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

by Thomas H. Ward

  Just then Maggie walked out. “Did Adam tell you about the treasure?”

  I looked at my watch and it was already 8:30. “Tell me later, I gotta take a shower and shave. Then we gotta eat before our meeting with White Feather.”

  By the time everyone was cleaned up and ate breakfast it was almost 10 o’clock. Baldwin came in our room as Adam was just about to tell the story of the treasure. Baldwin said, “Ok, let’s go meet this White Feather.”

  “This story is important,” Adam said, with a disappointed look on his face.

  “I believe you, but I don’t wanna keep White Feather waiting. You can tell us later.” We left the motel and moseyed over to the meeting place at the city park.

  Adam had our dogs on a leash as we walked to the park. I noted that White Feather was already sitting there. Peering at the dogs, White Feather said, “So, you must be Wolf Boy. Chief Quanah told me about you.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of the big German Shepherds. He stood up and stuck out his hand to pet them.

  Both dogs let out a low soft growl. Adam ordered, “Sit, stay,” as he tugged on their leashes.

  “They must smell my dog,” White Feather commented as he withdrew his hand and backed up a few feet.

  The thought ran through my mind, the dogs don’t trust him for some reason.

  I said, “Good morning, White Feather. This is Adam, Maggie, and Captain Baldwin members of our expedition. I brought them along to hear your story.”

  White Feather didn’t even say hello or offer to shake hands. “I was going to tell you about Prophecy Rock.” He pulled a hunting knife out of its sheath, knelt down on one knee, and proceeded to make a crude drawing in the dirt, using its point. It looked something like this.

  “I will explain the drawing as best as I can,” White Feather said. He pointed his knife at the largest figure. “This is the Great Spirit. The bow near his left hand represents his intent for the Hopi to lay down their weapons. His right hand points to a timescale line in thousands of years. The point where the Great Spirit touches the line is the time when he will return.”

  We all sat there listening intently to his story.

  “There are two life paths established by the Great Spirit. One is a lower path, which is continuous with nature. The other is the upper path, which is influenced by white man.

  “The bar, above the small cross, is connecting the paths. That point marks the coming of white men. The cross stands for Christianity. The circle slightly below the cross represents the continuous Path of Life.

  “Four small figures on the upper path represent the past three worlds and the present one. It shows that some Hopi have followed the white man’s path.

  “The swastika inside the sun and the Celtic Cross represent the two helpers of Pahana, who is the True White Brother.

  “The thicker line that runs between the upper and lower path is the last chance for people to turn back to nature before the upper road is destroyed.

  “The small circle above the lower path line is when the Great Purification will happen. After which corn will grow in abundance again and the Great Spirit returns. This lower path of life continues forever. Well … that is all I can tell you. Are there any questions?” White Feather asked.

  “Yeah,” I stated. “How old is this Prophecy?”

  “No one knows for sure.”

  “I’d sure like to know how they knew about the swastika and the Celtic Cross, as you call it.”

  “That is all I can tell you. If you wanna go to the Hopi Nation, let me know.”

  “What about the golden treasure the Ancients brought?”

  “We Hopi need to keep some secrets from you white eyes.” With that comment White Feather proceeded to leave the meeting. No one said a word after his comment about white eyes. I sensed he had some bad dealings with white men in the past.

  We were standing there gazing at the drawing and when he was out of earshot, Adam said, “The swastika is an Egyptian or Buddhist symbol. It’s been around for thousands of years.”

  I said, “Yeah, that’s true. Hitler copied it, for some unknown reason, and made it the Nazi symbol. It’s one of the most hated symbols in the world because of him.”

  “I agree with Jack, that’s a Templar cross alright. So what the hell does it all mean?” Baldwin asked.

  “It all depends how old the Prophecy is. If it was drawn seven hundred years ago then the Templars did visit the Hopi. It’s also possible that some Buddhists or Egyptians were here a long time ago.”

  Maggie replied, “On the other hand, the Prophecy could have been made within the last 40 years by some nut case.”

  “I asked, “What is the Pahana or True White Brother?”

  Adam excitedly said, “Wait, I have to tell you what I found. This whole thing is so weird, you won’t believe it.”

  “Ok, shoot.”

  “In 1909, the Phoenix Gazette published a story about a man named Kincaid who found a cave in the Grand Canyon. I read the story and Kincaid claims that he found mummies, statues, and gold artifacts that were oriental in appearance.

  “Mr. Kincaid was an explorer and hunter all his life. He worked for thirty years for the Smithsonian Institute. Let’s go to our room and I’ll show you more on the ACWWW.”

  We hooked up the Sat phone, and Adam typed in ‘Kincaid’s Cave’ and the article popped up.

  As I read the newspaper article, a number of points popped out at me: It stated the cave was found by accident while searching for minerals. Its general location is forty-two miles up the river from the El Tovar Crystal Canyon.

  The cave is hidden from view because it is about 1,500 feet down the canyon wall and is set back blocking its view from the river. It is also located on government land where visitors are not permitted.

  Kincaid determined it was clearly a manmade cave and found mummies deep inside the cave. He stated that he took a picture of one. He gathered up a few relics and took them to Yuma for shipment them to Washington D.C., which is the headquarters for the Smithsonian. Kincaid advised that because of the relics further explorations were undertaken under the direction of the Smithsonian, by Professor S. A. Jordon who was reported to be Kincaid’s boss.

  G. E. Kincaid went into great detail of the cave construction and its tunnels, which I didn’t care about. He advised that he found an idol sitting cross-legged with a lotus flower in each hand. Kincaid thought it resembled Buddha.

  I commented, “Now, this is interesting to me because everyone knows that Buddha sits cross-legged and has a lotus flower in his hand. This had to be an idol of Buddha. No other idol even comes close to resembling Buddha.” I continued reading.

  Around the idol there were many smaller images carved out of marble. On the urns, tablets, walls, and doorways strange hieroglyphics were painted or carved.

  The last clue stated that laying on the floor everywhere were yellow cat’s eyes. Each one was engraved with the head of what appeared to be Malay type person.

  I commented, “The cat’s eye stone was well known and used by Egyptians. The cat was a protected animal and considered to be a goddess. The cat’s eye stones where used for protection from evil things. Spreading them around on the floor meant some type of danger was in the cave system.

  “Kincaid went to great lengths in the story, stressing how inaccessible the cave was. Yet he was able to climb up and down with a handful of relics. If such a find was made, why would anyone want to reveal its location? I think he’s lying about the location.”

  These points made me wonder, was he telling the truth. In every truth there is non-truth. In every fiction there is non-fiction.

  Baldwin replied, “I think you’re right, Jack. Kincaid wasn’t telling the whole truth.”

  Maggie asked, “But, why would he lie about it?”

  “Who knows,” I told her.

  “Here’s the kicker,” Adam said. “Kincaid disappeared and no one has ever found the cave. The Smithsonian claims he didn’t work for them and they h
ave no knowledge about any cave in the Grand Canyon containing artifacts. Furthermore, the Smithsonian says they never heard of Professor S. A. Jordan. He was never employed by them.”

  “Wow, someone is covering up something,” I said. “Maybe the Smithsonian is doing a cover up job.”

  “Why would they do that?” Baldwin asked.

  “If the Egyptians were in the Grand Canyon it would change the history of the world. Or maybe there was a golden treasure so valuable that they wanted to keep it a secret.”

  “Do you think the treasure we’re looking for is the one they found?” Maggie asked.

  “I don’t know for sure. I only know I smell a rat. We have to follow the clues on the sword to find out. We don’t even know if the Templars Treasure is in the Grand Canyon.”

  “Here’s another tidbit,” Adam said. “There’s an article about John Westly Powell that states in 1869 he was the first white man to travel down the Grand Canyon by boat. It says he found a cave with Egyptian hieroglyphs on the cliff walls near the cave entrance.”

  I said, “That’s interesting because Powell was there 40 years before Kincaid and he saw Egyptian hieroglyphs.”

  “Oh, I found out what the Pahana means,” Adam responded. “Simply put, the Pahana is the older White Brother who left the Hopi Tribe and traveled east. He promised to return and help the tribe. When he returns, life will be improved for the Hopi Indians.”

  “Older White Brother, what does that mean? Was he a white guy? Maybe he was a Templar.”

  Adam shrugged his shoulders, and Baldwin said, “This is all bullshit. I say we move out tomorrow and continue our quest following the sword clues.”

  Everyone agreed with that idea. I said, “The next place we need to go is the Petrified Forest. The question is, should we bring Black Horse, Billy, and White Feather along?”

  Maggie commented, “Yeah, why not? Maybe they could help us somehow.”

  “I don’t trust White Feather. He just looks sneaky to me,” Captain Baldwin advised.

  I said, “Yeah, there’s something about him I don’t like either and I get the feeling he doesn’t care for us.”

  Then Adam made a good point. “We might need him to go into Hopi country in the Grand Canyon.”

  “Good point, Adam. We’ll bring him along and keep an eye on him.”

  Baldwin said, “Ok, it’s settled, we’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll tell the men to be ready to roll out by 0800 hundred.”

  Our meeting broke up and everyone started to check their gear and pack up. I went to tell Black Horse, Billy, and White Feather that they could ride with Pete in the second Hummer, in front of our truck. Adam and Maggie, along with the dogs, would ride with me.

  I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to continue our quest.

  SANTA ROSA

  MAY 22, 2026

  As usual, the rooster woke me up at 4 am so I went to have a coffee and smoke with Big Buffalo. I also paid him for the fourteen rooms we rented over the last few weeks. It was the only income he had made in a year.

  When I handed him twenty thousand dollars he smiled, showing several missing teeth. I liked him a lot because he was an easy going guy, whom you could tell was at peace with the world.

  As I finished my coffee, Big Buffalo said, “I will miss you, Jack Gunn. I wish you a safe journey.”

  “Don’t take any wooden nickels and never trust the white eyes,” I said. We both laughed, as I walked out the door.

  Back at the motel room I pulled out a map. It seemed to me that it would be faster to take Route 281 north to Interstate 40. Using this route would save us some miles. We would pass through Oklahoma and back into the Texas panhandle to Amarillo. Captain Walker, of the Texas Rangers, who led us to the Comanche Nation, provided me a letter before he went back on duty. The letter was a pass, allowing us to move through Texas unimpeded by law enforcement. Who knows, it may come in handy in any state. This letter, along with the one from Captain Sessions, of the Army Rangers, should keep us from having any problems with the local law enforcement.

  Of course, there aren’t many real law enforcement officers around anymore. Mostly, it’s vigilantes taking the law into their own hands and they aren’t trustworthy. Then you have the Free Roamers, as I call them, who roam around stealing what they need to survive. They usually travel in small groups of five to ten, and won’t hesitate to kill you to steal what they want. These Roamers like to prey on the weak and helpless because they can’t fight back.

  There are gangs of all types to contend with, along with Warlords and Drug Lords. The worst ones are ISIS and al Qaida terrorists who kill anyone not of their faith. They rule by fear and cut off the heads of those that oppose them. Make no mistake, they will slowly hack your head off with a small dull knife.

  Captain Baldwin and his Templar Warriors fought these radicals for eight years in the Middle East. That is why he carriers a sword himself. It’s not just any sword; it’s a samurai sword which is designed to cut off heads in a single blow.

  Baldwin claims that radical terrorists fear getting their heads cut off. If their head is gone then the spirit cannot pass into heaven, where seventy-two virgins are waiting for them. With no head, they cannot enjoy the heavenly virgins.

  Baldwin and his men understand these terrorists and know how they think in combat. Actually, in combat you just need to kill as many of them as possible, before they kill you. The terrorist’s battle tactics lack fundamental skills and strategy. However, this being said, they aren’t afraid to die, and will sacrifice themselves to kill any infidel.

  Our plan was to pass through Oklahoma non-stop, enter Texas where we would refuel, and stop for the night. The next day, at first light, we would proceed across New Mexico, a distance of 340 miles.

  As we rolled out of Comanche Nation, about a thousand people gathered to see us off. Many of them brought some kind of gift such as a dream catcher, eagle feathers, or medicine bags to bring us good luck.

  The trip was uneventful and no one spoke much during the drive. The rumble of the big off-road tires lulled everyone to sleep. One fuel stop and twelve hours later, we arrived in Texas. The Texas Rangers guarding the border on Interstate 40 read the letter from Ranger Walker and let us pass into Texas with no problems. Like I said before, Texas was under control. Everyone here obeys the law. If they don’t then Texans take care of the problem – cowboy style.

  Arriving in Amarillo, we took a much needed break. Amarillo is the most populated city in the Texas panhandle with a population of over 100,000 people. It was once the Helium capital of the world because of its vast natural helium reserves. It is located in the Llano Estacado, or start of the high plains area.

  The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of the High Plains of North America. It is part of the American Desert. The Canadian River forms the Llano's northern boundary, separating it from the northern High Plains. To the east, the Caprock Escarpment is the boundary between the Llano and the Red Plains of Texas.

  Robert G. Carter an Army officer, who received the Medal of Honor, described the Llano Estacado in 1871 while pursuing Quanah Parker. “It appeared to be a vast, almost limitless expanse of prairie. As far as the eye could see, not a bush or tree, a twig or stone, not an object of any kind or a living thing, was in sight. It stretched out before us as an uninterrupted plain, only to be compared to the ocean in its vastness.”

  Passing through Amarillo with no problems, we stopped at Adrian, Texas which had a population of about fifty people. Hee-haw! Lucky for us it did have a gas station and a local diner. After refueling, we made camp behind the station and had some good homemade chow at the little diner.

  While at the diner, two Texas Rangers showed up and we started a conversation. Of course, they wanted to know where we were going and why. We told them to Arizona to find some friends. The Ranges advised us some news about New Mexico. According to them, ISIS had taken over large parts of the state. They hadn’t seen any traffic coming east, into Texas, on I-40 for over a wee
k. They strongly warned us that crossing New Mexico could be very dangerous.

  According to New Mexico authorities, the only safe areas are Albuquerque proper and Santa Fe. They classified I-40 and I-25, the only two Interstate Highways in New Mexico, as death traps because ISIS controls these two major routes.

  After eating, I hunkered down with Baldwin, observing the map of New Mexico. The Rangers told us there were an estimated 5,000 ISIS fighters in the state. A travel-at-your-own-risk warning was issued. We laughed at this because that’s the way it had been for a few years. We always travel at our own risk.

  Baldwin commented, “We have a lot of fire power with our 50 caliber guns and M249s. The terrorists usually travel in teams of around a twenty to thirty men. The problem is the terrain. If we get ambushed at any point where they control the high ground, we’ll be in a world of shit. If they have RPG’s, then we really got problems.”

  “Yeah, I agree. They’re probably just waiting for a fat juicy convoy like ours,” I said.

  Baldwin said, “I know how these guys think. Their main forces are probably keeping near Albuquerque and Santa Fe to pick off anyone who dares travel the highway near the city. They’re also doing sneak attacks into the city for food and supplies.”

  “That makes sense. Even with 5,000 men that’s not enough to overtake a city the size of Albuquerque but they can still do a lot of damage using hit and run tactics.”

  Baldwin nodded in agreement while gazing at the map. “There aren’t any good roads to bypass I-40. If we don’t use I-40 it’ll take us days to cross New Mexico.”

  I pointed at the map. “Look at this. At Santa Rosa we could pick up Route 54 and take it south to Route 60 and then to I-25. Then take Route 6 back to I-40. That way we bypass the outskirts of Albuquerque. ”

  Baldwin peered at the map. “Yeah, that seems to be the only good route. The problem is we have to cross the Pecos River, at Santa Rosa, on Route 54. My guess is ISIS will have a roadblock there. Santa Rosa is a small town of only a couple thousand people so ISIS probably owns the town.”