“Weights, cogs, chains and levers?” answers Layla. “All assembled in four pits sighted at the four corners of the rollers. Those four pits are also linked!” she continues.

“Iron cogs, chains and mechanisms?” asks Ray, looking straight at Layla, who’s nodding.

“Got it!” says Steve loudly before Layla can answer Ray.

“Releasing weights to move the headstone to gain access. Then, use a locking mechanism to hold it in place. And vice versa at the opposite side of the headstone to close it?” suggests Steve.

“Correct,” says Layla. “More or less?”

Steve and the guys start milling around the large headstone as Nuno and Albertina stare at the facial features.

“I can see why you said robotic features!” says Albertina as she and Nuno move closer to inspect the headstone.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” asks Layla, just as the headstone starts to make a rumbling sound as it slowly moves backwards.

“JEEZ!” shouts Zig as several other people jump, and everyone starts to move away from the stone structure.

“Don’t panic!” shouts Layla, trying to keep everyone calm. “Just continue to move backwards, slowly!” she adds.

The headstone continues to slide backwards, revealing four human heads rising toward the sunlight.

“Aarrhh!” says Albertina. “I was starting to wonder where you guys were?” she adds as Tony, Ah-Lam, Ari, and Felix appear as they walk up the stairs from the halfway landing of the BSP with touches in hand.

The headstone suddenly stops with a slight clunking sound, followed by a louder thud.

“Very good!” says Nuno. “And the timing of your entrance, or should I say, exit, is perfect!” he adds before clapping softly.

Most guys join Nuno by gently clapping as the four team members step out of the stairwell onto solid ground.

“Fantastic!” says Max, inching nearer to the stairs. “Do we get to go down into the Palace?” he asks, looking down the stairwell.

“Ha! You had to ask, Maxie Boy!” says Steve as Zig and the team chuckle at Max’s curiosity.

“Not today, Max,” answers Anton, slightly hidden from the guys beside the headstone, while triggering the mechanism to return it to its closed position.

“Jeez!” says Joan as the headstone moves forward. “I was hoping to look inside the Palace too!”

“Actually! Before returning to our base camp, we want to finish some work above ground. So we’ll leave viewing the inside of the Palace as a surprise for tomorrow,” continues Anton as Tony, Ah-Lam, and the guys start greeting Steve, Zig and the rest of the team.

“You see, Max! These stone columns have several air vents built into them to ventilate the Palace with clean air, so we need to finish cleaning those out today,” continues Tony.

“Why don’t we split into four teams to finish our task?” asks Ah-Lam “That way, we’ll get finished sooner!”

“I’m up for that!” says Zig, as Steve and the guys agree.

Ari starts to organise the teams before each group, moves off with its team leader to set about its task.

After several hours of work and a hike back to their base camp, all the guys, along with the two ZandaBots, are sitting around a campfire as daylight fades.

“Hey, Tony!” says Max as Felix and Layla pass the food they’ve cooked around the group.

“Yeah!” splutters Tony with a mouth full of vegetable soup.

“You didn’t tell us we’d have to climb up the outside of those stone columns via the brickwork sticking out to reach and clean out those vents,” continues Max as Zig passes him a bowl of soup.

Ray, Steve, Judy, and Joan laugh out loud, prompting several others to join in.

“You didn’t ask?” replies Tony as the laughter continues. “So I guessed you were okay with working at height!”

“JEEZ!” says Max. “I nearly froze. I could have been stuck on the side of that column for life!” he adds before chuckling.

“I don’t know about that,” adds Ray. “You climbed down a lot faster than you climbed up when someone mentioned food,” he continues, adding to the laughter.

Everyone laughs at Max’s expense as Zig walks over to hug him.

“You’re still my hero, Maxie Boy!” says Zig before kissing him on his cheek.

“And mine!” adds Steve, putting two thumbs toward Max as the laughter dies. “Because you faced your fear of working at height to help your team!”

“Anyway, guys!” says Ari, looking around at Zig, Nari and the boys. “You’ll all be repaid handsomely tomorrow when I take you down into the Palace?”

“Yeah!” agrees Ah-Lam. “You all loved the Bedouin Sky Burial Chamber, so I’m sure you’ll love the BSP too?”

“Ahh! The BSBC?” says Max, making Anton chuckle.

“Yes, Max. The BSBC,” says Anton, as a few team members look puzzled.

“Bedouin Sky Burial Chamber!” mutters Nari.

“Of course!” says Zig, now understanding as she and Dal smile at Nari.

“I can’t wait to see the BSP!” says Joan the following morning, sitting beside Zig as they eat breakfast with the rest of the team.

“Me too!” agrees Zig. “And I can’t wait to see the surprise Ari spoke of yesterday?”

Both teams soon reach the large headstone, where Anton shows Steve, Ray, Zig, and the guys how to move it for access to the Bedouin Sky Palace.

As soon as the entrance opens, Ari and Ah-Lam lead Max, followed by Joan and the guys, down the stone stairs, into the reception area, and finally into the Palace’s large signal room.

“Wow! Those column lights are amazing. And this place is bigger than I thought it would be?” says Joan, turning around on the spot, trying to capture as many amazing sights as possible.

“JEEZ!” adds Zig. “It’s beautiful! And I love those lights too; they give the Palace character,” she adds, looking toward the ceiling before the drawings on the walls and the hanging tapestries.

“There are so many points of interest inside this room,” says Ah-Lam, gesturing around herself.