“Perhaps they had some way of building taller buildings, but they collapsed just as the obelisks did? But there would still be ruins.”

"The biggest of the stelae would have been around that tall, wouldn't it have? 97 feet is almost 10 stories, I think."

American units are very confusing. “30 meters is nine storeys.”

The receptionist comes in. "Are there any other sites you're curious about here in Axum?"

“Are there any other sites you would recommend to us?”

"Oh! Well, there's the Queen of Sheba's baths, and King Bazen's Tomb, and the Ezana Stone, and the Cathedral of St. Mary."

Oh there was a ritual happening at a place right? Which one was that?

"The ritual is happening at the Ezana Stone."

"Is it something we could attend, or would our presence be disruptive?"

"You can attend it! We always have people watch the ritual."

“What sort of ritual is it?” Honestly Araari would much rather visit the cathedral, but.

"It's to cleanse bad luck from the community. They're performing it because of the war." The receptionist is very skeptical of their decision to show up during a war.

Zoe doesn't blame her.

The receptionist has good judgement. “Tell me about King Bazen’s Tomb?”

"It's a megalith, one of the oldest structures in Axum. Local legend believes that it is the tomb of King Bazen, who is also known as Balthazar, the wise man who gave a gift of myrrh and brought word of Christ to Ethiopia."

Which is a different thing from a monolith. Sure.

(Megaliths hang down from the ceiling of the cave and monoliths rise up from the floor of the cave.)

Zoe still has no idea what to expect at this ritual and has no idea how long it will take or whether she will be expected to watch or to participate or if there's a special visitor's area to stay in or whether it will involve any human sacrifices.

These seem like important things to know about a ritual before you attend, but she is really not sure what to ask to get clarity on these questions.

Between the stelae, the tomb, and the cathedral, it seems like a LOT of the notable landmarks around here are big rocks about dead people.

"What about the baths?'

"A reservoir on the north edge of town which is reached by a stair of long, broad stone. Local legend has named it the bathhouse of the Queen of Sheba. In the ritual you're going to, water from the reservoir is mixed with water from the fountain of the Cathedral of St. Mary and 'painted' on King Ezana's Stone."

Oh that sounds much better than the other rituals she's heard about recently.

Actually you'll find that painting is very suspect. He knows about the religious connections between water and wine and blood.

Well, it’s two days before the ritual, so probably they don’t want to go visit the Ezana Stone yet. Where do they want to go?

"The cathedral sounds like it might be the only place that's not just a big rock?"

"Good a reason as any."

“The baths also have water and a stair. But I would like to visit the cathedral, yes.”