The Order of the Golden Sun

We hid the truck behind a small knoll on the northern end of the caldera. As much as it pained me to leave it behind, stealth would be our game, and the truck’s engine was anything but subtle.

The temple sat at the top of a conical hill in the center of a hilly plain. Its entrance appeared to be on the easterly side where the land sloped more gently. The northern side was a sheer cliff, and it was there we resolved to make our entrance. We slunk along carefully, reaching the bottom of the cliff in just about an hour. Arthur found a low patch of bushes atop a nearby hill and crouched there, scanning the top of the cliff for enemies while the rest of us made our preparations for the climb.

Imalor’s Delver’s Rope once more proved its usefulness as the dwarf began to freeclimb the rock face, occasionally stopping to pound a piton into the rock. He reached the top in about half an hour and tied off the rope. The rest of us followed behind, save for Atlas, who was unable to follow up the rope. I briefed him on his duties before we left.

“Watch the rope,” I told him, “We’re going to need it to sneak back down. Now, what do you do if someone finds it?”

“Eat ‘em and watch the rope.” He grumbled.

“Exactly.” I said, “And if we take longer than an hour?”

“Assume you’re dead and abandon all hope.” He rolled his eyes. I didn’t know tigers could do that.

“Well, you’ll know for sure if I’m dead.” I assured him.

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me.” The tone of his voice implied he wasn’t very thankful at all. “Now hurry up and get the rock so we can go home.”

When we had all assembled at the top of the cliff, Imalor led us around a series of gardens that adorned the south side of the temple. They were lush and well kept and the marble pathways that ran through them were engraved with images from the Order’s mythos. Statues of great priests stood resolute besides rows upon rows of pristine rose bushes.

A few priests wandered here and there in groups of two or three. A couple wore the black robes of the assassin who’d murdered the court wizard. If I had any doubts about this being the correct place, they vanished when we saw those figures. We crept around the edge of the gardens, slipping quietly inside the temple’s solemn southern entrance.

Once inside, I began to realize that we were thoroughly unprepared to handle this situation. We’d entered what appeared to be a massive gathering chamber, albeit from a secluded corner that entered from behind tiered rows of seats.

Arthur peeked around the corner into the main chamber then immediately hunched. He beckoned for us to follow and we crouched behind the seating.

“Wha–” Imalor began. Arthur quickly shushed him. He pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed with his finger around to the main chamber.

I quietly crept up and took a look. My heart nearly stopped.

The main chamber appeared to be some form of indoor amphitheater and the seats were packed, filled to the brim with dark-robed figures. They all sat patiently, not a single one moving so much as an inch.

There were many choice things I wanted to say in that moment, but our current predicament and my shock kept me silent. I ducked back down beside the others, feeling suddenly powerless. We had left behind both Atlas and my truck, which meant that if we did end up having to fight our way out, I was as good as useless.

The stadium suddenly filled with applause. I spared a glance back out.

Entering the chamber was an older man wearing white robes and a massive golden crown adorned with rays of orange glass made to look like the rays of the sun. He held the Gem of Traversal aloft before him. The crowd roared.

“What’s going on?” Imalor whispered loudly.

“He’s got my gem!” I whispered back.

“Well, what’s he doing with it?” The dwarf demanded.

“Stop bothering me and I’ll let you know!” I turned my attention back to the priest in the golden crown.

“This is the key to our salvation!” The priest in the golden crown spoke loudly, his voice resounding throughout the chamber, “This is the item that the false hero Dale so desperately seeks, and it is with this item that we will ensure he is proven fraudulent.”

“False hero?” Whispered Lynessa, “What does he mean false hero? We all saw you defeat the Demonlord. All of us have vouched for you.”

“Do the people no longer trust the word of the Honoured Heroes?” Ser Erik asked, voice bordering on distraught.

“Will all of you just shut up! I’m trying to listen!” I hissed. The priest continued his speech.

I’d missed something. The dark robed figures were all applauding again.

“If he thinks he can name himself champion of some made up god and topple our religion which has stood resolute for four thousand years, he can think again!” The priest shouted. Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. It was a little distracting. “When he seeks to reclaim this gem, we will capture him, and we will show to the world that he is no hero, no champion of this false god ‘Ford’.”

Nope. Nope. No good. We had to get out of here now.

“It’s a trap.” I whispered to the others, “They wanted us to come here. They’re using the gem as bait!”

“What?” Asked Imalor, “Impossible!”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Arthur, “They don’t know that we’re here. We still have the option to try again another time”

A door down in the lower part of the amphitheater burst open. A dark-robed priest rushed in.

“Divine Speaker,” he said, out of breath, “Our scouts have located the unholy ‘truck’ on the edge of our holy land. We suspect the heathen Dale may already be within the walls of this temple.”

Everyone in the party froze. The attending priests began to clamour. They began rising from their seats, the boards beneath their feet creaking and clattering.

We had three options, at least the way I saw it.

Option one: run. Try to make it back to the truck. Flee through the north entrance and try to regroup. Unfortunately, the Order would keep the gem. They’d reinforce the mountain.

Option two: hide somewhere on the grounds. Ambush the Divine Speaker while a majority of the priests were away searching for us. However, that relied on us being able to slip out of this room undetected and find somewhere to hide on the grounds.

Then there was option three. Option three was dumb. Jump out while the gem is still in the room, grab it, and hope chaos and the element of surprise allow us to escape unscathed. While being surrounded by well over a hundred angry priests. With no exit strategy.

I chose option three. Hey, I’ve never claimed to be a good decision-maker.

I leapt out of our hiding place, darting past shocked priests and careening towards the Divine Speaker. One man leapt up at me but I ducked aside, shouldering him in the ribs as I went past. Another priest made to dive in front of the Divine Speaker, but a magical blast shoved him aside.

Arthur stood at the highest row of seating and fired another magical arrow, taking down another dark-robed priest who tried to interrupt me. I reached the Divine Speaker and grabbed for the gem. The old man stepped aside, more swiftly than one would expect for a man of his age.

He raised a golden scepter and muttered an incantation. A blinding light filled my eyes. I tried to blink it away, but my arms were grabbed from behind by two of the priests. Another priest approached from the front and slammed my chest with his fists. I grit my teeth and kicked back at him.

From somewhere behind me, Lynessa unleashed a spell. A cacophony of screams indicated that she’d hit something. Multiple somethings. I could hear the shouts of Ser Erik but they seemed distant. It was likely the heroes were getting swarmed. Powerful as they were, the priests had a distinct advantage in numbers.

The priest in front of me punched me in the face. One of the guys from behind kneed my kidney. I leaned over and bit his arm.

“Oh, Holy Sun!” he cursed, releasing me. I turned to the priest who held my other arm and smashed my forehead into his nose. He yelped.

“Enough of this.” Said the Divine Speaker. He stepped forward, raising his scepter high. “By the Holy Light of our Father Star, I bind you in righteous imprisonment.”

Golden chains sprouted in the air around me, binding my arms to my sides and holding me in place.

“It is over, heathen.” The Divine Speaker spat. Spittle flicked onto my face. I gagged. “It is time for you to renounce your false god. My god gives me holy powers, but where are yours? You don’t have any. Because you are a heathen. A blasphemer. Your sway over the innocent people of this realm will be ended.”

Behind him, in the corner of the room, I saw one of the shadows slowly slink closer. Darn tiger. I told him to wait with the rope.

I fixed the Divine Speaker with a defiant stare.

“Give me the gem, and you won’t be harmed.”

The Divine Speaker scoffed, “You hold no power here, heathen. I have nothing to fear from you.”

“Sounds like a no to me.” Atlas muttered. He leapt from the shadows, catching the Divine Speaker’s wrist in his jaws. The Divine Speaker threw his head back and howled, his crown tipping from his head, glass shattering as it impacted the ground. The scepter dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor. The golden chains that had trapped me vanished.

“I told you to guard the rope.” I said.

“Heh,” Atlas scoffed, “We both knew you were going to need the help, and I was not about to let you get me killed.”

The Divine Speaker chuckled. He still held the Gem of Traversal in one hand.

“You think you’ve won, don’t you?” He asked, a crazed look in his eye, “I can still keep it from you. You won’t win. You can’t.”

He held the gem aloft. It glowed a stark white. The Divine Speaker spoke an incantation, his voice echoing through the room.

Atlas leapt. The room filled with a blinding flash. Atlas’ paws slapped against the stone floor of the amphitheater.

The Divine Speaker, and the Gem of Traversal, had vanished.