Scrolls of Alexandria

Adikartika wandered the streets of the magnificent city of Alexandria, Egypt. He was attempting to not look like a tourist, and was fitting in decently though not perfectly. He was dressed in simple cloths, a cloth wrapped around his face to prevent dust being kicked up by the gentle swirling wind. He had been vacationing...simply sight seeing around Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. He had stopped here to view the Pharos of Alexandria as well as the remains of the great library of Alexandria that had been burnt down. Evanesca had, as always, complained bitterly when he told she would have to remain away from the city, hidden outside. However she had kept a constant triad of complaints, smart ass remarks, and questions inside his head until he had finally relented and performed an action he and she had been practicing recently. He had opened himself up to his dragon companion so much that she could see through his eyes as if she was actually there.

So thus he had proceeded through the city, looking around eagerly at the new sites and sounds around him as he walked towards the the Burnt Library of Alexandria. Suddenly a withered arm shout out from beneath a canopy overhanging a small stand selling fruits. A unbelievably old woman wobbled out from the shadow of the canopy, wrinkled flesh clinging tight to her skeleton as she crooned to him. "Young boy...you emit a powerful aura...perhaps you can help me. I am looking for a certain scroll, from the ancient library of Alexandria. Would you be a kind gentleman and bring it to me?"

Adikartika looked at the old crone, eyes narrowing as he thought about this. "Ma'am, you know that the old library burnt down surely. How would I find a scroll from it?"

The old hag cackled a few seconds, then began coughing and held a handkerchief to her mouth, pulling it away and stuffing it away trying to hide the red stains upon the white cloth. "That is your problem dear. I promise to reward you grandly. Anything you wish...money, power," she pulled him closer and creaked in his ear, "power and powers...." She released him and stepped away. "I only can tell you one thing. The scroll is about ancient hogwash magic about a creature known as the Sphinx. Then I have a hint...go look instead at Serapeum instead of the ruins of the old library. They held some scrolls after the library burnt down. Now go, young man. Bring me my scroll please." She hobbled back in to her canopy and sat in her shade, leaving Adikartika looking confused and pondering.

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo had no idea what he was doing all the way in Egypt. Such a horrid place for ice elementals; desserts full of nothing but heat and sand. But he had chosen this city because of its history. One of the greatest cities in civilization; not at present, of course... But it had been. The home of the Great Library... Built in the time of a civilization without an ice deity. Shame.

However, Kogo was searching for food, not knowledge, at the moment. After buying an apple from a produce stand, the elemental decided to continue enjoying the open-air market. What a surprise he was in for. An elderly lady appeared from in-between two stand and grabbed Kogo's sleeve as he was passing bye. Without even looking up, the woman spoke to him, "Child of Ice, that young boy over there shall need your help on a dangerous journey." The woman was pointing to a male probably somewhere around his age who was wearing common clothes, thigh clearly had the look of a foreigner.

When Kogo looked back at the mysterious lady, he found that she was no longer there. Deciding to take her up on her warning, he approached the male she had pointed out and addressed him, "Hello. An old lady told me that you would need my help."

Adi blinked, still mildly confused as the old hag vanished and was promptly replaced by a new male, stating clearly that the old lady had sent this male approximately his age to him to help himself with this strange, unique mission. Adikartika sighed, shaking his head before extending his hand to the male. "Very well then, since it is very clear we shall be together for some time, my name is Adikartika. Please to meet you....??" He allowed the silence to length in to a clearly question one, his hand still extended.

"Do you know who that lady was? And why she seemed to know exactly who I was? She seems to know far to much, and comes and goes far to quickly. I don't trust her, though I don't know what you perceive of the situation." As he addressed the male, Evanesca spoke in to mind.

~I don't like that female either. Please hurry Adi. We need to converse in person, and I wish to inspect this new male who shall be 'enjoying' our company for obviously a long time.~

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo looked back towards where the woman had been, wondering where she could have gone so fast. As he looked to the ground for any sort of clue, he saw where the ground looked undisturbed, as though the woman had never been there in the first place. Slightly confused by the woman leaving absolutely no trace of herself behind, Kogo barely noticed when the male started responding to him. He clasped the other male, Adikartika's, hand and shook it. "Kogoejini. Though I find most Westerners prefer calling me Kogo, so you may do so."

Kogo thought about what the male had said and reflected upon it. In his culture, it was well known for demons and gods alike to dress as mortals and walk about with them. He had learned it was a common principle for gods and other beings of power to disguise themselves in order to test 'heroes' in other cultures... Besides, growing up around Yokai had made his come to expect the unexpected... Though the vanishing trick was still new.

"I do not know who she was... Or how she seemed to know who were are... Or anything about her, for that matter. But she does not seem to have any ill intent. Evil does not tell you to help people."

The male shook the other's hand and chuckled at his apparent confusion. It was true his words, however there was something that he had not thought of. This female may not be evil, however she could have her own plans and own agendas. Things she wanted done and would do anything to make sure they where accomplished and completed. However, that was neither now or something to worry about. He released the male's hand and looked around. "Well, the woman told me that I should seek out the Serapeum instead of the burnt out remains of the great library. So I am headed there."

He waited, then turned and began to walk through the crowded streets, slipping past people silently as he moved. He glanced behind him to make sure he didn't loose his new friend, then passed and frowned. He had suddenly realized he had no idea where the Serapeum was located actually as a matter of fact. He glanced around, spotting somebody who looked as if they might know where the Serapeum was located. He asked them, and they quickly told him. Then he set back out. He suddenly felt rather naked with out his sword, which Eva had demanded she hold on to while he was in the city so he rested his left hand upon his pistol holstered on his left hip.

[Kogoejini Douten]

'This female may not be evil, however she could have her own plans and own agendas.' Kogo shrugged his shoulders and muttered to himself beneath his breath, "Everybody does."

Kogo looked a little confused when Adikartika mentioned the woman saying that they should go to the Serapeum. "That is where the sacrificial bulls were buried, right?" Not quite too familiar with Egyptian culture, and not knowing what they were looking for, he was very confused as to why they'd be venturing to a place for of cow coffins.

He shrugged once more and followed behind the other male, checking his insides of his waistband to make sure his wakizashi were easily accessible. This might turn out to be a long journey.

Adikartika paused and looked back at the male. "Sacrificial bulls? I have heard of no such thing. However no, that is now what happened here. However not where I have heard of it. The Serapeum is where the few remaining scrolls that survived the fire of the Great Library where stored until they found their final resting place before the Bibliotheca Alexandrina was constructed. Perhaps the scroll was left there on accident, seemingly usless." He shrugged his shoulders and continued walking.

Inside Adi's head, Evanesca cooed at the thoughts and mention of bulls, his hunger rumbling through Adi's head. He smiled a bit to himself and continued walking, quickly leading his new found friend to the remains of the Serapeum. He glanced at Kogoejini and began to rummage through the destroyed temple, seeking the scroll they wished or to find a clue as to where it had gone and/or could be found now. He groaned, squatted back on his haunches and glanced up at the darkening sky, frowning.

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo stopped as the male in front of him stopped and looked back at him, responding to his statement about the sacrificial bulls. "I read somewhere that the Serapeum held underground tombs for the Apis bulls... Though I am not sure. I am not that familiar with this region's culture and history." The elemental shrugged and continued walking as well, not sure how long it would take to reach this Serapeum or if they were going to walk the whole way there.

Turns out they did walk the whole way to the Serapeum, and it wasn't that far of a walk. When they reached the neatly managed ruins, they began their search for the... Whatever they were looking for. Kogo found a hollow spot on the bottom of a pillar, near the floor and tried to open it, realizing that it had no way to open it besides smashing through the marble. So that's exactly what he did.

By making the water particles in the air gather over the surface of the marble pillar in the area blocking the hollow bit and then freezing the water, Kogo created small cracks within the marble's surface. Once the cracks came, he willed the ice and water to continue their process, filling the cracks and making them larger, and developing new cracks. In about a minute, the marble layer covering the hollow, capsule-like space was destroyed and it's insides lay bare. Within in hole was an old scroll, barely aged due to the lack of air and other harmful elements, which Kogo pulled out. "Yatta!" the male cried out in Japanese, feeling an accomplishment for receiving this unknown scroll.

Turning around, he saw Adikartika squatting and glancing up at the darkening sky. Kogo called out to his partner, I found something," and rushed over to the other male, the scroll in his hands.

Adi had been searching hard when suddenly Kogoejini shouted something he didn't understand. He glanced over at the male and watched as he withdrew a very old scroll from a hole that had not been there a few seconds ago. He blinked slowly, standing up as the man approached him. He nodded and grinned. "I see that Kogo. But please keep it down, you just demolished a very precious piece of Alexandria. We don't want to be thrown in jail. Lets see what is upon the scroll before all the light disappears and we shall beat a hasty retreat before somebody catches us."

Seeing as they where partners Adi didn't wanna seem to bossy or in charge. He wasn't a leader, however nor was he a follower. He had always been his own person, and since he had been with Evanesca that had only continued to become a strong trait in himself complimented by his mighty dragoness. So, he grasped the top half of the scroll, leaving the bottom in Kogo's hands and slowly unrolled the ancient piece of parchment. He could feel Eva seeing through his eyes in curiousity, examining the ancient scroll as well. Finally getting the scroll open completely, he stared at it a few seconds seeing the ancient hieroglyphs upon them but was unaware of what they meant.

With out warning the scroll slowly began to disintegrate in their hands. The tomb it had been sealed in so long had been airless, preventing decomposition but the sudden addition of fresh air made the ancient paper instantly dissolve away and swirl away leaving them each holding a dowel of wood in their hands. His eyes wide, he looked at the other male and uttered a single word. "Shit...."

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo's smile lessened when he thought about what he had done in order to get the scroll. He had destroyed a very important piece of, not only the city, but of history. Potentially more important than anybody ever could have guessed. However, Adikartika brought up a more pressing issue; the fading light source overhead. "I agree. Let's read this and leave from this place..."

As Adikartika grabbed the top half of the scroll, Kogo kept hold of the bottom half and unrolled his part slightly. Staring at the hieroglyphs written on the aged papyrus scroll, Kogo wondered whether or not Adikartika could understand their meaning, for he most certainly could not. While he was still wondering over this, the scroll began to disintegrate in their hands as a cool night wind blew past. At the same time as the other male looked at him, Kogo looked up into his eyes and let the first word that came to his mind roll from his lips; ironically the same word that the one he was looking at had said, "Kuso."

Kogo dropped the wooden dowel left in his hands and fell into a sitting position on the ground, placing his head in his hands. He didn't know what they were looking for, he didn't know if that scroll was important, he didn't even really know why he was in the middle of some ruins with a stranger, looking for some scroll... All he knew was that he had failed and whatever they had found was now gone. "Kuso!" A small layer of ice formed on the top of a head-sized piece of rubble beside the elemental as his brows knitted together in frustration. As the male grew more frustrated, the ice began to cover the whole of the piece of rubble and work its way into the cracks forming throughout it. "Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!" Upon the last time of him saying the word, the rubble burst into small pieces of ice and marble which glittered in the fading light.

Looking back up at Adikartika, Kogo had the last remnants of tears streaming down his face which he wiped off on his sleeve. "I'm so sorry. I messed this all up for you."

Adi gazed in wide mouth horror at the empty space the scroll no longer occupied after having dissolved and blown away as dust in the wind. He looked slowly up at Kogo, face filled with horror at what they had done. He tried to close his mouth and found it dry as the Egyptian desert south of them. Before be could say or so anything Evanesca spoke to him in his mind.

~ Free not little one, I have the scroll image with in my mind.
We must find a translator, for I do not know Ancient Egyptian.~

As Eva spoke to Adi, his eyes seemed to glaze over untill the conversation ended and his eyes returned to normal and he looked directly at Kogo. "It's all good. We have the scroll. Now we just have to find somebody who can translate it for us. After all I don't know anything about Egyptian hieroglyphs. Do you?" He looked away as the sun fully set, plunging them in to twilight.

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo watched as Adikartika's eyes seemed to almost glaze over for a few seconds. It was an unnerving sight and Kogo wondered what was happening to him when he suddenly spoke again, almost startling the elemental. "We have the scroll. Now we just have to find somebody to translate it for us." Kogo wondered what the male meant by this and, curious as to his words, asked "What do you mean we have it? Have you memorized the characters upon it?"

Deciding in a split second that the answer, and the question itself, were actually trivial matters compared to finishing the quest, Kogo stood, placing his hands in his pockets and turned his back towards his partner. "Well, we should get to finding that translator."

The elemental wondered what was on the scroll, then realized he didn't even know why they were even searching for the scroll. Without missing a beat in his step, he cast his voice back over his shoulder, once more questioning his partner, "So what exactly is this quest that we are taking?"

Adi walked along the path away from the ancient ruins, just beside Kogo. He decided to almost answer his questions. He decided to do so in the order they had been rapid fired at himself. "Well, I don't have them memorized...but somebody does. As yes we definitely should find a translator. Only problem is where to find one at such a late hour as this."

He paused his talking, drumming right phalanges against his right hip as he thought. Unfamiliar with the city, much less the country, they where in he was more then a tad bit lost and confused upon their next move. Also Eva would need to go hunt for food soon. Africa was not always a very friendly place. Even to a mighty dragoness. He glanced once more up at the dark sky observing the twinkling stars and sighed deeply.

"I actually don't even know what the quest is. Only that the scroll is the key part of it. The old lady didnt give me much to go one. Just to find her the scroll and bring it to her..." His eyes light up and he snapped his fingers. "Of course! That old lady can translate it! We completed her mission and be te scroll, even if it won't be the original copy!"

[Kogoejini Douten]

Kogo scowled slightly at Adikartika's answer to his question. How could somebody else have it memorized when they were the only two to see it? Unless Adikartika had mentally shown it to someone else while they were looking at it or something, Kogo didn't even know if something like that was possible... But he had heard of weirder. Whatever it was, the scroll was not lost, so they could still get it translated.

Kogo nodded his head silently to himself as he walked. Listening in when his partner spoke up again, Kogo smiled slightly to himself. "That is a great idea, Adikartika! We can get the lady to translate it for us!" Laughing merrily, Kogo picked up his pace asas they walked through the darkening streets while night descended. Suddenly, an important question formed in Kogo's mind and he turned around to his partner. "How are we going to find her, though?"

Adi laughed. "I have absolutely no idea, Kogo. I had not gotten that far yet. The best thing I could think of is perhaps going back to where we last saw her. At that little stand. Maybe there will be a clue their?" Adi glance around seeing they where almost back there anyways. So he simply retraced their steps back to the stand and paused to look around.

Suddenly a gnarled hand shot from the darkness and attached to his forearm, followed by a creaky voice. "Well, did you get my scroll?"

Adi almost lost it....he just about screamed as the hand attached to his arm. That set of Eva in his mind and he could feel her approaching fast. Well, crap. Here we go....he thought to himself. A dragon in a city such as Alexandria was not going to go unnoticed. "Yes, we found the scroll. But we had an issue and lost it."

The old crime cackled. "Stupid boys...so young and foolish. I am not worried though...I am sure She will have it memorized." Adi looked at the hag incredulously. How could she possibly know about Eva? Who, and even more important, WHAT was this female...if she was even actually female.