THE ENTIRE SATURDAY MORNING, they wandered around the cathedral, hoping to establish a connection between the iconography of the niches and the mason's diary. While Geovanna took photographs of the place, Gregory told Umbert the details of the legend about the chains in the Velez chapel and the torture the sculptor was subjected to. The retired architect said he knew the story in general terms, although he had never considered there could be a connection between the treasure mentioned in Nostradamus's Centuries and the sculpture of the Masonic worker. But Greg insisted that quatrain XXVII indicated the exact location of a treasure and that this coincided with the indications offered by De Cartago in his manuscript.
— Look closely... — He pointed to the supports of the coat of arms, inside the arch:
— Under the Guien chains of the wounded sky, not far from there lies the hidden treasure...
— That's how the quatrain begins.
— I don't understand... what are you getting at?
— You'll see. We believe that 'Guien' can be translated as: 'Chien...' or... 'dog' in French. And the shield features two dogs and the fleur-de-lis.
— The fleur-de-lis — Umbert added, now understanding what his interlocutor was getting at.
— Yes, that's it! — Evans said, satisfied. — That way, the sentence would be something like this:
— Under the chains of the dog and the fleur-de-lis, not far from there lies the hidden treasure...
— In the Toledo manuscript, however, Iacobus states that whoever wants to know the truth must descend into the underworld that rushes beneath a great chain, jackals and bearded columns... And the figures forming the supports have beards. My intuition tells me the diary must be hidden near the cathedral.
He carefully observed the surrounding buildings and squares, as if searching for a place that caught his attention.
— What was the next sentence of the manuscript? — Geovanna pocketed her camera as she approached the two men. — Didn't it say something about one of the carved stones?
Greg took the writing from his pants pocket, unfolding it carefully.
— If you, like many, are eager to know the truth, you will have to descend into the hells that rush behind a great chain, jackals and bearded columns, Jachin and Boaz.
— You will see, from below upward, when you stand before the pillars, that my name will be signed there. In that hell I will be revealed to you. I am and I am within myself — he read aloud. — Does that suggest anything to you?
— That perhaps we should approach the walls to see what they indicate to us.
Umbert frowned at his niece's recommendation, realizing that the stonemason was clearly telling them to look for his name on the carved stones. Gregory Evans also chastised himself for not noticing this sooner, smiling like a child caught stealing a candy bar.
— Wow! By God, you're right!" he exclaimed in surprise. — De Cartago must have left a warning sign.
— We'd better get closer and see for ourselves.
The architect's decision prompted them to move on. They went to the metal structure that formed the scaffolding for the renovation work on the building opposite, walking carefully to avoid injury, under the iron supports, carefully observing the carved stones on the exterior walls of the Vélez chapel.
Geovanna was the first to discover an extensive series of glyphs, or ornamental channels, usually vertical, that serve as architectural marks and adorn the back of the cathedral walls. They saw the lying sand clock, which, in alchemical language, symbolizes the hours, a cross within a square —another of the Templar symbols — a triangle with a crucifix at the top, and, undoubtedly, the initials I.D.C. carved into the stone. As the stonemason had indicated, his name, Iacobus of Carthage, was engraved in the chapel's sculptures.
After a most exhaustive search, they found other marks, with the initials J.B. They didn't comment, although it was clear that it was the seal of their companion Justus Bravatius, the master builder.
— It's amazing! — Geovanna was the most surprised. — It's here! — She swallowed twice. — His name is engraved in the stones, as he promised! Doesn't that seem incredible?
— I must admit that your story is true — Umbert admitted. — And most surprising of all is that, by some strange coincidence, Iacobus's secret is intimately related to the research I've been conducting for many years. — I think we're looking for the same thing. — Monroe paled as he discovered a certain parallel between the two mysteries.
— Can we know what you're talking about?
The architect looked at his niece, unsure of what to say, but the young woman's eyes were more convincing than any words. She was begging for an explanation.
— Okay! — he agreed He promised to confide his secret to them. — But first, I invite you to coffee in the square. The story may take a while, so we'll be much better off sitting there.
Holding Geovanna's arm, Umbert began walking toward the Portico of the Apostles. Gregory Evans followed them, occasionally lifting his head to gaze at the stained-glass windows above the chains and shields. They sat down as soon as they reached the terrace of a café located in Cardinal Belluga Square. It was a splendid day, with an excellent temperature. People came and went, inevitably bringing with them an explosion of murmurs. Hundreds of doves flew overhead, surrounding the pinnacle of the cathedral's portal. At the tables of the seafood restaurant next door, several diners were happily munching on a hearty bowl of mussels, the house specialty. A Saturday like any other in the capital, Murcia.
— Well... it's your turn to speak... — Geovanna encouraged her uncle to begin telling what he'd promised.
The veteran architect drank his cup before launching into the story.
— As you know, I've always had a fondness for ancient legends concerning the Templars... — he began, scratching the bald spot on his head. — Twenty years ago, I left my job in Barcelona to settle in Santomera. You've probably heard me say on several occasions that I'm the only one who knows the origin of that town's name, although this hypothesis has never been publicly presented. Well... I can assure you that both Nostradamus and De Cartago are right: in the region of Murcia lies hidden an object venerated by Christianity, and it has something to do with the town of Santomera."
— You mean the Holy Grail? — Gregory asked, still thinking he was mistaken.
Monroe shook his head decisively.
— No, it's something different — he replied slowly. — But it would be better if I started from the beginning... Between 1104 and 1115, Hugh of Champagne made several trips to the Holy Land. During that time, he collected various writings in Aramaic and brought them back with him from Jerusalem to his study. Much later, he contacted Stephen Harding, abbot of the Cistercian Order, to whom he donated land so that one of his relatives, Bernard of Clairvaux, could found the abbey that would bear his name. Thus, with the help of Jewish rabbis, the Cistercians set about unraveling the secrets contained in the manuscripts Hugh had brought back from the Holy Land.
"...From then on, a series of events unfolded, all without Pope Honorius II's knowledge, in a set of activities that could well be classified as a religious conspiracy. Saint Bernard, a man with a certain obsession with architecture and geometry, recruited nine knights he trusted most with the purpose of carrying out one of the most absurd missions in medieval history..."
He paused to clear his voice.
— These men were Hugh de Payns, Geoffrey de Saint-Omer, Geoffrey Bisol, Andrew de Montbard, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de Saint-Amand, Gondemar, Rossal, and Hugh de Campana. Together, they traveled to Jerusalem, where they conferred with the monarch of the Holy City, Baldwin II. The so-called 'king of Christendom' granted them, as their residence, the ancient Al-Aqsa Mosque, literally called 'the distant mosque,' which stood where Solomon's Temple and its stables had once stood. — Even today, historians wonder why Baldwin offered those nine knights a lodging where an army of thousands of soldiers could be stationed, and also why for nine years the so-called Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon did not admit any other members into their group or participate in armed confrontations against the Saracens. The answer to the king's attitude can be found in the information he received from the Cistercian envoys.
"...From that moment on, Baldwin became an ally of the Knights Templar. That's why, nine years later, we see him participating in the plot again. He sought the Pope's help, using the excuse of being in difficulty due to a lack of fighters. To this end, he sent Hugh de Payns to Rome as an ambassador, along with five Templars, who would accompany him on the journey. This was truly unusual, since for tasks like this, Baldwin usually employed his own delegates or one of the distinguished pilgrims returning to their homelands after fulfilling the penance they had imposed on themselves. This was the perfect excuse the king and the Templars found to take the greatest of their treasures from the Holy Land...
— But this is where Hugh de Payns and his replacement mislead history, leading us to believe that the relic transported to France, according to Templar legend, was the authentic one; in reality, the other three knights embarked at the port of São João de Acre, with the true relic, with the goal of traveling by sea to Cyprus, where they boarded a new ship bound for the coast of Spain.
"... Seeking a safe place to store their treasure, they entered the Kingdom of Murcia, then a region dominated by the Moors, posing as Saracens from Tripoli. It was easy for them, as they had a perfect command of Arabic and had tanned skin after living for several years in the torrid region of ancient Palestine. They arrived at a village inhabited by only a dozen peasants. They settled there for a while, looking for a way to hide the relic, and then they left..."
— However, the impression left by the leader of that group of Templars, charged with preserving the secret, was so great that years after his death, when the Kingdom of Murcia had been conquered by Alfonso X the Wise, the name of that noble knight was adapted to name the village itself. He was called Godfrey of Saint-Omer. And the village, as you've surely already guessed, is modern-day Santomera.
— That's incredible! — exclaimed Geovanna, who wasn't inclined to believe the revelation. — Did you hear?
The question, posed in a nervous tone, was directed at Greg, but his friend had his own doubts.
— Yes, it's truly incredible... — he acknowledged in a whisper, then raised his voice.
"...but we still don't know the name of the relic the Templars hid."
They both looked at him inquisitively. The story was indeed incomplete. The architect felt compelled to answer.
— Saint-Omer brought with him the Ark of the Covenant, and with it, the sacred numbers and divine proportions engraved on the Tablets of the Law.
Gregory Evans thought the old man was joking with him; either that or he wasn't quite right. She struggled to suppress some scathing comment that might offend him, but obviously, that was what was on her mind. Sometimes an idea can become an obsession, and Umbert was one of those people who let themselves be carried away by strong emotions.
Geovanna, however, didn't see things from the same angle. That was the difference between them. The paleographer's mind excelled at a greater command of common sense, and she could clearly see that there were certain distinctions between the two accounts. Her uncle was mistaken, that was all.
— We're looking for a book, perhaps a diary. Nothing more distant than the Ark of Moses — she corrected, surreptitiously adjusting her left breast in her bra. "Its history is worthy of study, although I believe the Templars have nothing to do with Iacobus of Carthage... — She smiled slightly.
— Several centuries had passed between the two — she concluded. — Perhaps the Ark is no longer in Murcia, but it was here — the architect insisted. — Possibly, they tried to return it to its place of origin... I'm not sure. However, De Cartago undoubtedly knew where it could be found and wrote in his diary how to get to the lost city of Enoch, which is where they hid it. Freemasonry was born after the dissolution of the Order of the Temple, and its knights were always its guardians.
— At no point does he refer to the word Ark in his manuscript — it was Gregory who insisted on making him see the error.
— But he does refer to knowing how to speak to God. — Evans wrinkled his nose.
— I don't understand...
— And it would be best if you remained that way for now. Perhaps you're right, and my story will only serve to lead us astray, and that would be catastrophic. We must focus on the manuscript and your friend's murderers. Let's see... what do you want from the Freemasons?
— Everything!" From the beginning. — Geovanna was quite explicit in her answer.
— Okay, let's start with the decline of the Roman Empire... — she set out to tell them the origins of Freemasonry.
— With the arrival of Christianity, the schools of architecture founded in Rome, known as the Mysteries of Bacchus, found themselves seriously threatened by the power of the powerful Church, which, thanks to its political and spiritual influence, after the barbarian invasion, became the only organized system in Europe.
"...This knowledge finally passed into the hands of the Comacina Unions, an institution founded by some masters who traveled to the island of Comacina, in northern Italy. Driven by the need to preserve the secrets of construction, the Freemasons had no choice but to join the various religious orders that emerged throughout the continent. At no time did they arouse suspicion in the Church, which, unknowingly, protected and covered them for centuries..."
— Such was the superiority of these men in the art of construction that waves and waves of masons and apprentices arrived from almost every region of Europe to learn under the guidance of the masters, the Magistri Comacini. They are first mentioned in the so-called Memoratorio of King Liutprand, which dates from the 8th century, when they received the privilege of free men of the Lomba State. rdo. The places where they worked were called loggias... They had handshakes, passwords, and oaths of fidelity known only to them...
Umbert opened a parenthesis in the story to point out a detail of utmost importance:
— Their science led them to build the first Romanesque churches, but this knowledge did not belong to them, as it had been inherited from builders who had lived centuries before. During these years of spiritual obscurity, part of the knowledge was lost, as information was transmitted orally, from master to student.
"...The problem is that words were interpreted according to each person's personality. Undoubtedly, something happened in the history of medieval architecture that even today, in our day, remains an enigma to scholars—it was precisely the brutal shift from Romanesque to Gothic art, during the time of the cathedral builders. The only reference in the history of architecture to a leap of such magnitude is found in the temporal discontinuity following the construction of the pyramids..."
— It's true! — Geovanna stated, convinced, already familiar with the secrets of ancient art. — Experts don't agree, since there's no transitional period between the two styles. Gothic was born suddenly... She crossed her slender legs under the table. Just like that.
— I disagree with you on that, my dear — Umbert said affectionately. — Gothic was born with the return of the Templars to Europe. They were the ones who recovered the true meaning of architecture. — With divine proportions in their hands, they were able to erect temples dedicated to allegorically representing God on Earth. A Gothic cathedral is, in itself, a teaching to the common people, an alchemical formula that transforms ignorance into spirituality and exalts the devotion of believers. The cathedral symbolizes the body of Christ on the cross. The apse represents the head of Jesus and the infinite world. The central nave is the body and the earth where we live, the physical world. The portico is the feet of the Messiah, where the choir embodies the abode of the penitent, known as purgatory, though others call it the soul. And the side aisles are the arms, that is, the spirit that sustains man.
— Is that all a cathedral? — Greg, feeling confused, looked at his partner, waiting for an answer.
— This vision surprised me too — she acknowledged.
— Listen... what do you think if we go in and take a look? — Umbert asked, indicating the Cathedral of Santa Maria. — There's something I want to show you.