The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time
Gage Blackwood and his AI companion Arthur have set out on a mission to recover the Sosiqui Legacy to give Earth a fighting chance over the Qou'Thalas. Their first stop was Atlantis where they found out that only native baring a temple medallion could enter the Temple. Gage made a medallion by imprinting a lump of clay from the Potter Shop with the image of the double-breasted axe found in the Olive Oil Shop. Now they are off to El Dorado to get the gold they need for their medallion.
Date: January 28, 524 A.D.
Place: El Dorado; Andes Mountains, Peru
Gage found himself on a farm plateau. He was not far from the well where he first landed. "Arthur, tell me about El Dorado."
"The legend of El Dorado grew after the Conquistadors came to Peru. They heard a legend about a city whose roads were covered with gold. As an interesting side note, the name 'El Dorado' was first coined by Sebastian de Bella Cazaar in 1542, a veteran of the Incan Conquest and founder of the Capitol of Ecuador. He met a native who spoke of a man who sprinkled his body with a fine gold leaf before bathing in a sacred mountain lake. Upon hearing the story, Sebastian called him 'El Dorado,' the Golden Man. Today we know that man as George Hamilton."
"Now we know why the city was never found," Gage said. "It was destroyed in battle."
The sky was bright and warm, a slight wind coursed through the mountain plateau. It reminded Gage of the good old days at Caldoria. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time for reminiscing, when the Qou'Thalas could be breathing down Earth's neck right now.
Gage heard some snoring coming from down the mountain. He followed it to see a boy sleeping by the well. He had jet dark hair, tanned skin, and a skinny figure.
"I think we found our first El Dorado Chameleon disguise," Arthur guessed.
"Computer, activate Chameleon Scanners." The red line scanned the image of the boy. Gage donned the farm boy's image and returned to the place where he landed. He went up the mountain and saw the farm stable built, but without any "occupants."
"You know, I heard a story that takes place in a stable like this one," Arthur said. "Now which one was it again? Something about a manger… hmmm…" Gage went to the far end of the plateau and looked out over the mountains.
What Gage saw was beauty beyond anything he has ever seen before. The temple sat on another plateau connected by balloons that rode on rails. To the left of the temple was a huge city that was also connected to the temple by balloon rails.
"Uh… Gage, I don't see this town on our map, why don't you ask the nice man sharpening the large scythe for directions?" Gage looked to his left and saw a man who looked much like the boy only older. Gage turned to leave but the man already spotted him.
"Hachayo, there you are! Son, I can tell by your drooping eyes that you were sleeping. Were you out late last night visiting the Shaman again?"
"The Shaman?" Gage asked confused.
"Lately, I would imagine that you know him better than I. Anyhow, the Shaman is the one who speaks to the Spirits. Son, I know you have been going to see him. It's good that you are interested in the stories of our people, but I can not tend to a fruitful bounty alone, I need help. Harvesting the crops that Toahualpa provides our people is hard work. Don't worry, I'm not preventing you from seeing the Shaman, just tend to your chores."
"What's a Toahualpa?"
"Toahualpa is the greatest of the four elemental spirits. She is the Earth, the strength of stone and the wealth of soil. It is she who causes the ground to be fertile. Next time you visit the Shaman, ask him to tell you more about the spirits… after your chores are done, of course."
"Of course, Father, I'll do those chores now."
"I'll see you at dinner, Hachayo, and don't take any more naps, you've daydreamed enough for today."
"Hey Gage, just for kicks, go up to the boy disguised as the father."
"I don't know, Arthur…"
"Oh come on, come on, it'll only take a minute. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please…"
"All right, I will." Gage scanned the father's image then went back down the hill. He switched chameleon disguises and went up to the boy sleeping by the well.
"Not a very active child, is he?" Arthur conversed. "Why don't you check his pulse and while you're at it, check his pockets for loose change."
"Hachayo," Gage said in a deep voice trying to sound like the farmer. The boy was startled up.
"Hello, Father, I was taking a short nap, but I'll have those chores done very soon."
"Why haven't you done your chores yet?"
"I couldn't sleep last night, I'll do them right now, I promise."
"Very well then, I must go now."
"Good bye, Father, I'll have those chores done before dinner." With those words, Hachayo started to draw water from the well.
"Happy now?" Gage asked Arthur as they went back up.
"At least we know he's alive," Arthur said.
Gage dropped his disguise and went onto the balloon landing. The farm plateau that Hachayo and his father lived on was connected to the temple plateau by two rope rails. One of the gondola balloons was on the other side of one rope. Gage hopped into the balloon (the one that one day from now, he would have to construct using a bucket crank and basket) which started to ride across the rail. At the same time, the balloon that was stationed at the other end began traveling to the farm plateau on the other line. Looking out from the balloon, Gage could see numerous drawings carved into the side of the mountain.
When Gage's balloon arrived at the Temple plateau, Gage climbed the steps of the temple. When he got inside, he noticed a man rubbing gold leaf onto a mural. He crept over to a basket and opened it up. Inside were tons of gold sheets. Gage took one, put it in his temporal pocket, and then left as silently as he came in. At a landing half-way down the steps, he jumped back to Atlantis.
Date: October 5th, 1262 B.C.
Place: Atlantis; Mediterranean Sea
Gage appeared on the exact same spot he left, near the Olive Oil Vendor's shop.
"Okay," Gage said to Arthur. "We have our materials but we need to melt the gold over the medallion to make it really look authentic. Where can we find an oven here?"
"Wait a minute," Arthur said. "The Potter has a kiln… or is it a kilt? Is it possible to harden pottery under a man's skirt?" Gage ignored Arthur's question and returned to the Potter Shop. He spied on Talos (the Potter) from the entryway. At the moment, he was turning a large gray container. "We need to use the Potter's kiln to melt the gold over the medallion, but I don't think he's going to just let us walk up and bake a cake."
"Hmmm… he wants to go to the festival, right?"
"Right."
"I have an idea." Gage went back to the Olive Oil Vendor. Still out of sight, he scanned the Olive Oil Vendor's image, and then donned it.
"Arthur, give me your best impression of the Olive Oil Vendor."
"I hear ya."
He went into the Potter Shop. The Potter looked shocked to see her. "Tira, have you already finished making the Olive Oil? Oh, I envy you. I still have a dozen pots left in the kiln. They won't be ready for at least three hours! Meanwhile, I am stuck here with nothing to do but wait and watch."
Arthur hacked into the Chameleon Jumpsuit's communication frequency and gave his best accented feminine voice. "Stuck here, is there somewhere you need to go?"
The Potter looked shocked, "That is not funny, you know how I've been looking forward to the festival and tomorrow's the last day." Arthur was right about one thing, the Potter was a real whiner. It seems like he complained every other sentence.
"Gee, that's too bad," Arthur was saying through the Olive Oil Vendor's voice. "With all this work you have to do, it looks like you're going to miss it."
The Potter looked like he was ready to cry. "You are enjoying this, are you not? Whatever did I do to deserve such treatment?"
"Okay, I can take a hint, go ahead I'll watch the amphora."
"Truly? Oh thank you, Tira, remember to turn them so that they do not crack." The Potter ran out the back door. Gage quietly followed and once he was sure the Potter left the dock in his own boat to the festival, he dropped his Chameleon disguise.
Gage went up to the kiln and opened it to reveal a Lazy Susan with several pots on it. He placed the clay medallion on it and then placed the gold leaf over it. He closed the kiln and gave the Lazy Susan a turn. When the turn was a full three-sixty degrees, Gage opened the kiln and took out the now gold medallion. He placed it in his Jumpsuit's temporal pocket. As he was heading out, he noticed a pitcher and a bowl on a shelf. He took both of them.
"What are you doing that for, Gage?" Arthur asked.
"I need to pretend that I'm making a delivery to the Temple so I'm going to fill the bowl with Olive Oil."
"And the pitcher?"
Gage lowered his head, "It's for when the Qou'Thalas attack. They'll stop at nothing to obtain the Legacy and destroy anyone who gets in their way including humans. If the Olive Oil Vendor is right and the water really does have healing powers, then it could help cut the casualties down to a minimum."
"Gage Blackwood, even in times of horror and fear, you still think of others. Honestly, Gage, you haven't changed a bit."
"Thanks… I think." After filling the bowl with olive oil from a barrel outside the Olive Oil Vendor's shop, Gage disguised himself as the Potter and returned to the ferry and asked Kashi to take him to the Temple.
When the guard approached Gage the second time, he actually had a smile on his face. Maybe because this time, Gage was actually a citizen and not a foreigner.
"I'm here to make a delivery to the Temple," Gage stated.
"Your medallion, citizen," the guard requested. Gage turned the cooled medallion over to him.
The guard nodded, "Thank you, return to your ferry and I'll let you through."
Gage returned to Kashi. The Nubian ferryman reported, "The loch is draining, lets go now." Gage climbed back onto the ferry and Kashi paddled to the forty foot high door. The doors parted revealing a second set of doors. The ferry moved in between the two doors as the first set closed. Water filled the loch making the ferry rise to the upper reservoir. Kashi moved the ferry over to the dock and Gage exited it.
The Temple's architecture resembled Roman Bath House. The Temple's entrance was part of the dock in between two huge banners. Safely out of Kashi's line of sight, Gage dropped the Potter's disguise. In front of a deep well was basin filled with water. Gage took the pitcher, filled it, and then put it back in his temporal pocket. He then walked around to the right side of the well. When he looked down, he saw water pouring from a gate into the well. Gage took out the gaff he found on the Egyptian boat and used it to slide the gate shut. As the water dispersed, Gage could see a platform with a triangle-shaped hole in it. Something was glowing inside the hole. Gage slid the gate open and the water started to pour down into the well again. Still nothing happened. Gage repeated the process a few more times before closing the gate and replacing the gaff in his temporal pocket.
"Arthur, what's going on?"
"I don't know, Gage, I thought that once the gate is open, the Gaealith would rise out of the Earth on a column of water like the Olive Oil Vendor said, but now… I don't know." Was it possible that the Legacy was no longer in Atlantis? Was it possible that it was in one of the other time zones? He was back to square one.
Disguised as the Potter again, Gage returned to the ferry and asked Kashi (who looked very eager to leave) to take him to the windmill (despite Arthur's demand to take him to Funkytown). Gage could see the dock where the beggar was nearby. Once inside, he switched his Chameleon disguise to the Captain and walked from the living quarters he found himself in when he entered to the actual windmill. The spiraling staircase was intact fully. A large pylon stood at the center with a control wheel off to the side. There were gold bolt rings on several spots in the floor. One even had a rope attached to a pully. The Windmill Keeper was dressed in white garments and was sewing a piece of white cloth. Gage captured his image with the Chameleon Scanners and greeted him.
Upon seeing Gage as the Captain, he looked around and stated, "Looks like nasty weather." Gage was confused; didn't the beggar ask the same thing? Was this some sort of greeting in Atlantis? No, it couldn't be, otherwise that would've been how the Potter and Olive Oil Vendor greeted him when he went to visit them.
Arthur pointed that out, "Gage, he said 'it looks like nasty weather' too. Unless the neighborhood calls the same psychic weather advisor, something is definitely fishy in Atlantis, and it's not the tide."
Gage decided to choose the opposite answer to what he gave the beggar. "If you insist…"
"Storms can appear from nowhere this time of year," the Windmill Keeper commented and then went back to his knitting.
"When in Atlantis, do as the Atlantians do, I suppose," Arthur said. "Why don't you go around trying it on different people just for kicks?" Overall, the idea was sound, so Gage left the Windmill, returned to the Potter's disguise and asked Kashi to take him to the docks (and not to their leaders as Arthur so humorously put it).
Returning to the docks, Gage assumed the disguise as the beggar and went to visit the captured Egyptian Captain. "Looks like nasty weather," Gage said carefully.
The Captain looked around before replying, "Yes, it may even rain." He breathed a sigh of relief. "So you are my contact then, were it not for these bonds I would've been able to meet you as planned. But I have spoken to a member of my crew and he's coming to free me shortly. Once I am unleashed, I will seek you out." Gage nodded and left the ship.
"I think I'm starting to pierce through the dark storm clouds of deceit," Arthur said. "It looks like we stumbled upon an arranged meeting between the Captain and Beggar. They're using code words to communicate. Try answering the Beggar as the Captain would."
Gage assumed the Captain's disguise and went over to the beggar.
"A few coins for a blind old beggar," the beggar requested upon hearing Gage walk up. This time, Gage was able to drop a few coins into the beggar's alms bowl. "Thank you, friend, looks like nasty weather."
"Yes, it may even rain," Gage replied in the same tone as the Captain would.
"Ah, good, I am glad to see that they have finally let you off the ship. My name is Padros the Atlantian. Let me start by saying that I make no excuses for my people, they have no right to treat you this way. I wanted to meet with you to give you a chance to escape this prison island. There is an underground network of captives who are willing to risk their lives for a chance to return to their homelands. I've been meeting with them to organize an escape with my knowledge of the island's inner workings; we have come up with a solid plan. We leave tomorrow, and we would like you to join us."
"I bet he didn't count on a detective from the future stumbling onto his plans while trying to find a lost pyramid-shaped artifact said to contain vast knowledge," Arthur commented.
"Why do you call this a prison island?" Gage asked.
Padros chuckled, "Yours is not the first ship to be captured by the Atlantian fleet. The people of Atlantis go to such great lengths to ensure that their private utopia remains unspoiled by invaders or trade. But what makes it a utopia for natives makes it a prison for their second-class citizens. No one is allowed to leave, you will never see your homeland or your family again, nor will you be granted Temple rights."
"I thought we were in thirteenth century Atlantis, not a twentieth century Nazi death camp," Arthur cracked.
"What's your plan?"
"Your skills were impressed upon me by a fellow countryman of yours, Amon the Egyptian. He will give you the details of the escape plan and you can find him at the windmill nearest to us. When he asks about the weather, tell him 'it is going to be a long winter.'"
"Why should I trust you?"
Padros chuckled again, "It is true you have no reason to trust me. All I can tell you is that this can be your one and only chance to escape. If you do not take advantage of it, you may very well regret that decision for the rest of your life."
"What if we get caught?"
"Death will certainly be the punishment, but even death is preferable to living life as a prisoner." Gage was astonished, but at the same time, not surprised. Freedom Fighters like Padros will do almost anything to escape.
"I need to go now," Gage said and went away.
"So, now what?" Arthur asked.
"Now we see a windmill keeper about a temple."
Gage arrived at the Windmill still disguised as the Captain. He walked up the stairs and into the living quarters. Amon was still needling away at the sail. Once again, he saw Gage. "Still looks like nasty weather," the keeper said.
"Yes, it looks like it's going to be a long winter," Gage replied.
Amon smiled, "Ah, good then the Beggar has convinced you to join us, Akmed. How long has it been… ten years… twelve? It is good to see you again, old friend. Now you see that my ship was not lost at sea, surely everyone must think that, but soon I'll be able to tell them myself."
"How did you end up here?"
"In the same manner as you, my ship was captured while on a trading voyage. They brought me back here and haven't allowed me to step foot on a ship since. I had no choice but to find work on the island." He scoffed, "Me a man of the sea, forced to take work as a Windmill Keeper! Well none of that matters now."
"Who is the Beggar?" Gage hoped that by asking this question, he could find out how Padros knew the island had inner workings so maybe he could find them and get to that weird structure he saw in the well. Hopefully, if he was on the right track, it would reveal clues as to where the Gaelith (a.k.a. the Sosiqui Legacy) might be.
"He goes by the name Padros. He is an outcast Atlantian Templar. Many years ago while only an Initiate; he was blinded and expelled from the order simply because he expressed disagreement with withholding the Gaealith's power. His harsh punishment was a message to other Initiates who felt as he did. Do not worry that Padros is an Atlantian, he is a good man who believes in our cause."
Gage knew he had to feign ignorance about Atlantis's religion even though he heard it before from the Olive Oil Vendor and the Beggar. "What's a Templar?"
"Bah, I have never discarded our beliefs for their religious nonsense, but I do know that the Templars are to the Atlantians what the High Priests are to us."
"And the Gaealith?"
"The Gaealith is the Atlantians' most important religious artifact. They foolishly believe that it has life-giving powers. So strong is their belief, that they keep it from non-native eyes within the Temple. It is always protected by a Guardian Templar."
"Were there other initiates who agreed with Padros?"
"Yes, his best friend Saros finished Templar training and passed the Rite of Initiation even though he secretly agreed with Padros. They have not spoken since."
"What is the Final Rite of Initiation?"
"Bah, only more nonsense, they say the initiate must commune with the Gaealith and ask its blessing to become a Guardian Templar. Supposedly, if they're worthy, the Gaelith grants them eternal life."
Gage wanted to ask more questions, but he knew that it might raise Amon's suspicions if he didn't sound interested about escaping. "What's the escape plan?"
Amon looked around as if there were spies everywhere before replying, "The plan is to escape the island while everybody is celebrating the Kalos Kalyre. But what's more, Padros and I have uncovered a secret passage to the Inner Temple. Tomorrow, I will escort Padros through the passage to rescue his old friend Saros and escape with the Gaealith. Afterwards, we will board three ships and sail away undetected."
This was the clue that Gage had been waiting for. "There's an Inner Temple? Well where is it? And what's your secret passage?"
"The Inner Temple lies below the Main Temple at the bottom of the bay. All the sea water flows down into the Inner Temple powering a clockwork device. That water drains out through a pipe that passes underneath this windmill. I've broken into the pipe and it's large enough to crawl through."
"Why's the plan set for tomorrow?" Gage asked.
"Not that it would matter once the fighting starts," Arthur added though only Gage could hear it.
"Because forever water flows through the pipe except during the Kalos Kalyre. They claim this is directed by the Earth Mother, something about raising the Gaealith on a column of water. Whatever the reason, the channel runs dry for just one hour on that day."
"You said before that you were going to rescue Saros, what do you mean by that?"
"The sword falls swiftly on Templars who wish to abandon the order. Even straying from the grounds is not permitted. Now we've gotten word of our plan to Guardian Templar Saros, he has agreed to allow Padros access to the Gaealith in return for escaping the watchful eyes of his brethren."
"What do you want me to do?"
"We request only that you pilot one of the escape ships."
"I must go now," Gage said. "I'll speak to you later."
"Of course, I must go up to fix the windmill but you are welcome to stay if you like." Gage turned and exited the windmill.
"We'll have to wait until later to make our move, while Amon is busy," Gage told Arthur. He switched to the Windmill Keeper's disguise. "Let's return to the docks in the mean time. Besides, there's something I need to do."
Gage (as the Windmill Keeper) walked onto the Egyptian boat and went to the bow. Akmed gasped upon seeing "Amon." "Amon, you're alive! We thought you were lost at sea! Now I see the truth with my own eyes, your ship was captured just as mine was, yes?"
"How did you end up here?"
"We were returning to Egypt with a load of silk when my gaze fell upon this… wretched island. We sailed in for a closer look and by the time we saw the warships, all chance of escape was lost!"
"Well they'll probably release you soon. I must return to my windmill, we'll talk later."
"Until then, Amon."
As Gage exited the boat, he noticed that it was eerily quiet. "Arthur, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I've been in Atlantis for almost twenty minutes and so far nobody's tried to steal my soul."
"Huh?"
"Old joke. Actually I know what you're thinking: I don't hear the Beggar calling out for alms. Maybe he fell asleep."
"Let's check just to be on the safe side." Gage went to the spot where Padros was sitting but he didn't see Padros, only his alms bowl. "Looks like Padros left to fulfill his part of the Underground's plan." Gage took the alms bowl and placed it in his temporal pocket. He then converted into the Captain and headed back to the Windmill.
Gage returned to the Windmill. After making sure Amon was out of sight (considering how the Windmill Keeper was upstairs in the gear room, it was a safe bet that he was), he dropped his Chameleon Disguise. "Okay, Amon said that he broke into a pipe that passed underneath the Windmill. Now if he wanted it to remain secret, he would have to have done his digging beneath this Windmill, probably underneath this very room." Gage looked around the floor and noticed that one of the rings on the floor had a rope attached to it. He grabbed that ring and started to pull. "Careful," Arthur warned. "I don't want you ending up in some back alley Atlantian Chiropractor's Office; I hear therapy involves a rack and two bulls."
Gage let go of the ring and pounded on the stone.
It was loose.
"We're on the right track but we need to take advantage of some alternate force to lift that stone." Gage went into the residence of the Windmill. Not much, just a bed, trunk, and table with chair. Gage sat down on the chest and jumped as the top of it jiggled. Gage lifted the top. Inside was a scroll in Egyptian. It showed a sketch of the center pylon of the Windmill with a man standing next to it. A hole was in front of the man.
"These must be Amon's plans for how to access the secret passage," Gage said excitedly. "Looks like he rigged the Windmill to open the passageway from him.
Arthur had other things on his mind, "I hate to make criticism in other people's homes but that rug looks like a beaver exploded." He was referring to a hairy rug that stuck out from underneath the chest.
"Arthur…" Gage began as he replaced the scroll in its hiding place.
"I mean seriously, Gage, it looks like it should be on Shatner's head or maybe Ernest Borgnine's back."
"Arthur, this isn't…"
"If meat is murder then that rug is at least a severe beating."
"Go ahead, smart guy…"
"Gage, slowly reach for the sheers, no sudden movements it looks hungry!"
"Arthur, I was being…"
"Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Floor."
"What?"
"How many human beards had to die to make that rug?
"The ferocious weed creature from the planet weave waited patiently on the ground, biding its time for its favorite unsuspecting meal: a scrumptious time-travel agent.
"That rug looks like a…"
"ARTHUR!" Gage snapped.
"All right, all right, I ran out of hairy comments anyway."
Gage went back to the stone slab with the rope attached to it. He picked up the rope and tied it around the central pylon. Going around to the side, he turned a side wheel. The stone slab was raised revealing a hole.
"Nice work, Gage," Arthur commented. "Now that we dammed up that river, we can get in to the secret passage." Gage jumped down and crawled through. "We better hurry, Gage, any moment they're going to turn the water back on and… well… to cut to the chase, this suit can only be dried cleaned."
"I get the picture."
Gage came out from the pipe into the bottom of the well, which was much larger than it appeared to be from the top. At the center was an incredible dais-structure with ornamental bull heads. Gage couldn't find anything that could help him and knowing that any moment water could come flowing back in; he climbed up metal rings built into the wall. This must've been what Padros called the Inner Temple. Now assuming the Gaealith was in that structure inside the dais at the center, Gage needed to figure out a way to open it and the best way to do that would be to scout the surrounding area.
To Gage's left was a mural. At the top was circle within a triangle. The circle was clearly meant to be the Earth but as for the triangle… Each of the points of the triangle had a different picture. At the top was the Atlantian bull, another was a spade-shaped object and a third had a picture of a dragon or some sort of winged serpent on it.
"Arthur, what's this language?" Gage asked. "I don't recognize it."
"It's a variant of Linear A, old the oldest known Earth languages, I'll try to translate as closely as I can… 'We are the Children of the Earth Mother. Long ago she lived among us protecting and teaching our people. Her power and knowledge were beyond measure. Before she left us, she entrusted our priests with the power of life; the power to heal and renew, the gift of immortality! We must honor her memory by always guarding the Earth Mother's blessing.'"
"So the Sosiqui entrusted the people of Atlantis with the Legacy," Gage deduced. But if that was true, what role did the people of El Dorado and Shangri-La played?
Gage kept going down the passageway and eventually came to a small room. A man was standing with his back to Gage. Gage quickly threw himself against the opposite wall and noticed another mural. He had Arthur translate it.
"'We are the Second Children of the Earth Mother, doomed to be consumed by her first children, the sun and the moon. As the two enemies move through the heavens, both fighting each other for the Earth Mother's power, the world beneath trembles before their terrible might. We know that one day they will come together and cause the dark day that will destroy our city: the Kalos Kalyre.'"
"They seem to have incorporated the sun and the moon into their mythology," Gage figured. "The eclipse of the sun and the moon must represent the day the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas battled over Atlantis and destroyed the city."
"Following the assumption that the Atlantians believed that the aliens were gods; the Earth Mother that appeared before them and gave then the Gaealith must've been the Sosiqui."
"Is someone out there?" A voice called from the next room.
"Uh-oh, Gage, switch disguises quickly before we create a temporal distortion wave bigger than Agent 3's."
Gage quickly disguised himself as Padros just in time as a man came out. He was balding and had a thin dark moustache and piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in what were clearly priestly robes. Through his helmet and the disguise as the Beggar, Gage's eyes widened. It was Elliott Sinclair! "Padros," Sinclair cried happily. "I'm glad to see they've agreed to send you. You know, seeing you again brings back the good times we had during initiate training, that is until… well… I wish I had the courage to stand with you instead of biting my tongue and grudgingly accepted the Templars' insolent views." Gage came to the shocking (and somewhat horrifying) conclusion: that this man, Saros from the way he talked to Gage as the Beggar, was Elliott Sinclair! Somehow, when Sinclair escaped the destruction of Atlantis, he brought the ability of immortality, or at least eternal youth. And when Gage captured him and cut him off from his lab, that ability was taken away and Sinclair aged at a rapid rate.
"Yes," Gage agreed. "There views were very… uh… insular."
"Indeed," Saros said raising an eyebrow. "And you were absolutely right, the Gaealith does not belong to the Templars, it belongs to all! What right do they have to decide who should or should not receive its healing grace? And despite great risk to yourself, you stood by your beliefs even though it meant giving up an opportunity you waited your entire lifetime for."
"Opportunity?"
"The opportunity to commune with the Gaealith, to find out if you were worthy of its precious gift: eternal life. But now you shall have it! I will not stand in your way; I hereby renounce my title as Guardian Templar. I haven't the stomach for it. But before I go, you're going to need this." Saros handed Gage a sun-shaped medallion. "It will no longer serve me any purpose."
"What will you do now?"
"Before I became a Templar Initiate, I truly believed that the order was my life's calling. But now I realize that I can't do the world a service by sequestering the Gaelith from others. I've been given a gift, it's time I used it. Your courage has helped me to see this and now I must call upon my own courage to guide me. Farewell, my friend." Saros then left Gage alone in the room.
So Sinclair a.k.a. Saros left the Templars shortly before the destruction of the city by the Cyrollans. He somehow lived for 3,000 years with the eternal living ability inside his lab. When the Cyrollans came to invite Earth into the Symbiotry, Sinclair believed that they would destroy Earth like they did Atlantis so he tried to stop him. So in short, I caused Sinclair's death. No wonder he was so bitter when we met at Vega Thalon.
Gage looked around the room. Saros/Sinclair was standing in front of a giant wheel with two arrows pointed in different directions. There were various images on it.
It was almost like a clock.
"This must've been what Amon meant by a clockwork device," Gage figured.
Arthur noted that a gear was missing between the crank and the calendar wheel. "Maybe that's so kids don't advance it to their birthday."
Gage looked at the sun medallion that Saros gave him. It was shaped like a gear! Saros wasn't just saying typical religious stuff when he gave Gage the gear, he really would need it if he was to set the calendar wheel so that it would reveal the Gaealith. Gage inserted it in between the calendar wheel and the crank. He then turned the crank so that the sun and the moon arrows would come together just like in the Olive Oil Vendor's story. The moment they came together, there was a sound of shifting gears and after that, nothing.
"Something's missing," Arthur said. "To put it metaphorically, we set the alarm clock to the correct time but the clock isn't plugged in. I don't see a giant rodent treadmill anywhere so I would guess that this clock is powered by measured volumes of water."
"Arthur, you may have found the answer!"
"I did?"
"Yes, but I need to get to the Outer Temple fast!"
"I saw a staircase across the hall." Gage ran down the hallway and up the flights of stairs and came out from the basin the healing water was in. Gage went over to the well and used the gaff to open the grate.
Suddenly a shaft of water shot out from the well carrying with it a pyramid-shaped object. If the Olive Oil Vendor's story was to be believed, then this was the Gaelith or Legacy.
"Looks like your water clock repair correspondence classes finally paid off," Arthur said jokingly. "Let's grab that rock and get out of here." Gage heard footsteps down below and realized that the other Templars must've realized that Saros had deserted his post and was now coming to check. Gage placed the Gaealith in his temporal pocket and jumped back to the TSA.
Main Cast
Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector
Arthur: Matt Weinhold
Atlantis Cast
Beggar: Gene Chronopoulos
Captain: Richard Tanner
Kashi: James Hazelwood
Potter: Lyle Kanouse
Olive Oil Vendor: Dominique Debroux
Guard: Fredrik Cavally
Windmill Keeper: Brian Nahas
Saros: Graham Jarvis
El Dorado Cast
Hachayo: Jeremiah Najera
Hachayo's father: Miguel Najera
