You hit your head when you fainted. That's probably why.
Anat
It's not just my head. I'm aching all over. Why is there a bruise on my shoulder?
Anat
And my knee?
Nameless Mummy
Ugh...
Anat
Eek! Get away from me!
Pepe
Calm down, Anat! Calm down.
Anat
How am I supposed to calm down when a corpse just came back to life? It touched my ears, didn't it? Do I still have my ears?
Pepe
It's just copying other people's movements. It doesn't mean any harm, to you or anyone else.
Pepe
Just treat it as a piece of moving furniture!
Nameless Mummy
Ugh...
Anat
Why do you seem so comfortable with this, Pepe?
Pepe
Don't look at me like that, please!
Anat
What did you do?
Pepe
Yesterday... I placed a gem that I dug up into its chest. The Originium circuit engraved into the gem woke it up.
Anat
Yesterday?
Pepe
You wouldn't loan me an important archaeological discovery like this. The Varjavandabad Museum holds respect from the Shahanshah. Not even a shahzada like me could pull rank here.
Pepe
So... I had to sneak in.
Anat
There's a reason I didn't want to lend it to you, Pepe.
Pepe
What is it? If you're worried about co-authorship, I'm cool.
Anat
It's not that...
Pepe
Investment? Sponsorship? I'll renovate your entire museum, if you want!
Anat
...
Pepe
Why are you looking at me like that?
Anat
I don't understand... why are you so obsessed with becoming the Historian of Shar-Agade? You can still carry on your research if you agree to inherit the title of Padishah from your father.
Anat
But once you become an historian and enter the City of Gold, you will never be allowed to leave. You know that.
Anat
All that you learned in school, all the training you underwent to hunt ruins in the desert, all that you've seen on your journeys, all that will become useless if you're the Shahanshah's historian.
Anat
Are you simply not happy with the fact that your brother was chosen?
Pepe
My dream of becoming the court historian isn't some whim. It's the dream of everyone in my family.
Pepe
We grew up dreaming about inheriting the golden reed pen from our elders.
Pepe
They tell you that whoever holds the pen carries great responsibility, to record all that has ever happened for posterity.
Pepe
You are writing the truth of your time, the most complete truth that can be known, which needs no conjecture or investigation and can never be buried by sand and earth.
Pepe
That is what I've always wanted to do.
Pepe
I want to tell Sargon's history! I want the glory of the Shah to shine forever by my hand, and to inspire everyone who reads it.
Pepe
Thousands of years later, someone I will never meet will pick up those pages and feel a connection to me and the Shah, linking the three of us.
Pepe
Don't you think that's really romantic, Anat?
Anat
*Sigh*...
Anat
I should have known that you wouldn't give up so easily...
Pepe
Shouldn't you and Titi have gotten used to my stubbornness by now?
Anat
Very well, on behalf of the museum, I approve the loan of the artifact... plus another gem.
Anat
It was gifted to the museum by a private collector many years ago. We discovered that it was connected to the mummy, but we have no idea how to use it.
Pepe
There's a gem at the museum too?!
Anat
That's not the point. The point is I'm allowing you to access it.
Pepe
You're going to hand it over so easily?
Anat
I never said anything about easy. Co-authorship, investment, sponsorship, plus naming rights fees for the new exhibition hall.
Pepe
Absolutely! With pleasure!
Anat
Pepe...
Pepe
Yes?
Anat
Things don't always turn out the way we expect them to. I hope you understand this before you start your investigation.
Anat opens the drawer and takes out a wrapped package.
She unwraps it to reveal a pyramid-shaped gem, identical to the one that was placed in the mummy's chest.
Pepe takes the gem, holding back the urge to cry out in joy.
Pepe
'Second, the lungs. At their first breath, we come to feel.'
Pepe
Don't let me down.
Pepe reaches into the mummy's chest cavity. The gem is absorbed by the blue light inside as soon as it approaches.
Pepe
Guardian, sealed in sand, I hereby return to you the memories lost to time.
Pepe
Show the path to the Shah's trove, traveler from the past!
Why didn't you tell me you were just an ordinary cloudbeast?
Medjehtiqedti
Well... I guess ordinary cloudbeasts don't understand human speech.
Medjehtiqedti
Looks like all the visitors have been evacuated. It's safe for us to go out now. Do you think you could find your way back to Lazvar if I put you down outside?
Medjehtiqedti
Hey, stop hitting me! I'm carrying you so you don't have to walk yourself!
Medjehtiqedti
That's right. Awww, such nice fur... come, I'll introduce you to other little friends of yours.
Medjehtiqedti
Look at the imagery on this powder box. This cloudbeast is depicted in equal prominence to a high official. I restored this, by the way.
Medjehtiqedti
And here. This mural is a rare treasure that came from Shar-Agade, the City of Gold.
Medjehtiqedti
In order to accurately restore it, I looked through every book I could find on the Golden City, and even interviewed people who have been there.
Medjehtiqedti
Wait. Does that make me sound like I'm after the secrets of Shar-Agade?
Medjehtiqedti
Shouldn't think too much about it. You're just a cloudbeast, and there's no one else in the museum. It's not like what I just said would get me in trouble.
Suddenly, she hears the faint sound of cracking.
Medjehtiqedti
...
Medjehtiqedti
Don't tell me...
Medjehtiqedti
No—! Why did the glass have to pick now to crack?
Medjehtiqedti
I'm dead if Anat finds out!
Medjehtiqedti runs toward the display stand, and is shocked by the sight of broken glass littering the floor.
Display cases use specially tempered glass. In the controlled environment of the museum, an accident like this should not have been possible.
She looks up to check on the exhibit, but finds the case empty under the pale light.
She feels a cold, sharp object pressing against her back as she attempts to examine the broken glass.
Medjehtiqedti
If this is some kind of joke, you can stop.
Medjehtiqedti
I'm too busy for this.
???
...
Medjehtiqedti
Playing dumb? Which department are you from?
Medjehtiqedti
...
Medjehtiqedti
I'm going to dock your pay, if you don't start talking...
Medjehtiqedti feels the object pressed against her back move away. She sighs of relief and turns around.
Medjehtiqedti
One of the interns? You've got nerve, playing practical jokes on the vice curator. I'll let you off easy this time...
Why haven't I heard anything else after that scream? Anat hasn't come back yet... well, I'll just look around.
Pepe
Anat never changes, does she? She's the acting curator, yet her office still looks so bare and sparse.
Pepe
She had so many books back in the dorms. Why aren't there any here?
Pepe
She must be hiding them somewhere...
Pepe
I knew it. A hidden bookshelf in the wall.
Pepe
Hmm... My bookshelf at home is due for renovation... I should ask her to introduce me to the designer.
Pepe
Let's see what you have here... A Study on Tribal Religion in the Southwest, Review of Unearthed Riverside Jewelry...
Pepe
Terra: A Journey, by Dr. E. E. Erikson? The name sounds familiar... that's the Victorian scholar who came to speak at the college, isn't it?
Pepe
Lost of labels in here. I didn't know Anat liked his books so much.
Pepe
Let's check the section on Sargonian history...
Narantuya
(Finally, she's gone.)
Narantuya
(This room sure is luxurious... is that gold thread woven into the cushions on the sofa?)
Nameless Mummy
...
Narantuya
(That's the mummy from the poster. They put it right here in the room? I'll never understand the tastes of rich people.)
Pepe
...
Narantuya
(There she is... good, she's completely distracted...)
Narantuya
(With apologies...)
Narantuya walks up softly and reaches into her pocket, taking out the syringe that she has kept hidden within.
She spent countless days and nights training, even when blisters formed on her feet, in order to be able to walk across a sand dune without leaving any footprints.
Now, she can walk through a crowded market, bells hanging from her neck, without making a single sound.
A Padishah's daughter stands before her. All alone.
When Narantuya raises the syringe, however, a hand suddenly grabs hers and immobilizes it in midair.
The mummy laying on the sofa has appeared behind her, grabbing her hand with a steely grip.
Her struggles are futile, and all she can do is watch in terror as the needle approaches her own neck.
The other hand of the mummy is clasped across her mouth, not letting go until the entire contents of the syringe have been injected into Narantuya's veins.
As her consciousness gradually fades, she feels the hand lift her by the collar and hold her outside the window.
One last thought flashes through her mind as she feels her feet dangling in the air.
My mind is no longer clouded. There is clarity. I must communicate my cognition through language.
Pepe
A-Are you alive?
Nameless Mummy
My life has long passed. What you see is simply a well-preserved vessel.
Pepe
...
Pepe
Who are you?
Nameless Mummy
In times of prosperity, I was His Majesty Lugalszargus Shahanshah's personal guard, defending him from the fires of battle.
Nameless Mummy
In times of decline, I willingly forsook the sweet release of death for the eternal torment of time, defending His Majesty's trove from invaders, safeguarding the Shahanshah's vow, and awaiting...
Mother, what is that lady doing sitting by the pond, staring down at the water?
Mother
She's dressed in Minoan clothes. The Minoans are said to be great thinkers and debaters.
Mother
She must be thinking about deep, philosophical questions...
Curious Child
Philo... what?
Curious Child
But she looks so pretty, sitting there alone...
Museum Security
Hanimefendi, the museum is closed.
Aspasia
I know. I'm waiting for it to reopen.
Museum Security
Well... I'm afraid there's currently no schedule for reopening.
Museum Security
According to procedure, the curator must declare the emergency resolved, perform a risk assessment, and report to the stakeholders before a reopening date can be announced.
Aspasia
I know. One of your colleagues already told me.
Aspasia
As you can see, I'm waiting.
Museum Security
You said you left something in the museum?
Aspasia
Yes.
Museum Security
Is it very urgent? Could you wait for our staff to look for it? We can contact you once we've found it.
Aspasia
No, I can't wait.
Museum Security
How about this... I can unlock the door, and we'll have someone accompany you inside.
Aspasia
Thank you—
Curious Child
Mother...
Mother
What is it?
Curious Child
Is someone jumping from that window?!
Aspasia looks up at the child's cry and sees a woman falling from high up.
With little time to think or look to the guard opening the door, she dashes over and holds out her arms.
