Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

His days were filled with endless distractions. It was a Burden being such an important figure because he lost the luxury of solitude. At least none of the other Mages knew about his relationship with Mirra. They would never find him there because it was a secret that only they shared. At all other times, however, he was either busy at some unimportant meeting with his father, or tending to his plan with the other Mages.

  The latest distraction was a Mage who came to interrupt him while he was in the shadow world. He detested returning to the real world where his body felt heavy and weak, but each time he visited he was able to gather strength from the realm and carry it back with him. Power surged through him and made his blood tingle, but the feeling was ruined as he realized he had to deal with the man behind him.

  "What is it?" Uritus asked without turning to face the man.

  "I am sorry to bother you, Red Master, but we found something in one of the books. We cannot be certain, but there is an obscure reference to the location of the armor."

  "Why can you not be certain?"

  "The pages are old, Red Master, and a few are missing. There is only one small section with any relevant information, and it is written in Old Medoran. The translation has been difficult."

  Uritus finally turned to the man. "And what does the passage say?"

  "We think it says that the armor is hidden in Medora, encased in stone. That doesn't help much, but there is also the word 'first' on the next page before the damaged pages become illegible. From what we can gather, the armor is hidden in a wall or building, possibly the first structure of its kind in Medora."

  "Very good, Brother. I am pleased with your progress. Have men search the records at the Great Library in Taburdum and find out which structures were the first built in Medora."

  "I have already sent men to the old capital to do this, Red Master. I await their return. However there is a good possibility that the reference in the book is wrong, or that our guess as to what it means is wrong."

  Uritus stretched his neck from side to side. "I am aware of that Brother. I do not expect to find it any time soon. We will go forward with the plan as we intended. The armor can wait."

  "As you command, Red Master. The purple Mages have been assembled and waiting since yesterday. They ask if you are ready."

  "No, not yet. There is more to be done than I expected. They are free to go until sunset tomorrow, but when they return, they must be prepared to remain here for several days. I cannot know how long the preparations will take. This has never been done before."

  "Of course, Red Master. We humbly do your bidding and serve Inshae faithfully. I will deliver your commands to them at once."

  The man left the room and left Uritus alone with the four silent walls. He used his power to close the door from a distance and pushed his hood off of his head to rest on his shoulders. He pulled the golden pendant that hung around his neck from his robes and stared at the intricate carving of the rock, sun and sea. Mirra hadn't noticed the little treasure that Rommus had dropped, and when he saw it he took it.

  The gold pendant reminded him of the other gold item in the room, and he went to the long wooden table at the far wall. On it, covered in black satin cloth, was the sword of Arius, still covered in dry, crusty blood. He carefully moved the fabric off of the weapon to gaze upon it once more. If the blade cut his skin, even a tiny cut, it would send him into eternal blackness, away from the gods. He would not even go to Morendiir, the city of the dead, but simply into the infinite oblivion. The weapon frightened him terribly, but he was unable to pull himself away from it. It fascinated him that it was made by the gods, and put here on earth in order to allow the gods to maintain a connection to the mortal plain. He was proud of his discovery of that information, and it drove him to study the subject with a fiery intensity. He found out that not only were there artifacts from the gods hidden all over the world, but also treasures of a different kind.

  Treasures in bloodlines.