Devin and Brandy finished up their final moments in the shop by waving goodbye to the staff and saying their thanks. The two took the long way back to the hotel. The silence was notable, but enjoyed between the two. Instead of each awkwardly trying to break it they spent the walk enjoying each others company as they people watched. Devin had few regrets in his life and he wasn't about to let everything around him stop him from enjoying the moment he was in. A beautiful city rich with history and a beautiful woman rich with strength and surprises. When they reached the hotel he felt it was almost criminal to break the silence. 

"I think it is about time to tell you where this little adventure started. You can put your things in your room and meet me in mine when you are ready." He then gave his clothes to the man behind the concierge's desk and informed them that the shop was going to send a person around later to tailor the remaining portions. He then excused himself to his room. Once inside he began laying out all the required documents and tools needed to tell his story. Upon Brandy joining him he smiled and had her sit down. 

"The story starts like everyone knows. Marco Polo and his father left on a trip to the far east in 1271." Devin pulled out the compass he had been seen using several times. "During that voyage we already know that he made a hidden stop here in Alexandra. What the letters further showed was that it wasn't his only secret stop." Putting on a some gloves he then unwrapped an old map. "This is a Mongolian map drawn for Marco Polo during his journey to escort a Mongolian princess. Her name was Kököchin. They were supposed to go straight to the city of Baghdad in Persia; however, we know from his dictated book that he visited the city of Sumatra." Devin pointed to the island off the coast of Thailand. "The official reason he gave was to continue a trade negotiation between the two nations; however..." Devin then pulled out several sheets of paper from his journal that had been tucked in like a book mark. He shared them with Brandy. 

"Marco Polo clearly talks about the beauty of the island as one that held a terrible burden which he was terrified to carry." Devin tapped at the letters written in historic Italian. "I believe that Marco Polo was somehow involved in an agreement that was reached between the west and the east to hid this terrible burden. The problem is I don't know what it was. I know it was something capable of transport so it has to be something manageable." Devin flipped through several pages in his journal and then stopped at a small map with a line along the coastal waters of India and the Persian Gulf. "

After their ships made port in Sumatra Marco Polo's fleet never once made port at a place with large population. They said this was for the protection of the princess, but that makes no sense. The Mongolian empire was the strongest around having conquered nearly all of the known world. What would a princess have to fear. Even if she was specifically special an assassin would know that the entire world would burn in retribution..." Devin sat down now and was getting excited. "It is because whatever they took from this island was so powerful that they feared it was uncontrollable. "We could be on the verge of finding one of the world's first weapons of mass destruction and whatever it was it was brought back here to Alexandria to contain or hide.

Another letter was pulled out from his bag. This time he did so with great care. "This is an official letter translated from Mongolian and Italian into arabic with the seals of the Roman Catholic church and Genghis Khan. It grants unquestionable travel to and from Alexandria to three people only a year after Marco Polo returned from his journey. "If you look carefully you can see two of the names are..." Devin didn't need to finish as he saw Brandys eyes get wider. The names were "Matteo Polo, the brother of Marco Polo, and Kököchin. The princess Marco Polo was charged with escorting. The two people in Marco Polo's life who knew the entire story of his travels."

Devin sat back and let his supposed trail connect inside Brandy's head. "That alone isn't enough however. The real ticket is the way Marco Polo left secret messages in his letters. Many people knew there were hidden codes within the letters, but what they didn't know was the even deeper secrets his communications hid..." Devin took the compass and then placed it on the large mongolian map. With care he dragged the compass to the middle where the needle started to swing to the north end of the room. "Watch the needle." He said and he then put the needle over Mongolia where the needle started to spin and then pointed towards the city of Sumatra. Devin gave a look to Brandy and then brought the map to Sumatra. At that point the compass swung around again. This time pointing towards Alexandria. 

"You want to take a guess as to what happens when I put the compass over Alexandria?" Devin asked, but didn't wait for an answer. As the compass settled on top of Alexandria the needle began to spin in a full circle only instead of resting it continued to spin around and around. "In this case it is circle marks the treasure." Devin smiled as he sat down on his bed. "I have little understanding of what Marco Polo carried, but whatever it was it cost him several ships to transport. Nearly half of his fleet perished, never to be spoken of or mentioned in any text he passed down. The only way historians found out about this was through ship records and even those were difficult to uncover."

All his cards were on the table now, literally, and Devin remained silent as he waited to hear Brandy's perspective on everything he had just shared.