The Scarab's Lies

The Scarab's Lies was a virtual representation of one of Bayek's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8.

Description

Bayek traveled to Letopolis to meet Taharqa, hoping to learn more of the Scarab from him.

Dialogue

Bayek entered the Temple of Horus in Letopolis and found Taharqa.

• Bayek: Master Taharqa? My name is Bayek, from Siwa.
• Taharqa: I am indeed Taharqa, grand planner of Siwa and steward of Letopolis.
• Bayek: I met your family. Your wife sent me here. She said you might know about the one called the Scarab.
• Taharqa: This is not the place to speak, for who knows who may overhear our words? Come inside, and I will answer you.

Bayek followed Taharqa inside the nearby building. Upon entering, Bayek revealed the wooden toy horse toy given to him by Taharqa's son, Kawab.

• Bayek: Your son is very proud of your work. He misses you.

Taharqa took the toy.

• Taharqa: He'll be here soon. I dream of my son, and his sons, following in my steps. The world is made by great men dreaming big. What do you dream of, Bayek?
• Bayek: I do not have the luxury of dreams. Just finding the Scarab.
• Taharqa: The Scarab preys upon the weak. He is no threat to me.

Bayek took a drink offered by Taharqa.

• Bayek: Are you not afraid of the Scarab, Taharqa? It seems after what he did to your father-in-law...
• Taharqa: Whatever happens to poor Ghupa tears me. Whatever my life's work, whatsoever I did to bring that down upon him... I beg the gods forgive me.

A servant rushed in, interrupting the conversation. He ran into Bayek, forcing him to drop his drink.

• Servant: Master Taharqa! They're attacking the ruins again!
• Taharqa: Bayek, come fight with me!

They left the building.

• Taharqa: The wind is picking up. Not good.

The two began to run through the temple.

• Taharqa: That keening is the voice of the (sandstorm). The desert dogs use the storm as a rallying cry. These reavers use the sandstorm to mask their raids. Stay close to me! Do not let these curs surround you!

The two engaged in battle with the reavers.

• Taharqa: I will not let you destroy my great work!
  Over here! Drive these neket iadets (pieces of shit) back!
  They pour out of the storm!
  These reavers fly on the wings of the storm!
  Your blood will water the soil of my home!
  You face the greatest of Egypt!
  Come, Medjay, fight with me!
  Quick, hunt them down!
  Spears of Letopolis, rise up and defend your homes!
  Medjay, show them the teeth of justice!
  Bayek, do not stray into the storm!
  You expected to find our soft bellies, but instead, you have found our iron teeth!
  These reavers think themselves lions, they are but whipped curs!
  Bayek, hunt them down!
  Stay with me, Bayek!
  Letopolis will stand against you, curs!
  Die, you sons of dogs!

After the battle, Bayek approached Taharqa through the sandstorm.

• Taharqa: Bayek, you fell upon them like Sobek's teeth! Bayek, ride with us! These desert dogs have crossed me for the last time. And with your fierce iron, I know we can end their threat.
• Bayek: I understand your thirst for blood, Taharqa, but these bandits are not my concern. Tell me about the Scarab before you ride.
• Taharqa: Is that not the badge of a Medjay you wear? These reavers are a threat to the good and innocent people of Letopolis. Come with me, Bayek! And once we have returned these curs to the desert they so love, then I will tell you the story you want to hear.
• Bayek: All right. I will join your cause for today.

Bayek followed Taharqa to meet up with his men.

• Taharqa: Come, Bayek! Take up your iron and join us! Brave, loyal servants of Letopolis! We will root these reavers out of their holes, and spill their blood on the sand!

They all mounted up and followed Taharqa into the desert.

• Bayek: The task you've put yourself up to. It seems impossible.

Taharqa laughed.

• Taharqa: Only the gods can know that for sure, Bayek. And if I do not reach for the stars, how will I know how close I can get? Letopolis was a wonder once, before the desert overtook it. I mean to show the world, to show the gods, that men can conquer anything if they put their minds to it. Perhaps you have been sent by the gods to help me realize my vision. A strong arm, a keen eye. We could restore this land to glory.
• Bayek: I have my own great work ahead of me.
• Taharqa: We shall see if I cannot convince you!

The group stopped at an oasis, the mouth of a cave down the hill in the distance. Dismounting, they proceeded down into the Plesionhudor Hideout.

• Bayek: Hmm. Sounds like a few bandits are roosting up top.

After killing all the bandits, Bayek met Taharqa inside. A prisoner of the reavers waited within a cage.

• Taharqa: My thanks to you, Bayek. Before you arrived, I thought my dream was doomed to die. You gave me the strength to hunt down these reavers.
• Bayek: Who were they?
• Taharqa: Blood-fevered followers of Sekhmet, the Lady of Slaughter. They wish nothing more than chaos and ruin.
• Bayek: Are they connected to the Scarab?
• Taharqa: No, they think themselves lions, but they are no more than carrion eaters. And now they will feed the scavengers! I will bring this priest back to the city. Meet me at my house. We will dine and I will tell you what you need to know.
• Priest: May Ptah bless you and the protector saving me, Master Taharqa.
• Taharqa: How did you end up here?
• Priest: I was kidnapped by these blood-crazed raiders! I thought the road from Memphis to Letopolis was safe.

Bayek traveled to Taharqa's home to meet with him. Kawab ran out to meet him.

• Kawab: Bayek! Did you see the sandstorm? Come! Father said you'd join us for dinner!

Bayek followed him inside, and dinner began.

• Bayek: I'm glad you made it safely, Maharet.
• Maharet: Ha, yes, the gods blessed our passage.
• Kawab: We saw vultures and a hyena! And so much sand!
• Taharqa: Ha ha ha, enough sand to fill a lifetime! That is why we need so many to help us with our great work.
• Bayek: And what do you promise them, Taharqa?
• Taharqa: A parcel of land with a house to call their own. They must only help reclaim it from the desert.
• Bayek: That is all? Just dig up your house? Heh.
• Taharqa: It is no simple task. We must all pitch in, to honor the gods.
• Kawab: People know his vision is a true one!
• Bayek: It is good to honor your father, Kawab.

Taharqa gave Bayek a drink.

• Taharqa: To the savior of Letopolis!
• Maharet: Mmm, let us have some honeyed dates now, and... Are you all right, Bayek?

Bayek stumbled to the side, the room spinning. Taharqa knelt next to him, holding his hand.

• Taharqa: Are you unwell?

Taharqa smiled as he blacked out. Bayek then woke up, buried up to his neck in sand in the desert, miles from civilization. The sun beat down upon him.

• Bayek: May the gods be against you, Taharqa, in all that you do!

Bayek managed to wrench one arm free.

• Bayek: Senu... Aya... where are you my love?
  Khemu... I am failing you... please don't... hate me.
  Soon, I will walk the outer darkness with the Hidden One, leading me into the Field of Reeds...

Mirages began to approach, fading after they spoke.

• Mirage 1: Aren't you tired? Just lie down in the sand and sleep.
• Mirage 2: Do you really think you can save our people, Bayek?
• Mirage 3: The Snake grows, and lives in sands untouchable.
• Mirage 4: (woman's voice) It has been so long, Bayek. Too long.
• Bayek: That wind. Sandstorm coming.

Bayek whistled. His horse heard him, running through the dunes to him.

• Bayek: There now, good boy.

The horse did not react, but after Senu struck it in the side, it began to move. As the horse rode past, Bayek reached out with his free hand, grabbing hold of the trailing reins, and was pulled free.

• Bayek: Hiyah! May the gods smile upon you.

Bayek rose and brushed himself off before setting out to recover his belongings.

• Bayek: Stripped of armor, weapons, and coin. Where to begin? Now, to hurry before the wind erases the tracks.

Bayek mounted his horse and began following the tracks through the sand.

• Bayek: First my steel. Then, the Scarab.

Approaching Camp Achlys, Bayek snuck inside.

• Guard 1: Did you pack up the gear?
• Guard 2: Yes, remarkable armaments. It's packed up in a crate as payment to Sefetu.
• Guard 1: Good. We'll send it to Fort Nikiou in a few days.
• Guard 2: How long do you think it will take for him to die?
• Guard 1: The guy we buried? Hmm. Two days?
• Guard 3: He looked tough. I'd bet five drachma he'd survive for at least three.
• Guard 1: You're on. Wait. Who is going to check?

Bayek infiltrated a building, finding the chest with his gear.

• Bayek: They should have stayed in the shadows.

Inside was also a letter to Sefetu.

• Letter to Sefetu: Sefetu - take these arms and armor as payment. You'll see the worth of it immediately, and in return I expect considerable service.

Bayek left the building and returned to Letopolis, finding Taharqa.

• Taharqa: Oh gods, smile upon my work so that my name might remain enduring in this temple for ever and ever. O mother Nut, watch over me, so that I may be placed among the imperishable stars and may never die. O mother Nut, watch over me, so that I may be placed among the stars and never die. Oh gods, smile upon my work so that my name endures.

Bayek assassinated Taharqa. He then saw a vision of him in the afterlife.

• Taharqa: So... this is how a dream dies.

Taharqa began climbing a stairwell.

• Taharqa: I could have built something to last an age!
• Bayek: And Ghupa could have sung stories of your accomplishments.
• Taharqa: There are things I regret! We all labor for higher powers. We are all in thrall to greater forces. There is no escape.
  I am but one in the Order of the Ancients! This victory will bring you no peace!
• Bayek: It is not peace that I seek. It is not for my soul that I walk this path.
• Taharqa: The Order of Ancients will remember me as the bringer of waters and a builder of cities!

He raised a series of black columns that closed in on Bayek's vision. Turning, he realized Bayek was now behind him.

• Bayek: Or the desert will blow in... and scatter the dreams of Letopolis like dust.

Taharqa sank beneath the dark waters, stretching out his hand. Bayek watched him descend, then threw the scarab amulet after him.

Bayek, back in the world of the living, touched a white feather against his forehead before rising over Taharqa's body. From the entrance, Kamba rushed in.

• Kamba: Aaaahhh!
  Father!

He rushed to Bayek, breaking free from his family.

• Kamba: I'll cut you down! Like you did my father!

Ghupa pulled him away as Maharet knelt by Taharqa's body, crying.

• Kamba: I thought you were our friend! I hate you!
• Bayek: Take care of him. Try to make him understand if you can.

Ghupa nodded.

• Maharet: You have brought blood and death to my house.
• Bayek: You were blind, but now you must open your eyes. Your husband was the Scarab. He did this.
  Your father was tortured and scarred by this man. As were so many others.
• Maharet: No...

She turned to regard Ghupa, but he only nodded in confirmation.

• Bayek: It is up to you to raise your boy into the light, out of the blood and shadows of his father's legacy.

Bayek walked away, stopping to talk to himself.

• Bayek: I am sorry, my son.

The memory ends, and a voice comes through.

• Voice: Good news, Layla! Aya's DNA has finished sequencing. You can synch with her memories now.
  They're pretty fragmented, but you should be able to dip in for a little while.
• Aya: I walk on your water.
• Voice: Okay, weird.

Outcome

Bayek located Taharqa in Letopolis. At first, the man seemed friendly, and Bayek helped him rid the area of reavers. However, Taharqa revealed himself to be the Scarab by drugging Bayek and then leaving him buried in the desert to die. Bayek returned to Letopolis and assassinated Taharqa.

Reference

• Assassin's Creed: Origins