"Well. It's not stones, at least. Adds variety."

To Zoë: "The latter, I assume."

"Well, I don't blame her. It's nice to be able to stretch out."

"Think it was more like a public bathhouse, or she had the whole lake to herself?"

"You could bathe with your whole entourage in a bath like this."

Zoe wanders around the lakeshore looking for Things Of Note. And skips stones.

"Well, I found some really good skipping rocks but nothing else to speak of." Zoe skips another stone.

The Tomb is also COMPLETELY FREE OF INTERESTING THINGS, as if some great cosmic author had wanted to make the investigators go on a tour of interesting Axumite historical sites.

Many such rocks in Axum, it seems.

As big rocks go, it sure is one.

"Oooooh. This is actually a pretty sweet cave. It's got the cave aesthetic."

"It's kind of gloomy."

"Some believe that King Bazen was Balthazar, who brought the gift of myrrh to our Lord, and was the first to bring news of Christ's birth to Ethiopia."

And with one thing and another it is time for the ritual.

"Okay, so what do we know about this ritual? They paint water from the lake and the fountain onto... the Ezana Stone? And we stand and watch quietly from a respectful distance, I assume."

"If it's actually dangerous in some mystical way we should be prepared to get out of there, I guess, but it does sound like it's just a popular religious event."

They arrive at the Ezana Stone and watch the ritual being performed.

What a touching ritual! The simple beauty of the peasant faith, with absolutely nothing demonic about it whatsoever.

She feels her heart swelling with devotion.

This ritual gives him the creeps. He was not exactly a devoted Christian but he did pay attention to Lacie's esoteric ramblings and this is feeling uncomfortably familiar.

The stone is covered in an inscription written in Ge’ez, Sabaean, and Greek (thus serving as an African Rosetta Stone). It testifies to King Ezana’s conversion to Christianity and his subjugation of various heathen kingdoms surrounding ancient Axum.

Since she reads Ge'ez, Araari can translate it.

Ezana, King of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Kush, Saba, Salhin, Tsarad, of the Ethiopians and the Beja, King of Kings, son of the invincible Mahrem, waged war against the Beja people and sent also his brothers Sha’azana and Hadifa to fight them.

And when they reached the country the six kings prostrated themselves before him with their people.

And when they prostrated themselves, they sent them away from their country with their children and their families and their cattle.

The number of the six king’s people was 4,400, the number of their cattle was 3,012, the number of their sheep was 5,224, and the number of their domestic animals was 677.

And they fed them from that day by sending them 20,020 spelt breads every day and lots of meat.

Afterwards they gave them lots of beer and wine to drink for four months.

And when they came to us in Aksum, we dressed their men largely and we adorned their kings.

And we sent them to live in the land of Maccha, a province of our country.

And they also used to feed them there and we gave each king 4,190 cows which was 25,140 for the six kings. 

And we gave as thanks to Mahrem, who is our creator, one statue of gold, one of silver, and three of bronze.

And I induced this inscription and I established it and protected it for the heaven and the earth and Mahrem, who is our creator.

And if there is anyone who damages this stone, they shall be blind and harm shall be upon them. And their kinsmen and children shall be taken away from the country. And the one who destroys it, he shall be torn apart.

And because we established it, one shall acknowledge us and our homeland forever. And to Mahrem we gave Sowat and Bedih. 

Oswald quickly notes down the unsettling parts that stood out to him in case they're important somehow.

THE HUMANS ARE BACK!!! He can show them the PRETTY DRAWINGS that he STOLE.

"Magnificence! You're back! Thank goodness."

"...Where did you get these drawings," he asks, as though Magnificence can answer.

Magnificence proudly presents the following sketch, which is signed Louise Fauche: 

Imagine if any of them were actual anthropologists. Where's Lev when you need him, oh right, with Anemone their dying friend.

He can still remember names, at least. "Louise Fauche was the other person studying the books yesterday, wasn't she?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Hey, buddy," he asks Magnificence, "would you mind showing us where you got this? Uh, you know, preferably via pointing not walking right up, so long as I'm asking insane and complicated things of a monkey."