Mighty Hammer Down (40 page)

"Well, even so, it should be obvious
that the land we walk on is not really flat, but is curved gently.
This curve is relatively the same no matter where you stand, and
the objects on the horizon always appear in this manner; top first.
Using this information we can determine that the earth is not flat,
but round. It’s also obvious because the sun and moon dip behind
one horizon and then rise at the other. They are going around us,
so to speak."

"All right, that makes sense I
suppose. But what does that have to do with shooting an arrow off a
mountain?" Alana asked.

"The moon works in much the same way
the arrow does, only it moves at such a great speed that it never
touches the ground."

Alana wrinkled her eyebrows. "What? I
don’t get that at all."

"Don’t you see? The moon flies by at
great speed, but the earth curves out of its way, falling out from
under it. The moon constantly falls, but the round earth makes it
impossible for it to ever fall to the ground."

"Oh my, that does make sense," Vohl
said as he stared at the sky.

"I’m still not getting it Rommus," she
said scratching behind an ear. "I guess I’ll spend a few more
nights thinking this over. So the sun works the same way I
assume?"

"Yes and no. They work the same way,
but the sun does not travel around the earth, we travel around the
sun the same way the moon travels around us."

"I think I shall have to start calling
you Master Rommus again. You do seem to be a master of knowledge
and thought," Vohl said with a smile.

"Anyone can see these truths. If you
only had the time I have had to consider things, you’d come to the
same conclusions. You’d be surprised at all the things you can
discover when you are avoiding dealing with the harsh reality of
your own existence. I have spent way too much time on my own doing
my best to avoid looking at the darkness that has crept into my
life."

"While I make no judgment on your view
of your life, Master Rommus, I must say with all due respect that I
have had much longer than your lifetime to consider such things. I
was born long before the men who laid the first blocks to build
this very city, and yet the truths you have discovered in your
short life have evaded me. These things seem so simple and true now
that you say them, and yet somehow none of it has ever come to me.
You told me before that I was the most intelligent man you had ever
met. I must return the statement in kind."

"Thank you, that means a lot to me.
But I am not trying to impress anyone. I hope you don’t have the
wrong idea about me."

Alana laughed a dainty little laugh.
"I think that your problem is the fact that everyone else has the
wrong idea about you, Rommus Tirinius."

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

After they had eaten and purchased
some new supplies, they weaved their way back to the building with
the colored glass window. They took in the sight once more before
heading back to the stables where they left their horses. Alana had
taken the long way so that they could see all the things the
Vindyri capital had to offer. Unlike the picture she had painted,
the city was quite beautiful, and not the dull, boring city she had
claimed it was. While Brinn still seemed to shine a little
brighter, Burnhamheade was not that far behind. Vindyrion was a
little more rustic in parts, but attractive nonetheless.

Something caught Rommus’s eye. It was
the face of a man staring at him intently. His eyes were a dark
blue, and peered out from under a silver hood. The fabric shined
like satin and flowed down over the man’s shoulders all the way to
the ground. He stood still, but after locking eyes with Rommus, he
bowed his head; noticeably but discreetly. Rommus was instantly
reminded of the Silver Mages in his dream that bowed to him. His
muscles tensed like a wild animal’s; half from nervousness and half
from wonder.

"That man just bowed his head to me,"
he said quietly. "It’s sort of what happened in the
dream."

Alana looked at the bearded Mage
across the street. "He makes me nervous Rommus. No one has really
noticed us here so far. What should we do?"

"We must confront him. I can’t let
this go without checking to see what all of this means. Come with
me."

When they reached the man he shrank
back slightly, but he did not appear to be frightened. It looked as
if he moved back more out of respect than anything else; much like
a man might avert his eyes when an Emperor walks by. Rommus found
it odd that the man’s hood was not as large and loose as the hoods
of the Black Mages in Medora, and it did a poor job of covering any
of his features. He assumed that the Silver Mages were not
concerned with keeping their identities a secret.

"Who are you?" Rommus asked as he
strode up to the man.

"I am Silas my Lord."

"Why do you stare at me? Why do you
bow your head when all others here have ignored our
presence?"

The man had a strange look of
confusion in his eyes and paused before he answered quietly.
"Because you are the god of war. Are you not Arius, sent here in
human form to walk among us?"

Rommus stared intently at the man.
"Before I answer that, what makes you think that I am
Arius?"

"I saw the sword, and then I saw your
eyes. You are no ordinary man. You are Arius, are you
not?"

"I carry Archenarius, don’t I? Is it
your desire to kill me then? Does Inshae command it?"

"My Lord, we must not discuss things
here on these streets. There are many ears and eyes watching and
waiting. You must come with me."

"So that you can kill us? I think
not."

"My Lord, I do not have the power to
kill a god, and if I did, I would never do so. Please come with me
to a secret place where we can talk."

After sharing glances with the other
two and getting only shrugged shoulders as a response, Rommus
reluctantly decided to follow the man. He kept his hand on the hilt
of his sword as the man took them away from the busy streets and
into an alley. Behind one of the stucco buildings he pushed open a
door that was disguised to look like part of the wall. Inside the
dark building were wooden steps that led down to a candlelit room.
There were more than 100 candles all over the tables and shelves,
so the room was fairly bright and books and scrolls could be seen
strewn messily about.

"Pardon the mess my Lord. We have been
very busy lately. This room is magically sealed, so we are safe to
speak here. No one will hear us."

"No one will hear us scream you mean,"
Alana said.

Vohl gently touched her shoulder and
whispered to her. "He cannot hurt us. I have power over him like I
had power over you when you looked in my eyes. You are
safe."

"I only followed you here because I
have had visions that have guided me here. I have seen you and your
kind in my visions, but know that if you make one wrong move, I
will send you to the void in an instant. You will not even ever
meet Inshae."

"I mean you no harm or disrespect
Arius. Please forgive me if I have disrespected you. I do not wish
to meet Inshae, but I do not wish to go to the void
either."

"I thought you worshipped
Inshae."

Silas stared at him, obviously
confused. "No of course not. Silver Mages worship the gods of
light. We despise Inshae and all of his followers." The man eyed
them all suspiciously. After some hesitation, he spoke again. "You
aren’t the god of war, are you? I feel the power of a god in you,
and yet, something is not right. You should know that I mean you no
harm. You should know that Silver Mages do not worship the god of
death. I thought you had come to us to help with the coming war; to
give instructions on what to do about the innumerable troops
waiting outside the city. Something is not right."

"What do you mean innumerable troops?"
Alana asked as she leaned against a wall.

"The Bhoors. Their entire army sits
and waits just to the east of this city. They have been motionless
for nearly two weeks. We all have had no choice but to return to
our daily routines as we wait to see what they do. I fear there can
be no victory, even with the spells we have learned that will aid
the army in war. Just their presence is destroying our agriculture
as they feed off of the land. Even King Weryn seems to have lost
all hope, although we do not speak with him directly."

Rommus sighed and wiped a hand down
his face. "Look, Silas," he said, "I am not the god of war, but I
support the Vindyri in this matter. I am not fond of any Bhoors. I
know that they are a dangerous people and I do not trust them. I am
sorry that I misled you about who I am. I do bring you news though.
Medora has sent troops to help in the war. Before I left I spoke
with the one of the Legion Commanders and he is bringing 40,000 men
with him."

"You mean Commander
Soterus?"

Yes. How did you know his name? Has he
arrived already?"

"Yes he showed up more than a week ago
with his men. Another wave of men came behind him, but after seeing
the number of Bhoors positioned outside the city, they fled to the
nearby hills to avoid detection while they formulated a plan. He
has sent riders back to Medora requesting additional
troops."

"There are enough Bhoors to make
40,000 Medorans run and hide?" Alana asked with wide
eyes.

"Not exactly. They didn’t run from the
Bhoors, they just didn’t want to alert them to their presence. But
I assure you that any man in his right mind would run from that
army."

"I’m amazed that he got here that far
ahead of us, but I guess we have not taken the most direct route,"
Rommus said. "I wish that there was something I could do to help
Silas. I’m sure that Medora will send more men. If you have any
questions perhaps we might know some piece of information that will
help you."

Silas stroked his blonde beard. "I do
have a question burning in my mind. If you are not the god of war,
where did you get his sword Archenarius?"

"It’s not the sword of Arius, it only
appears to be. It’s a sword I stole from the Mages in Medora. Where
I come from, the Mages worship Inshae."

"Oh they worship Inshae here as well,
but you are referring to Black Mages. The Silver Mages here in
Vindyrion overpowered the Black ones long ago, but the Black Mages
still rule in Medora. The Black ones here are forced to meet in
secret, for if they are discovered we will kill them. I know that
most decent people would call that wrong, but they are too
dangerous to let them live. Even in their crippled state they can
do terrible damage to this nation. We believe that they are part of
the reason that the Bhoors have been able to infiltrate our lands,
but we cannot be sure. All we can be sure of is our own actions and
our sense of honor. But speaking of honor, what manner of man finds
it just to steal a sword from people; and dangerous people at
that?"

"You insult me sir and you do not know
me. Those men tired to kill me. I was barely aware of the sword in
my hand as I ran away from them. They are evil people, as you
claimed yourself. I find it odd that you believe that killing them
is permissible, and stealing from them is not."

"Perhaps I misspoke, my friend. I did
not mean to offend," he said with a disarming smile. "I’m sorry I
didn’t catch your names."

"I am Rommus, this is Alana, and that
is Vohl," he said, nodding to his companions as he did
so.

"You are Dirujen, are you not?" he
asked Vohl, but he avoided looking him in the eyes.

Vohl bowed deeply at the waist.
"Vohlhemoneer Dirujen, Master Silas. Most call me Vohl."

"How is it that a Dirujen has crossed
the seal?" he asked.

"The seal has fallen, Master Silas. I
needed only to walk through where it once stood."

"Oh that is troubling," he said. "We
have enough problems with an army at our gates. We do not need any
ancient beasts invading our lands; especially not now. Have other
Dirujen crossed the seal as well?"

"I’m sorry Master Silas, I do not
know. I came alone and I have been alone in the world for some
time."

"I understand. Well we can only hope
that at least some have stayed in your land to control the beasts.
None on this side have spoken with a Dirujen for countless years."
He sat down in a chair and pulled at his beard. "I am sorry for
taking up your time my friends. I would not have brought you down
here but I truly believed that you were Arius. You should be on
your way, but please tell no one of this secret place. Be careful
on your journey and wherever it leads you. It would be best for you
to leave this city as soon as possible."

"We will be on our way,"
Rommus said as he flipped his cape behind him. "I’m sorry that we
can do no more to help you. I wish you luck in your war against the
Bhoors. I hope that Arius--the real Arius
¾
is on your
side."

The three of them turned and went up
the noisy wooden stairs and back out into the city, their eyes
narrowing as they adjusted to the harsh rays of the bright
sunlight. They left the alley and meshed with the people on the
crowded street, making their way back to where they left their
horses. As soon as they were far enough away from the crowd, Alana
spoke.