Fourth Vector Ch. 06

Nikias then picked up the story from Heron. "After Decon had taken a wife and had children, he later commissioned the building of a great temple in Malicoe's honor on the same spot as the altar. It was a grand temple for the time and the first official temple in the god's honor anywhere on Sorella."

"What's the significance of it though?" asked Jack. "Why would Barak be taking the treasury there of all places? What's the reasoning?"

"To get more of it," said Heron, quoting the drunken servant from earlier. "He's going to steal the sacred offering of Malicoe." Nikias visibly paled and choked as soon as he heard the words from his king.

"What is that offering? More gold?" asked Jack.

"Gold is the majority of it, yes," said Heron. "There are several artifacts in there of unquestionable value as well. Decon's original fighting sword for example as well as several of his queen Veratay's jewels. It's a literal goldmine for anyone so inclined to steal it."

Nikias interrupted the king. "But how could he steal it? That treasury is sacred! Any man who steals from the temple will be doomed forever by the gods themselves—every Sorellan knows that. How could Barak think to steal that treasure and not lose his soul?"

"I don't know," said Heron with a shake of the head. "We have to come to terms with the fact that there is some dark force over the man now, responsible for his actions."

"Surely, it wouldn't be so sacrosanct to a simple thief just looking for a payday, right?" asked Jack. "Maybe Barak isn't as religious as we all assume so the threats don't have any meaning to him."

Nikias and Heron both looked at each other before looking at Jack. "I don't think you understand, Jack. Every Sorellan child knows the story of the founders and the gods. Every Sorellan will make a pilgrimage to the temple at least once in their life. It is one of our only sacred places, central to our entire culture. It's inconceivable that he thinks to steal it."

Nikias intervened at that point. "Jack, to show you how important it is to our island, it has remained untouched even during the civil war. Even with half the island starving, no one has broken into the temple to steal the gold even just to remain alive. Even Daimanos knew better and left it alone. The threat of being damned forever by the gods is too powerful for Sorellans to overcome. If he hopes to steal the treasure, it can only mean there is some foreign force at work on Barak right now. To make him betray his own people and his homeland is unthinkable."

"It would be like if your emperor willingly destroyed his own cities and people just for material gain. His soul would be damned for all eternity," said Nikias while trying to put things into perspective.

Jack nodded as his brain processed the minister's words. Such an action wasn't imaginable even for someone as despicable as Charles IX. Yet, the equivalence let him know how important the treasure was to the Sorellans and what they had to do to stop Barak.

"How soon can we get there? If we have to stop him, we'll need to get moving quickly," said Jack.

Heron traced his finger along the path to Mount Tarpeious. "The journey will take several days. Unfortunately, most of it will have to be on foot. The path to the mountain is ancient and narrow, not good for horses. Not to mention, most of that countryside is still devastated from the war, so we'd have to travel lightly and quickly through the interior."

"We should get moving soon then. Especially if he has a head start of three days on us."

"He can't be moving that fast with that grain wagon though. It will be slow going for them, especially as they get closer to the mountain," said Nikias.

"We need to stop that man, and we need to do it soon," said Heron firmly while pointing to the mountain. "If he escapes this island with all that treasure, then the Sorellan people will have suffered through this civil war for no recompense. He must be stopped!"