Some time (and many accidents) later...
"Incredible," Mamoreas said in a half-mocking voice. "You actually did it."
"Yeah, I know I'm great and all, enough with the praise," Minaket replied.
"Now it's not much longer until we can make it illuminate the night," Mamoreas said as he looked up at the finished lighthouse, a tall tower that has been decorated with images and hieroglyphics. He gave Minaket a small purse. "Here's some money. Go to town and visit the best merchant for combustibles. His name is Motokis."
Minaket grinned. "Is he cute?"
"No amorous adventures, Minaket!" her superior said sternly. "Just go there, buy the combustibles and return. And don't you dare spending it for something else, you hear me?"
"Hey, would you think I would waste good money like that?" Minaket huffed. "You know me, do you?"
"Yes, I do. That's the reason why I'm worried. Now, off with you!"
"Aye aye, sir!" Minaket mocked and left.
----
In town, Minaket saw many things she would like to buy, had she enough time and money for herself. But this time, she wanted to prove to Mamoreas that she could be steady.
She knocked at the merchant's door, but nobody answered. She tried it again, but to no avail. She scratched her head. Did Mamoreas give her the correct address?
"If you're looking for Motokis, you're wasting your time," a voice said from behind her. She turned around and saw an old man leaning against a house wall.
"Well, do you know where I can find him?" she asked.
"Yes, he went into the desert, to search for a certain stone I told him about. He sold me a valuable piece of history for that information. But..." The old man smirked at the cute blonde. "For you, I would give that information for FREE!"
'Great...' Minaket thought to herself. 'An old lech...'
Still, she put on her most charming smile and said in a sweet voice: "Would you please tell me where Motokis went?"
The old man grinned. "Of course, my dear! That stone I told him about is supposed to shine brightly even in the deepest darkness. It's supposed to be hidden within an abandoned mine, so he went to the old mine shafts in the northern desert."
Minaket grinned. A shining stone? THat would be just the right thing for her lighthouse. She had to find that guy.
"Thanks a lot for your help," she told the old man. "I have to go now, bye!" And she was off.
The old man shook his head. "Those young people, always in a rush. Just like Motokis, she didn't even let me finish."
He shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "Well, too bad for them! If they find the stone and don't know how to use it correctly..."
He then whistled while pulled out the 'valuable piece of history' Motokis had sold him. Chuckling to himself, he turned around the separate parts of the colorful cube.
"This game is so much fun..."
----
Motokis was already busy digging through the various mines that were situated north of Alexandria. At the moment, he was just looking through an abandoned coal mine.
"Nothing..." he grunted to himself as he put down his shovel and wiped his forehead. "Not even the tiniest spark of light. Not even a tiny bit of gold."
He looked down at the useless heap of rocks that he had dug up. "This is the fifth mine I'm digging through, and I still didn't manage to find the stone that guy was talking about.
He sighed. "I'm starting to believe this wasn't such a good idea after all... what if that stone doesn't really exist?"
----
Meanwhile, in the palace of the spunky, rich and beautiful merchant called Ugasi...
"Yoohoo!" the pig-tailed, young woman cheered as she looked down at a certain stone slab with ancient writings that was lying in front of her. "Finally, I found it: The Glowing Stone!"
She once again read the text on the stone slab carefully, then she grinned. "According to these ancient texts, anyone who gets near it while its hidden within a bunch of roses... will deeply fall in love with the first person he sees."
She giggled as she put down the slab and left the room. "I guess I'll just have to go for a little journey into the desert. And after I found that interesting stone..." She grinned broadly. "My dear Mamoreas will finally be mine!"
----
Some time later, Minaket was already walking through the desert, carrying some stuff you always should take along when walking through this heated pile of sand.
"Nothing but sand..." she grumbled. "If he had given me a map, I could have at least found those mines he told me about."
She looked up when suddenly, wind started blowing. But that was no small breeze... it was the beginning of a massive sand storm.
Within a couple of moments, Minaket couldn't see anything but a chaotic vortex of sand.
"Just great..." she groaned as she fought against the storm. "I just had to come here. Oh man... now how am I gonna find that Motokis?"
In that moment, her head hit something hard, and she fell down to the ground.
----
Motokis winced as he shielded his eyes against the sand the storm was blowing at him. "Glowing stone? Yeah, right! It's getting darker while I go. I should have never listened to that old man."
He kept going. "Now how am I gonna find the way back home...? Ouch!"
He suddenly ran against something hard, got thrown backwards and fell down unconscious.
----
Ugasi had similar problems.
"If I knew there would be such storms in the desert, I would have stayed home in my warm and comfy palace..." she whined. "Now how am I gonna find the Glowing Stone...? OOF!"
Through the masses of sand, she didn't see obstacle in her way and hit it right with her head. She quickly was knocked out cold.
----
A short while after all this, the storm calmed down.
All around a wooden sign, attached to a wooden pole that was sticking in the ground, three people were lying, unconscious: Minaket, Motokis and Ugasi.
The sign itself was positioned at the entrance of a tunnel that was leading inside the earth.
It read: 'Salt Mine'.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:37)
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