Victory and Defeat: Book Five of the Restoration Series by Christopher Williams Page B

this part of the hill was sloped and covered in thick grass that came halfway to the knee. Most of the grass was trampled now, as many of the pilgrims had slept on the hillside. A very precious few had stretched a covering over poles to give themselves a sort of tent, but most just slept under the stars. Fools, Keenan thought. They were sure to get wet as it rained just about every afternoon. Some of the pilgrims had remained with their precious belongings, letting their travel companions enter the abbey first. The world is full of thieves, Keenan thought, even among pilgrims.
    As they got closer to the gates, the cries of merchants could be heard , and Keenan’s lip curled in disgust. While it was true that the visitors to the abbey would need to buy supplies, he found it disgusting that some would hawk food and other wares directly in front of a temple.
    At last it was their turn to pass through the gates. Keenan felt his stomach tighten as they passed through the abbey walls and into the abbey proper. He took a calming breath and looked around at the abbey’s layout. Directly across the courtyard was a low building with a sloped roof that ran along the entire length of the northern wall and appeared to be storehouses. To his left, which would be west, sat the temple. It wasn’t grand in the least, being just a two-story building with an attached bell tower. To the north, south, and west of the temple were numerous small buildings that had to be the living quarters for the priests and guards. These priests, it would appear, were indeed living an ascetic life; there were precious few pleasures available here. There were also a few nicer-looking buildings against the southern wall, and Keenan guessed these were guest apartments for when the abbey had important visitors.
    In the middle of the large courtyard was an ornate stone fountain. The fountain basin was a good ten yards across and nearly overflowing with water. Directly in the middle of the basin stood a stone statue of Adel — his arms were thrown wide and his head pulled back. A constant stream of water shot from the statue’s mouth in an arc that ended in the basin. A priest stood near the edge of the basin and was scooping up water with a wooden cup; if a pilgrim threw an offering into the fountain, the priest would bless the water and dump it on the pilgrim’s head. There was a line waiting for the blessing.
    “Move along,” a deep voice called out.
    With a start, Keenan realized he had stopped just inside the gate to stare and the gate guards were watching him. He smiled and dipped his head. He started forward again and caught up with Kara; she hadn’t been fool enough to stop and gawk.
    They started off westerly, toward the temple. The courtyard was full of milling pilgrims, but most were gathered around the fountain or near the temple.
    Keenan scanned the buildings again as they walked. He cast a quick glance around , and then whispered, “Do you think maybe it’s in one of the storerooms?”
    K ara looked to her right, toward the northern wall; after a moment she shook her head. “No, that’s too obvious.”
    Keenan looked at the living quarters that were on past the temple, but he couldn’t imagine the shield being hid in any of them. That left only two options: either the shield was in an underground hidden room, or it was in the temple.
    Without speaking, they turned their steps toward the temple. They were approaching it from the southeast and they stopped at the base of the steps that led to the doors. It wasn’t much to look at. On the eastern side, a double door allowed access to the temple proper, and a single window was placed high up on the wall. From their vantage point, they could also see the southern wall, and it didn’t look promising. There were no doors or low windows; the only window was well out of reach in the middle of the wall.
    He sighed deeply, wo ndering if he had made the right decision to help Derek and the other