Emmaline pushed herself up against one of the cool adobe walls, blowing a lock of blond hair out of her face as she did so. She couldn't have imagined that she would ever find herself in an ancient Nehekaran city, a year ago she would have considered an exciting night escaping from a card game gone wrong.

"Talking skulls do have an excellent reputation," she agreed before closing her eyes and promptly falling asleep.

The cool touch of night air awakened her and she opened her eyes to find that the scene hadn't changed much during the hours she had slept. The blazing heat of the day had passed and the cool of night was stealing over the land. Carefully she stood up and stretched her aching muscles. A small pile of items lay on the earthen floor, evidently household nicknacks Amal had been able to find while she slept though there was nothing very remarkable about them. An ancient knife, a small figurine that might have belonged to a child and a few fragments of pottery.

"Sleep well," Amal asked appearing as if from nowhere out of the shadows. She shook her head ruefully feeling embarassed.

"You should have woken me so I could watch while you got some sleep," she half scolded him. Amal shrugged as though this was of little import.

"You obviously needed it," he replied simply. Ever fibre of his being seemed to convey an eagerness to be off and exploring the greater mysteries of the city and so Emmaline pulled herself to her feet, taking a couple of dates from the back and popping them in her mouth as she did so. She retrieved her staff and looked out over the city. In the distance was the ruin of a pyramid, stark and white against the moon.

"Well," she said simply, "one guess which direction we should go."