Mighty Hammer Down (26 page)

"What are vambraces?" Uritus asked. "I
do not know that word."

"They are the bands of armor that
cover the forearms. Not many soldiers wear them, which is probably
why you are unfamiliar with the word. Mostly you find them on
ceremonial armor."

Uritus cradled his chin in his hand as
he rested his elbow on the arm of his chair. "So what does that
mean? That there is no more armor than that for the god of
war?"

"Well, putting these sections
together, I would guess that the vambraces only represent the
armor. It says very clearly that the full armor will not be found,
so either the vambraces are all there is, or the armor was lost
before the book was written."

"That sounds a little confusing.
Regardless of how much armor is accounted for in this book, we must
find it all. We’ll have to keep reading and translating to find out
what everything means. Finding that armor is absolutely imperative;
we can’t let Rommus find it before we do."

"I understand the importance in this
matter. I will not sleep until every line in this book is copied.
We will read and understand every word on every page."

Uritus nodded as he stared at the
delicate book before him. "It seems like you have been writing a
lot, and we don’t have much useful information."

"I know. My hand is aching from it,
believe me. Most of this is formal writing and not necessary at
least as far as I can tell. There is a lot about the history of
this land before it was called Medora, although it's possible it
was written after the rise of the Empire. Other parts are
descriptions of people involved with the book and the rulers of
different lands at the time. Another part a few pages back
described parts of a forest I believe. Either I am misinterpreting
what the words mean, or the people who wrote this book placed
importance on very odd things."

"Odd things like a hammer used by a
god?"

The man cracked a smile. "Yes I
suppose that sounds rather odd itself." He rubbed his fingers
across his chin in thought. "Maybe there is some secret hidden in
the words. Or maybe it will make better sense when we have
finished."

"What does it say about a forest? That
seems especially odd to me."

The Mage flipped through a
few pages to find the section he was looking for. "I am not
positive it says forest, but it’s definitely something about
nature." He ran his finger along a few lines silently. "It’s
something about ruins of a civilization, a mark left upon the land.
The ruins are the forest, or nature
¾
something like
that."

"What does that mean? Is it some
reference to people living in the woods?"

The Mage shook his head. "No, I don’t
think it’s something that simple. I get a feeling of greater
importance than that when I read it. I wish there was more to that
part, but there’s not."

"Well the book is on eternal wisdom,
not just the location of the artifacts of the gods. I want to know
what every line means, no matter how trivial it sounds."

"Of course Red Master, I do as well.
We will unlock all of its secrets, don’t worry."

Just then a knock came at the library
door.

"Enter," Uritus said.

The wooden door creaked open and a
Mage entered, removing the hood from his head. Brighter torchlight
spilled through the doorway around him and lit the room with a
fierce orange glow. The Mage bowed his head to them, holding a
large burlap sack in one hand.

"What is it Brother?" the Purple Mage
asked.

"I have come to see the Red Master. I
must speak with him alone." His eyes darted to the Purple Mage and
then back to Uritus.

"It’s all right, Brother. I trust this
man. Tell me what you have to tell me. What is in the
bag?"

The man hesitated for a second but
then approached the table where they sat. A muted clink could be
heard inside as he raised his arm proudly and handed Uritus the
sack. Uritus opened the top and immediately a wide, almost evil
grin came to his face.

"What is it?" the Purple Mage
asked.

Uritus reached into the bag and
grasped one of the objects inside. "You’re not going to believe
this."

Chapter 20

"What else did the King tell you,
Ambassador?" Tannis asked.

Andrew cleared his throat and knitted
his fingers together on the table before him. "In addition to the
request for your assistance and the terms for the division of
spoils, he also offers the hand of his niece in marriage to the
Emperor of Medora, although I am sure he would offer it to you,
General Tirinius, if the Emperor refused."

Tannis looked into the eyes of the
Emperor sitting across the table. "The Emperor and I both refuse. I
find the custom appalling. I cannot imagine forcing a young woman
to marry a man for any reason. It goes against the freedoms we
stand for here in Medora."

Andrew stumbled over his words in
embarrassment. "I am sorry General Tirinius. I did not know you
felt that way." After a short pause, he smiled and added: "Perhaps
you should take a look at her before you so abruptly dismiss the
idea." His smile was withered by an angry stare from Tannis that
embarrassed the Ambassador even further.

Tannis got up from the table and began
pacing slowly. "Why would the King offer his niece? That seems
unfair to the parents of the woman."

Andrew cleared his throat again.
"Well, he has no daughter of his own. He has no son either, which
is complicating things in Vindyrion, since the King is getting
older now. Even if he does eventually have a son, he will not be
able to raise him and shape him into the leader he wants him to be;
but that is another matter.

"The King has a sister, and she has a
daughter. Aside from the Queen, there is no other royal blood in
the whole kingdom. The King thought that offering you this daughter
would be taken as a gesture of respect and sacrifice. Neither he
nor I meant for it to offend you."

"If that truly was his intent then I
am not offended. I will not, however, enslave a woman to a life
without love. We are men of action; our time for love has come and
gone. The women in our lives were taken by the gods many years ago,
and we will not disrespect them by accepting this proposition. I
would not speak for the Emperor in this matter if I did not know
him so well. We have discussed such things before."

"I understand," said Andrew. "I think
the King will understand as well."

"I still don’t understand how it would
be fair to the parents of the girl. Is this really the way you
handle things in your land?"

"Well General, there are worse things
that can happen to a young girl. I think many would be honored to
wed an important person such as you or your Emperor. Many who are
young are in love with love, and not truly in love with a person.
From that, true love might come, and it might not. But being
married to a wealthy, powerful person is not the worst that could
happen. Besides, to be the woman that unites our nations is a
special title to hold."

The Emperor broke in. "Our nations are
not united, Ambassador, nor will they ever be. Vindyrion has proven
to be an ally in recent times, but the General and I remember a
time when violence was the only communication between our lands.
There are many Vindyri who still hold this idea dear to them, and
we are endlessly battling your soldiers, even in this time of
peace. But the rewards of our friendship outweigh those troubles,
and we accept that not all Vindyri are willing to accept the
Medorans. You should understand that we Medorans are free to feel
the same distrust for your people."

"Of course, Emperor," Andrew said as
he bowed his head. "I am not so young that I can’t remember those
times of war. Those times hurt us all, and I would not like to
return to them. No Vindyri in his right mind wishes to have the
full wrath of any nation brought down upon us. This is why the King
has sent me here to you; to stop the Bhoors from overpowering us
and destroying our way of life."

"What would the King do if he was in
no position to ask for our help?" Tannis asked. "He has obviously
brought on this trouble himself. He is responsible for letting the
Bhoors live among you. He is responsible for whatever deed enraged
them enough to raise arms against you. Medora has played no part in
this. We understand the danger of these people and keep them out of
our lands."

"But General Tirinius, with all due
respect, have you not allowed the Vindyri to come into your land
and live among you? You once thought of them as your enemy, and now
you pass them on the street and smile. That is the way of the
Vindyri. We believe each person must learn to accept
everyone."

Tannis breathed in a deep breath to
control the rage inside him. "You do not understand the powers you
tempt, Ambassador. We are not as accepting of the Vindyri as you
might think, and we will never accept the Bhoors. You and your
people see our wealth and prosperity and you realize that you
cannot compete on our level. Instead, you somehow come to the
conclusion that your way of acceptance is morally correct, and your
moral wealth is greater than our own. I do not care what you think
of morals and acceptance, and you will not preach your nonsense
here."

"General, I did not mean…"

"Silence. Your apologies are getting
old. You have come to us because your ways have brought you
failure. Your acceptance of the Bhoors has put you in a dangerous
position which you cannot escape from without help. You have come
to our door because you know that the might of the Medorans is the
only thing that can save you now. You come to us because you know
our feelings on the Bhoors, and you wish for us to take care of
them so that you can pretend the blood is not on your hands, but
ours."

"General we are willing to fight them
to protect ourselves. We do not wish for you to fight the battle
for us, but we cannot do it on our own. We wish for you to fight
alongside us as friends and allies."

"Against your own ‘friends and
allies’? Your reasoning is ridiculous. You have underestimated the
hatred and drive of the Bhoors. You have lain down next to a viper
and you are shocked that he would bite you. The Bhoors will not
stop pushing their ideology until every living being believes as
they do. Have you not seen them try to convince you to accept their
ways and their religion?"

Andrew rubbed his fingers together
nervously. "There are some Vindyri who have changed to be more like
the Bhoors, yes, but we all still believe in honor and doing things
for the good of mankind."

"That’s the problem. All people
believe in honor. No one is proud to be devoid of honor. No man
stands up and shouts that he is on the side of evil. All men
believe that they are doing what is best for mankind. The
difference between the Bhoors and the Medorans is that we do not
push our way of life on anyone. We do not force our people to
worship a particular god. The difference between the Medorans and
the Vindyri is that we interact with other cultures without
diminishing our own. The Vindyri you see walking our streets are
here living in Medoran culture, not bringing your ways into our
society. It is their choice to live here. If they don’t like our
ways, then they are free to return to Vindyrion. The Bhoors
attacking you right now are not interested in letting you return to
your culture. They are bent on destroying it and replacing it with
their own."

"General, I think you have the wrong
idea of the Bhoors. In general, they are peaceful and decent to
others. It is wrong to assume things about an entire civilization.
You cannot group them all together and judge them all so
harshly."

"I can and I do!" Tannis snapped. "You
come here preaching equality and fairness, and yet you judge me. I
am free to think whatever I want about the Bhoors, but when my
views do not suit your taste, you look down upon me from your high
moral ground. Acceptance means that you have to allow me to have my
view, not just your own."

Andrew paused a while, staring into
Tannis’s eyes. "I understand your words, General, but it is hard to
see it the way you do. I mean no disrespect to you, and I am sorry.
But I live in Vindyrion. I live alongside Bhoors, and I know they
are a good people."

"A good people coming to slay you
all," the Emperor said.

"You claim to have experience living
with the Bhoors," Tannis said as he put his hands behind his back.
"The Emperor and I have had experience with them as well. As I
mentioned, we have ridden to war against them. We saw the things
they did. We saw the things they tried to do to our people. They
torture innocent children. They find pleasure in killing. They do
it all in the name of their god so that it is justified in their
minds. And on top of that, they are dedicated to erasing all other
cultures from existence. Not only will they kill you Andrew, they
will destroy every memory of you so that the children in the future
will sing only the songs they themselves write."

"Forgive me, my Lords. I am not here
to argue with you. I am here to ask for your assistance. It was
rude of me to make such statements here in your land. You are
right; you are free to think what you will."