Professor.. but wouldn't a battery torch be easier?' asked Tristan. 'These things are much more reliable that batteries. And besides.. this sets the mood, don't you think?' came the reply.
'How did you find this place?' inquired Tea.
'By accident. I was looking for something I'd dropped, and found the tip of this pyramid instead. It took me ages to dig it up and a little while to get it open, but it was all worth it.. ah, here we are.'
Arthur had reached the bottom of the stairs, and lit the other torches he had no doubt left in self-installed brackets from previous visits.
The others gazed about them in wonder. The narrow passage had widened into a huge chamber, and the flickering light lit up ancient hieroglyphs that dotted the walls. The most impressive thing, however, was far wall, which had a few steps leading up to it. A huge, stone arch was carved from the rock, but the wall inside it contained only black stone and three lines of hieroglyphics.
Yugi climbed the steps to the rased dais at the base of the arch for a better look. Apart from the writing, the stone was perfectly unmarked - preserved against the ravages of time. It looked so smooth.. he reached out a hand to touch it..
// No! Don't //
Yugi froze, his finger tips centimetres away from the surface of the wall.
/ Why? /
// There's ancient magic in that wall - it could be dangerous. //
/ How do you know? /
// I can sense it. //
Yugi concentrated. Yami was right, there was something odd about the wall. But Arthur must have touched it, and he was fine..
'I know, it puzzles me, too.'
Yugi started at the voice behind him - he hadn't heard anyone approach. The Professor was there, frowning in puzzlement at the writing on the wall, a metre of so above his head.
'I can't figure out what it means. I had expected a passage to a larger chamber in the Black Range, but there don't seem to be any doors here at all.'
He sighed. 'These glyphs here are in an ancient regional dialect which I can't translate. The last experts on the language are members of a very old Egyptian family, but they haven't answered my letters.'
He stared at the wall for a moment, then turned and directed Yugi to where the others were crowded and low, excited exclamations could be heard.
'This is what I really wanted to show you.'
The others stood back to let Yugi see, and he let out a gasp of surprise. In between the various hieroglyphics were pictures - maybe illustrations to whatever the writing was saying. But everyone recognized what was portrayed in stone thousands of years old. Duel monsters. In this picture, a Dark Magician and what could only be a Blue Eyes White Dragon were facing each other in battle poses, lit by the flickering torch light.
Yugi glanced at Kaiba. The ancient picture of his dragon mesmerized him, and he was tracing the grooves that formed its image with his finger.
'But.. how?' he asked quietly.
'My theory is that the monsters on the cards we play with today have their origins here. But there's more. From what I have been able to translate, the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs played games with incredibly high stakes, using magic to create these monsters. Of course that part could be a metaphor... ' He sighed again.
'But none of my theories sound even remotely plausible, so none of the archaeological institutions will fund my work. I know it sounds far- fetched... but I was hoping that you might be interested in helping me catalogue my discoveries and these hieroglyphics, so that I can prepare a report.'
'Of course we will, Arthur.' Grandpa answered for them, placing a sympathetic arm around his friend. The others were still transfixed by the remarkable likenesses of the monsters.
Just then Yugi noticed another image close by. It wasn't a monster; it looked more like an Egyptian Pharaoh like the one Arthur had talked about. But there was something familiar about the confident way it was portrayed.. and the eyes..
'Yami?' he whispered.
Ooooh, long chappie. I don't know if Egypt had regional dialects, but it does now. Still didn't get Shadi in there.. next time, maybe. I like this chappie, so the next one will come quicker. In the mean time, may I draw your attention to the purple button down on the left side of the screen? If you are reading this, review!!!!!!! Or I'll.. not tell you what happens to Bakura! Oooooh.. threat.. D
Chapter 5
The grey concrete shimmered under the hot sun, and the gang had to shield their eyes to make out the shifting figure of the person heading towards them.
'Solomon!'
'Arthur!'
The two old friends embraced and clapped each other on the back, laughing happily.
'Welcome back to Egypt, my friend,' Arthur's eyes glittered excitedly under a wrinkled and well-weathered brow. 'I can't wait to show you everything.'
'The only thing I want to see at the moment is a Hotel,' replied Grandpa, grinning. 'I'm not spry enough any more to drag suitcases around the desert. Although,' he said with a laugh, 'I have plenty of young blood around to do that for me.'
'Yes, I can see that. You seem to have a lot more grandchildren that the last time we met, Solomon.'
Grandpa laughed again. 'No, only this one's mine,' he said, pulling Yugi towards him. 'I believe you've met?'
'Of course. A pleasure to see you again, Yugi.' Arthur extended a hand. Yugi took it with a polite smile.
'You too, Professor Hawkins. And these are my friends, Joey, Tea and Tristan,' he said, turning to gesture to each of his friends, who waved or smiled in response.
'Oh, and this is Seto Kaiba,' he introduced the young man who was climbing down from the cockpit and heading over to their group.
'A pleasure, Mr Kaiba. I must thank you again for bringing my friend to share in my discovery.'
Kaiba took the proffered hand but remained silent. Unperturbed by Kaiba's lack of warmth, Arthur spoke to the whole group with an excited grin.
'Well, we'd best be going, then. My discovery awaits!'
He led them to a couple of trucks parked near the airfield, which were large enough to somehow seat seven people and many items of luggage. Arthur revealed that they would first have to travel to a smaller town several miles away, where they would be accommodated, so he led in the first truck and Kaiba followed in the second.
A few hours later they had arrived in an old, dusty town, which was nevertheless bustling with activity, and the hot air was filled with cries from the marketplace and busy chatter. Yugi, Tristan, Tea and Joey wondered, wide-eyed at the new sights and sounds all around them as the group made it's way down a road paved with worn, dusty stones.
The hotel itself offered little more than a bed and a shower, but there wasn't anything else available to people with their finances, so they made do. Kaiba refused to check in, planning to return to the larger city and stay in another, more luxurious hotel. He waited impatiently for the others to unpack and change into something more appropriate for the desert.
Joey and Tristan were the first to appear, dressed in thin jeans and loose tops, followed by Yugi in much the same. Tea turned up in shorts and a sleeveless top, and the took it in turns to lather themselves in sunscreen while waiting for Grandpa. (me: ya gotta be sunsafe, people.)
When Grandpa finally appeared, he was dressed in what was clearly his old 'explorer' attire, with five canteens slung over his shoulder. He gave one to each of the others, and Yugi remembered the story Grandpa told him - the one where Arthur and Grandpa had run out of water and had duelled for the remainder. He hoped that a situation like that wouldn't arise.
They again boarded the trucks and soon dunes of pale sand, which rose and sank like waves as they passed by, replaced the grinding sound of gravel under the tires. 'You see that line of rocks on the horizon?' Arthur pointed Yugi at the shifting line of black in front of them. He had to squint to make them out.
'Yes?'
'They're know to the natives as the Lock-guardians, or the Black Range. Archaeologists have guessed that there might be some sort of temple or lesser tomb there to give them that name, but no one's found anything.'
His eyes glittered again. 'Until now. They were looking in the wrong places.'
The hills of rock continued to loom, black and foreboding, on the horizon, until Arthur pulled over where there was evidence of a makeshift campsite.
'Why are we stopping here? The rocks are still ages away.'
The Professor grinned at Yugi's question, as Grandpa sometimes did when he had no intention of telling Yugi straight out. Sure enough..
'Does anyone know the best way to hide an entrance?' he asked the assembling group.
'.. it's a hundred degrees and he's asking us riddles.. ' muttered Joey, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of one hand.
'Make it really tiny?' hazarded Tristan.
'Put it in plain sight?' guessed Yugi.
Arthur smiled smugly.
'True... but in the desert, there's only so many ways to disguise a door.' He walked up to the top of a large dune as he spoke, and the others followed.
'Well, then... since we're all the way out here, how about: stick it a long way away from the actual place?' reasoned Yugi.
Arthur turned to look at Yugi, surprised.
'That's right.' He seemed a little disappointed that someone had guessed, which made Grandpa crack up laughing.
'I learnt a long time ago not to ask Yugi something unless you want the answer, Arthur,' he laughed.
Arthur smiled.
'Well, then, since you already know, I guess there's nothing left to do but show you...'
He had reached the top of the dune by now, and gestured down on the other side. As they reached the top as well, the others opened their eyes wide in amazement. Below them, surrounded by large mounds of sand, was a small pyramid, unadorned except for the eye of Horis emblazoned on large, stone double doors, about seven feet high.
Once initial wonder had worn off, Joey turned to the professor.
'So... what is it? An Egyptian outhouse?'
'You'll see. The best bit is still to come.'
Half-running, half-sliding, they descended the dune to approach the small building. Arthur put his shoulder to one side of the doors and strained against it, Grandpa rushing to lend a hand. The old door slowly swung open, moving in grooves carved into the pitted stone floor. Impenetrable shadow lurked inside.
Arthur removed an old-fashioned torch of reeds from his backpack and lit it with a pocket lighter, then went in. The others followed one by one, following the warm yellow glow that lit up the shadows. A few metres in, the floor changed to stairs, and they descended.
'Hey, no offence, Professor.. but wouldn't a battery torch be easier?' asked Tristan. 'These things are much more reliable that batteries. And besides.. this sets the mood, don't you think?' came the reply.
'How did you find this place?' inquired Tea.
'By accident. I was looking for something I'd dropped, and found the tip of this pyramid instead. It took me ages to dig it up and a little while to get it open, but it was all worth it.. ah, here we are.'
Arthur had reached the bottom of the stairs, and lit the other torches he had no doubt left in self-installed brackets from previous visits.
The others gazed about them in wonder. The narrow passage had widened into a huge chamber, and the flickering light lit up ancient hieroglyphs that dotted the walls. The most impressive thing, however, was far wall, which had a few steps leading up to it. A huge, stone arch was carved from the rock, but the wall inside it contained only black stone and three lines of hieroglyphics.
Yugi climbed the steps to the rased dais at the base of the arch for a better look. Apart from the writing, the stone was perfectly unmarked - preserved against the ravages of time. It looked so smooth.. he reached out a hand to touch it..
// No! Don't //
Yugi froze, his finger tips centimetres away from the surface of the wall.
/ Why? /
// There's ancient magic in that wall - it could be dangerous. //
/ How do you know? /
// I can sense it. //
Yugi concentrated. Yami was right, there was something odd about the wall. But Arthur must have touched it, and he was fine..
'I know, it puzzles me, too.'
Yugi started at the voice behind him - he hadn't heard anyone approach. The Professor was there, frowning in puzzlement at the writing on the wall, a metre of so above his head.
'I can't figure out what it means. I had expected a passage to a larger chamber in the Black Range, but there don't seem to be any doors here at all.'
He sighed. 'These glyphs here are in an ancient regional dialect which I can't translate. The last experts on the language are members of a very old Egyptian family, but they haven't answered my letters.'
He stared at the wall for a moment, then turned and directed Yugi to where the others were crowded and low, excited exclamations could be heard.
'This is what I really wanted to show you.'
The others stood back to let Yugi see, and he let out a gasp of surprise. In between the various hieroglyphics were pictures - maybe illustrations to whatever the writing was saying. But everyone recognized what was portrayed in stone thousands of years old. Duel monsters. In this picture, a Dark Magician and what could only be a Blue Eyes White Dragon were facing each other in battle poses, lit by the flickering torch light.
Yugi glanced at Kaiba. The ancient picture of his dragon mesmerized him, and he was tracing the grooves that formed its image with his finger.
'But.. how?' he asked quietly.
'My theory is that the monsters on the cards we play with today have their origins here. But there's more. From what I have been able to translate, the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs played games with incredibly high stakes, using magic to create these monsters. Of course that part could be a metaphor... ' He sighed again.
'But none of my theories sound even remotely plausible, so none of the archaeological institutions will fund my work. I know it sounds far- fetched... but I was hoping that you might be interested in helping me catalogue my discoveries and these hieroglyphics, so that I can prepare a report.'
'Of course we will, Arthur.' Grandpa answered for them, placing a sympathetic arm around his friend. The others were still transfixed by the remarkable likenesses of the monsters.
Just then Yugi noticed another image close by. It wasn't a monster; it looked more like an Egyptian Pharaoh like the one Arthur had talked about. But there was something familiar about the confident way it was portrayed.. and the eyes..
'Yami?' he whispered.
Ooooh, long chappie. I don't know if Egypt had regional dialects, but it does now. Still didn't get Shadi in there.. next time, maybe. I like this chappie, so the next one will come quicker. In the mean time, may I draw your attention to the purple button down on the left side of the screen? If you are reading this, review!!!!!!! Or I'll.. not tell you what happens to Bakura! Oooooh.. threat.. D