The Star Statue was an ancient relic rumored to have been hidden deep inside the Pyramids of Giza. The Pyramids were of great significance to the country of Egypt, and as so, it was in the interest of the Egyptian government, to find the ancient statue.
As such, the Egyptian president called upon the Adventurers: the greatest explorers of all time, to locate the statue. Ayaan and Aayra were only too happy to take a go at the mystery.
They now sat on a tour bus across the Pyramids, where the guide was eagerly exploring the visitors about the rich history of the Pyramids.
“The very creation of the Pyramids was considered an unthinkable feat.” said Aayra. “So it won’t be too crazy to imagine some important relic to be at the bottom of it.”
“It makes sense that it would be concealed in the largest of the Pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza.”
Aayra smiled. Her favorite adventures were those which played an important significance in history.
The tour bus came to a spot, as foreigners got off the bus, and began to excitedly take photos of the Pyramids.
Members of the Egyptian government were posted along the Pyramids, a rare sight for a day other than that one. The Adventurers, in their attempt to act like normal tourists, pretended to too be fascinated, and take photos near the Pyramids.
As soon as they were in earshot of one of the government, they whispered the code word, and the man nodded, and gave way. The tourists, too enraptured in the photos to see what was happening, did not see the duo duck behind the red rope surrounding the Great Pyramid, and slowly enter the door.
Other than two very nosy tourists, who also happened to be the Adventurers’ arch-enemies: Mack and Vik.
“I trust you got that on audio.” said Vik, with a smug smile.
“Yes, I did.” said Mack. “The code word is ‘Galaxy.’ Now that we have a clear way in, the rest of the mission should be rather simple.”
Vik smiled viciously, and the evil explorers made their move. They too waited until they were in earshot, and mumbled ‘Galaxy.’
The government official raised his eyebrows in surprise, but Vik hastily muttered, “They wanted to have back-up, in case the Adventurers needed assistance.”
The official had heard nothing of such a decision, for he personally knew the president, and the faith he had on the Adventurers. But Mack and Vik knew the code word, and so it was his solemn duty to let them pass.
“Thank you.” said Mack, as the duo ducked under the rope, and made their way into the pyramid.
Meanwhile, the Adventurers were wandering about, admiring the precision of the Pyramid, and scanning their surrounding for clues. There had to be some sort of concealed gateway, something the ancient Egyptians had made to protect their treasures.
As if on cue, the tile on which Ayaan was stepping on, gave a creak, and slowly moved downwards, revealing an old staircase. Ayaan smiled, taking a step.
Three steps into the staircase, the stairs disappeared, and Ayaan slid down the slide, and onto an underground floor of the Pyramid.
As quickly as they appeared, the tile returned to normal, not realized by Aayra, who had been scanning the walls.
As she turned around, she realized that Ayaan wasn’t there. Her heart did a skip; she knew it was probably nothing, but such ancient monuments couldn’t be haunted, could they? Her eyes darted across the walls, trying to locate her fellow Adventurer.
“Ayaan!” she shouted, but in vain, for there was no reply.
Shrugging, and deciding to believe he might be searching another part of the Pyramid, she continued on, admiring the artifacts she passed on the way.
Before long, Mack and Vik too appeared in the same hallway through which Ayaan had disappeared minutes ago. Vik decided to continue to the next passage, thinking it was just a normal room filled with ancient junk. But Mack, a lover of fine artwork, remained.
His foot stepped on the same tile as Ayaan had did, as the stairs came into view. His eyes widened, as he took a step inside.
And too slid down towards the bottom in quick succession.
Upon reaching the bottom, he looked up and saw that the stairs had disappeared. He could hear some shuffling from another room, and sensed that one of the Adventurers may be nearby. His eyes suddenly fell on an ancient mummy diorama at a side, and his mind cooked up a plan.
Ayaan, having quickly realized that there was no clear way back to normal ground, flashed his torch around, and tried to scan the surroundings. Suddenly, there was a crash, as his head turned around.
He was greeted by an ancient mummy, who was not only walking, but also groaning. The more practical of the two Adventurers, he was not one to often believe in superstition, but the sight of the mummy fast approaching, he bolted.
He was immediately followed, in fast pursuit, by the mummy, whose moans had grown louder. Ayaan turned a corner, and knocked down one of the artifacts.
Mack, who couldn’t see very well from inside the mummy costume, missed the artifact, and tripped on it. With a scream, he crashed into the wall. Ayaan didn’t stop, but instead hurried into the next passage, while the mummy followed.
Aayra was meanwhile yet to come across any more secret passages, but instead had found an old library within the Pyramid. It had several ancient books in Egyptian handwriting, at which point Aayra used her extra linguistic classes to the fullest.
She could vividly decipher that the Pyramid’s treasures had been hidden towards the underground section of the Pyramid, and the ancient Egyptian royals were amongst the few who knew the real pathway to these doorways. Closing the book, she pocketed it, and began to hunt for a passage.
Before long, she stumbled on one, as the familiar staircase came into view. Aayra was soon plunged down the slide, as she screamed.
At that moment, Vik, who had just entered the room, heard the scream, and witnessed the tile returning to normal. Her eyelids narrowed, she walked onto the same spot, as the staircase re-appeared.
“Bingo.” she mumbled, too beginning her descent down the staircase.
The mummy’s groans could be clearly heard within the underground cavern, as Ayaan, panting, ran as fast as he could. But he suddenly crashed into someone, as both he and Aayra fell to the ground.
“Aayra!” cried Ayaan, with a sigh of relief. “It’s you.”
“Who’d you think it was?” questioned Aayra, as she heard a moan from a distance.
“There’s a mummy after us. Run!”
As the mummy came into view, Aayra gulped and followed chase. The mummy began to storm the passage, when another character slid down, and crashed straight into it.
Vik was too taken aback by the sudden appearance of a mummy, but then realized it was Mack in disguise.
“Like the trick?” asked Mack, hoping for a positive response.
“You idiot!” cried Vik. “You could’ve given me a panic attack!”
She dusted herself, and then focused her gaze on the passage the Adventurers had passed seconds ago. She smiled.
“They’ll lead us straight to the treasure.”
Aayra was meanwhile explaining to Ayaan about how the book had told her that the artifacts were concealed underground. The statue was amongst many other priceless articles present in an ancient chamber room.
“It should be around here.” said Aayra, as her hands brushed against something rough.
She pulled the chamber door open, revealing an ancient room, with a mighty treasure chest smack in the center. She broke into a grin.
“There’s just one problem.” said Ayaan, examining the chest. “It’s locked.”
“Not for long.” said Aayra, removing a golden key from her pocket, and placing it into the keyhole.
It was a perfect fit. The chest opened, revealing a golden statue with a star-shaped emblem on the top.
“The Star Statue…” muttered Ayaan, in awe. “It’s beautiful.”
The statue was placed upon many other treasures as well: priceless jewellery, ancient currency, and foreign goods as well. It was truly a historic treasure.
“I would like to thank you for leading us to the treasure, Adventurers.” came a voice, as the spell broke, and Ayaan and Aayra turned their heads.
They could see Vik, along with Mack, who had removed the head of his mummy costume. Both were smiling smugly, taking a step towards the treasure.
“So it was you in the costume?” asked Ayaan, staring directly at Mack, who then chuckled.
“You two imbeciles fell for a trick as primitive and dumb as that one.” said Vik. “So, I ask you, what’s to stop us from taking the treasure for ourselves.”
They both continued to walk forward, as Ayaan took a step backward. Placed in an awkward situation, the Adventurers were not in an ideal situation to defend themselves.
But Aayra continued to smile and stayed rooted to her spot. As soon as the evil explorers were in position, she lunged for a rope dangling from the ceiling, and pulled hard.
Immediately, a bunch of ancient books toppled from a hole in the ceiling, and onto Mack and Vik. Before long, they were buried under a pile of books.
“The book covered booby-traps as well.” said Aayra, as Ayaan gave her a smile of appreciation.
The successful retrieval of the Star Statue was an incredible feat for the Adventurers, and a huge boost for the Egyptian government. As such, Ayaan and Aayra were given a medal by the president of Egypt for their bravery and use of wit.
With the treasure safely returned to its rightful owners, Ayaan and Aayra departed for New York City, content and truly pleased.
