I must’ve only lost consciousness momentarily because when I awoke on the sandy floor I had not yet been stabbed by a polearm. My right arm was pinned under some debris scattered by the obliteration of my cover. When I went to move it, I could feel nothing from my shoulder down.

I didn’t have time to examine my wounds. A skeleton warrior leaped forward to jab at me with the point of his spear. I materialized my Thurma into my left hand and sent him flying with the force of an energy blast.

Another tried to pounce on me from the right, but I twisted my torso to aim at his breastplate. The bolt of light that flew from the tip of my pistol ripped a hole straight through his chest and out the other side.

The skeletons collectively decided their strategy wasn’t working and fell back to reform their tattered line. Now that I was pinned under a pile of debris all they had to do was stab at my immobilized form in a unified manner. I hoped the archer bit my bullet and went down - I hadn’t been able to confirm if I took him out or not, and the last thing I needed was a lightning rod sent through my ribcage.

I mentally whispered an invocation to any being that would hear me and exchanged my Thurma for a plasma grenade. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. With no archer to protect them, this mound of human remains would be sent back to death on a chariot of fire.

I threw this grenade with more finesse than my last attempt. I couldn’t roll it straight at them, because they were only a few meters away from me and I’d get caught in the blast. Instead, I banked it off the side of a nearby column and into the middle of the testudo.

The reaction was like tossing a whole chicken into a fusion oven and setting it on max. Bones flew so high I think some embedded in the ceiling. Fragments not caught in the puddle of scalding plasma decorated the floor of the room in a dusty shade of white. Quite an improvement, if you ask me.

Needless to say, not one of them survived. The ball of bluish-purple flame that erupted from its container engulfed the poor, trapped souls in milliseconds.

“And then there was one.”

Laughter rose from my belly. I shook with the force of it for several seconds, tears streaming down my eyes. I had to fight an undead behemoth wielding a shield the size of a hangar door and a sword that could cleave an elephant in half - all while half of my body was paralyzed and most of my equipment was either used up or out of charge.

I looked down at my Thurma to confirm my fear.

12% charge remaining

Great.

I used the good half of my body to push aside the rubble pinning me to the floor. Fortunately, every piece of my arm was still attached, and even the soft fabric of my glove remained unscathed. I must have just dislocated something, maybe broken a portion of my collarbone. Nothing some good old Crass gruel and experimental drugs couldn’t fix.

I just had to get past a “living” tank first. No biggie.

Or maybe I didn’t.

After all the mayhem of the fight, and all of the chances the guardian had to just rush down and stomp me to pieces, it chose to stay rooted in place in front of the crystal. The animated skeletons all burned with the same bluish glow in their eyes, and when they were killed it extinguished.

If two and two equaled four, then my hunch just might be correct. The crystal was not just a form of protection for the gate - it was the source of their animating energy. If I could destroy it, it just might cause the behemoth to unravel.

“If.”

I shuffled over to the base of the stairs. Looking up at the fearsome warrior, I calculated the odds I’d be able to get past his shield and put a shot on the crystal.

10% chance

That wouldn’t do. I had to find a way to either distract or get around him. Explosives would’ve been convenient but I used them up fighting his weaker comrades. Stellar foresight, I know.

I pulled my Saker to my hip and cracked off a round that plinked harmlessly against his shield. No, I hadn’t expected anything to happen, I just thought I’d exhaust every possibility.

I sat down, crossed my legs, and leaned back.

“I suppose you don’t speak Galactic Basic?”

No reply.

“You know we don’t have to fight each other. I’m just looking for a way out.”

I could hear the creaking of his bones as he shifted under the weight of his shield. Loosened bits of the floor and ceiling crumbled in light of the battle’s damage. Dust clouds that my explosion disturbed settled slowly back to the ground.

“I met your king’s grandson. At least, I met his pet. They seemed alright. Would you fancy a game of Senet?”

This made the giant lower his shield. He roared at me in his ancient tongue once again. I had almost forgotten this guy displayed some level of intelligence at the start of the fight. Perhaps he thought I was mocking his prowess by refusing to fight him.

“No, it’s quite a quiet game. That’s not how you’re meant to play at all. Come along with me, I’ll introduce you to Dedún. Or have you already met him? I feel as though this is the sort of place where everybody knows everybody.” I beckoned to him with my pistol.

The skeletal colossus stomped his foot and waved his sword, uttering more gibberish.

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand your dialect. I’m not from around here, you see.” I shrugged, waving my nearly exhausted Thurma around like a toy as I spoke.

He took a lengthy step forward onto the staircase. Got him.

I didn’t stand up or acknowledge his advance in any way.

“I’m somewhat of a tourist. A friend of mine said I had to visit this tomb - it’s a must-stop for anyone touring the UHS. I’m glad I did, it’s quite lively here.”

The guardian broke into a jog, leaping down several stairs at a time. The whole room shook under his weight. He’d be on me in a couple of seconds.

“But I really do think it’s time for me to go.”

He raised his sword arm. The tip of the wicked saber scraped along the ceiling. The sound raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

An open gap formed between his torso and armpit, allowing me a line of sight on the crystal. I had no clue if it was susceptible to energy weaponry, or any form of attack at all.

I leaned back and pulled the trigger of my Thurma. A bolt of energy sprung forth and in-between the giant’s body just as he swung his sword. The light of a small explosion illuminated the warrior’s frame as my projectile found its mark. A flash of blue brilliance and then - nothing.

The fire in his eyes vaporized, and his steel clattered to the ground around me; his bones tumbled down the stairs to rest in front of where I sat.

That had actually worked.

I let out a chuckle and got to my feet. Hundreds of shards were scattered about the podium where the crystal had just pulsed. The energy field around the metal gate dissipated and my exit was secured.

As I made my way up the stairs, a thought came to mind. The words of my new-found friend Dedún:

“You are quite the clever man… Though, a more clever man wouldn’t be caught in the act.”

The tracker I had been using materialized in my outstretched palm. It was past time to be rid of this piece of incriminating evidence.

I let it clatter to the floor and stomped it with my boot. When I moved my foot away, it was nothing but black powder.

The crystal shards yielded no data when I examined them. I figured they might have some kind of special property my HUD would inform me of, but I had no such luck. It was useless in its broken state - probably to my benefit.

It was easier to examine the gate without a shield of pulsing energy around it, and from this distance, I could make out the intricate engraving on the face of the metal barrier.

A beaked head with fierce ruby eyes, a thick neck that connected to broad, feathered shoulders and torso. His arms had a human shape but were covered in a set of lengthy feathers that looked like they just might be capable of flight if he spread them. At the midsection, feathers turned to the flesh of a loin-cloth-bound man. His muscled legs ended in a set of sharp talons that clutched the rounded surface of what appeared to be a dais.

Thutmose? His god? Some other beast to vanquish on my journey out of this sandy hell? I had barely made it past the welcoming party, who knew what I would have to face on the other side of this door.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed hold of one of the brass knockers on the door’s surface and pulled.