Mighty Hammer Down (21 page)

"Why not, master?"

Because Oderion has made
laws which we all must obey. No god is able to harm another god.
Providing you with the location of such artifacts would be the same
as handing you a weapon to kill your enemy. You have already
witnessed what one artifact can do to a god. The golden sword was
able to kill Arius, an immortal. Aside from the laws of Oderion, I
am unable to provide you with the artifacts because I do not know
where they lie.

Uritus paused a moment in thought.
"Are you able to harm the new god of war?"

Rommus Tirinius is still
just a human. There may come a time that he unlocks the secret to
immortality, but it is not likely. If my powers here were stronger
I would attempt to destroy him, but I do not know what damage I
could do to him. I have been able to loosely influence events here
in your world ever since you found the sword of Arius, and I
attempted to cause him suffering when I saw him alone in the woods.
He was able to resist me.

"If he is mortal, then there is
nothing to stop the Mages from killing him. If we cannot control
him, at least we can eliminate any threat he may be to us in the
future."

Yes, it is in your best
interest to kill him, if it is indeed possible, but it would still
accomplish little. There is still one more of the Tirinius
bloodline walking the earth.

"Tannis. Of course. We intended to use
him instead of Rommus since he has a great knowledge of military
strategy, but he was far too difficult to capture. Rommus had no
guards hovering around him to stop us, so we chose the easier prey.
I suppose I can be thankful that I did not bestow such a great
power on Tannis Tirinius. He might take the world down with him if
he became the god of war."

Do not look for success in
your incompetence. Rommus Tirinius is still a threat to you. You
must kill him, and you must also kill his father. Only after that
bloodline ends will you finally annihilate one of the gods of light
and shift the balance of power to the dark gods. You had better
hope that you can accomplish this before he has time to father a
son of his own.

Uritus smiled. "I wouldn’t worry much
about that. I took his woman, and he is left with no one. He is
heartbroken and dejected. It will be some time before he has a
chance at having a child. Besides, he is not interested in having
children if I remember correctly."

It makes no difference in
the eyes of the gods. If his bloodline continues on for a thousand
years, we will be there when it ends. You, however, will not. My
plan will not fail; it is only a matter of waiting for its
success.

"No, master, your plan will not fail,
but I will be the one to see it through. You will see. I will not
fail you. And when I succeed in destroying the god of war and
shifting the power to the dark gods, I hope that it will prove my
devotion to you, and that you will grant me immortality. Then
together we can eliminate the other gods and crown you as god of
all things."

The room shuddered again in silent
laughter.

Such an honor has not been
given to any mortal in thousands of years. It is not so easy to win
my favor, nor is it easy for any god to accomplish.

Uritus rubbed his chin as he added a
few pieces to the puzzle in his mind. "You have walked the earth
before then?"

Of course we have. You
humans make the mistake of only recognizing the truths in front of
you. Just because you have not seen a god does not mean we have not
stood on the very ground you stand upon. We were shut away from
this world thousands of years ago by Oderion and his minion the god
of time. It is too complicated for your human mind to understand,
but Oderion used Tachion to travel back to the time before the gods
walked the earth
¾
just as he did when he created this
world
¾
and rewrote our history. To the eyes
of most, we have never been to this world, but some know the truth.
You cannot undo the memory of a god, much to Oderion’s
dismay.

"You’re saying that you existed here,
but in a reality that is separate from the reality that we humans
experience now?"

That’s a simple
explanation that I would expect from a human, but probably as close
as your mind can come to the truth.

"And what of the mortals that you made
immortal? Why have I never encountered one?"

When Oderion realized that
his time trick did not completely separate the gods from this
world, he had to erase all of the evidence he could. Some things he
could not erase, like my temple in northern Vindyrion. Without that
connection to this world, humans could not die and pass from this
world to the next. He also hid the artifacts of the gods such as
the scales of Terinopus and the sword of Arius. The immortals were
shut away so that they could not exist in the same realm as the
mortals.

Uritus watched the hovering figure
sway before him as he thought. "Master, what did the immortals do
to win your favor and receive the gift of immortality?"

They did nothing to win my
favor. I made them immortal because they are of the bloodline which
is connected to me, just as the Tirinius bloodline is connected to
Arius. By granting them eternal life, I ensured that no man shall
ever use my artifact against them. This would kill them and also
kill me in the world of the gods.

"Yes, like we did to Arius. I
understand. What artifacts are connected to you,
Master?"

I have only one. Even the
dimmest human could guess that it is a robe. Have I overestimated
your intelligence?

"No, master, I assumed that. You must
forgive me, for I do not like to assume things and then pretend
they are fact. I am eager to learn and to follow you, but I have
never been in the presence of a god before."

And the others? Are they
devoted as well?

"Yes master, they are. They have
obeyed my every command, all to serve you. I have eliminated the
Mages who have given me trouble, and now I am left with only truly
devout followers. They will obey your every command without
question, as will I."

Good. Then we can begin
setting my plans in motion. You will begin by finding as many
artifacts as you can, including mine. I do not know the locations,
but I do know of a book that will help to guide you. It is hidden
in the tomb of the third Emperor of Medora. It can be found beneath
his head, as if it were a pillow. The book was ancient long before
he was born, so it will be fragile. Your language has changed some
since it was written, so you will have a hard time understanding
it, but in it are the locations of the artifacts, along with other
secrets.

"What shall we do with the artifacts
when we find them?"

You will keep them hidden
here, under constant guard. The only exception is my own. You will
wear the robes when you find them, and I will then be able to use
you from time to time as my vessel to speak to the men of this
realm. I cannot show myself in your world or the gods of light will
thwart my plans before I can carry them out. The robes will protect
you just as the armor of Arius would, and no man will be able to
harm you. It will also enhance your power, and grant you new powers
as well. All of the artifacts hold secrets and powers.

"I am honored, my master. I assure you
that we will find these items, and we will keep this mission a
secret from the other gods and from all men of this world. We will
then eliminate the gods one by one." Uritus looked to the floor as
thoughts rushed into his head. "Master, isn’t giving me the
location of this book against the laws of Oderion?"

The laws are strict, but
say nothing of providing you with information leading to
information that might harm a god. Aside from that, I am hardly
playing by the rules if I am planning to destroy the other gods.
This is a risk I am willing to take in order to assume control of
this world and my own.

The skull face of Inshae turned and
appeared to look over his shoulder. The unfelt wind seemed to blow
harder on his robes and sent the tattered ends fluttering
violently. He turned back to Uritus as his form began to rise in
the room and fade slightly.

Another god approaches.
They have discovered that Arius is missing and they are suspicious.
I must go now. I will return when I am able. Do not fail
me.

Common sounds rushed in and filled
Uritus’s ears as the figure before him vanished. He could once
again hear the men outside in the halls and smell the burning
candles in the room. All of his senses seemed to be tuned only to
Inshae’s presence when he was there, and it was disorienting to
return to reality. He walked over to his throne and threw himself
down heavily upon the soft cushions. With his head in his hand, he
went over all the information he had received, and started to
formulate his plan.

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

He raised his hands to silence the
group of men before him. Once again he came to them with knowledge
that no other human possessed, and he could see that they hungered
for it. On this occasion, he did not stand down on the floor among
them, but instead he stood on the altar looking down at his
followers. For emphasis, he pushed back his hood to reveal his
face. The crowd stared in confusion.

"Brethren," Uritus said, "I bring you
news from beyond this realm. While it is true that we failed in
controlling the new god of war, we have accomplished the difficult
task of merging this world with the world of the gods."

"How can you be sure of this, Red
Master?" asked a man beneath him.

Uritus smiled a crooked smile down at
his followers. "I know this because less than an hour ago I was
visited by a god."

The room erupted in excitement and
fear. The men all turned to each other in whispers as Uritus calmly
waited for order.

One of the men spoke up. "Which god
came to you Red Master? Was it Inshae?"

"Yes Brother, it was Inshae. He has
come to us because he requires our service. We are ordered to find
the rest of the great artifacts of the gods and bring them here
where they will be safe from the eyes and hands of men. He has also
ordered that I am to wear his robes when we find them so that he
can speak through me and also to enhance my power."

"But Red Master, how are we to find
the artifacts? It took us years of searching to find the sword of
Arius, and after all that time we spent, you found it on your
own."

"Inshae has been kind enough to
provide us with assistance. In the tomb of the third Medoran
Emperor lies an ancient book with the locations to the artifacts.
My memory of Medoran history is not as sharp as it once was, so his
name escapes me. But when you find this book beneath his head you
will not have any more doubts that Inshae can not only walk this
earth, but also that he can converse with me."

"We do not doubt you Red Master. We
will find the artifacts for you and our god. If I may ask, what did
he look like?"

Uritus ran his hand down his jaw as he
considered how to explain what he had seen. "He is not made of dust
as we believed he was. He was as solid as you and I, not like a
ghost might be. His robes are tattered and not cut neatly like our
own. His face is indeed missing a mouth, and in its place there is
nothing but bone. And his face is not the bright white skull we
imagine. It is dark, almost black. His size is much greater than a
man, and he was hovering above the floor when I saw
him."

The men all stood silently staring up
at him as if they were looking up at Inshae himself. Uritus
breathed deep and his eyes sparkled with a drive that the men had
never seen before.

"There is no time for this," Uritus
said as he pulled his hood back over his head. "The other gods know
Arius is gone. We must find the artifacts at once. I want Inshae’s
robes right away. We must also find the armor of Arius before
Rommus Tirinius discovers he has any power. Now go!"

Chapter 17

"I wouldn’t touch that if I were
you."

"Why not? Look how pretty the flowers
are."

Rommus put his hands on his hips as he
watched Alana hover dangerously close to the plant. "That plant has
a poison that will make you very sick. Some people get it worse
than others, and in some rare cases, people have died."

Alana backed away from the vile bush
growing from the rocky soil. "How can something so beautiful be so
harmful?"

"Well I don’t think a plant would do
well if it had ugly flowers. Of course, we humans define beauty
differently than an insect might, but those flowers are to attract
insects, not humans. The poison is what the plant has to offer you.
It keeps you away so that it can keep its flowers."

"But that’s not fair," Alana said with
exaggerated displeasure. "Look how the blue fades to white. Look at
the swirling pattern of little dots. I want them."

"I don’t think I’ll ever understand
females and flowers. It seems pretty silly to me. And flowers die,
so why cherish them?"