The Scarab's Sting

The Scarab's Sting was a virtual representation of one of Bayek's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2017 through the Portable Animus HR-8.
==Description==
Bayek traveled to Sais, seeking to track the Masked One known as the Scarab.
==Dialogue==
Bayek arrived in Sais.
*Town crier: Hustlers! Entrepreneurs! Wanderers! Seek not your solace here, but let your feet carry you to fabled Letopolis. Letopolis is a dream given form—a new home for you—built by your hands and labors. It is not without its dangers, but the promise of a glorious tomorrow awaits you! It is a shining lighthouse of hope, all alone in the desert night.
Bayek overheard people mentioning Letopolis.
*Woman 1: I heard Nofure say they were packing up to move to Letopolis.
*Woman 2: They are going to risk the trip?
*Woman 1: So she said. Their farm is failing, so they see it as a new start.
*Woman 2: It sounds like a lot of work. To restore and rebuild a whole city.
*Woman 1: Yes, but they say it is a promise of a new life.
*Woman 2: If you believe them.
*Woman 1: Well, I'll wait for Nofure to get settled and write us with news. Then we will see.
Two men talked about Sefetu.
*Man 1: I heard another merchant failed to pay Sefetu.
*Man 2: What happened?
*Man 1: The firebrand had his soldiers burn the man's ship and all his goods. Told him if he failed to pay again, next time it would be his flesh that would burn.
*Man 2: That son of a…
*Man 1: Not too loud! You do not know who is listening.
Bayek listened to another conversation.
*Man 3: Where did you hear that?
*Man 4: Some of the guards.
*Man 3: And what did they say?
*Man 4: That they passed a field of victims buried in the desert.
*Man 3: Who did it?
*Man 4: No one knows. Maybe the Scarab.
Two other men mentioned Letopolis.
*Man 5: The tax collectors ask for too much. It's not worth it.
*Man 6: But what can we do?
*Man 5: I will not put words between your teeth, but I am going to pack my things and travel to Letopolis. Master Taharqa is building a wonderful place for all.
*Man 6: It is tempting... but all my family is here. You are lucky to have no wife or children, you can just leave.
Another couple talked about Taharqa and his city.
*Woman 3: Master Taharqa's wife is so kind. I cannot thank the gods enough for delivering her to us.
*Man 7: I have heard that about Lady Maharet.
*Woman 3: It's true. She heard our business was suffering, and bought a full cart of cloth for her new home.
*Man 7: Are they moving to Letopolis?
*Woman 3: Yes. That is where he works all the time. I only hope they don't forget those of us who still live here.
Bayek overheard a conversation between two soldiers.
*Egyptian soldier 1: That old mute was skulking around again.
*Egyptian soldier 2: Isn't he from some rich family?
*Egyptian soldier 1: Maybe. Maybe that's why no one has chased him out of town.
*Egyptian soldier 2: I think he lives up at the Taharqa estate.
Bayek approached the local stables.
*Man 8: And why do you want to work here?
*Man 9: Even as far as Cyrene I heard about the Brewery of Sais, and the recipe that Master Harkuf has crafted.
*Man 8: Yes, his father built it, and he keeps it successful.
*Man 9: Everyone speaks so highly of him!
*Man 8: He is a great man. If anything were to happen to him, many in this area would suffer.
A couple glorified Taharqa and his family.
*Man 10: My dearest, we do not have enough to pay Sefetu his accursed taxes. When he comes, I will talk to him about selling myself into bonded labor.
*Woman 4: No, no, you don't have to! I confessed our plight to Lady Maharet and she gifted me a purse, full of coins. It will buy us a month or two.
*Man 10: That family is so generous! We must make a libation to the gods in their honor!
Bayek made his way to the brewery.
*Woman 5: Is there any news about Jeska?
*Woman 6: Nothing since that demon's soldiers arrested her. None escape the Firebrand's fort alive.
*Woman 5: It's not fair! She was going to help us get out of Sais!
*Woman 6: Nothing is fair. We must pray the gods lift Cleopatra to her rightful place, to bring us out of fear and pain.
Bayek arrived at the Sais brewery.
*Man 11: Careful you don't overfill the jars!
*Man 12: Give me another portion of dates.
*Man 13: Have you had Macedonian dates? I tasted some from a merchant last time I was in Alexandria. Best I have ever had.
*Man 14: Where is this delivery headed?
*Man 15: To Yamu, for the Sekhmet ceremony. Get them sealed up and on the cart.
Bayek met a brewer at the Sais brewery.
*Bayek: I seek the master brewer, Harkhuf.
*Harkhuf: I have no time. Speak to one of my overseers, if you must.
*Bayek: You misunderstand. I am a Medjay. Apollodorus sent me.
*Harkhuf: Apollodorus! Of course.
*Bayek: He sent me for the Scarab, the shadow that darkens Sais.
*Harkhuf: Shh! Please! That is an evil name to speak aloud! Apollodorus knows that people are suffering. In my position, many confide in me. Trade is strangled, the soldiers run rampant, and the weight of Ptolemy's taxation crush the breath from us. Come with me. Let us retire where we have a roof overhead.
Bayek followed Harkhuf to his home.
*Harkhuf: There are many terrible stories about the Scarab, I am sure Apollodorus told you. Tales of mutilations, disappearances, and folk buried in the desert and left to die. A horrendous fate. Trapped in the shimmering sand. Your mind and body pounded by the relentless sun. Waiting for the final release into the Duat.
Bayek saw a vision of a man buried to the head in the desert sand as the Scarab tauntingly emptied a cup of water. Harkhuf then moved a tall pot to the side along the back wall of his home, revealing a passage into a room with information on the Scarab.
*Harkhuf: But these are only stories. There are real villains in Sais... but the Scarab? If he exists, it is not safe to speak of him.
Bayek entered the small chamber beyond to examine Harkhuf's informant table. He found scrolls regarding the Scarab.
*Bayek: The investigations of Harkhuf's agents, concerns of the people. Sais is no different than Siwa.
thumb|250px|Harkhuf speaking with Bayek
Bayek met Harhuf outside the chamber.
*Harkhuf: The last man who asked questions about the Scarab was near beaten to death, with his tongue cut out.
*Bayek: Hmmm. Who was he?
*Harkhuf: Old Ghupa... Father-in-law to the most powerful man in the region, Taharqa.
Harkhuf gestured to a boy playing outside as the pair exited the home.
*Harkhuf: That boy, Kawab, is his grandson.
Bayek walked up to Kawab.
*Bayek: Eh, you tired of winning? I'm looking for your grandfather. Do you know where he went?
thumb|250px|Bayek observing the children playing
*Kawab: No, he left on the road to Camp Pyrrhos. He should have been home by now.
*Bayek: I'll see if I can find him along the road.
Bayek departed the house to find and rescue Ghupa. Before he left, he heard another conversation.
*Man 15: Is it true? Did Sefetu burn your sister's farm?
*Woman 7: Yes! He has no mercy!
*Man 15: What about your sister and her family?
*Woman 7: They escaped, thank the gods. Jeska helped them out of town, past the guards at Camp Pyrrhos.
*Man 15: This situation is impossible!
*Woman 7: Someone must do something! How can Pharaoh Ptolemy let the abuse continue?
Bayek rode up the road to Camp Pyrrhos and infiltrated the camp.
*Greek soldier 1: What are we to do with the beggar that Markos caught in the (officer's) tent?
*Greek soldier 2: If he survives the beating the men gave him, we'll sell him at the harbor for a drachma.
*Greek soldier 1: Did you know he was mute?
*Greek soldier 2: Perhaps half a drachma, then.
*Greek soldier 3: What happened to the beggar ?
*Greek soldier 4: The mute? Markos and Tykon beat him for sneaking around the camp. Poor bastard collapsed.
*Greek soldier 5: By the gods, Markos, I think you've killed him.
*Greek soldier 6: No, no, he still breathes. Stupid fool. This will teach him.
Bayek found the cage and opened it, hefting Ghupa onto his shoulders.
*Bayek: Ghupa. I will get you out.
Placing Ghupa on a horse, he proceeded to ride away to Ghupa's house.
*Bayek: I think you will survive.
*Ghupa: (mumbles)
*Bayek: I know the Scarab took your tongue. But we can help each other. Harkhuf told me that you were investigating the Scarab. Help me, and I can ensure he dies.
thumb|250px|Bayek delivering Ghupa to Kawab's home
Bayek helped Ghupa inside his estate, where Kawab, his grandson, awaited.
*Kawab: Grandfather! Are you all right? Is he hurt?
*Bayek: Banged up, bruised and thirsty. The soldiers did not take kindly to him. But he will be all right. Where is your father, Kawab? We must speak of this.
thumb|250px|Bayek asking Kawab about his father's whereabouts
*Kawab: Father is away, on his great work. Mother! Grandfather is hurt! Soldiers mistook him for a beggar again!
Kawab's mother entered the home.
*Maharet: Father, what have you done this time?
*Bayek: He was searching for the Scarab. I hope he can help me. And, in return, I can protect your family.
*Maharet: The Scarab is nonsense. Everyone knows this.
Ghupa rose and motioned at Kawab, giving him a piece of parchment.
*Kawab: He wants you to read them.
Bayek read the parchment.
*Bayek: It looks like the Scarab is summoning warriors to the city of Letopolis.
*Maharet: By the gods! That is where my husband is.
*Bayek: The city swallowed by the desert?
*Kawab: It is Father's destiny to rebuild it! We're going to join him soon. Right, Mother?
*Maharet: Yes. My husband Taharqa has been slaving there for months. I am sure he can help you. He knows everyone there.
*Kawab: If you go, tell him I can't wait to see him!
Kawab handed Bayek a wooden toy horse. Bayek took the toy with a smile.
*Bayek: Of course I will, Kawab.
Bayek read the parchment.
==Outcome==
Having rescued Ghupa, Bayek learned that the Scarab was gathering warriors to the ancient city of Letopolis, which was being rebuilt by Taharqa, the most powerful man in the region.
==Gallery==
ACO The Scarab's Sting - Ghupa Cage.png|Ghupa held in a cage
ACO The Scarab's Sting - Bayek Carrying Ghupa.png|Bayek carrying Ghupa to safety
ACO The Scarab's Sting - Ghupa Tended.png|Kawab and Maharet tending to Ghupa's wounds
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Origins
fr:La pince du Scarabée
Category:Memories of Bayek
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8