To Lord Melville | 12/31-1/1- Xmas 1677

[Francis Kirke]

When Lord Melville arrived home for the evening, he would find a note stuck to his door with an ornate, sapphire knife. The torches by the door waiting lit for the master to come home would illuminate the following details of the exterior.

 

There was more than one seal. The first was white (not a typical seal color at all). The second red. The third purple.

 

Once he removed it, he would find another on the back, larger and blue.

 

There was no impression or stamp on any of them, nor any ribbon or anything else.

 

The inside of the note was as follows. There were numbers written across the top, spanning the entire top. Or closer inspection would reveal numbers and a triangle spanning the entire top.

 

Then was a short note.

 

124013001314 (the sequence of numbers was followed by a triangle)

 

The date when there is no light in the darkness will lead you alone to a new year and a new beginning. All consecrated shall be rebuilt and reborn.

 

That which is spoken to our brothers becomes code. A verse to a brother can key the past to the future if all else fails.

 

It was not signed, although that was likely expected.

[Duncan Melville]

Duncan had removed the note from the door when he came back home, but the night had been long, and he hadn’t been in much shape to thing. Then George had come to break fast, and it wasn’t until the earl had left that the Scotch had been able to sit and stare at the short note, distractedly playing with the ornate knife without noticing.

 

Three seals. One white, one red, one purple. They reminded the viscount of the colours of Anglican vestments. Although he was not an expert on Anglican or Catholic clerical matters, he seemed to recall that those were the colours worn by the clergy in ascending order: white, red and purple. Could this mean that the meeting will take place inside a religious building? St. Paul’s perhaps? Or even Temple Church. Then, another seal in the back. A larger blue seal. And the sapphires on the knife are also blue. What does the mean?

 

The Lowlander grimaced. This was going to be hard.

 

Inside the note there was a total of twelve digits followed by a triangle. His military background and his more recent reading tugged him in a possible direction. The years 1240, 1300, and 1314 pointed in a possible direction: the Templars. The last Grand Master was born around 1240, organized a shipping raid against the Mamluks in 1300, and died at the stake in 1314, courtesy of the Pope and the King of France, if Duncan recalled correctly. But was that what the numbers meant? He had no idea.

 

And then, riddles and more riddles.

 

The date when there is no light in the darkness will lead you alone to a new year and a new beginning.

The date when there is no light in the darkness. Did that mean a specific date when there was no light at night, like the new moon? Next new moon will be on January 22nd, I think…

 

All consecrated shall be rebuilt and reborn.

Was that another reference to a religious building, or was it a reference to some sort of ritual?

 

That which is spoken to our brothers becomes code.

A secrecy pact perhaps? A hint at some sort of code within the note?

 

A verse to a brother can key the past to the future if all else fails.

By then, Duncan had the beginnings of a headache. A brother most probably meant someone already in the group he sought, but the word verse could have diverse meanings. It could mean any line of poetry, or a specific one. It could mean a Bible verse, or again a specific one.

 

"Argh!"

 

The Scotch peer let the note fall on his desk, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. After a few minutes, the tension subsided somewhat. A thought occurred to him. He lit a candle and moved the note close to the flame, letting the heat caress the paper, but not letting it get burned. Could more have been written with alum or lime juice perhaps?