"Ah! Could this be..." Isis's face lit up with barely concealed delight.
It seemed she had recognized it.
Altaïr chuckled softly. This was exactly the reaction he had been waiting for. "That's right, this is..."
"Could this be pure gold?!"
Altaïr's smile froze.
Alright, she had not recognized it. This girl never read anything carefully, whether it was an illustrated reference book or one of the journals her parents had left behind.
Francesca leaned closer. "Oh? An ancient Schrade dragon gold coin. It's in pretty good condition, too. It isn't pure gold, but it's worth even more than pure gold. This must have cost you quite a bit, didn't it?"
Altaïr's mouth twitched, and he showed no intention of naming the price. Standing beside him, Sajji answered bluntly on his behalf. "10,000z, meow. Boss also owes a personal favor on top of that, meow..."
At that price, everyone else's eyes widened.
"This cost 10,000z?!" Isis cried in alarm.
Francesca also gave him a look reserved for idiots. "Ancient Schrade gold coins may be rare, but some still circulate on the market. Their prices start around 2,000 or 3,000z and can reach 7,000 or 8,000z. You got ripped off, didn't you?"
Isis stammered, "W-Why don't you return it?"
She had never received such an expensive gift in her life.
Altaïr opened his mouth to explain, but after a moment's thought, he decided against it.
Saying something like "This is the same kind of coin your mother gave your father back then" would be far too awkward. He would leave her to discover that for herself someday.
"That seller is long gone, so keep it," Altaïr said with a smile. "It's a lucky gold coin. It can bring good luck."
Since when did you become so gullible? A lucky gold coin, really? Francesca had wanted to say as much.
Then she noticed the poorly concealed delight in Isis's eyes as she gazed at the coin and decisively swallowed the words.
Fine. The kid was willing to pay extra to buy Isis a gift she liked. As Isis's older sister, what business did Francesca have objecting?
"Jeal-ous, meow?" Pawdrick whispered devilishly in her ear. "Serl. Can. Buy. You. One. Too, meow..."
Without changing expression, Francesca reached behind her, yanked the Felyne off, threw him to the ground, and stomped on him hard for good measure.
"There's probably nothing good left to buy in this market. Everyone willing to sell has already brought out their wares, and anyone unwilling must have hidden theirs away. There's no point looking around any longer. So, what do you think? Should we stay a while longer, or...?" After dealing with her gossipy Felyne partner, Francesca tossed her hair and asked the others.
"It'll be dark in a little over an hour," Altaïr said, glancing up at the sky. "At night, the people in the market split into groups and make camp. I brought camping gear on the Sandship, but we'd need to take turns standing watch. Senior Francesca, you bought quite a few things earlier and showed everyone you had money. That might attract trouble."
Francesca understood what Altaïr was getting at. She shrugged. "I don't see anything else interesting here. There's no need to spend the night. Why don't we head back to Sun Worship Town now? If we hurry, we might arrive before dark."
"Sure," Isis said cheerfully as she toyed with the gold coin. She had already had her fun playing along with Francesca, and Altaïr's gift had put her in a wonderful mood. Although their stop at the market had been brief, she felt no regret about leaving.
Morgan needed no convincing. He had wanted to leave ages ago.
Since everyone agreed, there was no reason to linger. Altaïr led the group away from the small oasis market and toward where they had left their Sandship.
Just as they reached the edge of the oasis and drew near the Sandship, Altaïr abruptly stopped.
His brow furrowed, and he barked, "Who's there? Come out!"
Isis and the others had also noticed the movement. They instinctively rested their hands on their weapons, their eyes fixed on the Sandship.
A cloaked figure stepped out from behind their Sandship. She pulled back her hood and raised both hands, looking harmless and innocent. Once the Hunters saw she was no Monster, they eased their hands away from their weapons and studied the stranger's face. Her brownish skin and pale hair resembled Altaïr's, and together with her clothing, marked her as a Nomad girl. She looked young, no more than fifteen or sixteen.
"Sorry, sorry. I don't mean you any harm." The girl wore an ingratiating smile. "I just wanted to discuss something with you in private, so I waited here."
Francesca's interest stirred. She looked the Nomad girl up and down. "What is it?"
"You must be with the authorities, right?" the girl asked, beaming.
Francesca folded her arms, seized by a playful impulse. "What makes you say that?"
The flimsy identities she had invented were only meant to humor Isis. Francesca had never expected anyone to actually fall for them.
"I've seen that young man before." The girl made no attempt to hide it as she pointed at Altaïr. "A while ago, he came here with a very intimidating woman, arrested someone, and bought a pendant, didn't he? You're dressed like Sand Raiders, but you don't act like bandits. Sand Raiders would never pay for anything they took, much less pay that much... Ahem. Actually, the man who sold you that pendant was my father. If officials are acting as your escorts, you must be some kind of scholar with the Royal Paleontology Scriveners, right? And you just bought all those old things. You're clearly here for the ruins in the desert, aren't you?"
Francesca, Isis, and the others shot Altaïr sidelong looks. So he was the one who had blown their cover.
Altaïr's mouth twitched. He had dressed completely differently the last time he came here with Ms. Lania, but he had not disguised his face. It was hardly surprising that someone observant had recognized him. Back then, Ms. Lania had already caught the criminal and completed her quest, so she had no reason to care if her identity was exposed. Now that carelessness had come back to bite him.
"That's right. I'm an archaeological scholar from the Royal Academy. What would you like to discuss, young lady?" Francesca lied smoothly with a straight face.
The Nomad girl let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
She had slipped out to visit the market alone, and approaching Altaïr and his group had been entirely her own idea. Truth be told, she was not sure this would work.
If she had not remembered her father saying that officials were easy to deal with and, at the very least, posed no danger, she would never have dared approach them by herself.
"I know the location of a really special ruin. How about I sell you the information?" The Nomad girl waggled her eyebrows. "You scholars care a lot about that sort of thing, right?"
Francesca gave her a peculiar look. "You're not talking about the ruins a dozen or so kilometers northwest of here, are you?"
The place Francesca meant was the same cluster of ruins where the Knowledge Seeker had previously docked.
"No, not that one. That place was picked clean ages ago. There's nothing valuable left at all." The Nomad girl spoke with breezy unconcern, saying something that would have sent any genuine archaeologist's blood pressure soaring.
"The ruins I'm talking about haven't been discovered by anyone else yet. That pendant you bought before came from there!"
Francesca scoffed. "So under what circumstances would someone sell a pendant for a high price, then immediately turn around and offer the location of the ruins?
"Don't tell me that pendant was the only valuable thing in there."
The Nomad girl's smile froze.
"You aren't being honest, young lady." A vicious grin spread across Francesca's face. "Isis, get over here and break this brat's leg!"
"Huh?"
Isis was still a little slow to react, but Altaïr was already cracking his knuckles as he advanced.
The Nomad girl folded at once, as expected, and darted behind the Sandship. "I'm sorry! I'll tell you the truth!
"The ruins aren't very large. It's really just a tomb. But there are other things inside, very strange and unusual things. The clan Elder said it was too dangerous and strictly forbade any of us from going back in. He even had the entrance sealed with stones and ordered everyone to forget about it.
"Then I happened to run into you, so I thought... maybe I could trade the information for a little money!"
Seeing Altaïr raise an eyebrow and realizing her phrasing had not helped her case, the girl hurriedly added, "It isn't as if there's anything especially dangerous inside! Quite a few clansmen went in back then, including my father, and no one was hurt.
"They said there was some kind of ancient machine in there. The clan Elder called it a terrible omen, so he had the place sealed..."
"An ancient machine?" Francesca narrowed her eyes.
This world had once been home to several flourishing civilizations, and many modern technologies had been recovered through archaeological excavation. The girl's words immediately piqued her interest.
Francesca approached the girl with a smile. "I am indeed interested in the ruins you mentioned, and I'm willing to pay for the information."
The girl's terror turned to surprise and delight, but Francesca's very next sentence made her expression revert to terror.
"But I don't do business with a brat who refuses to listen when adults warn her of danger. Take me to your Elder."