• 515
• Harun
  Ah, Player!

• 516
• Vittoria
  You're back! And safe...
  I'm so glad.

• 517
• Harun
  I'm glad too.
  Vittoria and I were pretty worried.

• 518
• Vittoria
  ...Where is my brother? I heard he got through the battle at Cyprus safely...

• 519
• What do you want to do?

• 520
• Explain your circumstances

• 521
• Hide the truth

• 522
• Vittoria
  What happened?

• 523
• Vittoria
  What...! My brother is in Egypt now?

• 524
• Harun
  Wow, really?
  Didn't Egypt recently forfeit to the Turks?

• 525
• Vittoria
  Yes, they did...
  And my brother has fought the Turks on many occasion, as sworn enemies.
  He could be captured before he has a chance to negotiate.

• 526
• Harun
  That sounds like trouble...

• 527
• Vittoria
  Player, could you go with me to Alexandria and help protect my brother?

• 528
• What do you want to do?

• 529
• Okay, I see.

• 530
• No.

• 531
• Vittoria
  Okay...

• 532
• Harun
  Please, Player.
  Vittoria was praying for the safe return of her brother and Player this whole time.

• 533
• Vittoria
  Thank you! Let's depart for Egypt!

• 534
• Harun
  Wow, we're finally at Alexandria.
  So first I'll go and look for Alvise...
  
  Hey, where's Vittoria!

• 535
• Vittoria
  Help!

• 536
• Harun
  Where did she go!? We lost her!

• 537
• Vittoria
  Who, who are these people!?

• 538
• Merchant
  Come now, take a look at our goods!

• 539
• Harun
  Black market merchants, dealing stolen goods!

• 540
• Merchant
  Here we have an impressive necklace, better than anything you can find, even in Istanbul! Let's start at 1 million!

• 541
• Vittoria
  Wait, wait you!
  That's mine, my precious...

• 542
• Resident
  2 million!

• 543
• Man
  Then I go 3 million!

• 544
• Merchant
  We have 3 million! Anybody above 3 million?

• 545
• Vittoria
  Help me, Player!

• 546
• What do you want to do?

• 547
• Stop them

• 548
• Watch silently

• 549
• Hawker
  What do you want!? Get out of my way!
  5 million!

• 550
• Hawker
  Hmm...
  5 million!

• 551
• Merchant
  5 million! Is that all?

• 552
• Voice
  ...
  50 million.

• 553
• Merchant
  Fifty!?

• 554
• Man
  I said, 50 million.

• 555
• Hawker
  You're...
  Faisal, Conqueror of the Sands!

• 556
• Man
  Faisal the Bedouin!?
  Oh boy, I won't dare stand up against him.
  I'm out.

• 557
• Faisal
  My men will deliver the money soon.

• 558
• Merchant
  Ye, yes sir!

• 559
• Harun
  Wow, that whole crowd disappeared without a trace.

• 560
• Faisal
  Yes...
  this is an impressive piece.
  Worth 50 million, down to the coin.

• 561
• Vittoria
  That's my necklace...
  it was stolen when I was walking through the crowd.

• 562
• Faisal
  ...
  I see.
  The merchants were indeed very shady...
  However, the transactions have already been completed.
  If you must have this back, I will sell it to you for the same price.

• 563
• Vittoria
  I don't have that much money...

• 564
• Voice
  Vittoria!?

• 565
• Alvise
  And Player!
  What are you doing here!?

• 566
• Alvise
  Player, what are you doing here?

• 567
• Harun
  Are you all right, Vittoria?

• 568
• Vittoria
  Yes, I'm alright...
  I'm glad you came, my brother.

• 569
• Faisal
  I am Faisal, Sheikh of the Bedouin who dwell in the desert.
  And you are...?

• 570
• Alvise
  I am Alvise Orseolo, Aide to the Doge of the Republic of Venetia.
  This is my sister, and her friends.
  They seem to have followed me here.

• 571
• Faisal
  ...
  I see.
  She seemed too noble for the atmosphere.
  I apologize for the troubles I have caused her.
  Here, have your necklace.

• 572
• Vittoria
  (I'm glad...)

• 573
• Faisal
  So...
  what is a high-ranking official of Venice doing here?

• 574
• Alvise
  The Turks have forced the Egyptians to stop exporting pepper to us.
  We have come to negotiate for the restart of trade.

• 575
• Faisal
  I see...
  
  And how did you fare?

• 576
• Alvise
  I could not even approach the Pasha's palace.
  I must return empty-handed.

• 577
• Faisal
  I see.
  Well, it must be the will of the gods that guided us here.
  Follow me to the palace.

• 578
• Alvise
  ...?

• 579
• Faisal
  I must speak to the Pasha.

• 580
• Guard
  Sheikh Faisal! Please! Enter!

• 581
• Guard
  The Pasha and Sheikh will see you.
  Enter.

• 582
• Alvise
  (The Pasha would not even listen to me, but now he is so willing to see me...)

• 583
• Vittoria
  (This is the Pasha of Egypt...)

• 584
• Harun
  Wow! I can't believe I got let in to the Pasha's room!

• 585
• Vittoria
  (Quiet Harun! This is no place for child's play!)

• 586
• Pasha of Egypt
  Hello Sheikh, I am glad to see that you are well.
  ...
  It seems you have some unusual servants with you today?

• 587
• Faisal
  They tell me you have stopped your exports of pepper to them.
  What are you thinking?

• 588
• Pasha of Egypt
  Nothing out of the ordinary.
  Venice is the enemy of our suzerain, Turkey.
  No fool would sell pepper to its enemy.

• 589
• Faisal
  With the pepper trade gone, fewer merchants will carry goods from the Red Sea to Egypt.
  So this is why there are fewer merchants asking for our protection to travel the desert.

• 590
• Pasha of Egypt
  Err....
  Um...

• 591
• Faisal
  We are wolves, blood thirsty wolves that must now leave the desert in hunt for new prey.
  But of course, you knew this was going to happen when you stopped the pepper trade, yes?

• 592
• Pasha of Egypt
  N, no! Please spare us!
  I understand!
  If the Sheikh says so, I must comply...
  I will restart the pepper trade to Venice, as usual.
  Please do keep this a secret, especially to Istanbul...

• 593
• Alvise
  I owe you a heavy debt for your cooperation.

• 594
• Faisal
  ...
  We merely had a common goal.
  You owe me nothing.
  However...

• 595
• Alvise
  ...?

• 596
• Faisal
  ...
  Soon, pepper travelling the desert will become meaningless.

• 597
• Alvise
  What? What do you mean?

• 598
• Faisal
  The sun has reached its peak, and is now tilting west.
  We all must find ourselves a new source of sustenance.
  Farewell.
  I foresee that we will meet again soon.

• 599
• Harun
  Well, there goes beard-man.

• 600
• Alvise
  ......

• 601
• Vittoria
  Why are you so quiet, brother?

• 602
• Alvise
  Vittoria, do you remember what Faisal just said?

• 603
• Vittoria
  Um...
  Something about the pepper in the desert becoming meaningless...
  And the sun tilting to the west...

• 604
• Alvise
  Several years ago, a spy we sent to Spain sent us a report.
  It said that a Spaniard by the name of Colon found a westbound route to India.

• 605
• Vittoria
  But...
  I heard he did not bring back a grain of pepper.

• 606
• Alvise
  True, but that was already a few years ago.
  If India is truly along that route, it will fit his story.

• 607
• Vittoria
  No...!

• 608
• Alvise
  It's still merely a theory.
  However, if it is true, the government must react quickly.

• 609
• Alvise
  Player, I need you to travel to Seville to find out the truth.
  Will you accept?

• 610
• What do you want to do?

• 611
• Okay, I see.

• 612
• No.

• 613
• Alvise
  The fate of our nation rests on this mission.
  Can you please accept?

• 614
• Alvise
  I thank you.
  Here is a token of my gratitude.
  Use it to get what you need for your trip to Spain.

• 615
• Vittoria
  ...Player, please, may I go with you?

• 616
• Alvise
  Vittoria...
  what are you...

• 617
• Vittoria
  Brother, I am a Venetian noble as well.
  I cannot just sit and wait while my nation faces turmoil.

• 618
• Alvise
  ...
  ...Fine.
  I suppose staying with Player is safer than being in Venice near the conspirators.
  Player, I entrust you with my sister's safety.

• 619
• Vittoria
  I'm sorry, Player.
  I promise not to get in your way.

• 620
• Voice
  And neither would I!

• 621
• Vittoria
  Harun!? I thought you got on my brother's ship...

• 622
• Harun
  He he, I got worried about Vittoria and Player being on their own, so I followed you here.

• 623
• Harun
  I mean, Player, you don't have port permits over there, do you?

• 624
• Vittoria
  Alright, let's get a port permit.

• 625
• Harun
  Besides, it's my home town.
  I should be able to help.
  Alright, off to Seville!

• 23033
• Vittoria was relieved to see that Player had returned.

• 23034
• However, her face turned pale when she heard that Alvise had left for Egypt.
  Sensing the danger involved, she asked Player to go with her to Alexandria and help protect her brother.

• 23035
• Player and Vittoria arrived in Alexandria.
  However, as they were in the port, somebody took Vittoria away while they were not looking.

• 23036
• Amidst the bustling town, Vittoria's stolen necklace was being auctioned off.
  The merchants competed with each other, escalating the price.
  Even Vittoria's cries for help were drowned out in the wild enthusiasm.
  The price was stuck at 5 million, when suddenly, a large man appeared and bid an unbelievable 50 million.
  It was Faisal, Conqueror of the Sands and the leader of the Bedouin nomads.
  When the merchants heard the man's name, they were left with no other choice than to leave disappointed.

• 23037
• Vittoria attempted to get her necklace back from Faisal.
  He agreed to sell it for the same 50 million which he had paid, but Vittoria did not have that much money.
  Then, a man approached the distraught Vittoria.
  It was none other than Alvise, who they had followed to Alexandria.

• 23038
• Upon hearing the circumstances of the situation, Faisal returned the necklace to Vittoria.
  He asked what a high-ranking official of Venice was doing in a place like this.
  When he heard that the reason was due to the stoppage of pepper exports, he appeared as if a thought came to him and he headed towards the palace.

• 23039
• The Pasha of Egypt welcomed Faisal warmly, upon which Faisal pressed him about the reason for stopping the pepper exports.
  The Pasha replied that they could not sell pepper to an enemy of their suzerain Turkey.
  Faisal said that due to the stoppage of the exports, his opportunities to provide escorts for merchants had also fallen off.
  As the Pasha refused to answer, suddenly Faisal growled, "We are wolves, blood thirsty wolves that must now leave the desert in hunt for new prey." Scared by this threat, the Pasha promised to resume the pepper exports as long as it was kept a secret from Turkey.

• 23040
• Impressed by Faisal's actions, Alvise tried to compensate him for his trouble.
  However, Faisal refused, saying he did what he did because it affected both Venice and the Bedouin, and went on to say, "Soon, pepper travelling the desert will become meaningless." When Alvise asked about the meaning of the words, Faisal responded with an equally cryptic message and left, "The sun has reached its peak, and is now tilting west."

• 23041
• Faisal's words triggered a memory within Alvise.
  Several years ago, a man named Colon from Spain had opened a route west to India.
  If he had really obtained pepper from India, it would mean that the Venice monopoly on it would collapse.
  Alvise announced that he would be returning home to look into the matter further and requested that Player go to Seville to find out more information.
  Vittoria asked to be taken along as well as she could not sit back and do nothing while her country was in such peril.
  Alvise agreed to let her go and asked Player to look after her.