Obelix further insists that Dogmatix be allowed to join the voyage and smuggles him along despite objections from Asterix. En route to Egypt, Edifis' ship is met by a gang of pirates. Poetic justice rules the day as the pirate ship is boarded by Asterix and Obelix, who scuttle it after a largely one-sided fight. Upon reaching Egypt, it becomes clear that Edifis is not a particularly gifted architect in Cleopatra's words his buildings are “the laughing stock of those who don't live in them”. His scheming rival Artifis proposes that they collaborate in order to build Caesar's palace on time and divide the reward between them the catch being that Edifis alone be thrown to the crocodiles should they fail.