Mighty Hammer Down (46 page)

"Ah, and that is the problem with
religion," Vohl said. "People are quick to bend reality to fit
their beliefs instead of basing their beliefs on
reality."

Rommus threw another pebble in the
fire. "Yes, that has always been my point. It’s ridiculous to argue
about such a thing."

Alana leaned forward towards them "See
what I mean Rommus? That’s a gray area. Can’t you see that things
can be gray?"

"Yes I agree, but only
when you are talking about things that you can’t know. You can
argue your opinions, but your opinions do not change the facts. No
matter what you believe about religion--or
anything
¾
it does not change the reality at the
bottom of it all."

She sighed and crossed her arms over
her knees. "You’re hard to argue with Rommus. I see your point with
this, but it’s still hard to understand it all."

He playfully threw a pebble at her
instead of the fire. "It’s healthy for you to think about things in
a different way. No one is telling you that your way of thinking is
wrong, but it’s good to consider things from different angles
sometimes. But we don’t have to discuss things like this if it
bothers you."

"Oh no, it doesn’t bother me. I like
having conversations like this. It’s just that sometimes it’s hard
to accept a new idea that’s the opposite of my own, that’s all. You
present things in a way that makes it seem like they’re so simple
and right, but then I think about them a while and things get all
hazy again."

"Well knowledge does not come to you
overnight. You should consider all the things you have heard in
your whole life and determine what you think is right. It might
take a while though."

"Well how long did it take
you?"

"What do you mean? I’m still
learning."

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

After a decent night’s sleep, they
were off to see the ruins of the Columns of Inshae. Rommus didn’t
want to think about how Vohl was on his way there with no intention
of coming back. He hoped that they would get there and Vohl would
see that the whole idea was silly, and they’d all leave together.
While he understood the man’s reasons, he didn’t want him to
die--at the hands of gods or man.

It was an eerie trek between the
mountains leading to the temple. Vohl’s description of walking in
the shadow of the mountain did little to prepare them for the
peculiar sight. The mountains were so colossal and close that no
light came to the sandy path that weaved its way northward. It was
like being in moonlight, or perhaps a solar eclipse, eliminating
shadows and playing strange tricks with the eye. The strange blue
darkness seemed to stir as they moved through it, the perfect peace
disrupted as if they walked through some kind of invisible mist.
There was something strange about it; it seemed mystical and
unreal, and Rommus could not understand why more light did not
shine on them.

"How much farther?" Alana asked with
exaggerated annoyance. "My legs hurt. Why did we have to leave the
horses back there?"

"We had to leave them because of that
pile of loose stones," Vohl said as he turned to her. "If they
tried to climb that pile, I’m almost certain they would have broken
their legs."

"I remember the rocks. I almost broke
my own legs on them. Are we almost there?"

"Yes, it won’t be long. It’s around
one of these bends. You have to forgive me; I have not been here in
a few thousand years. It’s hard to remember."

"It feels like we have been walking
for a thousand years," she said. "Let me have some of that
water."

Rommus handed her a water skin. "I’m
sure it will be worth the walk. Everyone who has seen the ruins
talks about what an amazing experience it was. I think it will be
worth the sore legs and sweat."

She wiped some water from her mouth
after she drank. "I know. I’m just playing. It’s been a nice walk
in this shade really."

"Not for much longer," Vohl said as he
pointed. "Look."

Around the bend in front of them came
a dazzling light. It seemed to almost sing to them in all its
brilliance, urging them to come closer. Rommus knew that it was
only sunlight finally finding its way to the ground through a
larger opening ahead of them, but it still seemed magical in a way.
Perhaps it was just that he was used to walking in the odd darkness
for so many hours.

Alana ran past them to see what was
around the bend. He watched her stop and almost fall, bringing a
hand to her heart as she did so. She was clearly struck by the
sight she saw but made no sound. When Rommus and Vohl finally
caught up with her, their breath caught in their
throats.

"What is going on?" Rommus asked as he
stared.

Vohl fought to find the right words.
"I don’t know. This is not what I expected at all."

Chapter 31

"I don’t understand," Alana stammered.
"This is not what people have described."

Rommus could not take his eyes from
the sight. "No, it sure isn’t. But this has to be it. That’s the
temple, isn’t it Vohl?"

"That is indeed the Columns of Inshae,
but it’s nothing like I remember it. This is most
confusing."

"I don’t see any ruins at all," Alana
said. "And I thought the bridge had fallen."

"That is not the bridge I remember
either, Alana. The one I remember was the same color as the
mountains; not white marble."

They slowly approached the bridge,
skeptical of what their eyes were showing them. When they came to
where the marble met the edge of the cliff, Rommus noticed that the
marble was seamless, appearing to be carved from one enormous piece
of the highly polished stone. It was impossible, and he knew it,
but even though his mind told him that it could not be done, his
eyes beheld it anyway. The bridge spanned an impossible distance,
arching slightly in the center so that the other side could not be
seen connecting to the far cliff. Elegant railings lined the sides,
and perfectly polished gold accents adorned them. Their swirling
scrollwork was more beautiful than anything he had ever
seen.

"If this gold lines the entire bridge,
it must be worth more than everything in Medora. How could this
bridge have been built? It seems impossible to me that it is able
to stand."

Vohl placed his hand on one of the
massive railings. "It is hard to believe it, but it must have been
built by the gods. I know it is difficult for you to see the truth
in that, but there can be no other explanation. Man could not have
done this, and if he could have, would not other men have come to
steal the gold?"

"I have no idea. All I know is I see
something that makes no sense. I can see that the veins in the
marble are uninterrupted, like it is carved from a single piece of
marble. I don’t see how that is possible. Marble is terribly heavy,
and that bridge would have to weigh more than an entire
city."

Alana elbowed him in the ribs. "Maybe
there really are gods over there on that side. Just look at that
temple. Do you think man built that?"

The temple on the other side was so
gigantic that it made him dizzy to look at it. "I have no idea. I
can’t tell from this far away, but it looks like a single column
takes up more area than a whole temple does. I thought it was
supposed to be carved from the mountains next to it. Why does it
look like it’s made of marble too?"

"I don’t know Master Rommus. I assure
you that this is not the way it looked when I was here last. I
don‘t understand this at all. Should we cross the
bridge?"

Rommus looked at the bright white
temple in the distance, the sunlight reflecting off of the polished
columns and shining in his eyes. "Yes, I think we should, but hold
on a minute." He picked up a few nearby stones and threw them on
the bridge.

"What are you doing?" Alana
asked.

"I don’t want this to be some kind of
illusion. I don’t want to step on this thing and end up falling
down to the bottom of this chasm. I assume it’s safe. Let’s go; but
be careful."

They walked out onto the bridge, but
they clung to the rail at one side. Although it was probably a
little safer in the center, they preferred to have something to
hold on to. When Rommus looked over the edge, he saw clouds moving
slowly far beneath him. When the mists finally parted, the sight
made him freeze in panic. He saw the tiny glimmers of sunlight
reflecting off the deep blue waves of water far beneath him. The
water was so far below him that if he fell, he felt like it would
take a week to reach it. They were so high above it that he could
not hear it rushing beneath them. He fell to his knees.

"Rommus! What’s wrong?" Alana said as
she bent down and grabbed his arm to steady him.

"It’s the water. I’m high above
water."

"Yeah it’s a little scary but it’s ok.
Just don’t look down."

He felt the same feeling he felt after
he found Mirra and Uritus together. "No, it’s more than that. I
dreamed this; ever since I was little. I can’t cross this
bridge."

"Yes you can Rommus. You just have to
stand up and cross it. We’ll help you if you have
trouble."

"Yes Master Rommus, the bridge is
solid. We are safe. Come, let me help you stand and we will all
cross together."

He could barely feel them pull him to
his feet. His mouth was too dry to form any words, so he remained
silent. He didn’t pull away from them out of fear of accidentally
falling over the railing. They both held him from either side,
dragging him along and making him walk with them. He closed his
eyes to try to rid himself of the disorienting sickness he felt. He
tried to imagine himself in a different place, and since he
couldn’t seem to hear anything, he was able to accomplish it. After
what seemed like an eternity, they reached the other
side.

He fell to the solid ground as soon as
they let him go. He clawed at the sand and gathered a small pile,
putting it in his pocket after he stood up. He knew the other two
would think it was strange, but he didn’t care. He was so thankful
that he was no longer above the water that he almost worshipped the
ground he stood on. If he made it back across the bridge, he would
find a special place for that sand and cherish it forever as a
symbol of his victory. He had overcome a great fear--even if he
didn’t do it willingly.

"What was that all about Rommus?"
Alana asked with her arms crossed.

He hesitated a while as he thought of
an answer. "I don’t really know. I’m not afraid of heights; it’s
just being above water like that. I don’t know what it is but it
makes me freeze. I have had nightmares about it since I was a kid.
There’s no good reason for it."

"It’s all right Master Rommus. We all
have our little quirks. Neither of us holds it against you," Vohl
said as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks. I’m sorry you had to witness
that. I didn’t know that it would do that to me."

"It’s okay Rommus," Alana said. "How
do you feel now?"

"I’m fine. I don’t feel
sick anymore. But I do feel strange. That feeling I have been
having--the one that feels like someone is watching
me
¾
it’s much stronger now. For some reason I feel it even more
on this side of the bridge, although it’s coming from over there on
the other side somewhere. I know that doesn’t make much
sense."

Alana uncrossed her arms and let them
fall to her sides. "No, but not a lot is making sense today, so it
fits just perfectly."

They looked over at Vohl and noticed
that he was staring up at the temple. They turned and stared as
well, dizzy from the height of the massive structure. There was
almost no doubt in any of their minds; no man could have built the
temple. It was simply too large to be made by man. Rommus
considered the fact that it was entirely possible that the gods did
indeed create it.

He shook his head to clear his
thoughts and his vision. "Come on; let’s see what’s inside this
thing."

Alana quietly counted the 150 steps as
they climbed to where the mighty pillars stood. It took a painfully
long time to get through the building, and they were already tired
from the seemingly endless stairs. The rear was open just like the
front, so it was cool and shaded but not dark inside. They looked
around but saw nothing but more of the giant columns holding up the
stone roof. There was no altar, no treasure, no gods; nothing.
While it was a little disappointing, it was beautiful, and the
bright white marble temple was a treasure in itself. None of them
had ever seen anything like it, and they thought that they probably
never would again. The columns really were the size of temples, and
the temple itself was nearly the size of the city of
Brinn.

When they reached the rear of the
building Rommus was amazed to see a city below them. At first it
seemed as if his eyes deceived him; like some hazy summer vision,
everything appeared to be green. As his eyes readjusted to the
sunlight, he realized that the city really was a dull, muted green
color; like copper statues kept outside. Rommus looked and saw
countless green statues all over the city, but he was confused
about why they were placed in some areas. They didn’t seem to be
set up in any kind of pattern at all, and some looked totally out
of place. All of them were executed very well, but they all wore
robes. It was a little monotonous as far as he was concerned, and a
true artist would have attempted to show off his knowledge of the
human body instead of covering it up.