Notes

“We have to get to the temple before them, but I don’t know the way,.” a man in black said in the shadow of the night.
“We need to find the holder of the map. I have an idea as to where he is.”
“Then we will go there. We must find him.”

Luke, a simple farm boy, walked through the old, wooden door into his house, immediately being greeted by his mom, sitting at the kitchen table.
“Hey could go to the market tomorrow to get us some food? Also, I need you to go to the woods to get some firewood.” Luke’s mother said.
“Sure.” Luke looked through the cabinets to see what he needed to get.
After an unusually cold night, Luke, a light sleeper, got up early to a couple birds chirping in the distance. He got out of his bed without making a lot of noise, with little sun shining through the one window he had in his room. He changed then walked through the long hallway, down the stairs and right out the door. Luke has always thought that it was a n odd habit to stop and look through the window above the sink in the kitchen if he has time before going somewhere, but today, he just walked right out the door.
He started to walk through the streets toward the market. By this time, the sun was shining and people were out, walking through all of the different shops that overflowed this town. Dellwyn used to be been a small town where adventurers stopped to rest on their journeys, but lately they have modernized and it has not been the same. Luke had always been interested about hearing the stories of the adventurers the came through this town. When he was young, he wanted to become like the adventurers he heard in the stories, but he knew he would never make it.
Luke noticed an old man in the distance as he walked into the forest to gather firewood but didn't mind him. He did not pay attention to him and didn't realize that the old man was heading towards him. Luke turned around and suddenly that old man was standing there right behind him. “Luke I need you to help me.” he said
“Who are you?” Luke said, surprised by the sudden action
“Take this map, it will lead you to where you need to go.” “I don’t know who you are, tell me who you are. And why me?” Luke said, but it was already too late, the old man ran away as quickly as he came, leaving Luke in the middle of the woods with what appeared to be an old map to an ancient place.

“You have come too late, I have already handed it off.” The old man said to the two
men now standing in front of him as he analyzed them. One, the younger looking one, had blond hair, while the older looking one had brown. There was not much he could get from these two.
“Well you know who you gave it to and we won’t leave until we have that information or you are dead.”

“Hey, Luke, wait up.” One of Luke’s best friends since the accident that happened a few years back, called him in the distance as he was walking . “Hey Connor, how’s it going?” Luke said waiting for Connor before starting to walk again. “I am doing good. I have not seen you in a while, what have you been doing lately?”
“Well, I-” He stopped there because he knew what he was about to say and had a sudden strong feeling that that this new mission he had received was not something to just tell a friend about. He quickly switched to “I am going to the market to get some food to bring back to my house.” “Can I come? I can help you, if you need any help.” Connor asked. “If you want to.” Luke responded as they walked to the store, now as a duo.

“It seems as though we have found the place.” The one with blond hair said as they walked up to the log cabin that has stood for generations, housed many different people, and survived many different styles of living, and now was the home of Luke and his parents.
They walked up to the front door as the one with brown hair spoke: “You know, it’s too bad we had to kill him, we could have gotten more information out of him.”
“He would not have told us any more than he had already had.” The other one replied as he knocked on the door. Luke’s father opened the door as the smell of fire greeted them from the last few pieces of firewood that they had left burning.
“Hello, we have come to talk to you.” One said as they both welcomed themselves inside. “Who are you and why are you in my house?” Luke’s father asked.
“Relax and take a seat, no need to worry.” The blond haired man replied. Luke’s father stood there, not wanting to move. There was something chilling about these two people before him, like the feeling he back in school when he got called to the principal’s office for something he knew he did, except this time he did not know what he did.
“Who are you?” He repeated, this time they answered.
“I am Blake and he is Eric.” The blond-haired man said as the other one found a pan from the kitchen and started to heat it near the fire. “Now you must answer my question. Now your son, where is he?”
“Do you mean Luke? Why do you need to know?” his father responded.
“He has something that I need. Now, tell me where he is.” Blake said Eric walked over with the pan in his hand.
“He went out.”
Blake looked at Eric and shrugged. “Good enough.” He said as Eric swung the pan across Luke’s father’s face, searing his face, knocking him out. They then took a can of bear spray from a shelf on the wall and sprayed it at the fire, causing the fire to raise and the house to catch on fire.
They walked outside and Blake said to Eric “He will come back. Now is when we wait.”

Luke had already known the truth before he had accepted it. He saw the news on a TV in a store window walking home. Luke immediately started running home, leaving Connor behind. When they got to what Luke’s house was, Luke ran to the remains and looked through all of the piles of ash, hoping he would find something, but also knowing there was nothing to find, knowing his parents were dead.
“Who would do this?” Connor asked, puzzled by the brutality of this attack. “I don’t know, but I think it has something to do with the map.” Luke answered, slowly getting off the ground.”.
“Map? What map?” Connor asked, even more puzzled now.
“This morning, before you found me, I went to the forest to get wood and brought it back here. There was this old man that snuck up on me and handed me this map.” Luke said as he pulled the map out of his pocket. “He then ran away from me, not answering any of the questions I asked him. I barely looked at the map but now seems like a good time to examine it more.”
Connor and Luke looked at the map. It appeared to lead from this town to an old temple. “The temple of Themis.” Connor blurted out. “You know where this leads?” Luke questioned.
“Yes, I have heard about that place. I have only heard rumors. I only heard that it is very hard to find and it hold a special power to people that find it.” Connor explained all he knew about this odd temple.
“We need to go.” Luke suddenly said.
“What?” Connor responded
“Think, why would that old man have given me this? He wanted me to go. We have to leave.”
“Fine, it looks like the first thing we have to do is go passed the bridge on the east side of town. We have to gather some things first if we are really going to go to this place.” Connor said. The two of them gathered what they could and headed for the bridge, unaware of the two shadow behind them.
They had been walking for some time and was about to cross the bridge when luke hear “You have something that is ours.” Luke turned around and saw something he had not seen in a long time. “And I would like it back.” He felt compelled to walk toward them. Connor followed Luke, staying a little behind. “Eric? Is that you?” Luke looked up and down at his former friend.
“So we finally meet again, Luke.” Eric said with a little sarcastic smile.
“I thought you died back in the tornado two years ago.” Luke said thinking back to the tornado two years back that helped this town become more industrialized and less like it was before.
“I survived, I was hurt and nobody came to help me. I was abandoned. I had to fend for myself until I found help.” Eric explained what had happened, but remembered what he came for. “Enough talking, I will need to have that map now.”
Blake suddenly lunged for Connor, catching him off guard, but he managed to get out of the way, sending him right over the railing. Blake grabbed Connor’s feet on the way down. Not expecting it, he was caught off balanced, sending them both plummeting down to the trench below. Luke screamed out and looked over the edge to see them falling.
“Well, it is just us two now.” Eric said, showing no concern for his fallen friend.
Luke had forgotten the knife he he securely put in his pocket so that no one would notice it there for an emergency before they left. He remembered that it was there just as Eric had made the wrong decision to charge at him. He took it out and, with all of the adrenaline of the moment, swung it blindly, hitting Eric in the side. He yelled out in pain a fell to the ground
He didn't want anything to do with it as soon as it happened, and ran.
When Luke found a secure spot, he leaned against a tree for a few moments, taking in everything that had just happened and how much his world has changed in just one day, ready to search for the temple that he knew was his fate to find.
Thinking about how he was about to become what he never thought he could be.