| Diary |
Dear Diary,
I've been spending way too long in the University of Sydney's archives lately, looking for info on that darned Ruby Eye! It doesn't help that I have a chatty scarab beetle and an overly dedicated mummy pestering me, either. As a change of pace, I decided to attend the brunch Steven Deveny was hosting... he may be a bit of a twit, but he does host some excellent archaeological functions. This time, it was to celebrate his discovery of an ancient grinding stone that might be prehistoric in origin... possibly proving that humans coexisted with giant prehistoric behemoths as little as 30,000 years ago! It was very impressive, particularly coming from Steven, but I noticed one of his servants looking somewhat annoyed about the whole thing...
Nardu revealed that the stone was apparently sacred to his tribe and that the spirits were angry over it being removed from its holy resting place... then while Kheper was still producing witty observations, Nardu ran off with the stone! To make matters worse, Steven overheard me mention Nardu and went after his trail. I couldn't really think of the rights and wrongs at the moment... all I could think of doing was finding Nardu and convincing him to give back the stone before he got hurt or worse.
I went to the University of Sydney to talk to someone who could help me deal with the Nardu situation: Professor Eora, an aboriginal biologist with a passion for Australian history. She was willing to help me, but not so willing to listen to my argument for putting the artifact back in a museum... seemed that she preferred to allow the important artifacts of the native people stay where they are as a sign of respect for their culture. But what better way to respect their culture than to share it with the world? In any event, she came along to help me find Nardu, which we did... as well as a bunch of Steven's goons who were following close behind. We had no choice but to give up and turn in the stone.
End result? Steven thought I was aiding and abetting a thief, and Nardu thought I betrayed him. Luckily, Eora - who was keeping an extremely low profile - had the presence of mind to suggest we head back to the university and talk things out.
Back at the university, I had a chance to speak frankly with Nardu and Eora about the grinding stone. Nardu seemed to think that removing the stone - or, indeed, anything - from Cuddie Springs was going to tick off the local spirits. When I scoffed at that idea, he pointed out my - ahem - talking rock, shall we say. Kheper is really bad at this whole 'being discreet' thing. Nardu and Eora asked me for help in getting the stone back from Steven, and I ended up so confused I didn't know what to do. And talking to Mr. Tall Dark and Bandaged didn't really help me clear up anything... it just made me angrier, even though he didn't do anything. Why did he have to make me start doubting everything I've ever believed about archaeology? Hopefully, Nardu and Eora will be able to help me make up my mind... they told me they'd like to take me somewhere tomorrow, most likely Cuddie Springs, so hopefully that will help me figure things out.
Nardu and Eora took me to Cuddie Springs in order to try and explain why that grinding stone needed to remain with Nardu's people. We came across the site where Steven found the artifact, a dried up clay lake where giant wombats, marsupial tigers and other prehistoric creatures once lived. Nardu claimed that they were all creatures of the Dreamtime. He spoke about the myths of his people, the origins of our world, and how recovering the grinding stone - a shamanistic item - might appease the spirits for the digging that will continue with Dr. Pavier. I'm still not sure I'm totally convinced, but Nardu wants to take me to Kariong next, so perhaps there will be something there to consider.
I can't believe what I saw today! Nardu took me and Eora to Kariong and showed me something I would have never expected to see in Australia: Egyptian hieroglyphs! And from what I can tell, they're pretty ancient, from the time before the cult of Osiris. Nardu claims that his people tell legends of visitors that came in winged ships and perished from the hardships of this land. If these hieroglyphs were revealed, they would revolutionize the entire landscape of Australian and Egyptian archaeology... to say nothing of making my name famous! Ahmose seems to think they might be genuine... and yet it all seems a bit too, I don't know, easy? Like I'm being bribed to hide away one discovery for another... the hieroglyphs in return for the grinding stone. In any event, I should get back to the university and figure out what to do.
I went back to the University, but I was still struggling with what to do about Nardu's grinding stone... part of me genuinely wanted to leave things as they were, with Nardu safe and the stone in the museum, but part of me felt like that was wrong, somehow.
Speaking to Steven and looking at the stone didn't make things any clearer. Steven was arrogant as always, but he genuinely felt this was a major find and that it did belong in a museum; if I hadn't just gone through all this, I'd be agreeing with him. And on the stone, there were markings not unlike hieroglyphs...
I decided to call Ahmose to see if he could set my mind straight. At least I think I finally got through to him about why I'm an archaeologist, and why it's important for me to bring these discoveries to light. I don't want things to be forgotten... I don't want Ahmose to lose everything about his land, his culture, his people. He... understands that now, I think. But he did make a good point... that there are still people alive, like Nardu, who keep these traditions close to their hearts.
I guess I needed just one more little nudge.., because as I looked over the grinding stone, I had a vision of a vast, great plane and an ancestor spirit in Egyptian clothes, telling me that the stones spoke. As Kheper reminded me when I came out of the trance, some stones speak too much! I think I've made up my mind... time to see Dr. Eora and Nardu back at the University again.
I met with Dr. Eora and Nardu and told them I was willing to help get the grinding stone out of the exhibit. Luckily, both Nardu and I had a pretty good plan of how to do it. Later, Dr. Eora, Kheper and I snuck back into the museum to make our move, but first, we had to get past a few security guards.
We'll need to get past those guards, but at the time, we couldn't really see the right opportunity to deal with them. We'll have to come back to the university later and try again.
Since our last botched attempt, Dr. Eora and I had been thinking of that grinding stone in Steven Deveny's exhibit, and we decided to try and smuggle it out again. Unfortunately, the guards were still there.
I never thought I'd say this, but... Kheper to the rescue! He distracted the guards so that we could sneak over to the exhibit.
Our plan was simple: switch the grinding stone with a replica Nardu had made. The switch went off without a hitch, with the exception of Steven happening by just as we were leaving. He didn't twig that I was up to anything, but he did notice that there was a new set of symbols - for 'community' - that he 'hadn't noticed' before. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before he realizes he has a fake on his hands... but at least Nardu will be out of town with the original by then.
So everything seems to have ended for the best, except perhaps for poor Steven and Dr. Pavier... hopefully they don't get too inconvenienced, and hopefully they don't come after me and Dr. Eora! In the meantime, I have some Australian hieroglyphs to discover and reveal to the world... and wonder of wonders, I have a certain ancient Egyptian's encouragement to do so. Will wonders never cease?