Mighty Hammer Down (31 page)

The Noble smiled a smug smile and
raised his hand, demanding silence. "Good sir, you do not
understand the intricacies of warfare. Moreover, you seem to
misunderstand the balance we must maintain with the people of all
our lands. We must go out of our way to accept, and not offend the
Bhoors. We must leave them to their business with the Vindyri, so
that we can uphold our beliefs of tolerance and acceptance. It is
the only way a civilized nation is permitted to behave."

"How can he say that?" Rommus asked
rhetorically. "He’s saying that we must watch the Vindyri die
because it is wrong to pass judgment on the Bhoors."

"But Rommus, acceptance is important.
I know you don’t believe the things I do, but he’s right about
being civilized. No nation can look down on another for their
beliefs."

Rommus turned his attention from the
Noble down to her. "Is your idea of acceptance so universal that
you would rather have your people be slaughtered than protect
yourselves? Are the rights of the enemy more important than the
rights of the innocent? How can you have sympathy for the Bhoors,
and only apathy for the Vindyri?"

She could not think of an answer that
she thought he would understand. "I don’t know Rommus. I guess I
never thought of things that way."

"Come on. I can’t stand to hear this
fool speak another word. Let’s get out of here."

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

She could see that Rommus was in a
foul mood. He had said very little ever since he heard the Nobleman
speaking in Peorum, and his face was locked in an angry mask. She
was hesitant to speak with him, fearing that her words might upset
him further. They made their way eastward mostly in silence,
traveling the main road away from the town.

No Mages seemed to notice them,
although there were a few hovering around the town when they were
leaving. She found it odd every time she saw one; like they had
some hidden agenda, just waiting around for the right moment to
spring into action. Their quiet, mysterious ways reminded her of a
spider waiting at the center of its web. She hoped not to become
trapped in the sticky strands by not seeing the dangers around
her.

The long plains stretched out before
them, meeting the blue sky at the horizon. She knew it was a long
way to get home, since she could not even see a single mountain in
the hazy distance. Soon they would have to travel to the north if
they ever intended to get to where the mountain ranges meet at the
town of Reyth. It was going to be a long journey.

Although these were called plains, it
was certainly not flat in the immediate area. In fact, there were
still patches of trees and large rocks that were strewn about as if
thrown by giants. Some of the rocks were larger than a house, but
she could see that the farther east they traveled, the flatter and
less embellished the land would become. Perhaps Rommus was too
quick to label this area "the plains".

"Keep an eye out on the right side,"
Rommus said.

"Why?"

"Didn’t you see the set of tracks?
There were two horses and several footprints that went off the main
road and off that way towards those big rocks."

"No I didn’t see anything, but I guess
I wasn’t looking."

"You must keep your eyes open to
danger, Alana. Its eyes are open to you."

"What’s that supposed to mean? Are you
trying to make a point about what I said before?"

"I am making a point and I am warning
you of a possible threat over there by those rocks. Don’t ignore my
warning just because you don’t agree with recognizing a threat when
you see it."

"Rommus, I am perfectly willing to
defend myself when I am in danger. You have seen me do it. In fact,
I think I remember defending you as well."

"But you would not defend the innocent
simply because you refuse to consider the Bhoors wrong. Don’t you
see that as dangerous?"

She breathed an exasperated sigh.
"When you say it like that, of course I see it as dangerous. But I
don’t think you understand how the Vindyri think."

"I understand it. I have watched the
Medorans shift slightly in the very same direction. Your ways have
gotten you into a war with the Bhoors, the Medoran way has
not."

"Oh is that right? Then why are
Medoran soldiers going off to kill the Bhoors?"

"Because we were asked to help our
allies. Don’t blame this war on the Medorans. This is your
war."

She sighed again but this time it was
not in irritation. "I guess I can’t argue with that. It’s true that
the Vindyri obviously did something to offend the Bhoors, or at
least offered an opening where they could strike us. I really don’t
know what to think anymore Rommus. I don’t want to hate an entire
group of people."

"Hatred is not required to defend the
lives of your people. But you should not look down upon those who
hate others when they deserve it. Not everyone is interested in
doing good works for mankind. It is not wrong to hate evil
men."

"I see what you are saying Rommus, but
who is to say what is evil? Perhaps we just don’t understand them
well enough."

"I will not let evil men slaughter
innocent people while I try to figure out their reasons for it. I
do not care what their reasons are."

Just then a loud voice called from
behind them. "Halt. What business have you on this
road?"

Rommus turned around. "What business
do you have asking a free man his business, scout?"

The blonde-haired Vindyri cocked his
head. Several other Vindyri stood behind him with weapons drawn.
"What makes you think I am a scout, Medoran?"

"I am no fool, scout. I see the way
you are dressed and the manner in which you travel; even if you
aren’t wearing the traditional black armor of the Vindyri. Your
horsemen will be arriving behind us momentarily."

The Vindyri cocked his head the other
way but ignored his comment. "Alana Irith. It’s been a long time. I
thought it was you. I could tell by the way you walk. What are you
doing with this Medoran scum?"

Rommus did not allow her to answer.
"You will sheath your weapons, or you will speak only to
me."

"Oh so we have a hero here," the man
said, his ugly face twisting into a sneer.

Rommus pushed his cape back and
gripped the hilt of his sword. "There are no heroes left. Leave us
be and be on your way."

"You need to learn to mind your own
business, Medoran. That woman belongs to me."

"Then why does she stay by my side,
scout?" Rommus said as he slowly pulled his sword free.

The man took a few steps forward just
as they heard the hooves of horses clatter on the cobblestone road
behind them. Alana looked back and forth at the Vindyri surrounding
them. "Rommus," she whispered, "these are dangerous men. I know
them."

"Yes I can see that," he said
quietly.

"Move away from the girl," one of the
horsemen called out.

"We will be continuing as we had
planned," Rommus said. "Clear the road. This is your only
warning."

Most of the men laughed as they
approached them, none of them showing any fear. They proceeded to
advance slowly, trapping their prey. The ring of steel could be
heard as the horsemen drew their swords as well. There was no way
to escape now except through a wall of men bristling with sharp
blades.

"Who are these men?" Rommus asked as
Alana pulled her sword free.

"The ugly one is someone from my past.
We’ll have to discuss it later."

In an instant, the horsemen spurred
their steeds to a run. Rommus and Alana dove to either side of the
roadway to avoid being trampled, and the men on foot were expecting
it. They dove for them and in the mayhem, Rommus had dropped his
sword. Alana faired no better, and she was quickly overpowered by
the brute strength of the men. The horsemen turned around to face
them and laughed as they sheathed their swords.

Through the chaos surrounding her,
Alana thought she saw one of the horsemen fall from his horse; then
the other. She could not see very well with all the men fighting to
hold her down, but she thought she saw a shadow moving between the
men.

"Alana!" Rommus called. "I’m coming,
hold on!"

She could see that he was being
overpowered as well, and one of the men was taking aim with his
sword to deliver a fatal wound to him between the flailing arms and
bodies of the other men. In a few seconds, she would see Rommus
die.

Then there was a short scream.
Something was happening near Rommus, and she figured that he must
be fighting back somehow. Again she thought she saw a shadow of a
figure moving against the flow of the men. She looked back to the
horses where she saw it the first time and saw them standing with
no riders. Before she could understand what was happening, a
familiar, ugly face crept into her vision. She could smell the
breath of the man in front of her, and she could see a look of evil
in his eye.

"You’ll not escape this time, Alana.
You’re mine." A crooked smile came to his face but was withered
instantly with fear. A golden blade rested dangerously under his
neck, and he stood slowly. Alana looked around her and saw that all
of the men around them were dead or dying. She couldn’t understand
how Rommus had killed them all so quickly. One second he was about
to be killed, and the next he had killed a dozen or so men. It
seemed utterly impossible.

"What are you doing in Medora, scout?
The battle is in Vindyrion," Rommus said through gritted teeth.
When the man did not answer, Rommus pushed the blade a little
harder against his skin. The man went limp instantly and fell
dead.

Alana was shocked. How did that kill
him? You barely touched him. Is he faking? How did you kill all
these men?"

"One question at a time, Alana. I have
some questions of my own."

"Like what?"

"Like who is the man behind
you."

Alana jerked her head around,
expecting the worst. Instead of a Vindyri, she saw a tall, thin man
in close-fitting, elegant clothes. His hair was long and dark but
it had an odd silver sheen to it which shined in a strange way. He
had high boots that came to his knees, and a large, loose collar,
matching the large cuffs folded back at his sleeves. His shirt was
white, and the rest of his clothing was black, trimmed in small
amounts of silver which accented his gray eyes. His jacket was
well-made and seemed to have more buttons than was necessary. Of
course, it was not buttoned at all, so the buttons seemed
especially useless.

"I don’t know this man," she said.
Then she looked into his eyes and instantly became lost in his
sharp features. Her head swam as she tried to understand what
strange spell he held over her.

"I would suggest you not look into my
eyes, madam. At least not until you know me better. May I help you
to stand?" he said in a strange accent that rolled off of his
tongue with an elegance that matched his attire. She could only nod
her head.

"Why did you help us?" Rommus
asked.

"I heard your words you spoke with
those men. They were in the wrong. I could not let you come to harm
if I could help it. Besides, you hold the sword of Arius. How could
I stand idly by and allow you to come to harm?"

"The sword of Arius? No, this is just
a golden sword. Don’t be mistaken by its appearance."

"One of us is mistaken, my Lord, but I
am afraid it is not me."

Rommus lowered his eyebrows slightly
at the man. "Just who are you?"

The man raised his chin a little. "My
name is Vohl. Vohl Dirujen."

Chapter 23

"You are not dressed like a Medoran,
yet you have dark hair unlike a Vindyri. I have never seen a Bhoor
but you do not look like how I pictured one to look," Rommus said
as he stared at the man.

"I am not Vindyri, Medoran, or Bhoor.
My people inhabited the land you now call Vindyrion long ago. We
have since been sent away from our land and the people we loved,"
Vohl said as he stood majestically with a hand on his hilt, his
fine cape billowing behind him.

Rommus looked at the man skeptically.
"I am not aware of another people."

"And yet here I stand before
you."

Rommus blinked a few times in thought.
"Well I must thank you Vohl. We would have been killed if you had
not come to our rescue."

Vohl said nothing but bowed instead.
He then returned to his straight posture and stood regally. He
remained quiet, obviously expecting more questions about him to be
asked.

"How did you slip through these men
without being seen?" Rommus finally said.

"If they were paying closer attention,
I would have been easily seen. However, I have the assistance of
this cape, which confuses the eye."

Rommus eyed the peculiar cape the tall
man wore. It appeared to be black, but seemed to have the same odd
sheen that his hair had. Its lining was a beautiful silver color
that seemed to capture the light and mirror it back in a strange
fashion. "How can something as simple as a cape hide you among so
many men?