It was night in the location he was transported to. A multitude of sand dunes populated the area with perennial grasses and sea oats growing all around. Breaking waves and ocean sounds could also be heard in the distance. Jack thought it would be a good idea to use the other crystal and warp back to where he came from, but his attention was caught by voices reverberating from the other side of a nearby dune and beams of light occasionally illuminating the grass on top. As he crept to an inconspicuous spot to better view the scene, he spied four masked figures a short distance away digging in the sand. Jack recognized the masks as the same ones being worn by the rogues in the drone security footage John showed the team. On the other side of the rogues appeared to be large black statues of morphacite possibly in animal forms. Although it was dark, it looked as if the statues were in the forms of different animals, not dissimilar to Rakiten’s feline familiar. One of the masked figures walked around with some sort of detection device and inserted small flags into different spots on the beach. Two of the remaining three rogues dug in the sand with a shovel while one was observed reaching toward the ground and causing it to seemingly liquify, forming a hole and making the surrounding earth ripple outward.
“It’s just more regular morphacite in this one,” one of them said.
“Same here,” the other answered.
One of the rogues levitated the morphacite from the cavity and into their hand. Before forming another hole in a new location, the rogue’s head whipped around and faced Jack’s location. The dead-on stare of the eerie mask made his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. As the rogue began running toward him, so did one of the three morphacite statues. Panicked, Jack ran back down the dune and fumbled with the warp crystal anchored to the Searcher facility.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! C’mon, don’t fail me now!” he frantically said under his breath.
As a hunk of animated morphacite in the guise of a baboon crested the dune, soon followed by the masked rogue, Jack was able to get the warp crystal to open a portal. He could see the common area of the facility’s first floor on the other side of the rift as he propelled himself toward it at full speed. While diving through the portal, midair, a voice entered his head.
We’ll meet again soon, Jack.
In the nick of time, Jack collapsed onto the floor of the Searcher facility. After standing up and dusting himself off, he immediately wondered how the rogue chasing after him knew his name.
Was Mark and his rogues searching for more artifacts? Was it Mark’s voice that I just heard? he speculated.
“Oh, geez. I’m so glad you’re back,” said a nearby voice.
Jack noticed he was in the first floor common room and the three lab researchers from upstairs were walking toward him. “Uh, yeah, I’m good,” he said, still somewhat out of breath and shaken from the stressful situation he experienced.
“We ran down here as soon as you warped to wherever you did, keeping our fingers crossed that you would use the other crystal I gave you to warp back to the facility,” said Merry. “We were hoping you would get back here quick, or else we all would have been screwed.”
“I’m glad I was able to figure out how to get back. I don’t think nighttime field trips are meant for me,” said Jack.
They all laughed together at his comment.
“Since nobody really wants to get in trouble for this, Jack, would you mind not telling anyone about what happened tonight?” said Lucinda. “The paperwork on something like this would be absolute hell.”
Jack nodded his head in agreement and everyone was able to laugh off the mishap.
CHAPTER TEN
TROUBLE AT THE MONASTERY
Frightening images of masked rogues populated Jack’s dreams as he slept. Even upon waking, he still wondered why one of them knew his identity, thinking that perhaps the rogues were tracking the Searchers without their knowledge. He entertained the idea about telling Alexie what happened, and that he was able to activate a warp crystal, but decided he might seem more like a careless fool once the whole story was revealed.
All Searchers but Ferra were eating breakfast in the kitchen when John walked in to make an announcement.
“I wanted to tell everyone the good news . . . Garnet is now awake and in recovery.”
“That’s great!” said Butch.
Some of the other Searchers cheered with relief.
“Is that where Ferra is—with her sister?” said Bridgett.
“Yes,” said John. “Garnet asked me if Ferra could stay with her for moral support and aid in her recovery. I thought it was a decent idea, so I agreed to her request. She’s already progressing to the point of being able to walk and once the doctors say it’s okay, she’ll be rejoining all of you on future missions.”
“That’s so great to hear,” said Richard.
Everyone else in the room was excited to hear the news.
“Now, I’d like to talk about where the next missions will take place and the plan of action,” said John. “But please, we’re not leaving immediately, so there’s no need to scarf down your food. Richard and I spent considerable time yesterday ruminating over the group’s ideas about going to more urban environments that may hold the manuscripts and texts we’re searching for. As of right now, we’ve discovered twelve locations that could yield good results. Sadly, Richard won’t be joining you for the next mission because he’ll be on special assignment somewhere else. Alexie and Marcel will be the leaders for this mission. They’ll be outfitted with warp crystals for the three locations we want to visit and, of course, a return crystal anchored back to this facility. Once everyone’s done eating, gear up and prepare to head out around noon while I wait on the all-clear from the patrol drones at the first location.”
After breakfast, everyone got together what they needed and gathered in the common room in anticipation for the mission to begin. While waiting, Alexie sat beside Jack to talk.
“Geez, between your staff and the extra pieces you’ve attached to your suit, do you think you brought enough morphacite?” she said, laughing.
“You know, I’d rather be over-prepared than under-prepared. I mean, what if the rogues show up?” said Jack.
“Then I think we’ll have a lot more to worry about than how much morphacite we brought with us. Anything interesting happen after we hung out yesterday?”
“Um . . . just had some trouble sleeping and walked around the facility for a little bit,” he said, nervously clearing his throat. “How about you? You do anything fun?”
“I meditated some and read a little from a novel before going to bed. Nothing too exciting. Did you see anything intriguing while you walked around?”
“No, uh, saw some of the researchers on night shift working on random stuff involving relics found on previous missions. That’s about it.”
Alexie shot him an incredulous look, wondering if there was something else Jack wasn’t telling her. Before he could swallow the lump in his throat well enough to answer, thinking she may have heard about his use of the warp crystals, John yelled to everyone from the corner of the room.
“We’ve got the all-clear. Grab your gear and head through the portal Marcel will form to arrive at your first site.”
“Where are we going this time around?” Jack asked Alexie.
“I’m not sure. Marcel and I were given warp crystals without detailed labels on them, except for the ones that lead back here.”
“That seems strange.”
“It is strange,” said Alexie. “John wouldn’t tell us why, but my guess is that he thinks there’s a mole within the division who’s giving the rogues clues to where we’re going and other information. So maybe by giving us warp crystals without knowing exactly where they go to, it might help eliminate the chance of the rogues finding out.”
“Hm, I still don’t like the sound of it,” said Jack.
Once Marcel opened the portal, the Searchers filed through the rift. On the other side, they arrived on the outskirts of an old cit
y with deep snow on the ground. There were citizens walking around in the distance, but not much urban sprawl surrounding them. The air held such a frigid temperature that the entire group shivered in unison every time the wind blew. Through their in-ear telecoms, John directed them to follow the nearby overhead drones to the building of interest. Above the entryway was a sign made up of letters from the Russian alphabet, giving the Searchers a clue as to where in the world they were. John gave them further instructions as they walked through the front door.
“In the back right corner of the building you should find a cellar door. Open it and proceed down to the room where they keep the oldest writings and artifacts.”
Beyond the entryway was an expansive room filled with old antiques, scrolls, and religious items from bygone eras. Everything had a thick layer of dust covering it and seemed to be undisturbed for years.
“Hold it,” Butch said as they moved through the room. He pointed down at the ground to acknowledge what looked to be recent shoe imprints on the dusty floor. “You seeing this through my body cam, boss?”
“Yes, I see it,” said John, sounding worried. “Proceed downstairs and let’s pray the rogues haven’t already been here.”
The cellar door opened with a loud creak as Butch pulled on it, revealing a darkened stairwell. The lights on the Searchers’ suits became the only source of illumination once they descended to the dirt subfloor. Each person took their time inspecting the area to make sure nothing was overlooked. They pored through every scroll and opened every possible container or enclosure. It took more than half an hour before anything worth mentioning was found.
“Hey guys, I think I may have something here!” said Bridgett, scanning over an unrolled sheet of parchment.
Everyone gathered around her to look at the discovery. Notes written in Greek surrounded a rudimentary drawing of an exo with lines connecting certain groups of text that described a particular aspect of the technology.
“That’s a great find!” John announced through the telecoms, sounding relieved. “No one there knows Ancient Greek by chance, do they?” he joked.
“Ha, it seems that we’re fresh out of any proficient linguists at the moment,” said Bridgett.
Jack felt like there was something else to the parchment. He thought he sensed morphacite close by and wondered if the black ink on the scroll could be similar to that in the hidden pages of his father’s notebooks. With everyone watching, he placed his hand on the ancient text to see if there was a secondary state to unlock that held a secret message.
“What the hell are you doing?” said Marcel, watching as nothing happened.
“Uh, I don’t know. I thought I sensed morphacite or something, so I was just . . . maybe I’m going crazy.”
Did you think the ink on the scroll was made of morphacite? Alexie telepathically asked.
Yes, said Jack. I could have sworn that’s what I sensed.
Alexie walked over and placed her hands over the ancient writing as well.
“It’s not just him. I feel something too.”
When she searched underneath the table the scroll sat on top of, she uncovered what looked to be an untouched morphacite container.
“That’s another excellent find,” John said through the telecoms.
“You know, I’m not sure those footprints we saw were from the rogues,” said Butch. “They might not have taken their time to look through the old texts down here, but they sure as heck would’ve found something like this and taken it with them.”
“I’ll open it up,” said Jack, knowing the inflicted wounds would recover fast.
After placing his hand over the three corner holes and allowing the spikes to puncture his skin, a seam formed around the top portion of the box and levitated upward to reveal the contents within. There was not an exo inside, but rather what looked to be another ancient text.
“What is it?” said John.
Marcel reached down and picked up the piece of paper, holding it up so John could get a better view from the body cam’s vantage.
“It looks like a sheet ripped from an old book. The words are in Russian, so we’ll have to bring it back to the facility for translating,” said Marcel. “The page looks very weathered, but there’s a sentence or two toward the bottom that’s been underlined.”
Bridgett gasped when she caught a glimpse of the page’s reverse side and turned it around in Marcel’s hand. Everyone’s hearts sank when they saw another note in Mark’s handwriting.
How dreadful it must feel to be constantly outwitted by what the Archon would believe to be an inferior and less intelligent group of relic hunters. I will admit my hand is starting to grow tired from having to write so many letters to you all. Though, I have a question to pose: What do you believe, that we’re just one step ahead of you and know exactly where you’re going to be next, or that we’re so far ahead of you that there are dozens upon dozens of sites we’ve already cleaned with only notes lovingly written by me for you to discover?
Mark
“Dammit, he’s toying with us!” said John. “Even so, we found something they missed that Rakiten and the Archon’s been wanting us to find—an ancient writing about exos. I need you all to finish searching the area and bring everything back to the facility before moving on to the next site. That’s the plan of action. Does everyone copy?”
As the remainder of the room was combed over, Alexie was able to find two more scrolls that featured primitive sketches of what appeared to be exos and morphacite surrounded by notes written in more Ancient Greek.
“Are we all done here?” said Marcel, holding up a warp crystal to show he was ready to leave.
Everyone gathered in front of him as a rift back to the Searcher facility was opened and they all went through.
It was apparent how famished many members of the team were when they rushed to the kitchen to raid the pantry while John analyzed the texts brought back to him, including Mark’s note. Marcel stayed with him to gain a closer examination of the scrolls.
“Do you think these findings will please Rakiten and the founder, sir?” said Marcel.
“I think so. At least, I hope they will. It’s exactly what we were tasked to find—ancient texts about the exos and whatnot.”
“That’s good to hear. I don’t want you to be burdened with all the pressure they’re putting on the division. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
“As far as taking orders and being a true believer in the Searcher division, I know you’re the best we’ve got,” said John. “I mean that, Marcel. I know some of the others aren’t sure how much goodwill the Searcher division has, but everything we do is all for the greater good. Can you imagine what would happen if someone like Mark gained access to all the information and ancient technology we have here?”
“It would be chaos, sir,” said Marcel.
“That’s right. I truly believe it would be catastrophic. The kind of man who can injure and kill those he was once close to holds enough darkness within himself to wreak absolute havoc, if given the opportunity. That’s why we have to do as Rakiten says and trust he’ll be able to find Mark and his rogues and wipe them out,” said John.
“Wait, Rakiten is personally going after Mark?”
“Yes, but that secret needs to stay between us. He told me that he would handle the rogues as we do whatever else he and the founder command us to do. That means we should have our complete focus on finding more artifacts like this,” said John, lifting the scrolls off the table for emphasis.
“I’ll make sure to keep the Searchers on task as we continue with today’s missions.”
“Thank you, Marcel. It would be better for the whole team if the other Searchers had your mindset. They may think you bring an abrasive personality and temper to the group, which is true sometimes, but I know you mean well. If Rakiten is ever in need of a trustworthy Searcher’s assistance, for whatever reason he may have, you’ll be the first one I recommend.”
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br /> “Oh, sir, thank you. It would be an honor to serve him.”
“Yes, I’m sure it would be,” said John.
“What’s it like working under him, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“If I tell you, can what I say also stay between the two of us?”
“Of course, sir.”
“He’s . . . more powerful than you can imagine. Although not always so easy to work for, his presence commands respect and awe. He keeps a large amount of morphacite under his control and with him at all times, typically giving it the form of a large predatory cat. I was told by him that it was his familiar--an animalistic representation of his inner nature. I’ve never seen anyone more advanced in their exo abilities. His power is almost godlike.”
“Didn’t you say Rakiten had his exo long before Mark made the big discovery in Turkey?” said Marcel.
“You remember correctly. According to the story I was told, before my placement in Division 1042, Mark found the first burial of an exo and morphacite in hundreds of years. It’s assumed that a lot of time had gone by since the last discovery because the Archon was in possession of a black box from antiquity, made of an unknown crystalline substance. When the box was bought at auction, long ago, it came with manuscripts detailing when it was discovered. It was an object the Archon’s family had owned for decades. One day, as I’m told, a lowly staff member in the Archon’s employ, named Rakiten, was tasked to move it and his arm was suddenly pierced by the three spikes in the corner, causing the container to open and an exo to be revealed. When Rakiten touched the sphere, it unrolled on his body and attached to him.”
“So Rakiten’s exo attachment was accidental, like Mark’s was?” said Marcel.
“It seems so. And ever since, he and the Archon did their best to find out anything they could about the origins of the exo and the morphacite container. Their search was fruitless for years—that is until Mark made his happenstance discovery and transitioned from archaeologist to Searcher employee number one.”
The Relics- The Keystone Trilogy - Part 1 Page 20