(02 August 1942)
Aradhay Kaushik is given a mission to Cambodia to study and investigate the structure and history of the iconic Angkor Wat… However, he is left in distress and disappointment…
"Why am I even here? Was it even my mission?" Aradhay ponders… "If it wasn't for the "senior professors" Peter Myers and Vanessa Chandler, I wouldn't have set off for this madness of a Cambodian expedition! I am not sure whether I should thank them or curse them… At least they could've had the decency to join me on this little adventure instead of traipsing off to Africa"
(2 weeks later, 16 August 1942)
After digging and excavating, Aradhay Kaushik and his team is finally getting somewhere. They discovered a secret antechamber in the lesser temple, and cleaning away the debris and rubble within it carefully…
Miyake Kimi, Aradhay's assistant, has been invaluable in deciphering the ancient writings that he found on the walls…
Aradhay: I think we're on to something… My gut feeling says that tomorrow will be an exciting and fruitful day…
(17 August 1942 – 10:30 AM)
"Exciting and fruitful indeed" Aradhay exclaims, as he finds an ancient jade tablet early in the morning, which was unlike anything he has ever seen before… He brings it back to the camp and cleans it up to clean it up and decipher it… Miyake is nowhere to be seen…
Aradhay: Miyake probably went to the riverside… Eh, she'll return by the afternoon… Am looking forward to showing her the tablet though, she'll be just as excited as I am!
Aradhay sits back thinking about Miyake, as he enjoys her company greatly over the past weeks, and finds her conversation stimulating…
"I'd be lying if I said I found her unattracti…" (falls to the ground with a thud)
(2:30 PM)
Aradhay's head is just beginning to clear… As he was knocked down unconscious… The person who knocked him down was unknown, but the camp is in shambles, and more critically, the jade tablet is missing… Moreover, Miyake still hasn't returned, and Aradhay decides to go search for her, as he is worried about her safety…
(5:00 PM)
About two and half hours of searching later… Aradhay still hasn't found a trace of neither the attackers that attacked him, nor Miyake…
Aradhay: Miyake is missing, the tablet is missing, that could only mean one thing… They're using Miyake to decipher the tablet… But what's so important about the jade tablet that they'd risk knocking me out and kidnapping Miyake?"
(Flashback – 11:30 AM)
Aradhay takes out a paper, places it above the jade tablet, and takes a rubbing of the tablet using a pencil… "Might never know when it'll be come in clutch" he says…
(5:10 PM)
Aradhay decides to decipher the writing himself from the rubbing of the tablet, which he tucked away safely in his shirt pocket… "Maybe it'll shed some light on to the mystery he says…" He goes back to the shambled base to decipher the tablet writings…
(8:45 PM)
"I've done it!" Aradhay exclaims, as he deciphers the tablet… The tablet appears to be a "royal decree, which orders some magnificent treasure to be carried to Emhutep in Egypt.
Aradhay: What's this treasure? And what's this Emhutep?? I've got to figure it out, or Miyake is lost…
(18 August 1942 – 8:30 AM)
"Umhotep!", not "Emhutep", of course it's a person and not a place!" Aradhay exclaims…
Umhotep is a famous Egyptian architect and tomb builder. He renovated and rebuilt many of the temples in and around the Abu Simbel in the mid-15th century.
Aradhay: But why would a treasure be sent to him? Though it makes my next destination clear… I must leave for Egypt… Right away!