Cairo, Egypt

Constantine stepped out of the portgate which linked Hong Kong with Cairo. The young Chinese relic hunter had just travelled thousand of miles in a blink of an eye. The portgates were a true work of magical and engineering genius. By harnessing the immense arcane energy released by the leylines which coursed through the earth, the portals created by the portgates allowed for near instantaneous travel to most major cities around the world. Constantine believed that next to the creation of wands, the creation of the portgates, were one of the most important creations in all of history. It revolutionised the way people travelled.

Constantine found himself standing in a large circular hall which had a domed roof. The hall was bustling with activity. It was filled with people: humans, elves, dwarves and orks. They were all exiting portals similar to the one Constantine had just stepped out of, just from different locations from across the globe. Constantine was dressed in his favourite attire: a dark brown leather jacket worn over a white safari shirt and a pair of worn leather boots. Slung around his medium built body was his brown leather messenger bag. Stored safely in the bag were the potions and invisibility cloak Professor Mallard had given him before he left for Egypt along with some essential items.

Constantine could feel the heat of Cairo's sun beat down on him as soon as he exited the building which housed Cairo's portgate hub. I forgot how hot Egypt could get, thought Constantine. He took out his handkerchief from his leather jacket's inner jacket and began wiping away the beads of sweat which had formed on his brow. Not wanting to waste time, Constantine drew his wand from its shoulder holster. He then closed his eyes as he began to trace in the air the runic symbol needed to cast the blinking spell. As soon as he had finished tracing the symbol, he blinked away in a flash of light, leaving only a faint trace of white smoke behind.

Constantine opened his eyes and found himself standing at the base of the steps of his intended destination, the Cairo National Library. The library was a large pyramid shaped building which was surrounded by four tall pillars which touched the skies. It was one of the oldest libraries in the world, only a few years younger than the Grand Library of Alexandria. Inside its walls were numerous ancient scrolls, texts and artefacts dating back centuries if not millennia. Out of all of the libraries Constantine had visited around the world, this one was probably one of the most beautiful and unique by far. I hope Basheer knows where's the professor is, thought Constantine as he walked up the library's steps.

Upon entering the library, Constantine made his way to the library's front desk which had three people on duty behind the desk.

"Can I help you?" asked a smiling female elf with dark skin who sat behind the front desk of the library.

Although the female elf looked like she was in her early twenties, Constantine knew full well that she easily could be twice his age, or even older.

Constantine smiled to the elf as he walked up to her. "Yes, I'm here to see Chief Curator al-Sadek," answered Constantine. "Could you direct me to his office please."

"Chief Curator al-Sadek's office is located on the lower ground," informed the female elf before pointing to the ground floor's lifts. "Just take the lift to the lower ground and once you exit it, take a right. His office will have his nameplate on its door."

Constantine thanked the young lady for her help before making his way to the lifts.

As soon as the lift doors slid open, Constantine could feel a cool draft enter it. The lower ground of the library was as brightly lit as the upper floors of the library, but the air in the lower ground felt slightly colder in comparison to the air in the upper levels. Following the instructions that were given to him by the young female elf at the front desk, Constantine soon found himself standing in front of chief curator al-Sadek's office. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

"Who is it?" said a calm and collected voice.

"Basheer, it's me, Constantine."

The door opened. Standing on the other side was a middle-aged man of average build who was around the same height Constantine was. He had a beard that was neatly trimmed and thick greying black hair that was combed back neatly and parted in the middle. Constantine noted that Basheer had changed quite a bit since he last saw him. He now had more grey hair than he used to. And his face looked more wrinkled.

Constantine smiled. "Hello, Basheer."

"Constantine, this is a surprise," said Basheer, smiling. "Come in, come in."

Constantine stepped into Basheer's office. He soon as he entered, he could immediately see that Basheer's office was filled with stacks of old books as well as heaps of old scrolls. He could also smell the distinct scent of old books and scrolls which permeated the office.

"I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."

"Don' worry, Constantine, you haven't," said Basheer as he invited Constantine to take a seat. "But what are you doing here?" asked Basheer as he conjured up a pot of tea for him and his guest to enjoy."Aren't you in the middle of teaching right now?"

"I am," said Constantine, nodding as he sat down. "But something of extreme importance has come up, and that's why I'm here."

"So I'm guessing this isn't a social visit?" said Basheer as he handed Constantine a cup of tea.

Constantine nodded as he graciously accepted the cup of hot chai tea from his friend.

"So what can I help you with?" asked Basheer as he sat down in his chair.

"Do you know where Alastair is?" asked Constantine after taking a sip out of his cup of hot chai tea. "Last I heard, he was here, living in Cairo."

Basheer sighed as he shook his head. "I'm sorry Constantine, I can't help you there. I've not seen or talked to Alastair ever since we had that falling out over the Ring of Osiris."

Constantine could see that Basheer had immediately become crestfallen upon hearing Professor Croft's name. It was apparent to him that the middle-aged curator was still greatly affected by what happened between Professor Croft and him all those years ago.

"You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened," began Constantine solemnly.

"If you didn't destroy the ring, Ali would have used it take control of Luxor, maybe killing thousands in the process."

Basheer sighed. "I know. I just didn't expect that I would lose such a close friend that day because of it. I hope he's come to realise that my action was the only action that we could have taken. There was no other way." Basheer took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "If you're looking for Alastair, find Haashid. I've heard that the two of them still keep in contact with each other from time to time."

"I'll pay Haashid a visit then. Thank you, Basheer."

"Don't mention it, Constantine," said Basheer. "Maybe once you find Alastair, you and he could come over for some tea and biscuits, if you can convince him to do so. I would really love to talk to him again."

"Me too."

#

Constantine opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a row of old houses which were built closely next to each other. I hope Haashid's in, said Constantine to himself as he walked up to one of the old houses in front of him. He knocked on the sturdy wooden door and waited for a response, but there was no response. He tried again, knocking a bit harder compared to the last time.

"Who is it?!" called out a familiar male voice.

"Haashid, it's me, Constantine!"

The sturdy wooden door in front of Constantine creaked opened. On the other side of it was the hefty and bearded middle-aged figure of Haashid in a simple cream coloured jellabiya native to his homeland of Egypt.

"Constantine, this is a surprise!" said Haashid, smiling widely before giving Constantine a bear hug.

"H-Hello, Haashid," said Constantine, wincing slightly in discomfort due to Haashid's bear hug. "I-It's good to see you."

"Come in, come in," invited Haashid after releasing Constantine from his bear hug.

Constantine stepped into Haashid's house, and as soon as he did, he could smell the distinct smell of frankincense which permeated the air. After closing the door behind them, Haashid led Constantine to the living room which was tastefully decorated.

"So what brings you here, Constantine?" asked Haashid as he poured a cup of hot tea for Constantine.

"I need your help finding Alastair," answered Constantine as he graciously received the cup of tea Haashid handed him. "Do you know where he is?"

"Is he in trouble?" asked Haashid before taking a sip of tea.

"He might be," answered Constantine before taking a sip of tea. "That's why I have to find him."

"I see," said Haashid before placing his cup of tea on the finely crafted wooden table in front of him. "The last I spoke to him, he said he was going for a dig somewhere outside of Cairo for a few days."

"Do you know where exactly?"

Haashid shook his head. "That I do not know. But I know someone who might."

"Who?"

"Cara, of course," answered Haashid with a wide grin.

Cara, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I wonder if she still remembers me, wondered Constantine. The last time I saw her was at her mother's funeral all those years ago.

"Can you take me to her? It's important."

"Of course," said Haashid, smiling. Haashid got up from his seat. "Farah, my dear, I'm heading over to Alastair's and Cara's place! I'll be back later in the day! Send my love to the children!"

"Stay safe, my dear!" said a female voice coming from deeper inside the house.

"Come, Constantine, let's get going," said Haashid.

AZ