Unraveling Sheba's Secrets

Mwanza was the first to see it. The city.

"Look!" He pointed towards the horizon. "There's a city!"

The three other children looked north and gasped at the sight of the magnificent structures that shimmered in the afternoon sun. They stood in awe, unable to move, until Mwanza spoke: "Let's go check it out."

Without hesitation or question, they walked along the dry river bed towards the city. As they approached the golden palace gates, the four friends were amazed at how tall and strong they were.

"I wonder what this place is," Jefferson said.

In front of them was a large stone archway with an inscription on top: "Sheba, Queen Mother of Africa".

They continued to explore the ancient ruins for hours. They climbed on top of buildings, explored underground tunnels, saw statues and watched as birds flew into open windows. They even saw a small lizard scurry by as it ran into one of the buildings. The kids were having fun until Mwanza stopped walking suddenly and took out a small book from his jacket pocket. He flipped through it quickly before whispering something under his breath and looking around nervously. Jefferson noticed this sudden change in behavior, but before he could say anything -

"Hey! Look at this!" Zuri shouted as she pulled out her camera phone and aimed it at one of the buildings. She pushed a button and suddenly a bright flash went off and dirt began to fall from one of the walls in front of them. As they peered into the dust cloud, they saw something that made their breath stop - inside one of the holes that had been created by Zuri's flash was an old metal key with an insignia on it: an iron snake coiled around an oval shaped stone with strange markings carved into it. The two symbols combined were identical to those engraved onto the metal key that Mwanza held in his hand...