Anachronous

Chapter 3 - Serafina

A cup of coffee and chocolate marble cheesecake. That's how Lucian liked it. While making his sketches of various artifacts, he did his best thinking with a cup of black coffee and delicious chocolate marble cheesecake. He was about to make a real breakthrough with the location of the Kronos' Hourglass. All he had to do was search in the basement of the museum for the hidden map after hours. Since he worked there, he was entrusted with keeping the classified information about the priceless artifacts secure, but just this once, his desire to locate the Kronos' Hourglass would lead him to seek a hidden map and use it only for himself. Why was the map hidden? Well, most often, priceless artifacts are well-guarded and clues to their whereabouts are hidden. This is usually to protect something valuable or to prevent some idiot from opening a Pandora's Box by using a magical artifact irresponsibly. In this case, it was most definitely the latter. The map was in his hands, and Lucian could not be more eager to examine it. There was one problem, however. The map was written in Quechua. Not only that, but it led to a temple in El Paraíso, Peru.

"What's this? I thought the Kronos' Hourglass was Greek, not Peruvian..." Said Lucian to himself with a puzzled look on his face.

Lucian had never specialized in any Pre-Incan or Mayan culture, as they were just some of the cultures he had never studied. He was more of an Ancient Greece or Rome nerd. Being an archaeologist meant he would have to become comfortable with traveling and learning various languages as well as studying various cultures, however. Luckily, one of his colleagues named Carolina Vásquez was born and raised in Peru, thus she'd be able to help translate the Quechuan text. He opened up his laptop and arranged a video meeting with Carolina.

"!Hola! Lucian, what can I do for you today?" Carolina asked enthusiastically.

"Good morning, Ms. Vásquez!" Lucian greeted. "I need you to keep a little secret for me..."

Carolina rolled her eyes in response to what she perceived as a practical joke. "What did you do this time, Lucian?"

"Well, I found the map to Kronos' Hourglass and much to my surprise, it's located in Peru. The text on the map appears to be written in Quechua. I've never studied much about the Pre-Incan civilizations or any of the official Peruvian languages, so you can see I'm in a bit of a pickle here..." Lucian looked at the camera pleadingly.

"Well, there are many varieties of Quechua. Show me the map and I'll tell you which one it is written in." She requested.

Lucian held up the map to the camera for Carolina to examine. "So, what does it translate to?" He asked eagerly.

"This is definitely South Bolivian Quechua." She replied. "It says:

Dear Traveler,

You are very brave to be seeking such a dangerous artifact, but now that you've found this map, here are your instructions. There are actually two Kronos' Hourglasses. One is intact, and the other is broken into pieces, scattered in various locations of the world. There are three locations in which you'll find yourself a piece to one of the two Kronos' Hourglasses, but if you prefer searching for the intact hourglass, search north of the Peruvian capital of Lima in a temple located in El Paraíso. Be careful searching there, for the site has been in ruins and flooded for quite some time now. If you prefer the more dangerous, longer way to finding the pieces of the broken hourglass, search in the deep jungles of Southern Mexico, the forgotten city of Persepolis, and the Greek Parthenon. Below are the coordinates for each location. The missing pieces are two halves of the hourglass, the top, and bottom pieces that keep it together. It is rumored that the sand remains in the broken halves, and once all of the pieces are found, they will fuse together and the hourglass will once again be intact. It goes without saying that you will need to pack all of your essentials, but while venturing in the jungles of Southern Mexico, be extremely careful in Xibalbá: The Mayan Underworld.

Best of luck, traveler!
- Serafina Viotto

"Well, looks like this Serafina just got you started on your journey." Carolina winked. "Please tell me you're going for the safer option in Peru."

Lucian nodded in agreement. "I am most definitely going to Peru. I'm not going anywhere near an underworld..."

Carolina chuckled. "Well, I'm glad I could help you start on your journey. I have a very important meeting to attend to now. Good luck, Lucian!" She waved and ended the video call.

A loud knock is heard at the door.

"Oh- come in!" Answered Lucian, sounding a bit startled.

A woman quickly opened the door and marched right in. It was his wife Vernal, looking frustrated and unimpressed with her husband. "Who was that on the other end?" She asked, sounding skeptical.

"That was Carolina. She was helping me decipher what's written on this ma-" He paused and looked at the map, then again at Vernal nervously before hiding the map under his desk.

"Don't tell me you're still on the hunt for that hourglass now..." Vernal sighed in frustration.

"Look, Vernal I know I've spent years trying to uncover it but I've finally found the map to the artifact's whereabouts!" He pulled out the map and showed it to Vernal. "They had it hidden in the museum's basement!" He whispered.

"What?! Lucian... if they had it hidden in a classified underground chamber where even employees couldn't access it, don't you think that's a sign that maybe they didn't want just anyone going out and looking for it??" She questioned.

"Vernal, sweetie, I'm very trusted with the classified information. Just please, don't tell anyone I found the map. I've only told Carolina. I'm on the verge of making a real breakthrough here! For the first time ever, time travel will become a reality!" Lucian exclaimed with ambitious excitement.

"So? You are always on the verge, Lucian. You have quite literally missed Ivori's childhood because you're obsessed with uncovering some trinket in another country. What's next, another trip overseas?" She asked impatiently.

"I'm only going to Peru! I leave on May 13th and I'll only be gone for a week. I only have one location to see. It's not the end of the world, Vernal." Lucian reassured.

"May 13th?? That's next week! You had to choose the week of Ivori's graduation?? Oh my god. What is wrong with you? Are your daughter and wife not enough for you? What gives you the need to obsess over this materialistic artifact that you must abandon your daughter during her most important life milestones? You weren't present for her first grade school play, you had an 'important meeting' on the night of her Student of the Year award ceremony in fifth grade, you were in Panama during the week of her eighth grade promotion, and now you'll be exploring some temple in Peru on the week of her HIGH SCHOOL graduation. Why can't you just appreciate what you have, Lucian??" Vernal looked like she had tears welling up in her eyes.

"My job puts FOOD on the table and a ROOF over my wife and daughter's heads! Did you ever think of it like that??" Lucian shot back defensively. "Look, I've already spoken to Ivy about doing whatever it takes to find the hourglass. I have a time window between May 13th and June 12th to take this business trip. I will only be gone from the 13th to the 17th, then I'll be home on the 18th just in time for her graduation. Problem solved! She wants me to find it, so that she can use it to undo her feud with Annabelle. She'll understand!"

"You almost NEVER have time off, Lucian. Don't you see?? You're rarely home, and when you are, you ignore me or treat me like this. I've had enough. I want a divorce." Vernal burst into tears and ran out of Lucian's office, slamming the door behind her. Lucian stared at the door, frozen in shock.