Animus, Book 1: Belch, Chapter 9: Scaraba Follies

The Kraken docked in Scaraba, much to the amazement of the people. "Good Kraken," Poo said as he petted the Kraken. The Kraken proceeded to throw Poo off and let the rest of the group off gently; it then swam away. "That was nice..." Poo muttered.
All around them, people were buying, selling, and bargaining with each other. "This is a great place," Mike stated. Poo, Skulryk, Luna, and Dan agreed.
"Oh my gosh!" Poo yelled. "A Piggy Nose!" Poo ran over to the Piggy Nose displays and tried them on.
"Hey, why don't we split up and check out Scaraba," Mike suggested. "We can meet up at the hotel."
"Good idea, Mike," Luna agreed. Dan and Skulryk nodded and walked off separately.
"Piggy nose! Heheh!" Poo laughed as he tried on different Piggy Noses.

Amid the noisy bustle of the marketplace, everyone went their separate ways. Sulami was about to as well, when he thought of something. That kid... er... SulamiTea tried to remember which one he was supposed to be. Oh yeah, Skulryk. He said something about the pyramids, so he might be interested in what I found out. He dashed forward and called, "Hey, Skulryk!"
Skulryk, without turning around, recognized SulamiTea's voice. Even though he seemed to have relaxed a little, he still didn't know if he should talk to anyone that Ness didn't fully trust.
Then the fact that his name had just been called by someone who had never heard it registered.
Skulryk whirled around. "How'd you know my name?" he shot once SulamiTea was close enough.
The boy quickly realized that he hadn't heard their names, and that he had some explaining to do. However...... it could wait. "Ah.... well, it's a bit complicated. I'll explain later, but I wanted to tell you something about the pyramid." Skulryk just raised an eyebrow. "The great Scaraban pyramid.... it collapsed."
Coming from a kid who had spazzed out the first time he saw him, Skulryk wasn't sure whether or not to take this information seriously. "Really..... how do you know this?"
Sulami took a breath and explained, "Well, when your group was on the boat, I headed for Scaraba. I went out into the desert to see the Sphinx - only when I got to the pyramid, it was in ruins. The Sphinx spoke long enough to tell me that part of the wall was knocked out, which caused the thing to collapse. And then, while trying to figure out what to do next, I used magic to see how the rest of you were doing. I saw you being attacked and traced your location as quickly as I could." SulamiTea, by now, was feeling inexplicably hot and uneasy, but stood waiting for Skulryk's reply.
Why is this kid trying to help us? thought Skulryk. Was that whole threatening rant just because he was angry? But maybe he loses his temper too often, and that's why Ness tried to get rid of him. Skulryk also considered that Sulami knew his name, and figured that he knew the others' names as well. The obvious question was how. If anything, we need answers from him, and maybe I can ask him his point of view on why Ness snuck away from him.
After this decision, Skulryk looked up at SulamiTea. "Well, since you and SimonBob took all this trouble to follow us, maybe you'll want to come with us."
SulamiTea shrugged. "I didn't think you'd want me to come after I had that fit, but if you're willing to have me, I'll come along. As for SimonBob, you'll have to ask him, I don't know his plans."
Skulryk waved his hand. "Fine. I'm going about my business now, but we're probably going to meet again soon, and when we do, maybe you can explain how it is you know us."
"Okay," agreed SulamiTea, and marched off to check on Stingale, still lying unreleased in the sands near the gate. Skulryk went back to his own business, but with a new thought on his mind. How could the great pyramid, standing for thousands of years, have collapsed?

Siris hung his head; Anna's words rung in his mind. He sighed, and spoke toward the ground. Halfway through his first sentence, the others realized that he was talking to them.
"Yes... Animosity exists within most of us," Siris muttered. "I know; I have vivid memories of what happens when I feel hatred."
"What's that?" Anthadd asked.
Siris looked up. "It's not so bad anymore," he rambled, "But it used to be horrifying. If I were to feel enough hatred... I would go through a noticeable change."
The others simply looked at him expectantly.
"My physical appearance would be altered slightly," Siris continued. "My hair would grow, and turn bright green, as would my eyes. But my mental state would change much more: My aura would flare and expand violently, and all of my power would increase. I would then..." Siris was on the verge of tears, but controlled himself.
"I would then take it out on the person who had pushed me to this state... I would hurt him immensely. The rage would eventually die down, though, thank holy magic for that..."
The others still stared.
"Oh, and by the way, Anna," Siris concluded. "I disagree with you on the fact that Animosity is born inside of every human..."
Siris stopped talking, but thought back to that pure, light aura he had sensed before.
"Anyway," Cyan said, "let's keep moving."

Skulryk watched SulamiTea walk away. Hmm... I wonder what he's up to... I'll have to ask the others. However, what he said about the great pyramid collapsing... that's just strange. However, I still believe there is one more pyramid to be discovered... I need to find that last pyramid!
Going back to his own matters, he made his way towards a man with a camel.

"Hello young man!" the person said. "How are you this wonderful afternoon? You look like you have adventure in your eyes! But, for adventure out here, you need transportation, and out here, that comes by camel!"
Skulryk thought about it, and looked at the man. He was obviously trying to con him; Skulryk could tell that simply by the camel. It was sick, and wouldn't even last him a mile. However, he might as well play along with this game.
"Well," Skulryk said. "You're pretty perceptive. I am out for an adventure. A few of my friends and I need camels."
"Well, sir, you've come to the right place! I have these fantastic camels! I'll give this one to you," the man pointed out the sick camel, "for the low price of $1000!"
His prices were outrageous, Skulryk could tell. Now is when he would close in.
"Well, that's quite a deal. However, you shouldn't be selling a sick camel for an overcharged price. I know I could get 4 healthy camels for that price. Now, would you like me to inform the Scaraban police about your little operation?"
The man began to sweat, and it wasn't the sweltering sun which was causing it. "Ok, ok! You got me! Here, you can see that these four are some healthy camels! Use them, just don't call the police!"
Skulryk grinned, and lead the camels off. "Four should be enough," he said. "Some of us might have to double up, but it will be ok. Now, I have to find the others. I just hope Poo hasn't gotten into any trouble..."