This is the conclusion of Buried Treasure.
******************
Firepower led them to his agents and the cart. The agents looked surprised to see him with company, but a wave of the priest’s hand calmed them. “They have offered assistance.”

“Are these the people who spied on us?” a man asked. “You said you’d stop them.”

“So that’s why you were waiting by the graveyard,” Jayden said. “I wouldn’t expect a priest to set an ambush.”

“Do not question my methods. I have fought long and hard to defend the faithful.”

“You’re not used to being questioned, are you?” Jayden asked.

Dana elbowed him in the ribs. “We’re trying to make friends.”

“Many question me,” Father Firepower said. “Some from curiosity, others from honest concern, and others in a vain attempt to make themselves appear wise or worldly. I answer all of them, sometimes to their sorrow.”

“Can we please focus on what we’re doing?” Dana asked. “How far is it to your friend?”

“He lives not far from here,” the priest answered. “A day’s hard marching will reach him, and five more will ensure our escape.”

Jayden peered into the back of the cart. “You brought food and drink, and have quite a few packages wrapped in burlap.”

“The cart’s contents are no interest to you.”

Father Firepower led them for hours through narrow trails in the wilderness until they came up the gates to a large estate. He hesitated at the gates.

“One of yours, I believe,” Jayden said.

“Once. Perhaps one day it will be so again. This was Greenview Abbey, land gifted to the brotherhood by King Tyros’ ancestors two hundred years ago. It was a worthless swamp then, but through hard work and wisdom it was made into productive farmland.” His voice was bitter when he said, “Now look at it.”

Dana came alongside him. The estate certainly looked prosperous, with fields sprouting wheat and men pulling weeds. The buildings were large and in good repair, and she heard sheep bleating in the distance.

The priest pointed at hills covered in tree stumps alongside the fields. “In times gone by we planted trees to hold the hillsides in place and provide both building materials and firewood. Carefully managed, it could have provided resources indefinitely. Instead it was stripped bare by the baron who now rules here. He is a vainglorious fool with dreams of becoming a general. Such bloodthirsty desires cost gold. He ordered all the trees felled and sold the wood to buy weapons, planting nothing in its place. See, the soil already wears away. A strong enough storm will bring these hills sliding down onto the fields, destroying both.

“The work of generations is being destroyed in mere years. Herds of dairy cattle have been sent to slaughterhouses, artwork ripped from walls and sold to the highest bidder, property sold or mortgaged so this idiot baron can play at war. He has enough to satisfy any man’s appetites, and still he hungers for more.”

“The brotherhood could have stopped this from happening,” Jayden replied. “When the king and queen exiled you, priests, nuns and monks left meekly. You could have fought back. Many would have sided with you.”

“If that is an example of your wisdom, I prefer your silence,” Father Firepower retorted. “Meadowland Kingdom had barely survived a civil war and you would have had us start another? We could have fought back, killing so many the kingdom would be left desolate. Our property would have been burned or looted, the destruction faster and more thorough.”

Father Firepower turned to face Jayden. “We left to avoid causing horrors as great or greater than what this land had already experienced. We believed that the chance would come for us to return, either as welcomed guests or by sending missionaries in secret to win back the people. It was a risk, but the alternative was unthinkable.”

Dana slapped a hand over her face as Jayden kept pressing his point. “Is this better? You avoided a war that would have caused much suffering to one kingdom, and now Meadowland, Bascal, Kaleoth and Zentrix are all in peril.”

“What would you have me do?” Firepower yelled. He marched up to Jayden and pressed an armored finger against the Sorcerer Lord’s chest. “Would you have priests and monks become killers? Would you have us lead peasants against knights?”

“We’re making enough noise to draw attention to a secret mission,” Dana said. She got between Jayden and Father Firepower. “People need us. Focus on that.”

“Does she always act as your buffer?” Father Firepower asked Jayden.

“Yes. It bothers me how much I need her to do that. Years of hardship and watching my homeland sink into hatred and madness have left me thin skinned and bitter.”

The two stared at one another until Father Firepower turned away. “The hour is late and we won’t reach our destination before nightfall. I know a place we can rest until the morning.”

They made camp in a rocky gully far from the estate. Father Firepower shared nuts and dried meats and fruits from his supplies, but he was adamant that they not make a campfire. Dana and Jayden stayed by themselves, which seemed to suit the priest’s friends just fine.

On closer inspection, the brotherhood agents were simple folk. They had no weapons, and Dana saw no evidence that they were wizards. Dana had to respect their courage, for they were standing up to the king and queen in their own way, and they could expect no mercy if caught.

“So, exactly what happened in the city of Vascmer?” Dana asked.

“Personal matters I don’t wish to discuss,” Jayden told her. “I don’t ask about your past relationships because it’s none of my business. It’s not asking too much for you to do the same.”

“What’s her name?” Dana teased.

Jayden folded his arms across his chest. “That was one of my more spectacular failed relationships, one I’d thought no one knew about. You will never meet her, and that’s for the best.”

“Fine, be that way.” Dana’s voice dropped to a whisper when she spoke to Jayden again. “It sounds like you’ve heard of this priest before.”

“Amadeus Firepower is one of the Brotherhood of the Righteous’ most talented and dedicated men. We already saw his power when he destroyed my shadow fox. I assure you that was the barest taste of his potential. When the brotherhood has given up all hope of peaceful resolutions, they send him in to save who they can and punish those they must. His list of accomplishments is long, and the foes he’s defeated are many. Firepower cares nothing for kings, merchants, wizards or mad scientists. Faith, love, hope, these guide him, and only those with those gifts impress him. I fear I am short on all three.”

Jayden managed a weak smile when he looked at her. “You, on the other hand, seem to have made a new friend.”

Dana blushed. “I used to go to brotherhood services weekly before they were expelled. I have a lot or respect for them.”

“Careful, Dana, he might try to recruit you. The brotherhood needs every man and woman it can get.”

“She could do worse,” Firepower called out, making Dana blush even more. “Over the years we have evacuated many faithful. If you so desire, you may take refuge with the brotherhood as have many others.”

Dana spoke before Jayden could. “You are kind to make the offer, but there are people here who need me. I can help those who can’t help themselves.”

“You are indeed one of ours,” Father Firepower replied.

“Wait here for me,” Dana told Jayden. She went to Father Firepower and said, “I haven’t had a chance to admit my sins for eight years, and there are some things that have been bothering me. I would also like to tell you what I’ve seen in the last year that your agents might not know about. It might take a while.”

Father Firepower gestured for her to sit. “Of course. Know that His love has no limits, His mercy is boundless, and His kingdom welcomes you with open arms.”
* * * * *

They woke early the next morning to find a dense fog had rolled in during the night. Dana worried that this would cause trouble, but both Jayden and Father Firepower seemed pleased.

“We are blessed,” the priest said. “This will conceal us from our enemies, and cover our escape.”

They followed the priest to what looked like an abandoned storage shed at the edge of the nobleman’s estate. Father Firepower went in first and pulled up loose tiles from the floor to reveal a secret compartment. He brought out silver plates and cups Dana recognized as sacramental vessels, but he also brought out more packages wrapped in burlap. He loaded them onto the cart carefully while Jayden watched.

“Books,” Jayden announced when Father Firepower set one of the packages down. “It’s the right size and weight. For a moment I wondered if they were holy texts, but while you would no doubt want to preserve those, the king would have no interest in them. I doubt these are spell books, either. Tell me, priest, what secrets are written here that the king must not have?”

Father Firepower glanced at Jayden before he unwrapped a package to reveal the books inside. Holding one up, he said, “You guessed correctly, but this is a secret in the loosest possible term.”

Dana slipped in closer and read the title. “The Book of Life and Death. That sounds ominous.”

“Appearances can deceive,” Father Firepower told her gently. “The brotherhood had many duties when it was welcome in Meadowland Kingdom. They included officiating births, marriages, and deaths of the faithful. When the faithful moved, they registered at churches in their new home. Each church recorded this information in books. Recovering lost sacramental vessels is important, but these books must be reclaimed at all costs.”

Puzzled, she asked, “Why?”

“Because without meaning to, the priests conducted a census,” Jayden told her. “The civil war cost many lives and drove many people from the kingdom. Chaos and hardships since then have prevented the royal couple from conducting a census of who remains. Even now the king and queen seek to raise armies without knowing exactly how many people there are to conscript. Those books list every man, woman and child.”

“But the brotherhood was forced out eight years ago,” she protested. “There’s no telling how many of those people died since then, or how many more were born or left the kingdom.”

“While the information within these books is outdated, they are a starting point,” Father Firepower said. “Royal officials can look for the men listed here, or at least look for their graves.”

“Don’t tax records say the same thing?” she asked.

“Surprisingly, no,” Jayden told her. “Each town and city are responsible for collecting a specific amount of gold. The king and queen don’t care how it’s done so long as it is, and assign the task to local officials, men largely known to be corrupt and incompetent. They send the amount owed without writing much if anything down. The king and queen’s plans are being hindered by the very system they rule.”

Father Firepower loaded more books. “Two months ago, our agents reported government officials were searching property confiscated from the brotherhood. Those officials described what they sought to servants and scribes in the hope that one of them had seen their prize. These searches are ongoing and intensifying. My superiors in the brotherhood sent me to retrieve the books, or barring that to destroy them. It pleases me that I may return them intact.”

“That’s most of the job done, but where’s your man and his family?” Dana asked.

“He lives close to the cemetery where we first met,” Father Firepower explained. “We will go back and collect him and his kin before leaving the kingdom. You may join me if you wish.”

“Impossible,” Jayden said. “I’m not sure what else I can do to stop these wars, but I must try.”

“I understand.” Father Firepower finished loading the books and led them back the way they came. The fog helped hide them from prying eyes, although there were surprisingly few people around. Dana wondered where they were. The land seemed rich enough to support hundreds if not thousands, even if it was being badly mismanaged. They soon reached the cemetery and took a small path to a large oak tree. The priest pulled up the sleeves on his robes to reveal gold gauntlets trimmed with black, and he struck the side of the tree three times, then three more and three more after that.

“Hopefully he heard my signal,” Father Firepower said. “We will search for him if he doesn’t come within the hour, but that increases the chance of our discovery.”

“Does he know you’re coming?” Dana asked.

“Not the exact day. I wasn’t sure what challenges I would face that might delay reaching him. My message to him said to be ready to leave on a moment’s notice.”

“How large is this man’s family?” Jayden asked.

“He has a wife and five children,” the priest replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Because that’s quite the crowd coming toward us.”

Jayden pointed down the trail, where fifty or more people came out of the fog. They carried bags on their shoulders and some led farm animals. A man in the front of the group came to Father Firepower and dropped to his knees.

“Who are these individuals with you?” the priest demanded.

“Forgive me, but there was no choice,” the man wept. “My neighbors saw me packing and demanded to know where I was going. I, I told them, and they begged to join me. Please, sir, we can’t leave them here. Life grows worse by the week. Recently mercenaries and gladiators came through our village and ate our food stores. They said we were lucky they didn’t take our daughters with them! Sir, if they return…”

Father Firepower looked at the frightened peasants gathered before him. “I understand. I don’t have enough food for so many, but there are places where we can get more. All of you, come with me before your master realizes you have left.”

Boom.

“Oh no,” Dana said.

Jayden drew his sword. “I heard it, too.”

Boom. Boom. Father Firepower looked around. “What is that?”

“Stone golems,” Jayden told him. Boom. “By the sound of it at least two.”

“We meet again,” a familiar voice called out from the fog. “You didn’t run fast enough or far enough to escape me.”

“Stronglock, don’t you have a war to fight?” Jayden called back.

Two stone golems marched out of the fog at the edge of their vision. One looked like it wore stone ‘clothes’ in the style of a gentleman, while the other looked like a miner with a stone ‘helmet’. Behind them came the dwarf Dunrhill Stronglock in his plate armor and wielding a black magic axe. Still further back were two more dwarfs in workman’s clothes and holding silver amulets.

“After your attack on Trenton Town, and my failure to stop it, King Tyros’ generals gave a choice,” Stronglock replied angrily. “Kill you or die in your place. They graciously allowed me to use two of my company’s golems. Finding you was impossible with magic, but too many people had seen you and would inform on you in return for cash.”

Father Firepower turned to Jayden. “You sought to help me, and led your enemies directly to me.”

“Not intentionally!”

“Friends of yours?” Stronglock asked. “If they stand with you, they can die with you.”

Father Firepower glanced at his agents. “You know the route we’re taking. Get them moving.”

The golems lumbered toward Dana and Jayden while Father Firepower’s agents and the peasants fled. Jayden cast spells to form his giant black hand while Dana drew her sword Chain Cutter. Their earlier fight with Stronglock had been difficult, and that was when he had only one stone golem. Dana’s first instinct was to run, but that would leave these peasants to Stronglock’s mercy. The dwarf had been ruthless enough in their first encounter, and desperation at the threat to his life would only make that worse.

Father Firepower pulled off his robe to reveal the impressive plate armor he wore. It was gold with black trim, with the ring of three parts on his forehead, chest and belt. Like Jayden the priest had no weapons.

“Impressive enchantments on your armor,” Stronglock told the priest as he marched toward them. “Start running if you don’t want me to crush you in it.”

“I give you this opportunity to leave before battle is joined,” Father Firepower replied. “Ignore my offer at your peril.”

“I’m the only peril here,” Stronglock snarled as his golems lumbered into battle.

The golems were so slow that Dana, Jayden and Father Firepower were able to gang up on one and strike before the other could come to its aid. Dana slashed its heels and cut deeply into the stone. Jayden sent his giant hand crashing into it and bowled it over. Father Firepower kneeled and prayed before he grabbed the fallen golem by the arm. The golem sat up as Father Firepower braced his feet and shouted.

“God is my strength!” The priest pulled on the golem’s arm, and to everyone’s amazement he threw it into the other golem, knocking both onto their backs. Father Firepower looked at Stronglock and yelled, “This is your last warning! I don’t want to take your life, but I can do it!”

Stronglock’s shock vanished quickly, and he gripped his ax tightly before charging. He reached them as his golems stood up and rejoined the fight. Stronglock ignored the priest and focused on Jayden. His first swing was a clear miss, but the dwarf kept running and slammed into Jayden hard enough to knock him back. Jayden rammed his giant hand into the dwarf, but Stronglock swung his ax through it, hacking it in half. Jayden screamed as feedback from the damage broke bones in his hand.

Dana charged Stronglock and kept the dwarf back as Jayden staggered from the pain. The dwarf blocked her swings as easily as he did the last time the fought. Ax met sword in a storm of sparks without either breaking. The stone golems were catching up and would be on her in seconds.

Father Firepower took Jayden’s injured hand and prayed. Blue light flowed from the priest’s hands and mended Jayden’s wounds. They attacked Stronglock together and drove him away from Dana.

The gentleman golem tried to punch Dana and missed by inches. She slashed at its hand and cut off a finger. Father Firepower rushed in and punched the golem in the stomach, leaving cracks and doubling it over. Dana hit it again and cut a notch in the top of its head. The golem stood up straight and caught the priest in a bearhug. That lasted only until Dana slashed across its right knee and did enough damage to topple the golem. The miner golem helped up the gentleman while Dana helped up Father Firepower.

Jayden was busy sparing with Stronglock. He’d created his black sword and fought with it in one hand while using his magic sword in the other. The magic sword sped up Jayden’s attack, but to Dana’s surprise it made him swing his black sword just as fast. Stronglock was a skilled fighter and his armor was good, almost good enough to block the whirlwind of attacks coming at him. The dwarf took two hits that cut deep into his shoulder guard and breastplate.

“I will not yield!” Stronglock bellowed. He pushed on regardless of the blows he was taking and charged. Jayden leaped out of the way, bringing him so close to the golems that one of them tried to kick him. He dodged the kick and parried Stronglock’s axe swing.

Dana spotted the two dwarfs stayed outside the fight. “They’re controlling the golems. We need to stop them.”

“I will slow these two down,” Father Firepower told her. He prayed as the golems approached him. “Faith be my shield!”

Both golems brought their fists down on the priest. The swings came close when they hit a bluish shield made of concentric rings, each one divided into three parts. The golems banged on the shield and made it waver. Dana ran for the two dwarfs, only for Stronglock to step in her way.

“You’re not using that trick again,” the dwarf said. He swung at her head and forced her to duck. “I’ll need weeks to repair the damage you’ve done, but I can fix it. Nothing will fix your head once I take it off. Die, pest.”

That was when a monstrous black wolf leaped onto Stronglock. Wolf might be the wrong term. The midnight black animal was bigger than an ox and wreathed in white flames. It caught Strongarm’s ax handle in its jaws and ripped the weapon away. The monstrous wolf ran off sixty feet, spit out the axe and raced back to jump onto the gentleman golem. It bit the golem’s right arm, and there was a sharp crack as the stone limb broke off at the elbow.

Dana gasped in amazement. “What is that?”

“The church grim,” Jayden told her. “He looks a tad different when he’s angry.

Strongarm ran off and recovered his axe while the golems tried to fight the church grim. Father Firepower picked up the severed golem limb and clubbed the gentleman golem with it. Jayden attacked with his black and magic swords, cutting grooves into the miner golem’s arms. Dana joined him and drove her sword into the miner golem’s back.

“Your dog isn’t going to save you!” Strongarm yelled as he charged them. He swung at Dana, and she struggled to hold him off. “Nothing can!”

The church grim bit the gentleman golem’s right leg and pulled the golem over. Stone began to crack under its jaws until the miner golem kicked the church grim and sent it flying twenty feet. Father Firepower struck the gentleman golem so hard that the severed arm broke apart, as did the left side of the gentleman’s face. Jayden attacked Stronglock and kept the dwarf off Dana.

“Die, you idiots!” Stronglock screamed as he blocked one of Jayden’s blows with his ax. Two more blows left gashes across the dwarf’s breastplate. “Just die!”

The church grim got off the ground and shook its head. The monstrous dog fixed its eyes on the golems and began to growl.

Jayden let his black sword dissipate and grabbed Dana by the arm. “Run!”

Dana and Jayden raced away from the golems. Father Firepower stayed only long enough to drive his fist into and nearly through the miner golem’s kneecap to topple it before he followed them. Stronglock tried to follow them, but he found the church grim in his way and glowing brighter with each passing second. The huge dog threw back its head and howled. Horns blared in reply, and the light around it grew brighter still. Dana looked behind her where the golems were standing again and looking confused. Beams of light shot out from the blinding light around the church grim, cutting them to pieces.

Stronglock tried to run from the light before the deafening sound of horns hit him like a battering ram and knocked him over. His armor cracked and his axe was thrown fifty feet. The two dwarfs with him threw down their now useless amulets. The sound of horns brought them to their knees.

Dana, Jayden and Father Firepower didn’t stop running until the light behind them dimmed. Dana gasped for breath, and she grabbed onto a tree to keep from falling down. Jayden and Father Firepower were nearly as exhausted. Once she could speak, she asked, “What happened?”

“The golems hurt the church grim badly enough that it felt threatened,” Jayden explained. “It called on divine help to deal with them. Stronglock should have called his golems off the moment he saw it. Pride or anger kept him from admitting how much danger he was in.”

Dana looked back the way they’d come. The other two dwarfs were carrying Stronglock away. Stronglock’s hands moved, so he’d survived somehow, probably by being farther away from the church grim than his golems had been. The church grim was gone as if it had never been there.

“Why did it come?” she asked. “Jayden, you said church grims guard graveyards, but we’re half a mile from the graveyard it’s responsible for, and Stronglock and his golems weren’t threatening it.”

“The church grim has orders it must obey, as do I, but those orders leave room for interpretation,” Father Firepower said. “Aiding a brotherhood member in need would qualify, as would saving innocent lives, especially that of a friend.”

Dana froze. “Wait, you think it did this because of me?”

“I imagine it’s been a long time since anyone showed it affection,” Jayden told her. He smiled and said, “You do have a way of making friends wherever you go. Grateful as I am for its help, we need to go as soon as possible.”

“Every soul within five miles must have heard our battle,” Father Firepower said. “I must gather my people and leave before soldiers come to investigate.”

Jayden extended a hand in friendship to the priest. “This didn’t go nearly as well as I would have liked, but I am grateful to have met you. Destroying those golems will give the people in Zentrix some small advantage in the coming war. I fear it won’t be enough.”

Father Firepower shook Jayden’s hand without hesitation. “Do not be afraid, for He is with us in all things and against all dangers. We may meet again. Until that day, I urge you to spend more time in prayer. It will lead to wisdom.”

The priest walked off into the fog. Jayden flexed his right hand and said, “I regret not staying in his company for obvious reasons. It seems Clevner’s information was again only partially accurate. This puts us in a poor position. Zentrix either is already being invaded or soon will be, and I have no idea how to help its people.”

“Something will turn up,” she told him. “We should go before people come to see what the noise was about, and before the fog lifts.”

“It already is. I can see twice as far as I could before, and the sky above is clearing. Dana, as pleased as I am that we succeeded, we’re not doing enough. Too many lives are in danger. As much as I appreciate the help we just received, further divine intervention wouldn’t go unappreciated.”

Dana sheathed her sword. Feeling playful, she said, “Father Firepower would say God works in mysterious ways.”

“Hopefully not too mysterious.” Jayden shielded his eyes from the sun with his right hand and looked to the west. “Those clouds look like rain.”

As if on cue, rain poured down in torrents.