The Scarab's Lies

The Scarab's Lies was a virtual representation of one of Bayek's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8
==Description==
Bayek traveled to Letopolis to meet Taharqa, hoping to learn more about the Scarab.
==Dialogue==
Bayek entered the Temple of Horus in Letopolis and found Taharqa.
*Bayek: Master Taharqa? My name is Bayek, from Siwa.
*Taharqa: I am indeed Taharqa, grand planner of Sais and steward of Letopolis.
*Bayek: I met your family. Your wife sent me here. She said you might know about the one called the Scarab.
*Taharqa: This is not the place to speak, for who knows who may overhear our words? Come inside, and I will answer you.
thumb|250px|Bayek giving back Kawab's wooden toy.
Bayek followed Taharqa inside the nearby building. Upon entering, Bayek revealed the wooden toy horse toy given to him by Taharqa's son, Kawab.
*Bayek: Your son is very proud of your work. He misses you.
Taharqa took the toy, laying it on a table nearby with other toys.
*Taharqa: He'll be here soon. I dream of my son, and his sons, following in my steps. The world is made by great men dreaming big. What do you dream of, Bayek?
*Bayek: I do not have the luxury of dreams. Just finding the Scarab.
*Taharqa: The Scarab preys upon the weak. He is no threat to me.
Bayek took a drink offered by Taharqa.
*Bayek: Are you not afraid of the Scarab, Taharqa? It seems after what he did to your father-in-law...
*Taharqa: Whatever happens to poor Ghupa tears me. Whatever my life's work, whatsoever I did to bring that down upon him... I beg the gods forgive me.
thumb|250px|Taharqa's servant alerts his master about an incoming attack.
A servant rushed in, interrupting the conversation. He ran into Bayek, making him drop his drink.
*Servant: Master Taharqa! They're attacking the ruins again!
*Taharqa: Bayek, come fight with me!
They left the building.
*Taharqa: The wind is picking up. Not good.
The two began to run through the temple.
*Taharqa: That keening is the voice of the (sandstorm). The desert dogs use the storm as a rallying cry. These reavers use the sandstorm to mask their raids. Stay close to me! Do not let these curs surround you!
The two engaged in battle with the reavers throughout Letopolis while the sandstorm raged around them.
*Taharqa: I will not let you destroy my great work!Over here! Drive these neket iadets (pieces of shit) back!They pour out of the storm!These reavers fly on the wings of the storm!Your blood will water the soil of my home!You face the greatest of Egypt!Come, Medjay, fight with me!Quick, hunt them down!Spears of Letopolis, rise up and defend your homes!Medjay, show them the teeth of justice!Bayek, do not stray into the storm!You expected to find our soft bellies, but instead, you have found our iron teeth!These reavers think themselves lions, they are but whipped curs!Bayek, hunt them down!Stay with me, Bayek!Letopolis will stand against you, curs!Die, you sons of dogs!
After the battle, Bayek approached Taharqa through the sandstorm.
*Taharqa: Bayek, you fell upon them like Sobek's teeth! Bayek, ride with us! These desert dogs have crossed me for the last time. And with your fierce iron, I know we can end their threat.
*Bayek: I understand your thirst for blood, Taharqa, but these bandits are not my concern. Tell me about the Scarab before you ride.
*Taharqa: Is that not the badge of a Medjay you wear? These reavers are a threat to the good and innocent people of Letopolis. Come with me, Bayek! And once we have returned these curs to the desert they so love, then I will tell you the story you want to hear.
*Bayek: All right. I will join your cause for today.
Bayek followed Taharqa to meet up with his men.
*Taharqa: Come, Bayek! Take up your iron and join us! Brave, loyal servants of Letopolis! We will root these reavers out of their holes, and spill their blood on the sand!
They all mounted up and followed Taharqa into the desert.
*Bayek: The task you've put yourself up to. It seems impossible.
Taharqa laughed.
*Taharqa: Only the gods can know that for sure, Bayek. And if I do not reach for the stars, how will I know how close I can get? Letopolis was a wonder once before the desert overtook it. I mean to show the world, to show the gods, that men can conquer anything if they put their minds to it. Perhaps you have been sent by the gods to help me realize my vision. A strong arm, a keen eye. We could restore this land to glory.
*Bayek: I have my own great work ahead of me.
*Taharqa: We shall see if I cannot convince you!
The group stopped at an oasis, the mouth of a cave down the hill in the distance. Dismounting, they proceeded down into the Plesionhudor Hideout.
*Bayek: Hmm. Sounds like a few bandits are roosting up top.
After killing all the bandits, Bayek met Taharqa inside. A prisoner of the reavers waited within a cage.
*Taharqa: My thanks to you, Bayek. Before you arrived, I thought my dream was doomed to die. You gave me the strength to hunt down these reavers.
*Bayek: Who were they?
*Taharqa: Blood-fevered followers of Sekhmet, the Lady of Slaughter. They wish nothing more than chaos and ruin.
*Bayek: Are they connected to the Scarab?
*Taharqa: No, they think themselves lions, but they are no more than carrion eaters. And now they will feed the scavengers! I will bring this priest back to the city. Meet me at my house. We will dine and I will tell you what you need to know.
*Priest Karro: May Ptah bless you and the protector saving me, Master Taharqa.
*Taharqa: How did you end up here?
*Priest Karro: I was kidnapped by these blood-crazed raiders! I thought the road from Memphis to Letopolis was safe.
*Taharqa: It is now. And I will ensure it stays so. You say you came from Memphis?
*Priest Karro: Memphis is home to many priests. They do not need me there. But Letopolis is fertile ground, planted by your hard work.
*Taharqa: How are things in Memphis?
*Priest Karro: I must admit... Memphis is under a shadow. The high priest angered the gods and is cursed to see the doom of the city. Your messengers reached Memphis, singing of your vision of tomorrow. I have come here to serve the gods.
*Taharqa: Once you are rested, we will make a home for you in Letopolis.
Bayek traveled to Taharqa's home to meet with him. Kawab ran out to meet him.
*Kawab: Bayek! Did you see the sandstorm? Come! Father said you'd join us for dinner!
thumb|250px|The Medjay joins Kawab's family for dinner in Taharqa's house.
Bayek followed him inside, and dinner began.
*Bayek: I'm glad you made it safely, Maharet.
*Maharet: Ha, yes, the gods blessed our passage.
*Kawab: We saw vultures and a hyena! And so much sand!
*Taharqa: Ha ha ha, enough sand to fill a lifetime! That is why we need so many to help us with our great work.
*Bayek: And what do you promise them, Taharqa?
*Taharqa: A parcel of land with a house to call their own. They must only help reclaim it from the desert.
*Bayek: That is all? Just dig up your house? Heh.
*Taharqa: It is no simple task. We must all pitch in, to honor the gods.
*Kawab: People know his vision is a true one!
*Bayek: It is good to honor your father, Kawab.
thumb|250px|The true identity of the Scarab.
Taharqa gave Bayek a drink.
*Taharqa: To the savior of Letopolis!
*Maharet: Mmm, let us have some honeyed dates now, and... Are you all right, Bayek?
Bayek stumbled to the side, the room spinning. Taharqa knelt next to him, holding his hand, the snake-shaped ring on his finger clear.
*Taharqa: Are you unwell?
Taharqa smiled as Bayek blacked out.
thumb|250px|Bayek finding himself buried in the desert.
Later on, Bayek woke up, buried up to his neck in sand in the desert amidst the bones and decaying corpses of others, miles from civilization. The sun beat down on him, the scorpions circled him.
*Bayek: May the gods be against you, Taharqa, in all that you do!
Bayek managed to wrench one arm free.
*Bayek: (coughs) (spits) (tries to clear throat) (feels the sand in his teeth) Senu... Aya... where are you, my love?Khemu... I am failing you... please don't... hate me.Soon, I will walk the outer darkness with the Hidden One, leading me into the Field of Reeds...
Mirages began to approach, fading after they spoke.
*Medunamun: You have become that which you seek to punish.Did my death please you? To scratch my name out on your skin?All that blood and vengeance, but will it bring you peace?Aren't you tired? Just lie down in the sand and sleep.
*Rabiah: Still so handsome, if I were a girl again, I would give Aya reason to be jealous!You and Aya, you walk such a dangerous path. Medjays. The last.Bayek of Siwa? What are you of now? He he he.The stars brought me. The stars will take me too.It has been so long, Bayek. Too long.
*Hepzefa: Would you turn your back on me, friend?You are a normal man, yet the fate of our world is upon your shoulders?I will die if I must, protecting Siwa, that which you abandoned.Our people still need your protection, Medjay.Siwa yearns for you, Bayek. Remember your roots. Siwa is your home.Come share a beer, seni. (friend.)
*Phanos the Younger: The poets defend your ka.You are a normal man, yet the fate of our world is upon your shoulders?You must free them, Medjay. Or their bones will turn to dust.Do you think your path is certain?
*Aya: Where is our son, Bayek? Where is my Khemu?Bring me back our son.The Masked Ones are everywhere. May Amun walk at your side.Bring me the heads of the Order.We must allow our son to pass into the Field of Reeds.So you remember when we were children? We lived so fiercely, so free.
*Eudoros: The Snake? Me? It's laughable how little you know.You are an actor among fools!Did it feel good? Killing me, watching the light fade from my eyes?The Snake grows and lives in sands untouchable.
*Apollodorus: We became close, Aya and I, she spoke highly of you, as a Medjay.Do you really think you can save our people, Bayek?
*Cleopatra: How could a boy hope to rule a kingdom?The Eagle will not take the Serpent in its claws.We cannot stand by and let Egypt fall to our enemies!
*Ptolemy: Pharaohs made chariots, brought gods into human hearts, our divinity is to be protected by the Medjay.They have killed Egypt, do you understand?Bow before your king, Egyptian!
Bayek whistled. His horse heard him, running through the dunes to him.
*Bayek: There now, good boy.
thumb|250px|Bayek pulled free.
The horse halted, sniffing at the scorpions, but Senu flew down and struck it on the side, scaring it to a gallop. As the horse rode past, Bayek reached out with his free hand, grabbing hold of the rope hanging loose, and was pulled free.
*Bayek: Hiyah! May the gods smile upon you.
Bayek rose and brushed himself off before setting out to recover his belongings.
*Bayek: Stripped of armor, weapons, and coin. Where to begin? Now, to hurry before the wind erases the tracks.
Bayek mounted his horse and began following the tracks through the sand.
*Bayek: First my steel. Then, the Scarab.
Approaching Camp Achlys, Bayek snuck inside.
*Guard 1: Did you pack up the gear?
*Guard 2: Yes, remarkable armaments. It's packed up in a crate as payment to Sefetu.
*Guard 1: Good. We'll send it to Fort Nikiou in a few days.
*Guard 2: How long do you think it will take for him to die?
*Guard 1: The guy we buried? Hmm. Two days?
*Guard 3: He looked tough. I'd bet five drachma he'd survive for at least three.
*Guard 1: You're on. Wait. Who is going to check?
Bayek infiltrated a building, finding the chest with his gear, below a banner bearing the emblem of the Order of the Ancients. Staring at the banner, Bayek reclaimed his gear.
*Bayek: They should have stayed in the shadows.
Inside was also a letter to Sefetu.
Bayek left the building and returned to Letopolis, locating Taharqa within the Temple of Horus.
*Taharqa: Oh gods, smile upon my work so that my name might remain enduring in this temple forever and ever. O mother Nut, watch over me so that I may be placed among the imperishable stars and may never die. O mother Nut, watch over me, so that I may be placed among the stars and never die. Oh gods, smile upon my work so that my name endures.
Bayek interrupted his prayer.
*Bayek: I see you now, out of the shadows.
*Taharqa: Me? I do not hide in the shadows. I was in front of you the whole time. Your eyes were too weak to see. You are a speck, to be swallowed up by time.
*Bayek: For a moment I thought you were doing good in this life.
*Taharqa: Good? Evil? Those are phantasms of the desert. No more than a mirage, like yourself. Soon only my true vision will remain.
Bayek assassinated Taharqa. He then saw a vision of him in the afterlife.
*Taharqa: So... this is how a dream dies.
thumb|250px|Bayek and Taharqa in the Animus' Memory Corridor.
Taharqa began climbing a stairwell.
*Taharqa: I could have built something to last an age!
*Bayek: And Ghupa could have sung stories of your accomplishments.
*Taharqa: There are things I regret! We all labor for higher powers. We are all in thrall to greater forces. There is no escape.
Bayek suddenly heard Kawab's laughter.
*Taharqa: I am but one in the Order of Ancients. This victory will bring you no peace!
*Bayek: It is not peace that I seek. It is not for my soul that I walk this path.
*Taharqa: The Order of Ancients will remember me as the bringer of waters and a builder of cities!
He raised a series of black columns that closed in on Bayek. Turning, Taharqa realized Bayek was now behind him.
*Bayek: Or the desert will blow in... and scatter the dreams of Letopolis like dust.
thumb|250px|Taharqa starts to sink in the dark waters of the Memory Corridor.
Taharqa sank beneath the dark waters, stretching out his hand. Bayek watched him descend, then threw the scarab amulet after him. Bayek, back in the world of the living, touched a white feather against his forehead before rising over Taharqa's body. From the entrance, Kawab rushed in.
*Kawab: Aaaahhh! Father!
He rushed to Bayek, breaking free from his family.
*Kawab: I'll cut you down! Like you did my father!
Ghupa pulled him away as Maharet knelt by Taharqa's body, crying.
*Kawab: I thought you were our friend! I hate you!
Ghupa embraced Kawab. Bayek met his eyes.
*Bayek: Take care of him. Try to make him understand if you can.
thumb|250px|Taharqa's family surrounding sadly The Scarab's corpse.
Ghupa nodded.
*Maharet: You have brought blood and death to my house.
*Bayek: You were blind, but now you must open your eyes. Your husband was the Scarab. He did this. Your father was tortured and scarred by this man. As were so many others.
*Maharet: No...
She turned to regard Ghupa, but he only nodded in confirmation.
*Bayek: It is up to you to raise your boy into the light, out of the blood and shadows of his father's legacy.
Bayek walked away, but stopped, closing his eyes.
*Bayek: I am sorry, my son.
==Outcome==
Bayek defended Letopolis from reavers but learned that the Scarab was Taharqa himself. He, therefore, assassinated him.
==Gallery==
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part11.png|The Reavers attacking Letopolis under cover of sandstorm
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part12.png|Taharqa leading Bayek and a group of men to the Reavers' hideout
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part13.png|A priest held captive by the Reavers.
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part14.png|Kawab inviting Bayek to a family dinner inside the house
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part15.png|Bayek hallucinates Khemu as he is buried neck down.
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part16.png|Bayek discovering where his gear is hidden as well as the banner of the Order of the Ancients
Origins_Quest11TheScarab'sLies_Part17.png|Bayek assassinating Taharqa
ACO The Scarab's Lies - Taharqa's family.png|Taharqa's family discovering Bayek and his actions
ACO The Scarab's Lies - Bayek thinking of Khemu.png|Bayek thinking of Khemu after Taharqa's assassination
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Origins
Category:Memories of Bayek
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8