The Brotherhood Chronicles: The Golden Key

Chapter 4:

     The path leading to the cemetery was not an easy one. The winding dirt road seemed to have been roughly carved through the dense brush. Once this path may have been a beautiful tail leading to the mens' destination, but no more. The years had not been kind. Centuries of neglect had allowed the foliage to grow onto the path and form thick walls of branches and leaves on either side of the trail. A perfect place for a trap.

     Moris was wary of his surroundings, sure that at any moment he would meet an untimely demise. Adding to his concern was the man he was following. Byron was not what he would call a 'friend' by any stretch of the imagination; had Byron not been a member of the Brotherhood, he would have gunned him down years ago. Yet here he was, blindly following the man down a deserted path that he claimed lead to the towns cemetery. And how did he know this was the way? Had he been here before? Moris didn't like the situation at all.
     "So how far off do you think we are?" he asked.
     "Oh, not far, not far. Maybe another mile at most," the man replied without turning around.
     "Mmm...," He didn't like this. Byron had been leading them for over an hour now down this road and he was starting to think he had been set up, "So how do you know this is the right path?"
     "I've got sources. Don't worry, this is definitely the right path." They continued walking for what felt to Moris like hours until they turned a sharp corner and almost lamed into an old iron gateway. The suddenness of the discovery surprised both men. The gate itself was impressive given the surroundings: a 30-foot high wrought iron gateway, topped with elaborate scrollwork. Both men gazed up at the top of the gatway clearly stunned by what they saw: an emblem of a fountain exactly like that of the Brotherhood. The ornate fountain was exactly like the mural on the floor of the House, having six columns capped by a rounded dome. The only difference with this design was the single ruby set in the center of the dome.
     "This is it. The location of the first seal!" As the words came out of Byron's mouth Moris knew he had been set up. He quickly turned to the larger man, removing his gun from his pocket.
     "What did you just say?"
     "Err..."
     "Ok, talk. Why did you know how to get here? How did you know about this place?" the questions started pouring out of him. He was fully prepared to shoot Byron if he refused to cooperate.
     "Look, there's a very simple explanation for all of this. I-" Moris fired a shot at the man. Byron could hear the bullet fly past his ear.
     "No games Byron. Talk!" he narrowed his eyes, focussing on the man.
     "I-" but before he could finish Morris felt a strong force hit him from behind. As he fell to the ground he had just enough time to see a large figure step towards Byron and hit him with the butt of a pistol before blacking out.