The Quest: A Novel

Purcell noted, except these faces were not of lions, but Roman gods and goddesses, one of which looked suspiciously like Benito Mussolini.
    Gann again marveled at the engineering, saying, “Reminds me a bit of the Roman baths in Bath. Water’s still flowing there after two thousand years.”
    And that, Purcell thought to himself, was the last decent plumbing installed in England.
    They drank from the mouths of the gods and goddesses, hoping the water was potable, then filled their canteens. The spring water was cold, but they bathed privately, and washed their clothes.
    Not a bad first day, Purcell thought, and in the morning they’d cross the road and strike out into terra incognita.
    They reconnoitered the spa complex and found a wing off the main lobby where the guest rooms had been. Gann explained, “This is where the Italian soldiers, administrators, and men of business came from Gondar for the weekend after a long week of exploiting the Ethiopians.” He added, “Built mostly by slave labor—captured Ethiopian soldiers. And staffed by young Ethiopian women.”
    Purcell commented, “Sounds very Roman Empire-ish.”
    “Indeed. It’s in their blood, you know.”
    Purcell resisted any comments about the British Empire, but Gann said, “At least we brought order, education, and law.”
    “Thank God you didn’t bring your plumbing.”
    Gann smiled.
    They found a guest chamber that looked fairly clean, and went inside the whitewashed room. All the furniture had been carried off, of course, but a chair sat in the corner in an advanced state of rot.
    The spa once had electricity, undoubtedly from a generator, and Purcell noticed electrical outlets, and a ceiling fan that hadn’t turned in forty years.
    The room also had a large arched window that faced east and would let in the dawn sun. The window had never been glazed, but sagging louver shutters were still fixed to the stone arch. The view from the window was of a garden that had become a miniature jungle, which Gann pointed out as a place to go if anyone came through the door. Conversely, if anyone showed up at the window, they could exit through the door and retreat into the large hotel complex.
    They sat on the red tile floor and Purcell broke out the maps. He told Gann, “We’ve flown over this area west of the road, on our way to and from Gondar, but as you know, we were not doing an aerial recon of this area. From what I remember, however, this is thick jungle, not much different from the area east of the road.” He added, “This map seems to confirm that.”
    Gann glanced at the map. “Yes, this whole area south of Tana is carpeted with dense growth.”
    Mercado asked him, “Do you remember any of that terrain from when you were here in ’41?”
    “I’m afraid not. We pushed up from the road and avoided thejungle.” He explained, “The Italian Army, too, avoided the jungle and kept mostly to the roads and the towns. When we took Gondar from them, they retreated into the hills and mountains to the north, not to the jungle.” He asked Mercado, “Did you experience the pleasure of jungle warfare when you were here?”
    Mercado replied, “I was an army war correspondent.” He confessed, “I fought mostly in the bars and brothels.”
    Vivian laughed, Gann smiled, and Purcell was afraid that Henry and Edmund were on the verge of swapping Gondar 1941 war stories, trying to discover if they knew the same bartenders and prostitutes, so he changed the subject and said, “What I do recall from our flyovers was that there was some high terrain to the west of here—what looked like rocky ridgelines coming through the treetops.”
    Gann nodded. “Two of the three obsidian quarries I’ve identified from speaking to the people in Shoan are west of here.” He informed them, “The villagers still visit the quarries for small pieces of obsidian to use for carvings or house ornamentation.”
    Vivian asked, “Could you find the quarries?”
    “I have a general idea where they are.”
    Mercado asked, “And you think the black monastery could be in proximity to these quarries?”
    Gann replied, “Perhaps.” He pointed out, “We don’t have much else to go on.”
    Purcell looked at Gann and asked, “Is it possible that Miriam said something to you, which if you thought about it…?”
    Gann considered the unfinished question, then replied, “The villagers who went out to meet the monks would always return with sacks of carved obsidian,