Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

Uritus sat with one of the Purple Mages in a small library in the labyrinth under the city of Brinn. Hundreds of dusty books surrounded them on wooden shelves and racks, their shadows swaying in the candlelight. After having torn one of the pages in the book, he decided not to touch it any more and risk any further damage. He used his magic to gently turn the pages as it gently hovered slightly above the table in front of them. The Purple Mage copied the words into a new book so that the information could be easily accessed without harming the ancient text. Uritus would have done it himself, but he felt that his handwriting was not neat enough, and besides, having someone there with him to assist in deciphering the strange dialect was helpful. He chose this particular Mage for his expertise in the subject of language.

  The Purple Mage spoke and interrupted his thoughts. "See here, Uritus?" He pointed to a block of text he had written several pages earlier. "Here it says that the artifacts are not always as they seem. Some are disguised."

  "I see that, but I don't understand the relevance. We need only to find them and bring them here, not use them. Inshae did not say I could use any but his robes."

  "Well it's important that the Mages who are searching for them know that the item they find is in fact the true artifact and not some useless charm."

  "Yes I suppose that's true. Have you found any references to the robes of Inshae yet?" Uritus asked as he wiped his hand across his brow.

  "No, nothing of the robes, but this section here is on the hammer of Maeris. It does not tell us the location, but it does say that if a human wields this hammer, his army will be absolutely fearless. They will be bent on destruction and almost nothing can stop them."

  "Well the hammer of the god of destruction would certainly be useful, but I would not attempt to use such a thing without the permission of Inshae. What was the part again about the armor of Arius?"

  "Yes that's what I was getting to. That section says that the full armor will never be found, only the vambraces."

  "What are vambraces?" Uritus asked. "I do not know that word."

  "They are the bands of armor that cover the forearms. Not many soldiers wear them, which is probably why you are unfamiliar with the word. Mostly you find them on ceremonial armor."

  Uritus cradled his chin in his hand as he rested his elbow on the arm of his chair. "So what does that mean? That there is no more armor than that for the god of war?"

  "Well, putting these sections together, I would guess that the vambraces only represent the armor. It says very clearly that the full armor will not be found, so either the vambraces are all there is, or the armor was lost before the book was written."

  "That sounds a little confusing. Regardless of how much armor is accounted for in this book, we must find it all. We'll have to keep reading and translating to find out what everything means. Finding that armor is absolutely imperative; we can't let Rommus find it before we do."

  "I understand the importance in this matter. I will not sleep until every line in this book is copied. We will read and understand every word on every page."

  Uritus nodded as he stared at the delicate book before him. "It seems like you have been writing a lot, and we don't have much useful information."

  "I know. My hand is aching from it, believe me. Most of this is formal writing and not necessary at least as far as I can tell. There is a lot about the history of this land before it was called Medora, although it's possible it was written after the rise of the Empire. Other parts are descriptions of people involved with the book and the rulers of different lands at the time. Another part a few pages back described parts of a forest I believe. Either I am misinterpreting what the words mean, or the people who wrote this book placed importance on very odd things."

  "Odd things like a hammer used by a god?"

  The man cracked a smile. "Yes I suppose that sounds rather odd itself." He rubbed his fingers across his chin in thought. "Maybe there is some secret hidden in the words. Or maybe it will make better sense when we have finished."

  "What does it say about a forest? That seems especially odd to me."

  The Mage flipped through a few pages to find the section he was looking for. "I am not positive it says forest, but it's definitely something about nature." He ran his finger along a few lines silently. "It's something about ruins of a civilization, a mark left upon the land. The ruins are the forest, or nature?something like that."

  "What does that mean? Is it some reference to people living in the woods?"

  The Mage shook his head. "No, I don't think it's something that simple. I get a feeling of greater importance than that when I read it. I wish there was more to that part, but there's not."

  "Well the book is on eternal wisdom, not just the location of the artifacts of the gods. I want to know what every line means, no matter how trivial it sounds."

  "Of course Red Master, I do as well. We will unlock all of its secrets, don't worry."

  Just then a knock came at the library door.

  "Enter," Uritus said.

  The wooden door creaked open and a Mage entered, removing the hood from his head. Brighter torchlight spilled through the doorway around him and lit the room with a fierce orange glow. The Mage bowed his head to them, holding a large burlap sack in one hand.

  "What is it Brother?" the Purple Mage asked.

  "I have come to see the Red Master. I must speak with him alone." His eyes darted to the Purple Mage and then back to Uritus.

  "It's all right, Brother. I trust this man. Tell me what you have to tell me. What is in the bag?"

  The man hesitated for a second but then approached the table where they sat. A muted clink could be heard inside as he raised his arm proudly and handed Uritus the sack. Uritus opened the top and immediately a wide, almost evil grin came to his face.

  "What is it?" the Purple Mage asked.

  Uritus reached into the bag and grasped one of the objects inside. "You're not going to believe this."