World Fire

Mystery of the Jade Temple

‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ The girl flipped herself around and propped herself up with her elbows to look at them. She wore a typical archaeologist uniform with a wide brimmed leather hat. Beneath the hat, two brown braids fell down to her shoulders, one on either side. Sunburn and freckles stretched across her face. While she wore baggy clothes, Locke got the impression that she was a very lithe and thin figure.

‘Just looking, same as you, I suppose?’ Arla said.

The girl’s eyes analysed Arla and found the badge that symbolised her as part of the Royal Army. ‘I think we have the same direction, here. Helmlock put out a notice to find those bandits, didn’t they?’

Arla nodded. ‘But our goals?’

The girl shook her head. ‘My name is Sparrow. I’m an archaeologist. If I ever get wind of a secret opening to the mythical Jade Temple, one of the secret wonders of the world, I will give life and limb to find it. I don’t care about the treasure or the insurmountable riches that are rumoured to be within those jade walls, no, I care for the knowledge and relics that tell us of the ancient history of the past. Don’t you know of the secrets that have been lost to us over the time?’

‘I know of the years that have been erased, or at least the idea of it.’

Sparrow raised an eyebrow, surprised. ‘You do? But aren’t you a part of the Royal Army?’

Arla shrugged. ‘What does it matter?’

‘Well, Justisar has never exactly been keen to acknowledge the idea of the erased years. I have written many pieces regarding the concept of it, and the proof of it, but someone within there seems to quash all mention of it, and my writings never see the light of day, and, well, that’s probably why you have never heard my name before.’

‘I don’t follow.’

Sparrow rolled her eyes. ‘Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to waste my time explaining such basic concepts to you. You’ll help me, though, won’t you?’

‘Why should we do that?’

‘I’ve been keeping watch of that cave entrance into the cliff. I see the bandits move in and out frequently. Your target is in there.’

‘Oh, then let’s get going. Locke, Trys.’

‘I wouldn’t take your Pegasuses if I were you. I have that indescribable feeling that someone has been watching me for a long time. I fear that they may attack us in the air if we try to approach from such a clear place.’

‘I see.'

‘Don’t worry, Arla, we’re fine with walking a bit. It’s only midday,’ Locke said.

‘I’ll lead the way,’ Sparrow said. ‘I’ve had my fair share of experiences navigating through treacherous forests.’

Arla glanced at Locke and Trys, raising an eyebrow to signal that they should be careful. ‘What part of this forest is treacherous.’

Sparrow jumped a bit. ‘Well, there could be traps, or spies, or animals, or anything really. You should always remain vigilant.’

This girl knows more than she is letting on, just who is she? Locke thought as he followed her down the hill and into the forest. And what is this about the erased years? What are they? She spoke in a way that suggests that Justisar actively supresses knowledge of this event. Does the Jade Temple hold knowledge of this? Have the bandits really found a secret entrance into this place, which has supposedly been locked or hidden for centuries?

Despite Sparrow’s warnings, there were no dangers in the forest, and it was almost entirely devoid of life. There were nesting birds in the trees that took to flight when they heard their approach, and a small river teeming with fish, but nothing else. She constantly warned them not to be too complacent, but they soon found these warnings annoying. It took them an hour to reach the cliff face. They could spot the Jade Temple a considerable distance to the left, but here, cutting into the cliff, was a cave that snaked through the cavernous crag. A slab of jade slouched against the opening, barring their entry.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,’ Sparrow said, stepping to the front. She stretched out her hands and tensed her forehead. The slab of jade gave a tremble as it slowly rose up into the air and gravitated to the side. The slab dropped and relief swept through her. ‘Ahh, that’s always takes so much out of me.’

‘Where did you learn that?’

Sparrow noticed the intensity in Arla’s eyes. ‘Relaaax. I just picked it up one day when I was at a dig site with other archaeologists. One day we were going through all the hoops to force our way through the rubble and get into a mausoleum, when I just simply found out that I can just move things with my mind.’

Locke looked to Arla. ‘Isn’t that story a little bit suspicious. No one just finds out that they can randomly move stuff with their minds.’

Arla shook her head. ‘Actually, that’s not too far out of the ordinary. People like Stag, Miles and I all discovered that one day, we could just do something we never thought possible. For me, I was in a desperate fight against three people who were bigger and stronger than me, then, I don’t know, things got heated and I was kicking lightning.’

Locke and Trys exchanged glances. Is just finding out you can do something that shouldn’t be possible really a suitable explanation? He shrugged. Ahh, whatever.

‘Well, Arla is making it seem simpler than it is. It doesn’t “just” happen,’ Sparrow explained. ‘It happens when you need it to happen, and you are fuelled by passion. And the result is the combination of the need and the passion. Some call it magic, but magic has a rigid formula behind it that must be adhered to.’

Arla nodded in agreement. ‘It is a phenomenon that has no explanation, and many have simply called it Passion.’

Sparrow took the lead and carefully guided them through the cave. They were alert for any sound or sign of the bandits, but found nothing, except for the occasional gold coin along the way. The cave stank with the smell of man, and her senses sharpened for any signifier that they were being watched. The cave, which had stretched on for a few dozen metres by now, cut to the left and into a jade wall, where there was a sizeable crack into it.

Sparrow motioned for them to crouch, and she peeked through the hole. ‘I don’t see anyone there.’ She pulled on a glove and ran her hand along the edge of the crack. ‘We should be able to fit through this if we go one at a time.’

The walls of jade showed all the signs of centuries of disuse. Where once an indomitable and impenetrable structure once stood, it eventually succumbed to the woes of time. Cracks ran across the walls of the large atrium on the other side, and the debris that had fallen from these cracks had sunk into the floor. A layer of water stretched across the surface of the floor, and what once must have been clean and crystalline was now littered with dust and jade.

But still, there was a mystique feeling to the room ahead of them. A set of stairs was on the opposite side, several metres tall so that they could not see what was there where it plateaued. Locke could make out the upper half of a door above the stairs, and several serpent statues along the perimeter of the room. The whole room was flushed with a green light, that filtered in through small gaps in the structure and the cliff, and this light bounced off the water, giving the impression that the entire room was submerged.

‘Well, no helping it. I’ll go first.’ Arla crawled forward and pushed herself through the hole and into the room. Locke and Trys followed. Sparrow was the last to enter. The water reached up to their boots and weighed down their steps.

Locke looked around, wonder in his eyes as he beheld the majesty of the Jade Temple. And then he noticed Sparrow, who had no such excitement. Isn’t this place an ancient piece of history? Where is her zeal? He dragged his feet through the water, taking note of how the atrium split into many halls at the edges. Just how big was this place?

Crash. A slate of jade rubble crashed to the ground over the hole that they had snuck through, blocking off the entrance. They spun around and found that Sparrow was smiling.