~ After a few minutes Jaden left Andrew and Takyle at the first table and stepped over to look at what had been lain out on the second. More pottery, several trinkets, and a cracked tablet. The tablet looked to be marble and its face was delicately carved with words and symbols. Jaden carried it gingerly back to his team mates.
"Hey guys, what do you make of this?" Andrew leaned over to look at the tablet, then glanced over his shoulder at the other objects on the table.
"All that stuff looks Greek or Roman to me, Jay." He took another look at the writing. "Think you could translate that Takyle?" Jaden lay the tablet on the table in front of Takyle.
"Yes I can. It is Greek, very old Greek granted, but I don't think that'll be a problem." Takyle set down the copper cup she had been cleaning and pulled a pad and pen from a pocket, leaning close over the table to study the piece of marble.
"I have a second cousin that lived in Italy for a year," Andrew said helpfully. Jaden tilted his head and studied Andrew. Andrew gazed back, not a hint of humor showing on his face. Jaden wondered if Andrew had ever tried playing poker.
"That's um... That's good to know, Andy. So how do you feel about Five Card Stud?"
"You're a Five Card Stud," Andrew responded automatically.
"Your mom's a Five Card Stud," threw in Jaden, putting a question mark at the end of the sentence with his voice and making Andrew laugh.
"This seems to be a set of instructions," broke in Takyle. "These phrases here are talking about a passage, and I think these symbols might be a combination. A code maybe," she said to her paper.
"Instructions for what exactly, Ta?" asked Andrew.
"I think it's how to get to the next level."
"Why would that be sitting here on this table waiting for us to find it when we're in the middle of this task?" said Jaden. Takyle shrugged.
"Maybe it's a shortcut," suggested Andrew. "Not everyone would think to translate it." Takyle nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I suppose so, or maybe we're just supposed to use it later? After this task is done I mean."
"What exactly does it say about a passage, Takyle?" Jaden asked.
"Not a lot, just that there is a hidden door, and I think this here says something about a hollow wall. So maybe a fake panel? Tell you what Andrew, why don't you look around this room real good for any hollow panels, and me and Jay can keep doing this cleaning stuff. Then maybe we'll be prepared for either case."
"Ok, I'm all over it... Like hair on an ugly man's a-"
"Thanks Andrew, that'll be fine. No need for analogies," Takyle interrupted him.
"Haha, you said anal-ogies, and I was just talking about as-"
"Yes, thank you! We all see how funny it is." Andrew grinned at Takyle, and left the table, handing the brush he'd been using to Jaden. Once he was across the room Jaden leaned toward Takyle.
"It was pretty funny," he said.
"Yeah ok, it was funny," Takyle conceded, hiding a smile.
"It wasn't that funny," Andrew called back at them. ~
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