The group walked into the cargo hold with high hopes, only to face disappointment. Like the rest of the ship, it was filled with barrels of gunpowder and other miscellaneous items. Ian and the others broke open several barrels, but all they found was gunpowder.
"Damn it, it's all gunpowder," Ian muttered as he angrily dumped out the contents of another barrel, finding nothing inside.
William, knowing there was no treasure in the cargo hold, scanned it mentally and was relieved to see that everything was as he remembered. It seemed nothing had gone wrong.
Just as he was about to head back to the surface, he heard Ben Gates say, "Why would the captain hold onto this barrel so tightly before he died? There must be something special about it."
Gates took the small gunpowder barrel from the dead captain's hands and broke it open. After a bit of digging, he found a box wrapped in oilcloth.
"Guys, look what I found," Gates called out excitedly.
Ian and the others turned around, delighted at the sight of the box. William stood by, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold.
The box was wooden with some copper engravings. Gates opened it to reveal a milky-white pipe.
Riley, anxious, asked, "How much is this thing worth? Maybe a hundred thousand dollars?"
Ian, exasperated, looked at Riley, who was clearly clueless about antiques. He took the pipe from Gates, examined it closely, and said, "This is a meerschaum pipe. It's in excellent condition and has a beautiful design. It could fetch a good price with the right buyer."
Riley, hearing it could be sold for money, got excited and asked, "What's meerschaum? From the way you guys are reacting, is it worth a million dollars?"
Gates replied, "Oh, God. Ian, how does he not understand? If it were worth a hundred thousand dollars, Ian would have said so. It's not made of gems; at most, it's worth a few thousand dollars."
William, intrigued by the pipe, asked, "Can I take a look?"
Ian, having thoroughly checked the pipe and found no clues, handed it to William. "This pipe is estimated to be about 300 years old. Though it's not a gemstone, its craftsmanship is exceptional. It would make a great gift for an elder who smokes."
He smiled and handed the pipe to William, hoping that the wealthy man might be interested and offer a good price, which could help recoup some of Ian's losses.
William pretended to inspect the pipe carefully and then smiled at Ian. "How about five thousand dollars? I do have an elder who smokes."
Ian, sensing an opportunity, quickly countered, "Ten thousand. It's a 300-year-old antique in perfect condition. There aren't many like it."
William rolled his eyes and replied, "Then you can keep it. With ten thousand dollars, I can buy a gem-encrusted antique pipe."
Ian hesitated but then said, "Eight thousand dollars. I think that's reasonable."
Internally amused, William pretended to be reluctant and said, "Alright, but just to commemorate this moment."
Just as the deal was about to close, Gates exclaimed, "Wait a minute, Ian. I remember this pipe. It's the only well-preserved meerschaum pipe of its kind. It might fetch tens of thousands at an auction. Look at the markings on the wooden stem; it might have been used by someone famous."
Gates then quickly grabbed the pipe from William's hands and twisted the stem, opening it.
Riley shouted, "Oh no, Ben! You're going to owe tens of thousands now."
William realized Gates was distracting him to grab the pipe. He smirked and thought, "If you want to die, I'll oblige." He took a few steps back, forming ice spikes behind his back, ready to attack Gates. But then, the silent system in his mind suddenly issued a warning.
"Warning: Killing lawful good or lawful neutral individuals without a direct threat or harm will result in a 10% reduction in mental power for a month."
William was surprised by the system's sudden intervention and quickly dissolved the ice spikes. The warning highlighted "threat," "harm," and "kill" in red, making it clear that the system didn't want him to kill innocent or neutral people. However, it implied that he could kill those who threatened or intended to harm him.
Reflecting on his past actions, William realized he hadn't killed anyone innocent or ordinary before. Just as he considered killing Gates, the system intervened.
Accepting the restriction, William thought, "If I can't kill them, I can use them as scapegoats." He planned to let them steal the Declaration and destroy it to eliminate any future threats.
Unaware of their close brush with death, the group focused on the pipe. Gates confidently said, "Don't worry, Ian. This brings us one step closer to the treasure."
He rubbed gunpowder on the pipe stem and rolled it on a notebook, revealing the Templar symbol and a message.
The group stared in shock as Gates read the text aloud, "The legend is written, an extraordinary impact is made, the silent code is yet to be revealed, fifty-five iron pens wrote it, untouched by Mallory."
"It's a riddle. Let me think," Gates said, pacing and clapping his hands.
William, frustrated with their obliviousness, mocked, "God, are you all idiots? Can't you see the answer?"
The group turned to William, remembering the newspapers calling him a genius. It seemed reasonable he would figure it out quickly, so they waited for his explanation.
"Idiots," William muttered for his amusement. "The only thing written by fifty-five signatories is the American Declaration of Independence, originally known as the Declaration of Treason. This means the map is hidden on the back of the Declaration, written in invisible ink."
Realizing he was right, the group understood that only the Declaration would be carefully preserved without anyone daring to tamper with it.
However, this created a new problem: they couldn't just waltz into the National Archives and inspect the Declaration. No one would allow them to conduct experiments on it.
"Alright, we've found the clue, but none of us can mess with the Declaration. I guess this is where we part ways, guys. I'm not risking my life for a treasure that might not even exist. I'd rather spend my time making money in the stock market. But if you figure something out, give me a call. Good luck."
William now only needed to wait for them to steal the Declaration.
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