Mighty Hammer Down (32 page)

"The cape is magic, but it does
nothing more than your cape does. Do you not use your cape to
conceal the sword of Arius?"

"I do use it for concealment, but I’m
afraid I have not had much of a chance to use it yet. I still don’t
understand how some cloth could hide you out here in the
open."

Vohl took his cape in his hand and
showed it to Rommus. "What do you see?"

"I see a cape made of a material I am
not familiar with."

"You see what you expect to see. You
see a cape. These men did not expect to see a cape. They saw what
they expected, which was nothing but shadows."

"Why is it that I could not move or
think when I looked in your eyes?" Alana interrupted, staring at
his clothing and not his face.

Vohl smiled. "That is a little harder
to explain, madam. It is just something that my people have learned
to do. I’m afraid it’s beyond my control, much like your beauty is
beyond yours. Might I ask your names?"

"I’m sorry. I am Rommus. This is
Alana," he said, holding a hand out to the blushing woman beside
him. "Why is it that your trick does not work on me? Does it only
work on females?"

"No, it does not work the same way
beauty does. It works on most people, especially those not
expecting it. It’s an enhanced trait of humans; anyone can look in
another’s eyes and see their soul. We have simply learned to reach
in and feel what another is feeling, and by mirroring their soul it
confuses the mind, much like this cape confuses the
eye."

Rommus thought that perhaps it wasn’t
the cape that was so confusing, but the man wearing it. His words
did not make a lot of sense, and seemed to be based on a slippery
reality that was only in his own mind. But regardless of the mental
condition of the man, he had certainly proven himself when he saved
their lives. They owed him for what he had done, and Rommus
intended to repay the favor.

"Are you traveling this road to
Medora, or into Vindyrion?" Rommus asked.

"I am on my way to the Land of the
Gods, which is what you call it in your tongue."

Rommus laughed a quiet laugh, trying
not to offend the man. "The bridge into that land has fallen. No
one has been able to enter that land for ages. But we are on our
way to Reyth, which is near there, so if you would like some
company, we could sure use you. You’re certainly good with that
sword of yours."

"I would be honored to accompany you
and the lady. I have not had conversation in quite a long time, let
alone the short ones I have had in the last week or so to learn
your language."

Rommus lowered his eyebrows. "What do
you mean? Are you saying you learned our language in a
week?"

"Do not be too quick to show your
amazement. My language is very similar and it was not difficult.
What business takes you to Reyth, if I may ask?"

Rommus shot a glance to Alana and then
back to Vohl. "It seems a bit silly to say it out loud, but my
dreams guide me there. We can’t stay here in Medora because there
are Medorans here who are out to harm us."

"Apparently there are Vindyri out to
harm you as well. You seem to lead a dangerous life."

"Only recently. Why are you on your
way to the Land of the Gods?"

"To put an end to something that
should have been finished long ago."

Rommus saw a distant sadness in the
man’s eyes and decided not to push the matter further. "Well my
friend, I have not been there, but my father has. He told me that
the bridge leading into that land is gone, and there is nothing but
ruins on the other side. It might be a waste of your time to go
there."

"Master Rommus, there are many things
that are not as they appear. No matter what I find there, I will
cross the ravine. I will find my way to the Land of the Gods if I
have to climb down one side and up the other."

"Well then I admire your dedication,"
Rommus said as he walked over to the two horses standing on the
road and took the reigns of one of them. The other made a show of
aggression toward him by rearing up and neighing loudly.

"Easy," Vohl said as he approached the
animal. When it brought its hooves back to the ground it
immediately stopped and stood calmly, staring at the man before it.
Vohl reached out and touched the soft muzzle of the horse and it
seemed to melt in his hand.

"How did you do that?" Alana
asked.

Vohl ran his long hands over the
animal for a moment before he answered. "The horse sees much the
same thing you saw when you looked in my eyes. He is comforted and
relaxed now. I can see his soul."

Rommus and Alana shared a quick,
confused glance. After a moment Rommus finally said something to
break the growing silence. "So you have some experience with
horses?"

"No. There are no horses where I am
from, although I have seen them before when I was very
young."

"A land with no horses?" Rommus asked
in amazement. "I cannot imagine such a thing."

"It should be easy for you to imagine,
Master Rommus. Just as you are familiar with things that I am not,
I am familiar with things that you have never seen. My land holds
many wonders for those who have not seen it."

"What sorts of things?" Alana asked as
she came to Rommus’s horse to pet the animal.

"Animals that were shut away along
with us. Animals that walked the earth before man. Beasts that are
dangerous to those who cannot control their wild souls."

Rommus stared harder at the man, more
confused with every word he said. "Just where are you from, Vohl
Dirujen?"

"I told you my people come from the
land you call Vindyrion."

"Vindyrion does not have strange
animals that can’t be found in other places." Alana
said.

"Where did you come from Vohl? Where
do you live?" Rommus asked with growing impatience.

Vohl straightened himself to his full
height. "I have recently come from the south, beyond the southern
wall."

Rommus laughed. "No you didn’t. No one
comes from that place. There are Medoran and probably Vindyri
soldiers watching that wall at all times. They have never seen
anyone on those desolate plains. Are you playing some kind of joke
on us?"

Vohl’s eyes narrowed slightly but he
never lost his polite charm. "If no threat lies to the south, then
why would your armies be watching those plains?"

Rommus felt a chill go up his spine as
he remembered all the stories about monsters beyond the southern
wall. This man’s story was hard to believe, and he seemed to dance
around the truth whenever he could. He was not easy to read by any
means. "I suppose you have a point. But how could anyone survive
out on those plains? There is nothing for as far as you can see. I
have seen the place with my own eyes."

"We did not live on those plains. The
barrier that kept us to the south was just beyond where you could
see from that stone wall. It was only a few days of travel across
the plains before I arrived here."

"I don’t see how you could have
slipped past the eyes of the Medoran soldiers, even with that cape
of yours."

Vohl shrugged his shoulders. "I
suppose they have grown weary of looking at the empty horizon over
the years and they just weren’t paying close attention. Besides, I
never saw any soldiers on patrol."

Alana scratched her neck. "If you
really did come from the south, where are the rest of your people?
Why are you traveling alone?"

Again Vohl’s eyes filled with a soft
sadness. "When we were sent away, we were all bonded together
through our trials, but not in our thoughts. We aided each other
when we were in need, but we did not all agree on things; much like
any group of people would disagree on certain matters.

"There came a time when a few of us
struggled for power among ourselves and the people that we had
brought with us. We were able to secretly take some loved ones with
us, but most of us were to be alone. Those of us who became the
rulers began enforcing the laws that seemed right in their eyes,
but things got out of hand.

"Most of my people who did not agree
with the new ways were sealed inside stone caskets and dropped from
boats to the bottoms of deep waters, never to be seen again. Many
of us ran away from this horror for much of our lives. A few, like
me, traveled westward to escape the unjust rule of our leaders. In
time, the population that we created began to dwindle, and there
were mostly only people of my bloodline left. They fought for power
like they had always done in the past, but it became even more
heated. They no longer had time or resources to hunt down those of
us who were dissenters. The war between rulers kept us from an icy
fate at the bottom of dark waters."

"That’s horrible!" Alana said in
shock. "How could anyone do that to another human being? I can’t
imagine the terrible feeling of being in a dark stone box filling
with cold water as it fell to the bottom of some deep
lake."

"Yes it is terrible to imagine.
However the waters were not lakes, but oceans far to the southeast.
Lakes were not deep enough in the eyes of the rulers, I
suppose."

Rommus saw Alana bring her hand up to
cover her mouth. "The loved ones you spoke of, they were
Vindyri?"

"No, as I said there was no Vindyrion
then, but yes these blonde-haired people are the ancient relatives
of the people we lived alongside. We were easy to differentiate
because of our hair color, and it was not hard to find all of us
and seal us beyond the horizon. We are actually more closely
related to the Medorans than the people you call
Vindyri."

"How many of you were sealed away?"
Alana asked.

"There were 211 Dirujen, and nearly
500 others we were able to take with us secretly. From those small
numbers we started a somewhat large civilization, but as I said, it
has dwindled to nearly nothing now."

Rommus rubbed his fingers on his chin.
"How did that happen? What caused your population to decrease? Did
the rulers try to kill everyone?"

"No, the rulers were only interested
in eliminating other Dirujen who they considered a threat to their
rule. The others were safe as long as they did not do anything too
offensive."

"If they were safe, then what killed
them?"

"Death killed them."

Rommus felt his eyebrows come together
in confusion. He thought that perhaps the man was still not totally
familiar with the language he had just learned. "Well of course,
but what caused them to die?"

"The things that cause any human to
die. Most died of old age."

Rommus shook his head. "I must say
Vohl, you are fairly confusing. If people die of old age here, it
means they have had time to have children, and even see
grandchildren become adults before they die. A population doesn’t
dwindle because of old age."

"Well that is how it happened. I must
admit that although I have spent a life surrounded by death, I do
not know much about how a population can die. It is as confusing to
me as it is to you."

All the talk of death reminded Rommus
of the carnage all around him. Vohl watched his eyes as he scanned
the ground littered with bodies. "I guess we should do something
about all these men," he said.

"What shall we do? Hide them? Bury
them?" Vohl asked.

"No, wait a minute," Rommus said as he
scratched his head. "I don’t know what these men were doing in
Medora. Do you have any idea Alana?"

"No I can’t imagine why they would be
here and not in Vindyrion where they are needed."

"Well, they were probably just another
band of Vindyri rebels over here causing trouble. I think it might
be important for the Legions to know that these men were here. I
would hate for some innocent child to have to see this as they
walked by, but we can’t cover it up like it never happened. We’ll
drag them from the road over to those rocks they came from. I think
the Medoran soldiers will be able to see that there was trouble
here and they’ll find them. I’ll carve my initials on the stone so
that maybe they will understand that I was the one
responsible."

Alana touched his arm. "But Rommus,
aren’t you trying to keep our journey a secret?"

Rommus ran a hand down the side of his
face. "I guess you’re right. I can’t risk leaving a clue like that.
Let’s just get them off the road and over there."

Rommus and Vohl did the majority of
the gruesome work dragging the bloody men out of sight. Alana made
herself useful by going through all the pockets and packs of the
men and taking anything that was valuable. While Rommus didn’t like
the idea of stealing, he figured that they had earned it from these
men. Besides, if they didn’t take the money and food they found,
someone else was going to when they found the men, and Rommus
needed money and supplies if he was ever going to get to Reyth. He
needed to have a plan ready to return to Medora eventually
too.

Rommus and Vohl sat to rest by the
roadside as Alana loaded their things onto the horses. "How long
ago was it that your people were sealed away?" Rommus asked as he
stretched his tired muscles.