Kat spent much of the afternoon at Jack's side as they ascended the mountain. The two of them kept finding more topics to discuss and their conversations never once drifted to a lull or stalled out for a lack of interest. It was quite a novel experience to talk with the dashing commander who had a habit of drawing out her playful side. She couldn't remember a time when she exploded into fits of giggles more often, reminding her of how things used to be back home before her exile—fun, carefree, and innocent.

Every notion that she had about Jack seemed to be correct, and even still, he was bound to surprise her when she didn't expect it. It made her feel hopeful for the first time in years, and she silently gave thanks that perhaps Jacob's death was not in vain after all.

It was only once they reached camp that evening and Jack went off to gather some firewood that Kat was left alone for the first time all afternoon. As she watched the blond-haired commander walk away, the smile that had been on her face most of the day slowly dropped.

I'll need to tell him sooner or later, she thought to himself. I shouldn't keep this from him.

On and on she argued with herself about what to do. It's not that she didn't trust him. Quite the opposite in fact, the man had earned her trust even after only knowing him personally for two days. It was just the sheer magnitude of the secret. What it could mean if it were true. And how it would turn lives upside down if it were to become known.

Kat sighed and kicked around a rock between her feet. Nothing had been easy for the last few years. Traveling like vagrants, and always looking over her shoulder for assassins sent by her family, she'd had to learn to deal with harsh truths and how to accept them. But how would Jack accept this harshest of truths? Especially if she was wrong?

No, I can't be wrong. The prophecies are never wrong, she thought to herself. Yet, even he had admitted to her that he didn't believe in prophecy. If the gods had a sense of humor, they would surely laugh at her plight right now.

There had to be a way forward. She would have to be completely open with him in time, and as much as that thought frightened her, it had to be done. At stake was merely the fate of the entire world. As long as she was right about him. She had to be right.

Kat took a deep breath. In due time, she would tell him. In the end, she just prayed that he wouldn't end up hating her for it.

*****

"Can you see it? Just beyond that ridge over there, hidden by the trees," said Heron as he pointed across the small canyon. "That's the temple."

Jack strained his eyes in the direction Heron was pointing. This high on the mountain, most of the surrounding terrain was shrouded in a thick layer of fog. It was midmorning, and while most of the fog would have been burned off by the sun at lower elevations, it survived much longer at this height.

Yet, he could just make out the sight of the ancient temple on the opposite ridge. The first thing he saw was the pediment of the structure, the upper portion of the roof that looked to be engraved with all kinds of different scenes and drawings. They were impossible to make out at this distance, but they were the first thing to catch his eye.

Much like Daimanos' palace, the temple sported grand, marble columns, and Jack could count six of them on the front side of the building. The temple was set into a rocky outcropping from the mountain, and part of the front of the building was hidden by a row of trees. It was almost like it had been built to remain hidden, however the impressive workmanship that went into its design ensured that it could never have been ignored by anyone just passing by. Much less grand in scale compared to the palace, the temple was still very impressive to see from afar.

"I haven't seen her in decades," said Heron to his side. "You're now looking at the holiest site in all of Sorella."

Jack scanned over the temple once more, looking for signs of recent habitation. Even though he could just make out the building across the way, it would be nearly impossible to see people from this distance. They would need to get closer in order to see if Barak was still there.

"We need to get moving," said Jack. "If we can get closer, we might have a hope of ambushing Barak if he's still inside."

"It will take the man a long time to load up all that gold, even with several men helping him," said Heron. "Let's get the group moving at once!"

Jack nodded and gave one last look out to the earliest Sorellan temple. Seeing what they've been chasing for this past week and knowing they must be close to gaining on Barak was a surreal feeling. If they could just close the distance on him now, the stolen gold would be as good as theirs.

Heron and Jack rejoined the rest of the group as they rested along a small ledge next to the mountain. A small canteen of water was being passed around and was currently in the possession of Kat. She took a big gulp before passing it off to Jack.

"We're almost there," he said after slaking his thirst. "We need to cross across a decent-sized valley to get to the other side where the temple is."

Kat nodded and smiled. "Lead the way."

After their short rest, the group was back on the path in a few minutes. At this height, the path was no more than a worn dirt portion of the mountain, a far cry from the paved and well-maintained road that they started on back in the city. Even so, they had to be careful of where they stepped, for jagged rocks found themselves deeply embedded into the dirt, a waiting injury for anyone who wasn't watching the immediate path in front of them.

It took another several hours just to make it to the far side of the mountain. At one point, the path narrowed greatly to cross a small natural bridge across the valley that they had to take only two at a time. Jack cringed at the thought of bringing horses and wagons over this part of the mountain as one false move could easily send them careening to their deaths.

The sun was just beginning to fade as the group found a small area well off the path. It was sheltered on three sides by the mountain, a perfect place to make their camp for the night. Due to their proximity to the temple, Heron forbade the use of any fire for that night lest they give away their position. For that reason, on the coldest night by far at this elevation, the seven of them huddled close to one another to preserve their heat.

As Vera began to prepare a meager supper for them, she was joined by Kat, the two fast friends working together to feed the rest of their companions. It was a cold, porridge stew that came out from their makeshift kitchen, a result of their lack of flame. Jack swallowed down what he could, hopeful for the day when he could rejoin the Destiny and get a proper meal once more.

Close to nightfall, Greg grabbed his attention. "I think we should do a reconnaissance of this temple while we can and while we're hidden by the night."

Jack nodded. "Let's do it. We need to know what we're going up against tomorrow. Or even if they're still there."

"Just the two of us?" asked Greg.

Jack shook his head. "Let's bring Nikias with us. He knows the most about the temple and its surroundings."

After grabbing Nikias, the three men set out along the narrow path up to the base of the temple. According to the Sorellan minister, it would take them a good half hour to reach the temple at their pace so they stayed light and walked nimbly with only their weapons hitched against their back.

"What do you think the chances are that they're still there?" asked Nikias not far from camp.

"We've been gaining on them so it's a definite possibility," said Jack from his side. "It'll depend on how fast they can load up the gold from the temple."

"What do we do if they're already gone?" asked Nikias. "If they are already on the descent?"

"Wouldn't we have met them already if they were done loading the treasure?" asked Greg. "Wouldn't they have to descend down this very path if they were already loaded up?"

"Not necessarily," said Nikias. "There's another path that leads down the western side of the mountain, which they could use as well. Especially if Barak knows we're after him, I doubt he'd come back down our side."

"Where does that path lead? Does it lead straight to Heron's capitol?"

"A branch of it does. The path forks once it's back down to the foothills," said the minister. "The southern path leads back to the capitol while the northern path leads along the coast. If he's hoping to get out of Sorella, my guess is that he'd take the northern path."

"I highly doubt he'd want to go anywhere near Heron's city after all this too," said Greg.

"At least we know where he's going in case we're still behind them," said Jack. "I just pray it doesn't come to that."

The three men rounded a particularly sharp ledge around the mountain and for the first time since this morning, the temple came into stunning view again. Jack pressed himself closely against the side of the mountain to stay out of sight and only hazarded a few glances at the temple up close.

It was a truly grand structure even if the marble used in its construction looked dated. From far away it wasn't as easy to tell, but this close he could make out numerous cracks along the columns as well as huge chunks that were missing.

"Earthquakes," said Nikias quietly until Jack looked at him with confusion. "If you're wondering about how shabby the temple looks, a good portion of that is due to earthquakes. It's extremely well-made but there's just about no building material out there that can survive nature at its fiercest."

Jack nodded and looked back to the temple. The three men laid down in a prone position and managed to crawl closer, using a nearby spruce tree as cover for their reconnaissance.

"It looks rather quiet," said Greg after they stopped to look at the temple for several moments.

"It appears that way," agreed Jack. "I don't really see any sight of human habitation." The commander turned to look at Nikias. "Is there anyone here who stays full time? A caretaker of the temple at all?"

Nikias shook his head. "No, nor is there a priest or a chaplain or anything like that. The temple just exists. Those that pass by are allowed to make offerings in the receiving hall on their own but that is the extent of it."

"Do you know how far back the treasure is?" asked Jack. "I'm guessing it's not right out in the open in the receiving hall?"

"There's a separate vault in the back of the temple if I remember correctly," said Nikias.

Before Jack could respond, all three of them turned their attention back to the temple where the sound of a horse pierced the night air. Where it came from was the next question on all of their minds.

"That's definitely a horse. Someone is still here," said Jack.

"What's on the far side of the temple?" asked Greg, pointing to a narrow space between the temple and the rock surrounding it.

Nikias shrugged. "Nothing that I can remember. I don't ever remember there being something there before."

"We need to get closer still," said Jack. "It's a blind spot, and if there's horses here, we could have just gotten lucky.

Greg handed his rifle over to Nikias. "Cover me. I'll crawl closer and see what's over there."

"Be careful," advised Jack as the Marine already started to move along the ground. The grass near the temple was tall enough to obscure most objects along the ground but anyone watching would be able to tell that something unnatural was moving if they were paying attention. Jack kept his sights trained on the temple, watching for the first sign of trouble.

Greg was gone for nearly half an hour and at one point, Jack even lost sight of him as the ground dipped closer to the temple.

"Where'd he go? Should we go look for him?" asked Nikias.

"No, give him time," said Jack. "Greg is used to this kind of thing."

Finally, he was made aware of the Marine's body as he crawled delicately back to their position. As soon as he was within earshot, he opened up with a big grin.

"There's eight horses tied up in that space on the other side of the temple," he said excitedly. "Also, there's two wagons there as well. One of those wagons is heavily-laden with something but it's covered in tarps so I can't see what's underneath."

Jack also started to grin. "It has to be Barak and the gold. Any sign of him or the men?"

Greg shook his head. "None. They must be inside because I can't see a damn thing beyond horses and wagons."

"Wait, look at that!" said Nikias from their side, pointing back to the temple. All three of them looked over to the temple and dropped their heads when a man appeared at the front podium carrying something heavy along his back. Next to the pack, the man also had a musket slung across one shoulder. He stopped to look out at the open field, his eyes scanning along the horizon. Jack felt like his head was nearly flush against the ground as the man's eyes scanned their very position, and he prayed he wouldn't see them just yet.

By some miracle, he didn't, and as he descended down the podium, he walked around the corner to the space with the wagons and temporarily disappeared from sight. A few minutes later, he reappeared but he was missing the pack that he was carrying along his back. After another quick scan, the man disappeared back inside the temple.

"I'd bet my arsenal that his pack was filled with gold," said Greg once they were truly alone once again.

Jack nodded. "He must have put it in the wagon. This is great. We've caught up to them, and they aren't even close to leaving yet."

"That second wagon was only about half full," said Greg. "We might have a real opportunity here to recover this."

"Let's get back to camp," said Jack. "I want to update Heron about this and get a plan together so we can recover it. We'll need something good as I'm sure they're all heavily-armed, and the thought of attacking a narrow, confined temple isn't a great one."

The two other men nodded and quickly shuffled back to the ledge where they could stand once more and started the short jaunt back to the camp.

*****

Back at the camp, Vera had grabbed what remained of her cooking supplies, and with the help of a nearby spring runoff, she was cleaning everything used to make their meal before putting it away for the evening. Kat was sitting nearby, and as Vera washed each utensil, Kat would then dry it and store it away in their pack. On the other side of camp, Heron sat with his daughter in deep conversation, leaving the two Galicians on their own for the moment.

"All I'm saying is the moment we get back to civilization, I'm going to take the longest bath on record," said Vera earning a sharp giggle from her new friend.

"A long bath right now sounds wonderful," said Kat before running her fingers along her arm. "I can't wait to get all this dirt and muck off of me from this long trip."

"You should have seen the baths in the palace back in East Sorella," said Vera. "I may try to ask Heron if we can bring one or two along before he destroys the palace."

"I'm sure he has his own baths at his palace back in the capitol," said Kat with an amused grin.

"I just don't want to take that chance!" Vera scrubbed at a particular spot on the bowl in front of her, trying to get the stuck-on porridge off. "Besides, what if they aren't large enough? There's nothing worse than taking a cramped bath with your legs all jammed up because you can't stretch out."

Vera only looked up when Kat didn't respond. The slightly older woman seemed to be peering out into the night as if on watch for something. Or someone.

"Kat? Is something wrong?" asked Vera.

The other woman quickly shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. Sorry, I was just distracted."

"Distracted? By what?"

Kat shrugged. "I was just wondering when Jack would get back, that's all. Doesn't it seem like they've been gone for a long time?"

Vera blinked. "No more than thirty minutes so far I'm guessing."

A worried look appeared on Kat's face. "Still. That seems too long to be away. He should be back soon, right?"

Vera didn't respond right away but a smile was slow to form on her face until she was practically grinning at Kat.

"What?" she asked.

Vera looked down to the ground while still wearing the smile. "So how long have you had a thing for Jack?"

"A thing for Jack?" Kat stammered and looked down to the ground before trying to dry the bowl Vera had just handed her. "I don't have a thing for Jack."

"Is that right?" asked Vera with a half-cocked grin. "But you can't wait for him to get back already, right?"

Kat gulped audibly. "I just don't like that he's out there at night with potential danger so close."

"I wonder why that could be," said Vera with a giggle. "Unless you kind of like him."

Kat went red in the face. "It's not easy like that, Vera. My situation with life right now is rather . . . complicated."

Vera shrugged. "Couldn't we all say that right about now?

Kat opened her mouth to respond but shut it quickly. A few moments went by. "It's just not that easy, Vera."

Vera dropped the bowl she was working on and came to sit closer to the woman. "It's okay if you like him. It's not hard to see why. A handsome man like that? The brave commander with a good heart? That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Kat took a deep breath. "It's just . . . I don't know if I'm ready for something like that. There hasn't been any time in the last few years for men. Even less before that, back in Galicia. I just don't know."

"Maybe time will tell, right?" said Vera as she hugged her shoulder. "I didn't mean to spring it on you, or to shock you just now. I just had a feeling."

"Is it that obvious?" asked Kat.

Vera nodded quickly, earning another heavy sigh from Kat.

"Great," she muttered quietly.

Vera started to laugh. "There are worse things in life than having a crush on a handsome man."

Kat turned to face Vera. "Do you share the same feelings? Are you into Jack as well?"

It was now Vera's turn for a deep breath. "I thought I was," she said quietly. "But I'm not sure to be honest."

Kat's face turned to confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Vera sat upright. "It's hard to explain. I do find him attractive but not in a romantic kind of way. I'm not sure what it is. I remember the day I met him when he freed me from Daimanos' harem. I remember praying that he would take me for his own personal harem because of how dashing I found him but after talking with him, there was something more there. Something that wasn't sexual or romantic but something that bonded us on a more personal level. Almost like family."

Kat started to nod. "So it's a platonic feeling then?"

Vera shrugged. "I think so? I'm not sure as I've never really felt this way before. There wasn't much time for men or for dating when I was growing up as I was always with my father. Of course, there were a few sailors on his ship that tried, usually to be nearly thrown overboard once my father found out. I was still a virgin up until a few months ago when I was sold to the Andalucians." Vera wrapped her arms around herself as the memories of her repeated sexual encounters at the hand of the slavers and Daimanos.

Kat quickly slid over and wrapped her arms around the younger woman. "I'm sorry to have brought up bad memories."

Vera wiped a tear from her eye. "It was just a sad chapter of my life, and it's over now, right? I never have to go back to that."

"You're free to create the life you want now," confirmed Kat.

Vera sniffled a few more times. "Anyway, when I'm with Jack, I feel something inside me. Something that gives me warm feelings toward him but not of a sexual kind. I hope that makes sense?"

Kat nodded. "I understand completely."

"I was worried at first about what I was feeling, and I thought I might be going a little crazy as I thought of possible explanations for it," said Vera. "Now, I've just come to accept it. He's made a mark on my life that won't soon be forgotten. I will forever count him as a friend for that alone."

"He's a good person to have in your corner," said Kat. "He's destined for great things."

Vera looked up at her. "How can you tell? How do you know?"

Kat quickly averted her eyes lest she come out with her secret. "It's just a feeling I have, I guess," she said. "How could he not with all that's happened even just here in Sorella?"

Vera questioned the sharp change in demeanor of her friend but didn't say anything about it. If she had to guess, Kat knew something that she didn't or knew something that she wasn't ready to share just yet. She chose not to say anything more on the topic—for now.

"And if we can recover this treasure tomorrow, it will be yet another great thing he's done," said Vera.

"We will," said Kat with a confident smile. "I just know we will."

"Sometimes, I wish I had your confidence," said Vera. "You always seem so sure of yourself and where you're going from here."

Kat smiled and looked down. "I don't feel that way with Jack currently."

"No one's perfect," said Vera, causing both women to giggle to themselves. "But in other matters, you seem almost unflappable. I can only imagine what your upbringing was like to be like that now."

Kat turned away and got quiet again for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up again," said Vera, knowing full well that Kat's past wasn't a good topic of conversation right now.

"Not your fault," said Kat with a weak smile. "You're right, I have seen a lot just from growing up. In my world, you had to be sure of yourself. You had to know you were making the right move. A lot of thought and deliberation went into every step, and even then, you could still lose if the fates were against you. I lost, and as a result, here I sit far from my home."

"That sounds horrific," said Vera. It was the most that she'd heard about Kat's past. Slowly, she was beginning to piece together snippets of the woman's life, and all of it pointed to a stunted and cruel childhood. "Were your family merchants as well? I know the trading world can be cutthroat just from what I've heard from my father."

Kat nodded weakly. "Something like that. It's a world I couldn't return back to on my own. There's just too much pain."

"Well, at least we're close to the end of this journey," said Vera. "After this is done, you can go anywhere or do anything. And you never know, maybe the king might let you keep some of the gold since you helped to recover it!"

Kat started to laugh. "I rather doubt that but it's a good thought at least. Who knows what I wouldn't buy with a stash of gold in my pocket."

"A few of those nice, luxurious bathtubs," said Vera, earning another round of giggles.

"That's if we recover the gold," said Kat. "We need to catch up to this Barak character first."

"We just need to catch up to him," said Vera. "Once we do, I have this covered instantly."

Kat gave her a confused look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean Barak used to be one of the ministers that was allowed access to the harem back at the palace," said Vera with a coy grin. "I still remember the way he used to look at me. The way he watched me when I was with Daimanos. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the man had quite the crush on me."

"That's not hard to see," said Kat. "I'm sure he hasn't seen so many blondes with your . . . endowments," she said while gesturing to Vera's chest.

Vera started to giggle. "Oh, he really liked these all right. I'd always find him watching me whenever I was nearby. So that's why I'm not worried about what we'll do when we catch up to him. All I have to do is distract him with my tits, and we can recover the gold before he even knows any better.

Kat couldn't stop laughing at Vera's words, even joined in by Vera as they considered such a notion.

"You may want to mention that one to Jack when he gets back," said Kat. "I'm sure he'd appreciate the extra assistance."

Vera nodded off to something just beyond Kat's shoulder. "Looks like we may not have to wait long. He's back!"

*****

Jack, Greg, and Nikias came back into camp shortly after their reconnaissance of the temple and the spotting of Barak's men. Gathering the rest of the group over to the well-enclosed spot by the wall of rock, they told them about their findings.

"Well, it seems our luck has held," said Heron. "If he's still there and that second wagon is half-empty, then we have a real shot of taking them in the morning."

"We have a good chance," said Jack. "Judging by the number of horses, it can't be too many men either. We shouldn't be too outnumbered."

"Those horses didn't look in great shape either," added Greg. "They need some serious rest. I'd be afraid personally to let those poor beasts go down the mountain fully laden with all that weight."

"So highly unlikely they'll be able to make a run for it," said Heron. "Even if they are sitting ducks right now for us, we have to be careful. That temple is an ideal defensive spot."

"Why's that, Your Majesty?" asked Vera.

Heron grabbed a small stick and began to draw a square into the dirt below him. On one side of the square, he drew a half-circle a good portion out from it. "This square is the temple. With all those columns and hidden corners, they could easily post a musket at every spot and make it nearly impossible for us to attack without taking casualties."

"And pick us off one by one while they come to no harm," said Jack. "We'd all be dead before they so much as broke a sweat."

"So what's the plan then?" asked Nikias. "How do we attack without getting chopped to pieces?"

"What if we used some kind of diversion?" asked Elektra. "Something that could bring Barak and his men out and then it's us that can pick them off instead of the other way around."

"I like that, Elektra," said Jack. "The tricky part will be where to go to launch the ambush. The surrounding terrain around the temple is mostly empty field except for the path that comes up the mountain. We managed to hide below a giant spruce tree, but only because it was already dark out. That won't work in the daylight."

"No, it won't," agreed Greg. "But the path runs perpendicular to the temple and the field in front of it. That corner we crossed to see the temple cut off all view of each side. If we can just draw them closer to the edge, they wouldn't even see us until it was too late. We could pick off any of those men that were armed and still have time to mow down the ones that thought about running back to the temple."

"That's damn near genius," said Jack while giving a firm clap to the Marine's back. "We'd just need enough of a diversion to pull them out of the temple. Even better if we could do it without them being armed at the same time."

"Who in their right mind would go out unarmed if they knew we were on their trail?" asked Heron.

"Not Barak's men," said Nikias. "The one man we saw was armed even just to deposit some of the gold in the wagon. He barely left the temple's footprint on the way, so I'm sure they wouldn't leave the safety of it especially if they thought they might get attacked."

"What if they didn't think they were going to get attacked?" asked Vera. "What if I could get them to come out with a little bait?"

Jack turned to face the young, Galician woman. "What did you have in mind, Vera?"

Vera turned to look at Kat before facing Jack. "You wanted a diversion? I have one. When I was in Daimanos' harem, Barak was infatuated with me. He always watched me, no matter where I was. I think if I can go out there and convince him that I want him, we might draw him out."

Jack thought about it for a moment before responding. "What makes you think he would do that? Did he really desire you that badly?"

Vera smiled and nodded. "Trust me. I believe if he saw it was me, he'd be thrilled. He used to be in the room when Daimanos was with me. I saw his eyes, Jack. He desperately wanted to be the one behind me instead."

Jack rubbed at his chin. "What if it's not enough? What if it doesn't draw him out though?"

At that point, Nikias spoke up. "Then we have to sweeten the pot a little more." The minister beamed with a smile as another idea began to take hold.

*****

The next morning, Barak was up early to finish the transfer of the treasure from the temple into the back of his waiting wagons. They were nearly finished, having robbed the repository room of just about every golden object with everything going into the plain, gray bags designed to be inconspicuous to unsuspecting eyes.

At this very moment, the last amount of treasure was being bagged up. Barak stood over the ledge to watch the rest of the men bag while also making sure that none of them were foolish enough to slip a few coins into his own pocket.

"Hey boss, can I have this?" asked Spiros while raising a tiny, golden tiara in his hands. It had recently been robbed from the head of the statue of Veratay, the wife of the first king of Sorella, Decon.

"No, you idiot," said Barak. "Put it in the bag with the rest of the gold."

"I just thought I could keep something small," muttered Spiros.

"You'll get paid at the end once we deliver the gold on the coast," said Barak as he rolled his eyes. "Not a penny beforehand either. Besides, what the hell would you do with a tiara? Prance around like a princess?"

Spiros went red in the face before tossing the tiara back in the bag as the men around him howled with laughter. Barak looked down to check the time, noting it was about an hour after dawn. They would have to finish quickly. The replacement horses would be waiting for them just down from the summit, and once they outfitted the wagons with fresh mounts, they'd be able to make great time coming down the mountain to the coast. They were only three days away from the meeting with the Swabians and he intended to be on time.

"That's it, boys," said Barak. "Let's get this job finished and let's go get our reward, eh?" The rest of the men gave mutters of approval. Judging by the state of the treasury room, they would need just about another hour to clean it out completely and then they could be off.

"Boss, you need to see this!"

Barak snapped around to see his man Otis poking his head into the treasury room. His musket was slung across his back, but he had a panicked look on his face.

"What's the matter?" growled Barak.

"There's a woman out front calling your name," said a very confused Otis.

"What? Speak sense, man! How could that be possible?"

"I don't know but she's quite the looker! Blonde hair, big knockers, everything!"

Barak's eyes narrowed. Could it be? No, no way.

"Show me," he said before following the man back through the remains of the temple. They passed through the main hall of the temple, past the giant statue of Malicoe that dominated the interior and emerged on the front stoa of the temple. That's when Barak's mouth dropped open at the sight in front of him.

Out near the cliff, just off the path that ran in front of the temple, was the whore, Vera. She looked just as delicious as he remembered, even if she was much more modestly dressed than he remembered. Her blonde hair flowed freely in the wind, and not even the plain tunic she wore for a top could cover the massive swell of her chest. The only part of her skin that was exposed was her face and hands, although with how cold it was on the mountain, he couldn't say he blamed her for covering up.

Yet his mind still raced. Thoughts and memories of her time in the palace slipped through his mind. Seeing her on her knees with Daimanos or getting rammed from behind brought the smallest of smiles to his lips. Now that the king was dead, perhaps he could finally have his wish. Maybe Vera could finally be his after all this time? But what in the world was she doing this far from the city? Could it be a trap?

She spotted him almost as soon as he was on the stoa. "Barak!"

"What are you doing here, Vera?" asked the confused minister.

"Thank the gods I've found you!" she said before stumbling to the ground. She carried with her a sack of things slung around her back but looked to be in a terrible state. Something didn't seem quite right.

"How did you find me?" asked Barak.

"By the luck of the gods, that's how!" said Vera. "You left without me! I thought once word got out that Daimanos was dead, you'd come for me and take me with you!"

Barak looked at her incredulously. "But you were always his whore, not mine. Why would I come after you?"

Vera looked at him with distressed eyes. "Did you not desire me? I saw the way you looked at me. How you pitied me when I was with the king. Did you not wish it was you in his place? That it was you that got to own my body? I know I did!"

"You did?" said Barak softly.

"Every single day!" said Vera. "I know the look in your eyes when you watched me. I know it was you that wanted your cock in me, not that of Daimanos. I wanted you just as badly! I thought that now things could be different and you and I could be together."

Barak's eyes traveled down her body and then met her eyes once again. "Be together?" he whispered. He scanned her immediate surroundings. The woman was not close to him but as his eyes traveled to both sides of the path, he noticed something crumpled on the path not far from Vera's feet. "What's that, Vera?"

Vera looked over at the crumpled heap and smiled in triumph. "It's proof. Proof of my devotion to you. I stumbled upon the group of bad men chasing you. The wicked king Heron and the foreigner Jack Easterbrook. I tricked them into trusting me and letting me join their group. Oh, you would have loved how they took to the poor but friendly former whore." Vera laughed in triumph before resuming her story.

"Anyway, once their backs were turned, I managed to kill the one man that was most responsible for Daimanos' death. His former minister Nikias who had so callously betrayed our king and joined forces with our enemies. I waited until the man's back was turned and then I plunged a knife right between his shoulder blades." Vera mimed the stabbing with her hands and now that Barak could see closer, it appeared that the corpse on the ground did have a knife sticking out of his back.

"You managed to kill Nikias?" asked Barak before descending down from the stoa. He started the walk over to where Vera was. "What about the rest of the group? Heron and Easterbrook. Where are they?"

Vera grinned. "Not far from here. I can show you exactly where they are. You can get rid all your enemies in one day and then we'll be free."

Barak kept walking toward the woman. "What do you mean we'll be free?"

"I mean you and I can finally be together," said Vera. "It can be the way it should be. Just you and me, Barak. I know how badly you want me. I know how much you want to fuck me. To make me scream with pleasure. I want that just as much as you do. I want to feel your cock in me driving me crazy while I cum for you over and over and over! I don't want you to ever stop fucking me, Barak."

Barak's grin grew larger as he approached the girl. Behind him, his men had emerged from the temple, each of them brandishing their weapons to cover his approach to the former whore. But he felt like he was on the edge of a dream. For so long, he had dreamt of Vera and her stunning body. Now she would be his.

He finally reached her, and she reached out to caress his face. As he stared down into her lovely blue eyes, he snapped an order back to his men. "Check his body. Make sure it's really him."

At once, Otis and Manos sprung forward to where the body of Nikias lay. It was going too perfect. In two days' time, he would have sold off all the gold and be on the way to some island far away from Sorella, and now he would have Vera with him.

Life was grand.

That is, it was grand before he heard the first shots. Two shots pierced through the morning air and before he knew it, both Otis and Manos dropped to the dirt, dead in an instant. Barak's eyes went wide as he saw the flashing barrels hidden just beyond the stone corner and instantly leapt back toward the temple.

In that moment, a huge firefight erupted as his other men, led by Spiros, hit the ground to fire off rounds in the prone position. The sounds of bullets whizzing by followed Barak as he rushed back to the safety of the temple. Even Vera had hit the deck, yet from this distance, he could still hear her yelling back to the gunmen, "Shoot him! He's going to get away!"

Treacherous whore.

Barak hurried up the ramp into the main stoa of the temple right before feeling a round graze his leg. He stumbled and managed to catch himself before falling headfirst into the marble column, and quickly ducked behind it.

The shooting didn't last very long. Around him, marble cracked and crashed to the floor as shots covered the front of the temple, but before long, it was only him left. None of his men made it back inside the temple. With the shooting almost over save for the few shots that peppered his position, he had to assume the rest of Spiros' men were dead.

For that reason, he stayed pressed up against the wall, waiting and unwilling to face his attackers alone.

*****

"Come on out, Barak," yelled Jack not far from the temple. "If you surrender peacefully, we might just let you live."

Jack wasn't surprised when the barrel of the man's musket poked out from around the corner, firing a single shot in their direction. Thankfully, he'd been laying against the ground, his sights trained on Barak's hiding spot behind the column and thus in no danger of being hit. Still, it was a precarious position. As long as Barak remained hidden behind the column, they faced a real danger in rushing the temple. One wounded man with a musket could still kill and the last thing he wanted was to come all this way only to lose someone at the very end.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Easterbrook?" yelled back Barak.

"What I want is to end this peacefully without any more people having to die," said Jack. "If you can come out, we can stop this violence."

"Said the man who killed all of my men," said Barak. "You'd just as soon kill me too."

"Like you hired that man to kill us in the forest?" asked Jack. "It seems we're both guilty of killing."

"So what makes you in the right and me in the wrong?"

"Because I'm not trying to steal gold that rightfully belongs to the Sorellan people," said Jack.

"Bah," scoffed Barak. "To hell with the Sorellan people. They were willing to fight and kill each other over two men's vanity. They brought total destruction, war, and pestilence to their land and for what? Nothing! They don't deserve this gold."

"And you do? What have you done to make you deserve it so much more?" asked Jack.

"I had to put up with that nitwit Daimanos for years, Jack!" yelled Barak. "You only saw him for a brief period of time. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have to deal with a moron every single day? Whose own self-importance blocked out every single source of critical thinking? The man wasn't fit to wash shit from the streets of the city, and he was their king! What does that tell you about the Sorellans, Jack?"

"That the wrong man tried to take power and paid the ultimate penalty for it," said Jack.

"He may have, but the Sorellans haven't. I'm going to get off this mountain, Jack. I'm going to give this gold away and take my cut in two days' time! And I'm going to go far away from this cursed island and live like a king! The king that Daimanos should have been!"

"You're not going to do any of that," said Jack calmly. "But if you surrender now, you can at least keep your life. We won't let you leave this island with any of the gold, but at least you'll be alive. Rotting in a jail cell for the rest of your life, but it's better than death."

"That sounds like one hell of a choice you've given me," said Barak sarcastically. "Let's see here, escape with the gold and live like a king or surrender to you and get passed around like prime meat for the rest of my days. Gee, I wonder which option I'll pick!" As if to emphasize the point, he pointed his musket back around the corner and shot out at the open field again.

Jack didn't bother responding, merely sighing against the sights of his rifle. Behind him, the rest of the group, save for Elektra and Greg, were still safely behind the stone corner, just out of shot in case Barak should get any crazy ideas. To his left, Elektra was trying to get a better vantage point on Barak's position from a nearby cliff while Greg did the same thing from his right flank. Unfortunately, with how the mountain blocked the position of the temple, Elektra was the only one who might have a shot on the man.

Hearing rustling behind him, he watched as Nikias crawled along the ground and settled next to Jack. "Not having any luck, I take it?"

Jack pursed his lips. "Would you surrender if it was you?"

"Probably not. I wonder if I can try anything though."

"It couldn't hurt," said Jack.

Nikias called out loudly from his position. "Barak, it's Nikias. Why don't you come out and surrender? We have you surrounded."

"Oh, so the dead man lives," yelled back Barak. "How goes it, traitor? It seems your position is much better now than the last time I saw you."

"I wish I could say the same for you, Barak," said Nikias.

"I'm wondering how you're still alive, Nikias. I thought Alcydes was supposed to kill you."

"Didn't you hear? Alcydes wasn't quick enough," said Nikias. "It was I who ended his life, not the other way around."

"I should have guessed that one. Alcydes was always more brawn than brain. A blunt instrument if nothing else."

"I know," said Nikias. "That's why I had to kill him first."

"Do you know who gave the orders to kill you?" taunted Barak. "It was me. I was the one who persuaded Daimanos to have you killed."

"And for what purpose? Because all of a sudden, Barak's star didn't burn nearly as brightly as before?"

"Because I knew you to be a fake!" yelled Barak. "I knew you were working for Heron all along. Don't forget, Nikias, that I had my spies just as you had yours!"

"So why didn't you tell Daimanos from the beginning?" asked Nikias. "Why didn't you tell him when I was made minister?"

"Because I thought I might see if you could be useful to my purposes," said Barak. "But you frustrated my attempts at every turn. When I figured out that you intended to use your position to bring about Daimanos' ruin, instead of merely enriching yourself, I decided you would be of no use to me! That's how I persuaded Daimanos that you were working with the enemy. That's how I talked the king into making you a marked man. Alcydes was only so happy to pull the trigger—mad dogs usually are. But then I'd finally be rid of you!"

"All the good that plan did you," said Nikias. "I'd say you're the one at disadvantage now."

"There's still hope while I still breathe! If anyone should know that, it's you!"

Before Nikias could respond again, Jack cut him off. "This isn't helping. If anything, it's making him more defiant. We need to try something else."

Nikias pursed his lips. "Any ideas?"

Jack thought to himself for a few moments before a smile began to spread on his lips. "Go get Vera. Tell her to stay low and join me over here."

Nikias nodded and quickly hustled back to the safety of the cliff. Jack was unsure if Barak was watching because another shot rang out from the temple shortly after yet no harm came to Nikias. Jack fired a few bursts to cover the man's retreat. The temple went quiet shortly after and stayed that way until Vera crouched down near Jack a few minutes later.

"Nikias said you wanted me?"

Jack nodded. "We need a way to get him to come out on his own. Since you were so good at it the first time around, I was hoping we might get a repeat performance from you?"

Vera smiled. "I'll do my best!"

She then brought both of her hands to cup her mouth. "Barak, it's Vera."

The sounds of laughter began again from the temple. "Come to try and seduce me again, dear? I'm guessing that was all a ploy to get me out of the temple?"

If Jack had expected Vera to take the soft approach again, he was very quickly surprised by the words that came out of her mouth next.

"Of course it was," said Vera with a cruel laugh. "Only someone as pathetic and idiotic as you would have fallen for that."

There was no immediate response from Barak but if Jack had to guess, the man was probably in there mashing his teeth. When he didn't respond after another minute, Vera tried again.

"Do you really think any woman would desire someone like you? You're completely pathetic! The way those lecherous eyes watched me while I got fucked by a real man was absolutely sickening. You disgust me!"

There was still no response from Barak.

"I doubt you could have satisfied me at all," said Vera brutally. "I saw how you got hard when you watched Daimanos fuck me from behind. It was all I could do not to laugh! Your cock is so tiny that it barely pressed out from your tunic! To think you ever could have satisfied me, that's a joke—"

"Fuck off, you whore!" yelled Barak in an alarmingly aggressive tone. "Back to the harem with you to suck off another pathetic king!"

"At least it'll be a man who could satisfy me," shot back Vera. "Not you, never you. You couldn't satisfy anything with that pathetic excuse for a cock in your pants. You're a joke, Barak. You know all the girls in the harem laughed about you behind your back? None more than me."

"Keep your mouth shut, you filthy whore," growled Barak.

Jack could tell that her words were beginning to affect him more so than anyone's before. In such a way, he realized that she had been entirely right. Barak did have something for Vera. It was the only way they were able to tempt him out of the temple, and now enraging him to the point of delirious anger might be their quickest chance of getting him out once again.

"Or what?" mocked Vera. "You'll do what exactly? You couldn't do anything if you tried. All of your plans fell in on themselves because you're half the man you think you are. You're nothing because you've always been nothing and you'll never be anything greater than nothing!"

"And you'll never be anything more than a dead king's airheaded plaything!"

In the next instant, a deranged-looking Barak leapt out from the marble column he'd been hiding behind. Brandishing his musket, it was leveled right in Vera and Jack's direction. It was almost too soon for a reaction, and Vera's eyes closed to await the inevitable.

A shot pierced the air and echoed through the temple, followed by another and then another. One of those shots came from the barrel of Jack's own rifle but he was afraid to look to his side at Vera. He watched Barak crumble into a broken heap on the stoa of the temple floor, and then a shout from his left caught his attention.

"I got him," yelled Elektra while holding up her rifle in triumph.

Jack turned to look at his side, finding a wide-eyed Vera looking back at him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah. Are you?"

Jack smiled. "Never better."

"Is everyone else all right?" he yelled back to the rest of the group.

"Good as gold over here," yelled back Greg from his position on the flank.

"We're all good back here," said Heron.

Jack began to stand up, and while keeping his rifle trained on the corpse of Barak, he made his way slowly to the temple. After rushing up the main staircase, he stood over the barely breathing minister as his blood made a small pool on the temple floor. Jack quickly kicked his musket out of the way, even though there was little need. Barak wasn't much longer for this world.

"You've lost, Barak," said Jack while he leaned down next to the gravely wounded minister.

Barak seethed through his teeth, now a mass of bloody red. "You haven't won, Easterbrook. You can't forestall the inevitable. This is just the beginning."

With that, the minister's strength gave out and his head fell to the cold floor beneath him. As the man died, Vera appeared at his side.

"What do you think he meant by that? What's just the beginning?" she asked.

Jack shook his head. "I have no idea."

They were soon joined by the others, with Greg and Elektra reaching them first. Elektra wore a satisfied smile on her face as she joined her comrades.

"Great shooting, Elektra," said Jack. "You did it. You were the one to kill him."

"It serves him right," said Elektra before turning to face Jack. "Besides, you can consider us even now."

Jack scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Even?"

She nodded quickly. "I wanted to be the one to kill Daimanos, but you did it instead. Now, I get to have the final part in ending that legacy by killing his last minister."

Jack chuckled. "That you did. And I'm glad you're on our side more than anything."

Elektra smiled as her father reached the rest of the group. He quickly pulled his only daughter into a hug as Vera and Kat did the same.

"Is it over now? He's dead, right?" asked Kat.

Jack nodded his head. "It looks to be that way. Let's find the gold though first. That will be the true test."

"While you do that, I'll scope out the rest of the temple," said Greg. "Just in case anyone is still hiding in the back."

The rest of the group save for Greg descended back down the temple stairs and entered the tiny courtyard on the side of the building. At this point in the day, the second wagon was nearly full, evidence that Barak had almost completed his mission.

Jack grabbed one of the tarps that covered the wagon and pulled it free, letting it crumple against the ground. He did the same with another and another until finally pulling free the last tarp, causing an astonished gasp to emerge from all of them.

Underneath was no more than ninety different packs, all filled to the brim with golden coins. Jack scooped his hand into one, letting the soft metal slip through his fingers one by one. "Wow," he whispered, never having seen so much gold in his life. It made the chest he had locked up on the Destiny look minuscule in comparison.

"The temple treasure," whispered Heron, just as entranced. "There's so much more than I thought there'd be."

Elektra hopped to the side of the wagon and began to count. "Eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven . . . eighty-seven bags full of treasure!"

What about the other wagon?" asked Jack.

Nikias moved to the other one to undo the tarps covering it and found a similar situation. "Almost seventy bags here!"

"Absolutely incredible," said Heron while reaching into one of the bags that didn't contain coins. Inside, he pulled out a golden crown and held it directly in front of his face. "Do you have any idea what this is? This is the crown of the first king of Sorella. This is Decon's crown!"

The rest of the Sorellans gazed on in childlike wonder. There was enough treasure here to make a single man rich beyond his wildest dreams. Even without the temple treasure, just the portion that had belonged to Daimanos was enough to put the country back together. It was a new hope for the Sorellan people.

Jack looked around. "There's enough of us here that we can start to put this back. Let's put the temple treasure back where it belongs. Safe within the temple."

Heron gave him a grateful nod of approval.

For the next several hours, they began to unload the massive temple treasure and place it back where it belonged. It was slow-going—not only was each individual bag extremely heavy but they couldn't just be thrown back into the repository. Barak and his men had robbed the statues of the god and the first king of diadems and jewels as well as had broken into glass containers that held the various pieces of treasure. All had to be put back just as it was found, and for that reason, it was slow and tedious work.

A few hours into the restoration, Jack was carrying a particularly heavy bag across his shoulders past the large statue of Malicoe when he heard Kat call his name from behind.

"Jack! Come over here for a moment, please?"

Jack slid the bag off his shoulder, and it landed with an audible clank against the floor. "What do you need, Kat?"

She gestured back over to Barak's body. For the last few minutes, she'd be going through his pockets, pulling out just about everything that was left on his corpse. In a small pile on the floor were several personal effects, such as a compass, a coin purse, and a few documents. Kat grabbed the coin purse on the ground and shook loose a few coins into her hand. She handed one off to Jack.

"Does this mean anything to you?"

Jack looked the coin over. There were several markings around the front side of the coin, but it was a language he didn't recognize. The profile on the coin wasn't easily identifiable either.

"It's a foreign coin by the looks of it," said Jack. "But I don't recognize who would have issued it. Is it Sorellan?"

Kat shook her head. "Sorellan coins don't look anything like this. This coin came from one place only. Swabia."

"Swabia as in the Swabian Empire?" asked Jack.

Kat nodded. "That's the place. They're all Swabian." She spilled out the rest of the coins, all bearing the same likeness of the person on the front of the first coin. "This language isn't known to very many people but it's Old Swabian. They don't even speak it anymore but their coins all bear the same inscriptions."

"So Barak was being paid off by the Swabians," said Jack. "But why?"

"Perhaps this can shed some light on the subject," said Kat. She put the gold down and picked up one of the letters that had been concealed within the man's pocket. Jack grabbed the letter, and seeing it was in the common tongue, he began to read.

ATTN: BARAK

FIRST MINISTER OF EAST SORELLA

BRING THE GOLD TO THE APPOINTED TIME AND PLACE. A SUCCESSFUL DROP OF THE GOLD WILL EARN YOU A REWARD BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS.

DO NOT FAIL.

LORD REGAULFUS AVILA

LORD GOVERNOR OF CORMFELD

"This was the plan all along," said Jack. "Barak sold out his own people to the Swabians."

"We need to tell Heron," said Kat. "He needs to know about this right away."

Together, the two of them tracked down the Sorellan king as well as Elektra and Nikias and broke the news to them. Jack handed the letter over to Heron and let him read it in his entirety.

"So, he's not only a traitor to his king, but a traitor to his people as well. And now the Swabians are involved," said Heron with a disgusted look.

"Do you know this Lord Avila?" asked Jack. "Who is he?"

"I've only heard the name once, and that was in passing," said Heron as he shrugged. "Other than that, the name means nothing to me. Although, I have heard of Cormfeld. That's one of the Swabian islands."

"I've heard the name before," said Kat quietly.

"Who is he? What does the man stand to gain from interfering with Sorella?"

"Cormfeld is one of the closer Swabian islands to Sorella," said Kat with an agreeable nod from Heron. "This Lord Avila is a nasty man. He's a quick rising lord in Swabia, and he has a vile reputation. I've heard that he wants to be emperor someday."

"Is he related to the royal family of Swabia?" asked Jack. "Is that possible for him?"

Kat shook her head. "The Swabians don't have a royal family per se. The emperor is a position for the strongest lord who can attain it. Their culture rewards ambition and aggression, but likewise looks down upon weakness, especially in areas of authority. The short story is that any ambitious lord can kill the current emperor and take over the empire."

"That sounds a little chaotic," said Jack. "Is their society constantly at war with that many egos?"

Kat shrugged. "It can be chaotic at times when they are weak. However, when they have a strong emperor at the top who can keep in line the various lords, the Swabians are at their most dangerous. All that aggression gets channeled outward, with predictable results."

"That current emperor has been there for a long time," said Heron. "It seems he's finally decided on vengeance for the black eye we gave him all those years ago."

"Or it's possible that the emperor knows nothing of this and this Lord Avila is doing his own bit of scheming. Anything is possible with the Swabians," said Kat.

"And if his plan would have succeeded, we would've been in serious trouble without the gold," said Heron. "With a good number of our people dead from the civil war and nothing to rebuild ourselves with, we would have been easy prey for the Swabians, and that's even taking into account the Sorellan fire."

"We should get back to your capitol as soon as possible," said Jack to Heron. "I'll radio to my ships to be on high alert for any nefarious activity from the Swabians. We may need to call your army back up. I imagine once this Lord Avila finds out we spoiled his plans, he may be inclined to act out in frustration."

"We need to move with all possible haste," said Kat. "This only means one thing to me—they are preparing for war."