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An odd stranger...

This is set two full years after The Mummy Returns

The sun over Cairo in 1935 burned like a watchful eye, pouring heat into every stone and shadow. The market pulsed beneath it—alive with bartering voices, jangling brass, the sharp perfume of spices, and the quieter undercurrent of secrets.

Ardeth Bay moved through it like a ghost in plain sight. His robes were travel-worn but clean, his posture calm, deliberate. No one stopped him. No one dared. Yet eyes followed him—merchants, thieves, and those who knew enough to fear men who walked with purpose instead of desire.

A boy darted past with a tray of dates. A woman argued over silk. Somewhere, a goat bleated in protest. Ardeth passed them all, his dark gaze steady, searching. He paused at a stall heavy with glass bottles filled with oils—amber, green, and gold. The merchant, a thin man with clever eyes, stiffened.

“You seek something rare,” the man said carefully.

“I seek something stolen,” Ardeth replied. The words did not rise above a murmur, but they seemed to quiet the space between them. The merchant’s smile faded. “There are many things in Cairo that do not belong to those who hold them.”

Ardeth’s hand rested lightly on the edge of the stall. “And there are some things that should never be held at all.” The wind shifted, carrying dust and the faint echo of distant chanting from a nearby mosque. Ardeth turned his head slightly, listening—not to the market, but to something deeper, older.

“The artifact,” he continued, “a small idol. Black stone. Taken two nights ago.”

The merchant hesitated, then glanced over Ardeth’s shoulder. “There are men who came asking about such things. Foreigners. They pay well and ask no questions.”

Ardeth’s eyes narrowed. “That is precisely the problem.”

From the edge of the market, a figure in clothes from their country stood out against the earth tones—a European by glance, watching too intently. Their eyes met for only a second before the person turned away, pretending sudden interest in a basket of figs.

Ardeth straightened. “Where?” he asked. The merchant swallowed. “Old quarter. Near the broken minaret.” Ardeth nodded once, already moving.

Behind him, the market resumed its rhythm, swallowing the moment whole. But as he walked, the air seemed to tighten around him, as though the city itself knew what stirred beneath its streets.

J.AI LLM is bugging out frequently and going through lots of bugs and issues, and has bunches of repetitiveness. So DO NOT blame me. I have tried my best to keep this from happening. Bot best performed with Mimo V2 Flash and Deepseek 3.2 proxies.

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