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The House of Daena was, as usual, a bustling hub of activity that morning as Alhaitham sipped his morning coffee. He leaned against a bookcase, listening to the chatter of scholars as they rushed about.
There was a reason he always drank his daily caffeine here. His morning ritual allowed him easy access to information, and it’s all the more important now. Information was becoming an increasingly valuable asset in the Akadeymia. Everyone was still adjusting to being disconnected from the Akasha permanently. Any news about the Akadeymia’s activity were shared in private, in whispered conversations that scholars would bargain for like they used to canned knowledge.
But not everyone was so cautious, especially not in a place as busy as this. One particular exchange caught his attention: A dark-haired man and a blonde woman spoke in hushed voices in the corner, seemingly trading gossip.
“Hey, did you hear about those new ruins the uncovered?”
“Ugh. More of them?”
“…Shh! Be quiet! This is top secret stuff here!” The man says.
That wasn’t super unusual. Why such a hush?
Alhaitham knew that new ruins were discovered beneath the desert sands almost daily.
The woman rolls he eyes, but lowers her voice anyway.
“Secret? Why would some boring old ruins be secret?”
“It’s not about the ruins, it’s about the people that went to explore them. I heard that the expedition team split up to go look, and half the people in their crew just, like, vanished! Into thin air!”
Alhaitham sipped from his mug, listening intently.
“Vanished, you say? You sure this isn’t like the mad scholars from that one desert village?”
“What? No. This is farther North. Anyway, that’s not all there is to the story. This guy with blonde hair was over in Lambad’s Tavern talking about it, and he said that the scholars were found three days later, almost exactly where they had lost them before. The thing was, they had no memory of being lost.”
“They lost their memory… hmm. This does sound like an interesting case after all,” the woman replied.
“Yeah. I think he said that the doctors in Ghandarva Ville couldn’t find anything wrong with them, either. A little undernourished, but other than that they were fine.”
“Weird. If you overheard this at the tavern, though, why all the secrecy?”
“The blonde guy I mentioned seemed to be pretty drunk. He was playing that card game you like, Genius something or other.”
“Oh. You mean Kaveh? Yeah, I’ve played a couple rounds with him before. I don’t remember their names, but he hangs out with this forest watcher and that scary matra guy.”
Now Alhaitham was really curious. What did Kaveh have to do with all this?
“He’s leading another expedition there. In a week. He wanted security.”
“So he asked the general Mahamatra? Wow, he must have some kind of rank to be pulling that guy out there.”
“Wait, that guy’s the Mahamatra? Woah. I had no idea.”
“He’s intimidating, but he’s got this twisted sense of humor. He’s always cracking these awful jokes when he wins our matches, it really makes my blood boil…”
That was about when Alhaitham finished his coffee. He wiped his bottom lip with the back of his hand, then sauntered out the door to look for Kaveh.
…
“Hah! That’s your last card!”
Kaveh shouted over the others in the tavern, earning some angry muttering from a few disgruntled patrons.
It was a little before lunch time, but Lambad’s Tavern was already alive. Every Saturday, many would gather to try their hand at a game of Genius Invocation TCG. It had started as a few friendly matches, but as more people started showing up, the tavern began to hold official tournaments after noon.
Kaveh, Tighnari, and Cyno were sitting at their usual table, playing a few practice rounds before the real competition.
“Wow, you are on a winning streak today. I’m surprised,” Tighnari replied. He turned to Cyno, who shrugged in response.
“I know! I think getting my latest project approved has made me a little luckier.”
Kaveh leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.
“Well, it’s nice to see things going well for you,” Tighnari said. “Too bad you’re up against Cyno next.”
Kaveh smirked, turning to look at Cyno.
“Well?”
“…Get ready to face the wrath of my cards.”
His expression shifted to one of extreme seriousness.
Kaveh grabs his dice, ready to roll.
“Mind if I join you?”
Alhaitham appeared behind Tighnari, pulling a chair over from another table.
“Alhaitham? What brings you here?” Tighnari asks.
“I heard a rumor that Kaveh was going on a little trip to the desert.”
He pulled out his own deck of cards, setting them on the table.
“From who? I wasn’t planning on telling you.”
“Just some scholars in the library. Sounds like a very interesting story.”
Kaveh gritted his teeth.
“What’s your point?”
“I want to come. If you’re bringing along Cyno, you must need some back up,” he pauses “so why not bring me along?”
“This is the first time I’ve gone out in ages, and you’ve never been even remotely interested before.”
“I agree,” Tighnari says. “What’s your motive?”
“You’ve been on a winning streak, right? Play me in a game of cards.”
“We were about to start a match,” Cyno growls.
“Fine. I win, you stay out of my business.”
“Of course. If you lose, I’ll be coming along on your little expedition.”
Cyno folded his arms and glared at Alhaitham. He seemed angry about his opponent being stolen.
“Tighnari, do you want to play instead?”
“Sure. Let’s give them some space.”
…
“You’re backed into a corner,” Kaveh sings.
Alhaitham only had two cards left. There were three remaining hit points left on his card, and one left on his Kequing. Kaveh’s last card still had seven hit points left.
“Am I?”
Alhaitham played a Calx’s Art card, allowing him to shift energy from Kequing. He set off his elemental burst, hitting Kaveh with a bloom reaction for eight hit points. His last card is gone.
“Aw! You’ve got to be kidding me! I should’ve seen that coming.”
“Well. Looks like I’m coming with you.”
Alhaitham gathers his cards and starts to leave.
“Hey! You can’t just excuse yourself.”
“What? I won.”
“If you’re going to come, don’t you at least need to know when we’re leaving?”
“You’re heading out on sumpter beasts two days from now.”
“How did you know—“
“Let me see… You hired one of the people from the last expedition to guide you to the ruins. A Haravatat student that was brought along for his knowledge with runes from the era of Kind Deshret. You’re taking a small team from Kshahrewar to help with the puzzles, and a few Vahumana students to help with drawing up diagrams of the architectural work. You asked Cyno to come for security, and Tighnari decided to tag along in case anyone needs medical assistance. Did I get all that correct?”
“What are you, some kind of stalker?”
“I’m good at finding information. I’d imagine that skill might be kind of useful when you’re exploring ruins from hundreds of years ago.”
Kaveh scoffed.
“Sure, but it still doesn’t explain why you even want to come in the first place.”
“Simple. If this story about the missing scholars is any bit as interesting as it sounds, I need to make sure it doesn’t cause any harm to anyone else.”
“When have you ever been interested in protecting others?”
Alhaitham shrugged.
“I’m not.”
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
“It’s pointless to argue any further. I’m going home to start packing.”
Alhaitham started to walk off in the direction of his house.
Kaveh let out a loud sigh, then jogged after Alhaitham. He wasn’t exactly pleased with this outcome, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop Alhaitham from joining them. He did lose the match, fair and square.
“If you’re going to go, try to follow my lead a little, will you? I’m leading this whole expedition, and I can’t have my reputation tarnished because of you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“The look on your face says otherwise,” Kaveh says, folding his arms.
“Just, try to blend in to the group. And don’t go off anywhere alone, if you get lost I won’t hear the end of it.”
…
Kaveh rode atop the back of a sumpter beast, following behind their hired guide. The sun was particularly unbearable that day, but at least there weren’t any sandstorms in sight.
Sweat dripped down from Kaveh’s hair. He wiped his forehead, trying to ignore his discomfort. The heat was definitely his least favorite part of the desert.
Luckily, one of the Haravatat scholars he’d picked, Baran, wielded a hydro vision. She kept the group supplied with plenty of water for the trip. At Kaveh’s request, she even agreed to ride directly behind Tighnari and Cyno.
“So,” Alhaitham called from behind him. “When are we going to get to the ruins?”
Kaveh rolled his eyes, but leaned forward to speak to the tanned, lean guide in front of him.
“Hadi? How much longer?” Kaveh asked.
“I’d give it a few more hours. The sun should be starting to set at about that time.”
“Got it, thank you.”
He turned back toward the rest of the party.
“Just a few more hours everyone! We’ll be there by sunset! Baran, keep refilling everyone’s canteens please! You’re doing great!”
A few scholars grumbled about the heat, but seemed to be excited that their ride would soon be over. On the sumpter beast behind Kaveh, Cyno was cradling Tighnari in his arms. The matra carefully held his canteen, giving Tighnari sips of water.
Kaveh knew the forest watcher would struggle in the desert. Having had to withdraw from the second round of the recent tournament, coming out here meant serious personal risk to Tighnari. Despite that, he volunteered himself immediately once he found out Cyno was coming. He’d been there to treat the previous team traveling to these ruins, and wanted to ensure everyone’s safety. Kaveh only hoped that he would stay hydrated enough now to offer his assistance later.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Kaveh pulled out his toolbox.
“Mehrak, get me my sketchbook, please.”
Mehrak obliged and opened the compartment where he held the small leather-bound journal.
Selecting his favorite pen, Kaveh set to work sketching the first design that popped into his head. When he wasn’t doing projects for others, he liked to practice drawing up preliminary designs. Architecture was an art form, and he could only excel at that art if he kept coming up with new and unique ideas.
In fact, The Palace of Alcazarzaray had actually started as a design like this. He changed the main structure quite a bit to suit Dori’s needs, but the roof, possibly the most intricate part of the whole structure, had stayed largely the same throughout development. Kaveh prided himself on his design work, and even the worst of his sketches were stunning by the standard of his underclassmen.
He wanted this to keep him occupied long enough to get to the ruins, but he felt tiredness creeping in as he drew. The sumpter beast’s soft fur was a blanket, beckoning him to take a short nap. Maybe he could close his eyes for just a moment…