Have you missed the first part of the Athens story? Read it here.
A few moments after they hung up, Showtime entered the hotel room. They reviewed the riddle together, but Showtime was clearly unfazed by the threat. “Nothing’s going to happen! If they were serious, why make strange riddles instead of just stopping us in our tracks?”
The friends saw no reason for them to stop their hunt for the gemstones. Someone was obviously feeding them the information needed to find them, perhaps even the same person who’d been in their room to leave this message. “Let’s just get ready to party,” goKat declared, wanting to forget about the threat and the gemstones for a little bit.
goKat and Showtime washed up and were just waiting for Rori and the outfits. They left her several missed calls, but the clock was ticking. “Perhaps she’s already there?” goKat eventually suggested, knowing how their friend could easily keep her phone on silent. Without proper themed outfits, they set out to the party in hopes of finding both Rori and the gemstone.
Security was hesitant to let the duo in upon arrival, but Showtime’s charm combined with the tickets eventually persuaded them. The moment they were on party grounds they started whisking their way through the crowd. goKat was still a little nervous from the threatening note, but kept it to herself since Showtime did not appear worried. Her nervousness didn’t decrease when they now seemed to have lost a third of their travel group. She didn’t even think of the gemstones until she suddenly saw something glim in the sand near the foot of the temple. “Showtime!” goKat immediately grabbed his wrist as she nearly sprinted to inspect the sight further.
Halfway hidden in the sand they found it: a light blue gemstone!
The growing anxiety goKat felt made her hand a little shaky as she picked up the gemstone and quickly hid it away in her purse. She did not mirror Showtime’s excitement, which he immediately took note of, making him tone it down a little. “Let’s find Rori,” they both uttered in unison, and once again returned their attention to the crowd of people mingling around them.
Across the party, Showtime recognized a familiar face. While the relief would have been larger had it been Rori, he was still happy to see someone that they briefly passed while in Copenhagen: Gemma Stone. Showtime nudged goKat, and the moment she followed his gaze to look at Gemma, she locked eyes with her. A hand filled with jewelry was raised and with the movement of a single finger she gestured them over to her.
A gentle smile and an aura of care greeted them, and without a word Gemma rumbled in her bag and held something out for them. goKat opened her hands to receive a large seashell. “I think you need this more than I do,” Gemma uttered before walking away. Showtime and goKat glanced at each other, before looking at the seashell. goKat rotated the shell in her hand to reveal a message carved on the inside. It seemed to be the way of communication in Greece, but this message was far from as sinister as the previous one:
Rori was still nowhere to be seen, and with the previous note resembling a death threat, goKat and Showtime were starting to worry. At the same time, they now had a clue as to where the path would take them next…
