Into The Pyramid

So, the forge is in the pyramids, huh?" Zale said, unimpressed by how obvious it all seemed.

"Well, I certainly did not choose such a place. It has proven difficult to hide such a fact at times in the past," Shai admitted as their car slipped silently through the morning streets.

Zale yawned and covered his mouth, thankful Mert didn't say anything about it from the front seat. "How did you sleep?" Shai asked.

"Surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that I'd have loved to sleep the rest of the day. Breakfast was worth getting out of bed for, though," Zale replied, head swiveling between the passing scenery and Shai, who sat next to him in the back of the chauffeured vehicle.

"I'm glad to hear it."

"I feel like I'm mooching off of you, though. Such spectacular treatment is...well, a little off-putting if I'm honest."

Shai chuckled. "Worry not. Even if that were the case, you'd certainly be working off the debt soon enough," he reassured, motioning to the left.

The city fell away, and before them was the Giza Necropolis. Zale's jaw dropped as the magnitude seeped in. A wave of excitement washed over him as they pulled into the complex. Akil took the car as far as he was able, and they got out. "That's a lot of people out there this early in the morning," Zale said, seeing lines of tourists in the distance.

"They are the few that will come. It gets too hot during the day for many people, so they come early. There used to be many more. Money was abundant," Shai explained with a tinge of sadness.

He redirected his words from the tourists to the monuments before them. "To the left is the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre. We are headed to the Pyramid of Menkaure."

He said other things, but his words fell on deaf ears as Zale gawked. He'd never left his own country, yet he was now lead not just to one of the seven wonders of the world, but INSIDE the damn thing. His attention was snapped back by Mert's subtle but prickly cough behind him.

"Watch your head on the ceiling. These were not built for men of our stature," Shai reminded him as they finally ducked into a tunnel that supposedly led into the pyramid.

Before long, they were all descending the cramped passage, the only light coming from Akil and Mert's flashlights. The tunnel was cooler than Zale expected, and he peered behind him, thinking about the heat he'd escaped. "How do you manage to wear that suit in this heat," he commented playfully, seeing Mert perfectly comfortable in her clothes.

"I, unlike others, have trained my body to withstand the harshest of conditions, Master Sotanaht."

Zale laughed half-heartedly. "Is she always like this," he whispered to Shai.

"I took the liberty of arranging an attendant who would be...mmmm...more accommodating of your personality. I believe many of my attendants a touch too stiff," he replied equally quietly.

"I have ears, and it is very quiet in here, Master Sotanaht," she retorted.

Zale bumped his head on the ceiling in surprise and complained, "Why only call me out. Doesn't seem fair."

"Benefits of being the pharaoh," Shai said with a wink.

They soon reached the only room at the end of the tunnel. The ceiling was just tall enough that Zale didn't need to crouch, but no more than that. It was a dusty room filled with old and broken pottery, an empty coffin, and walls laced with ancient hieroglyphs. "What now?"

Shai moved to the right wall. Zale couldn't make out what he did, but he heard the tapping and sliding of skin on stone. Suddenly, the floor dissolved as if a mirage, revealing a well-maintained descending staircase.

"Cliche," Zale remarked.