Darius was extremely surprised that the journey to Atlantis had been so straightforward. The following morning, after the Guard’s body had been discovered, his remains and those of the late Caim Rocha were placed in coffins on a large cart drawn by four sturdy horses. It was not a particularly fast cart, but it was necessary given the weight of the lead sarcophagus in which the agent’s cursed remains had been placed. Fortunately, the two City Watchmen whom Bleist had decided to take with him to the capital were able to drive the cart. Apart from them, the colonel was accompanied only by six Ruby Guards. Rex and the rest of the squad were to continue investigating certain leads. They had little hope that it would yield anything, but it was better than idly waiting for Darius to find out something from the encrypted manuscript or the City Wardens' archives.
Given the distance they had to cover, they had to split the journey into two parts, so he was once again forced to spend the night at the Southern Star inn. Earl wasn’t particularly pleased about this, but he still preferred it to sleeping under the open sky in unfamiliar surroundings. He still had enough sense to make the wise choice. They set off on the rest of their journey well before dawn and, as a result, were able to feast their eyes on the walls of Atlantis that very evening, although Darius felt the greatest relief at finally escaping the African heat.
Seeing his home town, he wanted to be back home as soon as possible, but his duties prevented him from doing so. He had to oversee the transport of all the evidence right through to the very end. This included both the items found on the deceased and their bodies. He intended to lock the former in a safe in his office, and hand the bodies over to the medical staff so that an autopsy could be carried out as soon as possible.
With no other choice, they set off through the city. Their procession attracted more
