Templars Quest Trilogy: The Lost Ark (Books 1-3 The Templars Quest Chronicles)

by Thomas H. Ward

  Opening my eyes, I looked up at Adam holding the sword high in the air. Blood was running down the blade. I realized what had just happened when I noticed Christian’s head on the ground. His body, slumped over, was pumping blood out of his open neck.

  Adam was still pointing the sword at the sky as crimson red ran down the shimmering blade, and he said, “Glory to God in the highest.”

  The soldiers keenly looked at Adam and all repeated, “Glory to God.” Then they all stood and bowed to him.

  I wondered what just happened. Was that an act of God? Did God move Adam’s arm to behead Christian? Was God actually using the sword to protect his treasure? Did Adam plan this all along? Supernatural forces were at work for sure.

  Adam kissed the handle, wiped the blood off on his white robe, and sheathed the blade. As Adam stepped down from the rock, he slumped to the ground. I jumped to help him back on his feet. He looked dazed and confused.

  I kept an eye on Christian’s men, not knowing what they would do. Then one man stepped forward towards Adam. Swiftly, I pointed my M4 at him.

  Holding his hands up he stopped and said, “Have no fear. My name is Captain George Baldwin, leader of these new Templar Warriors. We’re at your command, Adam de Molay. You have just proven that you’re the real Grand Master. The law states: ‘Whoever controls the sword shall be the Grand Master.’ We vow to follow your orders.”

  The warriors were dressed in all black, SWAT type, combat gear. Baldwin himself was a compelling figure; standing at a little over six feet tall. You could tell he was in the best of shape by the way he moved and stood. One thing made him stand out which was an ugly scare that ran down the entire length of his left cheek.

  Now I knew things would never be the same. Adam had become Grand Master by the Power of the Sword. Now he had his own warriors to do God’s work.

  Adam said, “Thank you Captain Baldwin. I’ll need your help and support.”

  I stepped up and shook Baldwin’s hand. “I’m Jack Gunn, Director of Security for Tocabaga.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” George replied.

  I said, “Since Adam is under my protection, I need to know your intentions.”

  “I understand your concern. We’re Templar Warriors who do God’s work. It was clear to us that God terminated Christian by working his will through Adam. There is no doubt that Adam has the Power of the Sword and God is on his side.

  “As for my men, we were all once Marines before becoming enlightened by God. Most of us saw combat in the middle-east fighting ISIS. After that we decided to do the Lord’s work and became his warriors.”

  Knowing that Captain Baldwin was the commander of twenty-three combat hardened retired Marines made me feel more at ease.

  “Captain, Jack Gunn is my guardian, and you will receive your orders from him and me,” Adam advised.

  Baldwin nodded his head. “I understand.”

  Tommy, my son, came running over and saw Christian’s head on the ground. “Holy crap! What happened?” he asked.

  I replied, “I don’t know. Get some men over here and remove the body.”

  Tommy had a puzzled look on his face. He then signaled for a few men to remove the body. As they picked up the body Adam said, “May God bless his soul.”

  “Captain, please wait here with your men while I talk to Adam,” I said.

  I put my arm around Adam and we walked up the bridge. I asked, “What just happened?”

  Adam stopped walking and faced me. “God told me in a dream to take Christian the sword. He told me how to hold it. God told me not to fear for my life because he would protect me. When the bright light hit the sword, I lost control of my body. I don’t even know what happened.”

  “Adam, that’s incredible. I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my life, but never anything like that.”

  “Yes, it was a miracle,” Adam said.

  That’s what happened on September 14, 2025 when young Adam de Molay became the new Knights Templar Grand Master.

  THE SWORD OF JERUSALEM

  APRIL 20, 2026

  There was a lot of work to do before leaving on the Quest. Using the ACWWW, the Army Command World Wide Web, I found out that the summer solstice would occur on June 21st which left us two months to find the correct location to be in, when the sun rose on that day. One of the clues on the sword stated; at the head of the trail, leading into the fissure, look for the cross and the Solstice Sun will light the way.

  That meant we had to be at a certain location when the solstice occurred or we would miss the sun lighting the way. We would have to leave tomorrow, if possible. The twenty-four new Templar Warriors, Maggie, and I were working feverishly to make ready for our journey.

  We had no idea where the treasure was actually hidden, but only the clues from the Sword of Jerusalem. Over the past six months I had studied the clues and had a general idea, or should I say a guess, of where the treasure could be located.

  Now you’re wondering: What is ‘The Sword of Jerusalem’? Why is it so important?

  I first found out about the sword on August 3, 2025. Adam’s grandfather gave it to him before he died. I had no idea what the sword was really for or how important it was. I had no idea it was blessed by God and was a powerful weapon in the right hands. If it got into the wrong hands, no one knows what could happen. The following is the true story about the Sword of Jerusalem.

  On September 13, 2025, the day before the sword killed Christian, Adam took me to his bedroom to show me the secret sword. I had never seen it close up, out of its box. After walking in the room, he closed and locked the door. He said, “What I’m about to show you is the most amazing secret you’ll ever see. Only a few people know about this.”

  I said, “Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”

  Adam stood there next to his bed and took a deep breath. “Ok.”

  He reached under his mattress and pulled out a wooden box. Opening the box he took out the old broadsword. The scabbard looked old. The handle or grip was inlaid with gold and contained embedded rubies. The pummel had a golden cross on it. Holding the sword in both hands, he kissed the handle and then pulled the big blade out of its scabbard.

  “This is the Sword of Jerusalem.” Adam said.

  It was a beautiful looking weapon. The long blade almost glowed as he held it up in the air. It was shiny and looked like new. I was amazed by what I saw. Adam gently laid the sword on the bed.

  “Here, look at this,” Adam said, while pointing at the sword. “But don’t touch the blade. The rubies in the handle are a symbol for the blood of Christ.”

  I bent over and closely observed the blade. Some kind of foreign writing was etched in the metal blade. “What does it say?” I asked.

  Adam didn’t reply. He turned the sword over, showing the opposite side. There was more writing and a map etched into the metal. Adam said, “This is why Christian really wants this sword.”

  The map was so tiny I couldn’t make it out with my bad eyesight. I didn’t know the language it was written in. “Ok, I give up. What does it mean?” I asked.

  Adam turned the sword back over to show me the text. “This writing lists all the items in the Templar Treasure.” Turning the blade back over, he pointed at the map. “This map shows the location of the treasure.”

  I asked, “Do you mean the treasure items taken from Jerusalem?”

  “Yes. I told you before, these are holy items. These items were once in the Temple of Solomon. They prove there is a God and there was a Christ. Men have killed each other for a thousand years to find this treasure.”

  “Holy crap.” That was all I could mutter while glaring at the magnificent sword.

  It was amazing. Now I knew the treasure was real, according to the sword and Adam. I commented, “Let me get this straight. If you have this sword, then you can find the treasure.”

  “That’s correct. This is why we can’t let Christian obtain this sword. No evil man should be in control of God’
s Treasure. I fear my uncle would use it to gain power and wealth.”

  “Why do you think he’d do that?”

  “Well, Grandfather told me that Christian was outcast from the Knights Templar years ago because he tried to steal the sword. Grandfather also believed that Christian killed my father so he could become the next Grand Master in order to obtain the sword.”

  I nodded my head and thought, this thing has turned into a very big and dangerous mess.

  I said, “If that’s true then we certainly can’t let your uncle take custody of you.”

  “It’s true, alright. Grandpa would never let Christian near us.”

  “Didn’t you tell me you saw the treasure once?”

  “Actually, I’ve never seen it, but I know it’s real because of this sword.”

  I pointed at the sword. “Can you read this writing?”

  “Yes, I know exactly what it says. Grandpa taught me. He could read the ancient Latin writing.”

  A light went off in my head. “Now I get it. Christian needs you to tell him what the sword says.”

  “Yes, I think you’re correct,” Adam said. “What are we going to do?”

  I didn’t reply right away. I had to think about this. Certainly, if this whole story is true then I can’t let Christian obtain the sword, or Adam. The question is, if I don’t give him what he wants, then what will he do?

  Adam was looking at the sword as I put my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Adam. I’m not gonna let Christian take you or the sword. I promise you that.”

  Adam gave me a hug. “Thank you, Grandpa.” We hugged each other and chills ran down my spine. Goosebumps popped up on my skin as I thought about the Power of the Sword and the secrets it held.

  We stood there looking at the blade. Adam said, “You’re the only one I can trust, other than Emma. Would you like to know what the writing means?”

  I thought for a minute. “Only tell me if you really want to.”

  “I have to tell someone who’s trustworthy, just in case something happens to me.”

  We bent over the sword. Pointing at the words he said, “This Sword is gifted to the Knights Templar Grand Master by Baldwin the Second, King of Jerusalem. Year of our Lord 1120 A.D.”

  “That’s incredible,” I murmured.

  “The treasure contains: One hundred thousand gold coins, fifty thousand silver coins, five hundred golden goblets, one thousand silver goblets, twenty thousand pieces of gold and silver jewelry, ten thousand various pieces of art, and twenty thousand gold crosses.”

  “Is that all it says?” I asked.

  “No. It also says the Holy Lance, the Sangreal, and the Ark of the Covenant are part of the treasure. There’s a date … 1124 A.D., Year of Our Lord.”

  I touched Adam on the arm. “If this is real and the Ark of the Covenant is part of the treasure, that’s amazing. No one knows what type of power the Ark has. I wonder if the Ten Commandment tablets are inside.”

  “It doesn’t say what’s inside the Ark.”

  “The main story about the Ark is that when Jerusalem was invaded it was taken to Ethiopia. No one has seen it since. Does the writing mention that?” I asked.

  “No, it only lists the treasure items.” Adam flipped the sword over. “Now, let me show you the map. It also gives clues as to the location because the map is not very telling.”

  I pulled out my reading glasses and looked at the blade. There was a map that showed a river and what looked like some mountains. There was a hooked ‘X’ marking the treasure location.

  Adam began to tell me a story about the Templars’ history.

  “The Knights Templar were founded in 1118 by Hughes de Payen. This occurred after they had a meeting with King Baldwin II, the King of Jerusalem. His older brother was Godfroi de Bouillon who led the crusaders to victory in the Holy Land twenty years earlier.

  “The Knights offered themselves as an order that would protect the roadways for pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem. They were given an entire wing of the royal palace for their headquarters. The wing had been built upon the foundations of Solomon’s Temple. They received their name ‘The Knights of the Temple.’ Their real mission was to excavate the tunnels under Solomon’s Temple looking for the treasure.

  “In 1129, the Roman Catholic Church endorsed them as Holy Warriors and the protectors of Christendom. The Templars' reputation for bravery was well known. They were not allowed to retreat from battle and were obliged to fight to the death. They were also pledged to secrecy about the workings of the order.”

  “That’s very interesting, Adam.”

  “Oh, there’s a lot more, but I’ll tell you later.”

  “Now, tell me about this map?”

  Adam stared at the sword. “I’ll explain the clues as best as I can.

  “Upon arriving at the new land, sail south along the coast. Follow the coast which turns north, where the water is warm. Sail north, along the coast until you reach a great river that flows from the north.

  “Sail up the great river for three days. Land at the point on the west bank marked by a stone cross where another great river mergers. The cross will point the way.

  “Proceed west on the cross marked native trail for 40 days until reaching the stone trees. Beware of hostile natives along the way.

  “Follow the cross west for another eight days to the rock castle.

  “Go north for 15 days on the marked trail to a fissure in the earth. Here at the head of the trail, leading into the fissure, look for the cross and the Solstice Sun will light the way.

  “It’s signed by Jacques de Molay, Grand Master 1306.”

  I said, “This means the Templars came here in the 1300’s which was before Columbus.”

  “Columbus was actually searching for the treasure,” Adam replied. “Do you have any idea where the treasure might be hidden based on this map and clues?”

  “No. I though you knew where it was,” I said.

  “Grandpa tried to find it over the years, but he never did.”

  I advised, “We need a real map to see if we can determine what these clues mean. Back in those days the country was crisscrossed with Indian trails. The American Indians traveled by foot and took the most direct path. It appears that the Knights used the Indian paths. Many of our modern highways followed those trails.”

  “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense,” Adam replied.

  “I think that’s enough for today, it’s getting late. We’ll work more on this tomorrow.”

  I was really interested in cracking the clues to find the treasure location. Actually going there to find it would be another problem, but the thought did intrigue me.

  ANALYSIS OF

  THE SWORD CLUES

  APRIL 21, 2026

  Now I have a small army getting ready to follow the clues on the sword. The first clue stated: ‘Upon arriving at the new land, sail south along the coast. Follow the coast which turns north, where the water is warm. Sail north, along the coast until you reach a great river that flows from the north.’

  I had done a lot of research and came to the conclusion that the Templars sailed from England, using a Viking map. They traveled south down the east coast of the United States. Then they sailed around the Florida peninsula, where the water is warm, into the Gulf of Mexico. Following the Florida coast north, they sailed to the great river that flows from the north, which has to be the Mississippi River.

  The second clue states: ‘Proceed up the great river for three days. Land at the point on the west bank, marked by a stone cross, where another great river merges. The cross will point the way.’

  The problem is there are two large rivers that enter or merge with the Mississippi. They are the Red River and the Arkansas River. Either one of these could be a three day sail from the mouth of the Mississippi. We will have to look for the cross that points the way, but I doubt that after seven hundred years we’d be able to find any sign of a cross.

  Clue three advises: ‘Proceed west on
the cross marked native trail for 40 days until reaching the stone trees. Beware of hostile natives along the way.’

  I found an old army trail map from 1860 on the ACWWW that showed only one trail that heads almost due west. I overlaid this map with a river map and a modern highway map. The interested thing was that the Red River and the Canadian River, which turns into the Arkansas River, both flow from the Amarillo Texas area.

  The maps all converge in the Texas panhandle near Amarillo. This meant that the Templars basically followed a trail near the Red River until it ended and picked up another trail heading almost due west. Or they followed the Arkansas River and then the Canadian River to the same area. Indian trails did follow rivers whenever possible because it made passage easier and it provided a source of water.

  In any case, it didn’t matter what river they followed, if any. The key location was Amarillo, because the old Army trail and modern highway I-40 both went through Amarillo.

  Highway I-40 clearly followed the old Army trail. It was almost an exact match when I overlaid the two. There was another important part of the clue. It was the comment: ‘Beware of hostile natives along the way.’

  In those days the most hostile natives in that area were the Comanche Indians. They controlled most of Texas including the panhandle up into Oklahoma. The Knights Templar certainly would have run into these natives who were the ‘Lords of the Southern Plains.’

  The Comanche Indians were feared by all the other tribes because of their fighting ability and fierceness. These warriors killed most people who trespassed into their territory. They took no prisoners except for children and women whom they made into contributing tribal members over the years.

  The Comanche territory, at that time, was the prime feeding area for the American Bison. So they defended this area to the death. I have read stories about them painting their faces black and red to scare their enemies when they went to war. When going to war they always outnumbered the opposing force by a considerable amount, to assure victory.