The two ate a light breakfast, as the sun was set to rise soon. After some arguing, Amal did take that short rest Emmaline insisted on, though he barely grabbed any sleep before his athletic body was thrumming with the energy to nab whatever treasures they could find. 

"Come come, I've only looked so far," He told her, ready to explore in earnest. Truth be told, he had only delved into the initial ruins around the tower they were using for shelter. Emmaline had placed small, honestly pretty mundane wards around the place in case they came back to rest. But there was little doubt that their only goal was to move forward. Stepping out into the street, the moon was still bright, but close to the horizon. 

They walked among the streets, doing their best not to drag their feet to cause as little noise as possible. After a few minutes, the city's street began to rise as if going up hill, due to an enormous pile of sand that looked to have created a natural hill in the cityscape. The buildings looked to have been built with the sand in mind and they were purposefully staggered, as every consecutive building of a floor because the next "first" floor, but after short walk they reached a level ground as the city continued, though it's buildings were more packed than ever.

The sun had begun to rise, and even after a mere half hour, the sun gleamed, sweltering and almost red in the sky. The buildings around them were made of a mixture of mudbrick and stone, sturdy even after millennia of misuse and lack of maintenance. They were incised and flatly modeled, yet there was a granduere in even the simplest of structures that spoke of wonders long since dead. Packed so tightly, the streets were still roomy enough to walk comfortable six abreast, and the catacomb-like windows left so many shadows from the rising sun across the street that Amal would not be able to tell from where they were coming from. More than once, he thought he saw a silhouette, one the shape of a man with the head of a Jackal. But whenever he looked, they were alone.

Emmaline looked at the pyramid on the horizon as they walked, and then glanced at Amal. He figured she was curious on if he knew anything about it, so he spoke. "Temples are the homes of the Tomb Kings," He said with a near cavalier attitude, though she could hear a modicrum of respect and even wariness in his voice. Perhaps he was simply trying to impress her. He suddenly stopped and spun, his face a mere inch from hers. "They are not something to take lightly!" He whispered dramatically, almost amused at her jumping. He didn't do it to be a complete ass, though. If she didn't keep that in mind, she could end up dead, or worse. [i]Far[/i] worse. 

He took a step back, his eyes holding hers for a moment, before breaking contact as he continued forward. "Just be glad the pyramid is not black." He said simply. "Not for all of the gold in the world would I enter the Black Temple of Nagash." 

Before she could ask further, they turned the corner of the street they had found themselves in so suddenly be met with a sight too fantastic to behold without warning. If there was a musical score, now would be the crescendo! Even Amal gasped, as the two found themselves in a plaza of stone pillars that seemed to have been built with a roof in mind, and yet there was nothing but open sky. Filling their vision however, was standing at the end of the plaza. Massive stone statues of long dead Kings, standing what must have been two hundred meters tall, carved with such meticulous detail that he believed for a moment that the craftsmen themselves were of comparable size. Even their stone eyes bade Amal and Emmaline to grovel, and it took Amal reminding himself they were nothing but statues to keep that instinct at bay. 

Swiftly, as they both felt very vulnerable undernearth the roofless plaza, they entered a Temple on the northern side as they continued on their path to the Pyramid. The Temple itself was a smaller pyramid, only the stone was far smoother than the other buildings, the structure flanked and framed by obelisks. Within, the air was far cooler. Two more obelisks, larger than the ones outside stood beside twin fountains of clear, cascading water. However, the remarkable aspects of the temple were two contrasting objects. 

A great statue of a panther crouched, not nearly as large as the monuments outside, and yet still five times taller than a man even in it's lowered position. Its ears were flat and its visage menacing, with claws carved so sharp even the stone looked as if it could cut steel. Below it's fanged maw was a small dias, where a magnificent Opal was clutched by scarab claws at the head of a small pole, just tall enough to be eye level to a normal man. Amal was no magician, but Emmaline would be able to sense that the Opal held a magical, shimmering quality to it. It bespoke of being able to help further one's magical aptitudes, and as it beckoned them closer, they found they had stepped too far. 

At a moment's notice, the fountains ceased flowing with water. The ground began to shake, and stone cracked and flecked onto the stone floor as the blackrock panther began to come to move! Amal caught Emmaline as she fell back in fright, for they looked into the eyes of the stone guardian of the Forbidden Temple. Amal stepped between Emmaline and the ferocious guardian, and that surprised him. He had protected Emmaline before, but never against something so dauntless. An impossibly deep voice emanated from the Panther as it lowered its head, following a growl exhumed by power. 

"To seek the Opal of Amanrah is to court your very soul, Thief and Daughter of Asaph..." It said. Its eyes found Amal. "You do not bear the mark of Gods. Move aside, Thief." Amal didn't know if he should move, but slowly Emmaline poked her head out from under his arm, and then wiggled to the front. The thing opened its mouth, letting out a hiss that penetrated the very mind. "Daughter of Asaph, do you seek the Opal?" 

Emmaline swallowed, clutching her staff. "Yes." 

"If you desire its power, then speak the truth." It intoned, and raised itself great head up as if opening a portcullis to grab the treasure. "You desire the Opal, but that is not all...What three things do you desire most, before you entered this temple? Answer truthfully, and you may have your prize. Answer with a lie, and I will devour you." 
[@Penny]