Time has gone by in the land of the Scalding Sand. Still in the Zahab Market, Briar, and the others are looking around.

Jamil looks at the sky to see the sunset, "Looks like the sun's setting. We should get to our seats; it won't be long until the fireworks."

The group looks to see Grim lying on the ground.

Grim rubs his tummy as he groans, "Oogh... Maybe there IS such a thing as eatin' too much. I'm beyond stuffed... I just wanna take a nap."

"Don't pass out on us now, Grim! The main event's about to start. You wouldn't wanna miss the fireworks!" Kalim says.

Suddenly, he hears someone calling out to him, "Ah, if it isn't Mr. Kalim!"

Turns out the man is the chief of the Pyrotechnician.

Kalim smiles to see him, "Oh, hey, good to see you! It's been ages! This nice man is the chief of the pyrotechnics crew that's handling the fireworks. He's the best at this stuff. There wouldn't be a show without him!"

"The extra-large fireworks he makes always generate a lot of buzz," Jamil says.

"You should've seen them last year! They set 'em off in time with the music! There were some neat ones shaped like lamps and scarabs, too. It was so cool!" Kalim says with excitement.

He then turns to the Pyrotechnician, "So, what amazing stuff do you have in store for us this time?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. Let's just say I've got something really spectacular up my sleeve. After all, your family told me to go big," The Pyrotechnician says.

"Aw yeah, now I'm excited!" Kalim happily says.

"You should be!" The Pyrotechnician says, but he notices something off, " ...Hm?"

He pats his clothes and is growing deeply concerned.

What's the matter? You're patting your clothes. Did you get something on them?" Kalim asks.

The Pyrotechnician becomes shocked, "It's... It's gone! I can't set off the fireworks!"

"What?!" Everyone exclaims in shock.

Jamil asks, "You can't set them off? What did you lose?!"

"A book containing your secret lighting methods?" Malleus asks.

"An ancient piece of flint?" Cater asks.

"Some sort of special charm that gets passed down from generation to generation of pyrotechnicians?" Trey questions.

"No, no! It's my USB stick!" The Pyrotechnician answers.

"...Your USB stick?" The group questions.

"It's got the program I use for setting off the fireworks!" The Pyrotechnician says.

"Wait, all the fireworks are computer-operated?!" Jamil asks.

"Not exactly the artisanal touch I had in mind," Cater says.

The Pyrotechnician explains, "Oh, making the fireworks still requires a high degree of professional craftsmanship... But the Fireworks Fest gets bigger and more complicated every year, and there's zero margin for error. So of course we use technology to do it. I can't run the show without that USB stick!"

"Seriously?! Oh no, this is awful!" Kalim cries out in distress.

Suddenly, Briar and the others hear a voice crying out, "Hey, my wallet's missing!"

And then another voice, "My bracelet's gone! I was just on my wrist a moment ago!"

And soon, they hear more and more people crying out saying that.

"There's quite a commotion. It seems many people are missing things," Malleus says.

"Sounds like a pickpocket's hit the market... and a good one at that," Jamilm says, but something ends up catching his attention, "...Hm?!"

He then notices something approaching from behind.

Jamil calls out, "Briar, watch out!"

"Huh?" Briar responds and tries to turn around.

And sees something coming towards her, but Jamil manages to get her out of the way. Everyone looks to see what lands on the ground.

Turns out, it's a monkey. It jumps up and down, "Ook, ook!"

"HEY! That's the monkey that laughed at me!"

"It almost swiped your smartphone," Jamil says.

"That was close," Briar says.

"It would appear we've found our culprit," Malleus says.

"Ook, ook!" The Monkey says, and begins running away.

"Oh no! It ran off!" Kalim says.

"I won't allow our delightful vacation to be ruined," Malleus says and begins to channel his magic, "I'll use my magic to block its path."

He channels his magic and everyone begins to feel very uneasy.

Cater calls out, "Whoa, hold on! What are you gonna cast? You're building up a ton of power! Remember, if your magic hurts anyone, we'll have an international crisis on our hands!"

Malleus stops casting his spell and asks, "Hmm... What should we do, then?"

"That monkey's super fast. I'm not sure we can catch it..." Trey says.

"And we don't know where it's going," Sereia says.

But then Jamil says, "Don't worry. I can read these petty crooks like a book. They'll rue the day they tried to steal from us."