Chapter 4 - The Grand Master

7/31/2019 Chapter 4 - The Grand Master

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/chapter-4-the-grand-master 1/6

Written byAndrew Roberts

These stories are based oncharacters and settings by Pinnacle

Entertainment and Great WhiteGames.



Switzerland – 1938

Flaming debris scattered from the bridge into the river as Buck and Virginia leapt from the movingtrain to avoid the explosion. As they scrambled to the river bank, Virginia heard a suspicioussound of something getting closer. The pair looked to see a black Citroën Avant heading down theroad towards them. Buck signalled to Virginia to hide, while his hand slowly eased his Webleyfrom its holster. As the car pulled up, he released the lock and pushed down on the barrel with his

thumb to open the cylinder, only to find that all six chambers contained empty casings. He shookthem out and rooted around for Virginia’s Colt M1911 in the hopes of being able to find a backupweapon, only to find it missing.

“Damn it.” He muttered to himself, “I must have lost it on the train.”

His thoughts were disrupted when he looked up to see the driver of the car aiming a Mauser C96at his forehead. It was Solak.

“I thought I warned you Mr Savage; do not follow me. This is a war you should not be involved in.

These people have you marked for death. Go back to America. The Templars have no influencethere.” he said. Buck knew he couldn’t just leave: he already knew too much.

At the same time, Virginia had managed to sneak behind Solak, striking him on the back of thelegs with a tire iron stolen from his car. As he went down, Buck tackled and disarmed him.

“Who are you working for?” he demanded. With his free hand, Solak was able to slip a small

capsule into his mouth. He promptly went limp. Buck checked his pulse.

“He’s dead.” He told Virginia solemnly, “It must have been a cyanide pill.”

“What exactly are we in now?” a voice asked behind them. Buck and Virginia turned around to see

Doc Gold pulling up to them in a Ford Model B.

“Well Doc, I think we’ve stopped the shipment.” Buck replied, “But the Templars won’t take it

lightly. We need to get to Paris to meet up with Danny.”



The pair rolled Solak’s body into the river before climbing into Doc’s Ford. As they drove away,

Buck noticed a young couple in a rowing boat pulling the body out of the water. He ignored it andpulled his hat over his eyes.

A day later, the trio were meeting up with Danny at a museum in Paris. He was rifling his way

through various tomes and ledgers searching for correspondence on the Knights Templar.“Did you find anything about that shipment?” He asked as the group met him.

Buck nodded. “They were carrying enough weapons and ammunition to supply a small army.” He

said, “And they were taking it to Munich.”

“Munich?” Danny asked sceptically, “That can’t be good. I never saw Delmar as the kind of personwho’s involved in gunrunning.”

“The Germans have been preparing to enter the Sudetenland. That letter mentioned an ‘Eagle

Chapter’. It could be someone high up in the Nazi government or the armed forces.”

“We’re not going to Germany are we Savage?” Doc asked.

“No. We are not. We’re trying to find out anything we can about the Templars.”

“I think I’ve found something.” Danny interrupted. He placed a tome on the desk and directed the

group to one of the pages. “It says that the Templar’s headquarters was at Temple Mount inJerusalem, but they had an important European base of operations right here in Paris.”

“Where is it?” Virginia asked him.

“It’s near the Île de la Cité, where de Molay was burned.” Danny told them.

“What are you thinking?” Virginia asked.



“Sounds like a stakeout.” Buck replied, “If their last Grand Master was burned on the islands, these

Templars will probably view them as significant. There’s not much else to go on, so we might as

well view the place for any suspicious congregations.”

As night fell on Paris, Buck was wandering through the Île de la Cité with Virginia and Danny. Asthey wandered, Virginia and Danny both noticed a group of men wandering towards Notre DameCathedral. Buck spotted them at the same time, noticing them head through a side door. Buck and

Danny followed the group through the door, finding themselves in the crypt. Continuing on the trail,the pair noticed that the men were waiting at an entrance to the sewers. They were all wearingwhite mantles with red crosses, the ceremonial attire of the Templars. Danny listened in on theirconversation, being able to understand the French being spoken.

“Is everyone here?” One of the men asked.

“Oui .” Another replied, “We can move down to the meeting spot.”

Buck and Danny followed the Templars as they moved into the sewers, carefully shadowing thegroup. As they progressed, Buck noticed Virginia slowly making her way towards them. Hesignalled her to keep her distance. She signalled back in acknowledgement.

After a short walk through the sewers, the Templars stopped at an area marked by a stone wallbearing an architectural style from the 14th Century. Buck noticed one of the men push a loosebrick into the wall. There was a sudden grinding sound as a large portion of the wall slid upwardsto reveal a secret door. Buck was slowly approaching the door as the last member of the Templargroup entered. The door was slowly beginning to close again. Buck picked up the pace and ranover to the door as it prepared to close. In the nick of time, he rolled under the rapidly shrinkinggap, just narrowly recovering his hat before the door closed behind him.

Virginia and Danny were watching as Buck disappeared. Danny strolled over to the where thebrick had been pressed. As he prepared to push it in, Virginia grabbed his arm.



“Don’t open it.” She told him, “We don’t want those guys to hear us. Maybe there’s another way

around.”

At the same time, Buck was making his way through the passageway. As he progressed, he foundhimself in the Paris Catacombs. The sound of a Latin chant emanated in the distance.

“Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam”

Buck recognised the chanting immediately. It was the same phrase he had heard from Delmar in

his final moments. He peered around the corner to find himself looking over a large chamber. Themen he had followed had joined a larger group seated at a long wooden table, all of whomwearing white mantles with red crosses. At the head of the table was an imposing figure, whoseface was concealed by a great helm. Buck knew that he was the new Grand Master.

“The storm clouds are brewing over Europe.” He proclaimed loudly, “War is inevitable. The Eagle

Chapter’s crusade is beginning. We will acquire new power bases in the Sudetenland.Chamberlain is being kept on our leash, and will not challenge us. And the funding from ourweapon sales will rebuild the Order’s wealth. Soon, the faith of Saint Bernard will be restored, andwe will be all powerful again.”

There was a great cheer from the other Templars.

“But we have met a problem.” The Grand Master continued, “Our enemies have returned. Theyhave discovered one of our shipments and destroyed it, in the process eliminating a devotedTemplar Sergeant. I believe that this American I am hearing of is responsible. All brothers mustutilise their political influences. This man, Buck Savage, must be taken care of.”

There was a tirade of panicked cries as another door opened. Two men, ostensibly TemplarSergeants who served as minor members of the order, were dragging a man into the chamber. It

was Leitner. The Grand Master strode over to him.“Brother Leitner,” he delivered in an intimidating manner, “You have failed to achieve salvation,

and have cost the order a great deal. You must pay the price.”



“How original,” Buck muttered at the proclamation. The Grand Master handed Leitner a chalice,

pouring the contents down the increasingly struggling man’s throat. Leitner went into convulsions

and promptly fell limp. His body was dragged off by the two guards.

“We will head to the Holy Land.” The Grand Master stated, “Our search for the Lance of Longinuswill be underway. Our agents in the Vatican have determined that the Holy Lance in theirpossession is false. With the power of the genuine Lance, Saint Bernard’s name will return to the

world.”

Buck perked up at the mention of the relic. He shuffled away and stood up, only to find himselffacing a stern looking man wielding a knife. The man lunged at Buck, who attempted to sidestepthe attack and deliver two jabs to his face followed by a right hook. His assailant fell to the ground,but quickly got up and tackled him, sending them both tumbling down the flight of stone steps.

Disoriented, Buck attempted to gain a view of his surroundings as he attempted to get up. Hisvision was distorted, from what he’d feared to be a concussion, and he could hear shouting. As hisvision promptly regained focus, he felt relieved that he hadn ’t sustained a head trauma during thefall, only to find himself staring down the barrels of several handguns. He noticed the GrandMaster approach the heap he was lying in.

“A spy.” He said, “Take him away. I’ll interrogate him later.”

Two of the guards grabbed the semi-conscious Buck by the arms and dragged him away. He triedto move his legs, but they were unresponsive. Trying in vain to get to his feet, the effort was toomuch for him to handle. His head sank and watched the hard stone floor he was moving over. Hehoped that his companions were able to find another way in.

To be continued…

Documents

Chapter 4 - The Grand Master