Raiders of the Lost Temple
June 18, 1939
Somewhere outside Trincomalee...
"Indy, we've been at this since March. Tell me again, why are we killing ourselves out here?" A small man chimes up a few paces behind Dr. Jones.
"For centuries the natives here have worshiped Kali, and built temples in her honor. When the Portuguese Empire colonized Ceylon, they destroyed many of the temples." Dr. Jones replies without taking his attention from the trail he was attempting to follow through the underbrush. "Deep in these jungles is an ancient temple that was hidden from the Portuguese, and the records of its location destroyed. The surviving natives passed the details down orally, but at some point the information was misinterpreted, and the temple was lost."
"I get that we're trying to find it. I just don't understand why we're trying to find it..." Dr. Jones is beginning to tire of his assistant's whining, which never seems to cease.
"Because, Jim, it undoubtedly holds relics that are thousands of years old, and will open a time capsule to what this island was like before the colonization by the Portuguese." Dr. Jones stands up and turns to his companion with a sly smile. "And we might just get to take a few of the artifacts we find back with us to the States. The Smithsonian will pay pretty well for our part in finding these slices of history."
Suddenly, they hear a rumble through the trees in front of them. As they approach the sound, they find a caravan of trucks plowing a trail through the jungle, each one bearing a swastika on the door. Without a word, Dr. Jones and Jim set off along the trail after the last truck. When they hear more trucks approaching, they dive into the trees.
Jim hisses at Indy, "Why are the Nazis here, in Ceylon?"
"Hell if I know... Can't be anything good," replies Dr. Jones, thinking deeply for a moment. "Supposedly Hitler has a taste for the Occult, though last I heard they were digging in Egypt... You know, some of the more superstitious natives believe that some magic sword was kept in the lost temple. If they've come to Ceylon then..." Indiana and Jim lock eyes, and say at the same time, "They've found the temple!"
After spending a few hours following the trail, and avoiding the comings and goings of the Nazi trucks, Indiana Jones and his assistant Jim finally reach a clearing in the trees.
They see the ruins of a great temple, sheltered by the canopy of the forest and half buried in the ground. Nature has taken its toll on the massive stone structure, covering it in moss, further camouflaging it among the trees. Nazi activity has died down for the night, leaving only a few guards to stand watch at the temple's entrance.
"Dr. Jones, how do we get past them? Looks like they're pretty well armed." Jim motions at the two guards from the trees, pointing out the machine guns they're holding.
"Easy, we distract them," replies Indy, with a smirk, "All we have to do is make some noise. Look, their truck is right here. We can slam a door or something, whatever draws their attention. They'll come to investigate, and then we take them out and tie them up. That'll give us a couple hours to explore the temple and make a plan for getting the Nazis out of here."
Dr. Jones continues his train of thought, turning his attention away from Jim, who is creeping towards the truck already. "Although it might be best to play this safer. Head back to Trincomalee and bring in some bigger guns, maybe get the army involved. The British will not be pleased to find the Germans here..."
Suddenly, the lone Nazi truck roars to life, and when Indy looks up at it, Jim is at the wheel. He floors the gas, and speeds off down the trail.
As Indy prepares to deal with the two guards that are now racing towards the trail, he says to himself, "This is the last time I let one of my graduate students tag along for 'research experience'..."
Author's Note:
This story serves as a further introduction into this world, one where the Nazis are searching through India and Ceylon for magic items. This story, featuring Dr. Jones and his assistant Jim, will continue in the next one or two, before we join another cast of characters, for a much different view of this world. I tried to keep things somewhat vague in my descriptions, just giving enough flavor to allow the reader's imagination paint the picture for me, much better than I could do with my words. This story is not based on an Indian epic, but on the classic films of the Indiana Jones franchise. I chose to have Indy searching through the jungles of Ceylon in 1939, rather than digging in Egypt for the Ark of the Covenant. I tried to capture the studious side of Indy, as well as the somewhat cocky, swashbuckling side. With all of the Nazi trucks and the guns, I wanted to try to hint at the danger that is coming, not just for Indy and Jim, but for the world itself. For the header, I tried to find something that had a jungle ruins look, which I think came out great. I was also able to find a picture of a very thick jungle trail, which perfectly matches the kind of trail I imagine Indy and Jim trying to follow in the beginning of the story.