Mighty Hammer Down (25 page)

"It’s hard to sleep with all this
noise," Alana said.

"I know. I am a pretty light sleeper,
but for some reason, thunder rarely wakes me up. This time however,
it’s just too loud. I hope that it lets up by morning so that we
can be on our way."

"I’m a light sleeper too. I can never
sleep through thunder. I remember being scared to death when I was
little and sneaking into bed with my mother. I guess it seems kind
of silly, but maybe the fear of it kind of carries over into
adulthood. I’m not afraid of it or anything, but it always keeps me
from sleeping."

Rommus rubbed his tired eyes with the
palms of his hands. "Well it could just be that thunder is loud
too. I don’t think it’s all that uncommon to wake up during a
storm."

She cleared her throat after a short
silence. "Rommus, if it turns out that you really are dreaming
about the future, or about distant places you have never seen, is
that magic?"

"I didn’t think about that," he said
as he put his hands behind his head and got comfortable on the
floor. "I am no expert on magic or dreams. I don’t have an
explanation for it. I guess I’ll have to go to Reyth and see what
happens. If I can learn the nature of the dreams, then maybe I can
use them to my advantage. Then again they might just be ordinary
dreams. The statue I predicted that we’d see could have been there
since I was a boy, and maybe being out here triggered some
forgotten memory of it."

"Well maybe you saw the statue when
you were a boy, but it doesn’t explain how you could have visions
of Vindyrion. I am anxious to see your face when we get there." She
followed his lead and tried her best to get comfortable. "Maybe the
Mages turned you into one of them, or maybe into some kind of
seer."

Rommus closed his eyes. "Well let’s
see if I have the power to make this storm stop." After a short
silence the room shook with thunder, making them both laugh. "I
guess not. Hopefully I’ll at least have power enough to get some
sleep tonight."

Chapter 19

Uritus waited in his throne room
impatiently; his eagerness outweighed only by the excitement
churning deep in his soul. Not only had his men found the book
beneath the head of the entombed third Emperor of Medora, but
another Mage claimed he had found something more. That Mage refused
to tell anyone but Uritus himself. Uritus knew it was something
important. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne as he
waited for a messenger to bring him the book or any
news.

After an hour of staring wide-eyed at
the floor in anticipation, a messenger finally arrived. Two Mages
entered the room before him and bowed before taking a position at
either side of the doorway. The third Mage entered, carefully
holding something wrapped in purple satin. He wasted no time and
approached the throne, falling to a knee before his
master.

"What do you have wrapped in the
satin, Brother?" Uritus asked, barely able to contain
himself.

"It is as Inshae said it would be, Red
Master. I did not open it, for I feared I would damage it, and I
did not want to offend you."

"You have done well, Brother. Rise and
give the book to me."

The Mage rose at once and came to the
black marble throne, handing him the book still wrapped in satin.
"As you command, Red Master. Take care with it, for it is very
fragile. Some pages are falling out."

Uritus placed the bundle in his lap
and carefully pulled back the layers of cloth. The book looked
exactly how he imagined it would, somewhat larger than the average
book, leather-bound and worn all over the surface. He checked the
spine for a title but found none. The pages were tattered from use
and neglect, most of them dry and thin. He opened the book
cautiously, knowing that the slightest tear might ruin valuable
information. On the first page, he found the title. Some of the
words were not spelled how they would be in more modern times, but
he understood what they meant:

The Book of Eternal
Wisdom

He smiled to himself as he stared at
the page. "So this was indeed found beneath the head of the Medoran
Emperor?"

"Yes Red Master, his name was Erratus
Ridoria."

"I do not care what his name was. Did
you find anything else buried with him?"

"He was nothing more than a dusty
skeleton, but with him was buried a sword and some jewelry. We left
it all there undisturbed, and only took the book. It was under the
cloth that he lay upon, and we damaged it because it was brittle.
We did our best to make it look as it did before we took the book,
and I do not think anyone would notice if they happened to open his
tomb."

"Excellent. People don’t make it a
habit of opening old tombs very often anyway. You did well in your
task, and you will not go unrewarded."

"Thank you Red Master," he said as he
bowed and turned to exit the room.

"Wait Brother," Uritus said. "As you
know, this book has information leading to artifacts placed here by
the gods. In addition to the main artifacts related to each god,
there will be more items that will benefit us. I appoint you to be
in charge retrieving these items. We will all work together, but
you will be the one to physically obtain the items. I cannot be
there for each and every discovery, for I am a busy
man."

"I am honored, Red Master. I will not
fail you," he said as he bowed his head.

"What is your name
brother?"

"I am Denura, Red Master."

"Remove your hood and reveal yourself,
Denura."

The man hesitated a moment but did as
he was told. Free from the shadows of his hood, Uritus could see a
pair of piercing blue eyes, a straight nose and a strong, wide jaw.
His cheeks were covered in short bristles from an apparently
unending battle to keep a beard from growing in. The man looked
like he was probably a soldier, or at least he was in the past, as
soldiers were required to be clean-shaven at all times.

"For your dedication and service,
Denura, I raise your rank to the rank of Blue Mage. You will wear
the robes of a Blue Mage, and when we are not in the presence of
other Mages, you may call me by my name if you wish."

"Thank you Red Master. Again I am
honored. I will perform my duties above even your
expectations."

"Very good. Now leave me as I study
this book."

The man bowed his head and went to the
door, pulling his hood over his head again as he left. Uritus
watched him stride away proudly, the two other Mages at the door
falling in step behind him as he exited. After they were out of
sight, his eyes fell again upon the book in his lap. He gently ran
his fingers over the frail leather binding, caressing it as if it
were a shy woman. He wondered why such an important book would be
laid in the tomb of such a random and unknown Emperor, and beneath
his head of all places. Certainly the Medorans at the time
recognized that it was an important book, so why did they bury it
with this fallen ruler? Was this man tied to it somehow? Was he the
last guardian of the great secrets it held in its pages? He decided
that he would go to the trouble to remember the name of this
Erratus Ridoria.

He was excited to start unfolding the
mysteries of the book, but he suddenly became aware of a presence
in the room. Something prodded him in an irritating manner, and
although he could not see the culprit, he knew who it was. It was
Zidaoz, pestering him again from the world between worlds. He
folded his hands over the treasure in his lap and closed his eyes
half way, letting the shadow world fill his mind. It was much
easier to navigate now that he had a little experience, and it
really took no effort at all. His vision swam slightly as the room
turned to darkness. A wild rush of sparkling lights whirled around
him in vivid colors, filling him with a dizzy, yet pleasant
feeling. Colorful mists hung motionless in places, giving the
blackness a depth that he could not fathom. Eventually he found
himself before the bright light that was the soul of Zidaoz. The
light faded and his dark form appeared when he got
close.

"I do not have time to wait for you to
answer at your leisure, Medoran."

"I answered when I felt your presence.
Do not blame me for your weak ability to contact others. What do
you want?"

"I have just finished our journey into
the sealed lands to the south. We are now encamped just south of
the southern wall. I have destroyed the barrier, although I do not
think that men will know of it for some time. It was not easy, and
now we face a great hardship. My men are weak from the travels, and
I am too weak to adequately protect them with magic. If any rogue
bands of Vindyri confront us, we will have more trouble than we can
handle."

Uritus gritted his teeth in anger and
frustration. "Why did you not take more men with you? You are
delaying the plan. What do you intend to do?"

"I can do nothing but retreat to Zuhr
for now. I will gather strength there in men and magic, and be on
my way as soon as possible. I could not afford to take a large
group of men, for I feared that we would be detected."

"You fool. The Vindyri do not waste
time watching the southern wall like the Medorans do. And what do
they care anyway? You are safe there. Send riders back to Zuhr to
call your men to arms and be on your way."

There was a long silence as he watched
the dark figure before him shimmer in the darkness. The Zidaoz was
obviously considering his words, and was probably embarrassed by
them. Finally he heard his voice again. "I will do as I see fit,
Medoran. Do not forget that I am ruler of the Bhoors, and you are
not."

Uritus ignored the comment and pressed
on. "What of the Dirujen? Did you wake this beast as
planned?"

The Dirujen did not need waking. I
needed only to open the barrier. But fear not, I have accomplished
our goal. It did not go exactly as I had planned, but rest assured,
the Dirujen will be a powerful weapon against our
enemies."

"I hope so. If not, you are in a great
deal of trouble."

"No, Medoran, if things do not go well
for me, we will both be in a great deal of trouble. Be thankful
that I have the decency and forethought to keep you informed. I
cannot sit here in this vulnerable state and make small talk. I
have preparations to make and I must be going."

Uritus did not waste time and effort
on a goodbye; he simply slipped back to the real world without
saying a word. The shimmering lights rushed by him and the darkness
gave way to the calm light of the torches hissing quietly in the
room. He was growing tired of the insolent Zidaoz and his childish
demands for respect through displays of impudence. The Bhoor was
not aware of it, but he was adding bricks to his own tomb every
time he treated Uritus with anything but respect. When he was
finished using the Bhoors, he would crush them into the dirt they
set their tents upon. He sneered as he imagined living a life in
the miserable land of Bhoor-Rahn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uritus sat with one of the Purple
Mages in a small library in the labyrinth under the city of Brinn.
Hundreds of dusty books surrounded them on wooden shelves and
racks, their shadows swaying in the candlelight. After having torn
one of the pages in the book, he decided not to touch it any more
and risk any further damage. He used his magic to gently turn the
pages as it gently hovered slightly above the table in front of
them. The Purple Mage copied the words into a new book so that the
information could be easily accessed without harming the ancient
text. Uritus would have done it himself, but he felt that his
handwriting was not neat enough, and besides, having someone there
with him to assist in deciphering the strange dialect was helpful.
He chose this particular Mage for his expertise in the subject of
language.

The Purple Mage spoke and interrupted
his thoughts. "See here, Uritus?" He pointed to a block of text he
had written several pages earlier. "Here it says that the artifacts
are not always as they seem. Some are disguised."

"I see that, but I don’t understand
the relevance. We need only to find them and bring them here, not
use them. Inshae did not say I could use any but his
robes."

"Well it’s important that the Mages
who are searching for them know that the item they find is in fact
the true artifact and not some useless charm."

"Yes I suppose that’s true. Have you
found any references to the robes of Inshae yet?" Uritus asked as
he wiped his hand across his brow.

"No, nothing of the robes, but this
section here is on the hammer of Maeris. It does not tell us the
location, but it does say that if a human wields this hammer, his
army will be absolutely fearless. They will be bent on destruction
and almost nothing can stop them."

"Well the hammer of the god of
destruction would certainly be useful, but I would not attempt to
use such a thing without the permission of Inshae. What was the
part again about the armor of Arius?"

"Yes that’s what I was getting to.
That section says that the full armor will never be found, only the
vambraces."