The dusty sky obscured the workers. The land was bathed in golden yellows, with overlays of darkness from that dust. I could see the sweat streaks on my skin, showing flesh beneath the grayness.

Lotus and Aria and Yao Jin were hard at work on their recent find. A skeleton. My skills were more in art and artifact than in bones, but I enjoyed the evening conversations where we discussed our days' finds.

Now, I worked with a crew near another promising section of wall. One of the Chinese first year students, Huiping, suddenly called out.

She was a diminuitive woman, but physically as hardy as most any of the men. She'd not spoken much during our time out here, preferring to defer the rest of us, whether warranted or not.

"I found something!" She tried to modulate her voice, but I sensed there was something more than just a chipped bit of pottery.

I dashed over, and saw, half buried in the sand, a painted male figurine. Getting the cameras ready, and recording depth and nearby objects, I took the record as she carefully brushed the sand away from it. We could hope it would be found intact!

Hours later, it seemed, Huiping and I had extracted the figurine. It was whole, and in near excellent condition. There were signs that he'd once been brightly painted, and much care had been taken in his sculpture. Huiping, shy but sturdy as she might be, simply glowed.

In my gloved hands, I carried the figurine back to Lalita's tent.

"Ming Dynasty, I think. A courtier."

Lalita gently took the figure from my hands.