Mighty Hammer Down (13 page)

"Well put Uritus, but I do not call
this nation to war." Tannis pushed his cape back to rest his hand
on the hilt of his sword. "I only warn its people of a threat that
I have felt. I ask only for everyone to be alert and tell as many
citizens as you can of the danger. The Legions will prepare, but we
will not strike unless the enemy is truly intent on doing us harm.
Trust no Vindyri living in our lands."

"How dare you blame the innocent?"
Barchetto muttered.

"I do not condemn them, Barchetto. I
simply refuse to let them near enough to put another blade in my
gut. There is no crime in being careful."

"It is wrong to assume that all
Vindyri are evil. You base your actions on ignorance and rage,"
Barchetto said as he tried to pick something from his
teeth.

"If you wish to see rage, Barchetto, I
will show it to you. If you wish to see ignorance, I suggest you
look inside your own heart. Accepting everyone and everything is
not a virtue. It will lead to our ruin."

Barchetto remained silent and instead
made his statement by flicking the piece of food from his teeth in
Tannis’s general direction. His sour face was ugly and it seemed as
if it was forever locked in a gruesome sneer. Tannis thought about
how great it would feel to rearrange that face with his fists, but
as always, Tannis remained calm and collected.

After a short silence, the Emperor
spoke. "So it is done. We will prepare for war. I command it, the
General enforces it, and the people support it. Go now and warn the
people of the coming storm. We will arrange to send riders to the
distant cities as well."

The members of the Forum began filing
out the doors as they talked and argued with each other. Tannis saw
the guard that had informed him of the Vindyri’s escape waiting
outside the open doors. He waved him over to where he and the
Emperor stood. Tannis wished he was better with names, but there
were just too many soldiers to keep track of.

"Soldier, where have you sent the
Vindyri Ambassador?"

"I instructed four guards to escort
him to the Inn on Pike’s Row, although I am sure they have not yet
arrived."

"Was there anything suspicious or
unusual about the man?"

The soldier brought his hand to his
chin as he thought. "No Lord Tirinius, his actions and his
appearance seemed normal as far as I could tell."

Tannis turned his back and faced the
Emperor. "You are dismissed soldier."

"As you wish, Lord Tirinius." The man
saluted and left the room.

"What do you make of this Tannis? I
mean the Ambassador’s arrival," asked the Emperor, still leaning on
his podium.

"There are three possibilities. He is
here to inform us of a declaration of war, to explain the movement
of troops, or we are wrong about the situation
entirely."

"I think it would be foolish to send
an Ambassador to tell us of their plan, so in my mind that leaves
us with two reasons to pick from."

"I believe the most rational answer is
that he is here to explain the movement of troops, however I do not
think any word from his mouth with hold an ounce of truth. I will
go there now and question him. I will return and report my findings
to you within the hour."

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

Tannis arrived at the Inn on Pike’s
Row after he sent guards to search all the nearby streets. Another
attack from an assassin was not what he needed, and he intended to
make sure he was safe so that he could organize the campaign
against Vindyrion. Armed guards escorted him to the door of the Inn
where they stopped and stood watch. Tannis entered the Inn, which
was called The Noble Inn, since it was a favorite of the Nobles
that lived there on Pike’s Row. It was made of wood and plaster,
not marble like most of Brinn. The original owner had probably
wanted a warm and inviting place instead of a cold stone building,
and most likely paid a tiny percent of what a stone building would
have cost. Rough-cut lumber supported the ceilings, held up by more
of the irregular wood that lined the hallways. Guards stood all
over, and when he approached the innkeeper to ask which room the
man was in, he was too frightened to speak, and simply pointed to
the closed door at the end of a long hallway. Tannis nodded and
made his way down the corridor, his eyes fixed on the plain wooden
door.

A guard at the door saluted and moved
aside, and Tannis entered without knocking. A man sat in a chair
with his hands folded in his lap. He had long, wavy blonde hair,
which Tannis always found strange. It was a peculiar custom they
held in Vindyrion, and he could not understand why any man in his
right mind would want anything but short hair. He thought it must
be dreadful in battle, flinging this way and that, perpetually
blocking the view of one’s attackers. A lot of their army, however,
had learned that keeping their hair short was the best idea. The
man sat in the chair quietly and looked up at the towering
Tannis.

"Do you know who I am?" Tannis
asked.

"No, I am sorry sir, I do not. You
wear black, yet you are not Vindyri."

"No I am Medoran, but I have not come
to you to talk about my choice of attire."

"Then what have you come for? I am
Andrew, by the way," the man said as he started to
stand.

"Remain seated," Tannis snapped, "I am
Commanding General of the Medoran Legions. What business have you
here in Medora?"

"I must say sir, the hospitality in
Medora is quite lacking."

"You will answer my questions as soon
as I ask them," Tannis said as he took a threatening step toward
Andrew.

The man recoiled in fear, holding his
arms up between his face and Tannis. "Please sir, I mean no
disrespect. I am unarmed, and you are such a large man. I can do
you no harm."

Tannis relaxed a little but made sure
the man could see that he was resting his hand on the hilt of his
sword. "Your answer then?"

"I am here on an errand from the King
himself. He has instructed me to deliver a message to the
Emperor."

"You will not be speaking with the
Emperor. You will speak to me."

"But sir, I have very specific
instructions. I must speak to the Emperor, and the matter is
urgent."

In an instant Tannis pulled the man
out of the chair and held him in the air, his arms grabbing and
legs flailing "I will ask you once more, and that will be the last
time," Tannis said through gritted teeth. "What business have you
in Medora?"

"Please sir, let me down.
I’m sorry I don’t mean to offend." The man stumbled back when
Tannis released him, and he nearly fell over the chair. "I have
come to ask for assistance. Our army
¾
"

"Your army moves. I have seen them
advancing westward," Tannis interrupted.

"No sir, you are mistaken. The army
moves to the west, yes, but it does not advance, it
retreats."

"Retreats? From your eastern border
with Bhoor-Rahn? I have heard no word of any war between your
people. I thought that the Vindyri were quite accepting of the
Bhoors."

"Our nation welcomes them, yes, but
not all Vindyri are fond of the idea. They live among us, and we do
our best to live alongside them and accept their ways, but I fear
that we have allowed them too much freedom in our land, and their
army has stung us at our eastern border while we were relaxed and
content in our ways. We have been manipulated and tricked, and
although we are not certain, we feel that the Bhoors living in
Vindyrion have orchestrated a rebellion to coincide with the war
from the east. Our army rushed to the front, but we were unprepared
and we lost many thousands of men. They retreated in waves, leaving
some to face the enemy as the others made their way to their home
soil. Many brave men died so that their fellow soldiers could
live."

"And what of the Bhoors living among
you? Has your King found it necessary to punish or banish them from
your lands?"

"No. As you mentioned before, we are
an accepting people. They are free to live among us just as many
Medorans do. I live near several Bhoors, and they are peaceful,
friendly people that would never harm a soul."

"Yes it seems that they are only
interested in your safety," Tannis remarked with unhidden sarcasm.
"What makes you think that Medora will ride to war to engage an
enemy that Vindyrion alone seems to have angered?"

"We come as neighbors and friends.
Peace has held between us for nearly half of my life. The King is
willing to offer 20 percent of the spoils of war to
Medora."

Tannis laughed loudly. "Have you been
to Bhoor-Rahn, Ambassador? Have you seen the land and all its
riches? There is nothing there. There is not enough gold or jewels
to line the pockets of ten men here in Medora. And if we were to go
to war with you, we would demand 80 percent of the spoils. You
obviously are in no position to bargain with anyone."

"Again, sir, you are mistaken. Of
course we have very little to go on, but we are aware of a great
treasure kept by the Bhoors. There are other lands beyond
Bhoor-Rahn where they could have acquired such things as gold and
jewels. Just because those lands are not on our maps does not mean
they are not there to plunder."

Tannis stood silently as he thought.
He believed the man was being honest with him, but a clever King
might send an uninformed fool with a false message in order to lull
his enemy into a feeling of security. This man’s words would not
change the plan to prepare for war, but in the end it might change
who would feel the bite from the Medoran Legions. There were still
pieces that didn’t fit well, like the assassination attempts and
the missing scouts. He would need time to think on the
matter.

"If what you say is true, Andrew, then
I owe you an apology. I hope you understand that you will not have
it until I find the truth. I will need to discuss these matters
with the Emperor, and if he sees fit, I will bring you before him
to speak with him. You will remain here in Medora until further
notice, not as a prisoner, but as a guest."

"I thank
you
¾
" Andrew paused, "You never told me
your name sir."

"You may call me General
Tirinius."

The man looked shocked.
"Tirinius? Like in the
Book of
Oderion
?"

"What are you talking about? There is
no mention of that name in that book. I have read it countless
times."

Andrew looked confused and stared off
at a wall in thought. "Perhaps I am mistaken sir. I am not very
familiar with the book, but I thought I remembered the
name."

"Perhaps you confuse it with
Terinopus, god of life. The one holding the pair of
balances."

"Yes, maybe that’s it. It has been a
long time since I have heard the stories from that book. Anyway, I
thank you, General Tirinius, for your time and these
accommodations. I hope to be able to speak with your Emperor soon,
and I hope that you find it in your hearts to help us." He reached
out his hand to shake hands with the giant man that stood in front
of him.

Tannis turned on a heel and
left.

Chapter 12

He sat drumming his fingers on the
wooden throne where his fathers sat before him. Not many were aware
that anyone sat there but him, since it was a carefully guarded
secret that he in fact was mortal. For hundreds of years, they had
cultivated the idea that he and all of his fathers before him were
the same person, creating the illusion of immortality. It was not
easy to keep up the charade, since anyone who saw the older leader
would certainly notice when he was replaced with a man many years
younger. To counter the complications, they were forced to mate at
the youngest age possible, keeping the age gap small. They also
attempted to mask any differences in appearance with a thick beard,
and usually a hooded cloak over the head. In some cases, a scarf or
other cloth was used to cover the face. If people were especially
suspicious, they could always be killed.

He knew that by having a child he was
in danger of losing his power, so when he was younger, he killed
the only child he brought into the world, right after he murdered
his father. He was the first to attempt such a bold move in
hundreds of years, and to his surprise, no one who knew his secret
of immortality dared to question his decisions or force him to have
another child. He had always thought that the man sitting in the
throne was controlled by men behind it, and while that might have
been the case for his fathers, no one but he wielded any power in
his land.

He looked to the cloth coverings on
the walls that held images from the ancient past. He was very bored
with the look of the grand room, and decided then and there that he
would have new scenes sewn into new fabric to hang in his throne
room. While he was at it, he would change a few things so that
history would see him shine even brighter. No one would question
it.

Behind the fabric were strong walls
made of stone. His people rarely built with stone because they
lacked the necessary knowledge, but also because suitable stone for
building was difficult to find in these parts. Most of the time the
brittle rock would shatter and break when it was being pulled from
a quarry, so not many stone buildings stood. This particular
building was made by the Vindyri more than 200 years before when
they controlled these lands. His face soured when he thought of the
people.