Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

  Chapter 25

  "Where are you leading me, Denura?" Uritus asked as the man strode quickly through the network of secret halls under the city of Brinn.

  "To the section of the labyrinth that cuts into the mountain behind the Emperor's Hall. It's a place we usually avoid since it is so close to where the Nobles meet at the Forum, but I think it's quite worth the risk."

  "What have you found there?" he asked with concealed excitement.

  The man's bristled cheeks rose in a wide grin. "You will see, Red Master. You will see."

  Uritus let the man keep his secret. He knew that he was both loyal and worthy, and he had proven it over and over again ever since he had appointed him to recover the artifacts of the gods. Although he had not found any yet, he found countless amulets and items of magic that would come in handy in the future. Any man would probably be tempted to keep such things for himself or to sell them, but Denura showed no interest in profit or personal gain. He was content knowing that his efforts advanced the cause of the Mages, and that his master was proud of him.

  The fact that he had not yet found any of the artifacts was not really his fault. The ancient book that held the secret locations was not written in a way that was easy to navigate, and finding the proper sections was difficult. It seemed like a lot of the text was totally irrelevant, but Uritus believed that there was some sort of secret code hidden in those strange words. When he had time he would work to unravel the secrets, but for the time being, he was concerned only with the artifacts.

  Denura led him through dark hallways and up stairways of polished black marble. There were not many torches along the way, but Uritus could see that the deeper they entered the mountain, the more elegant the craftsmanship was becoming. Soon they reached a point where there were silver accents just like those found aboveground in the Temple of Inshae. He realized that he had never been in this section of the maze beneath Brinn.

  "It's not much farther Red Master. Look in there," Denura said as he pointed.

  Between the large marble columns that now lined one side of the corridor, Uritus saw that there was a massive room beside them. There were giant twisting staircases that led to heights unknown. There were colossal statues of pearly white marble lining the huge room, all of them facing the same direction. The walls and the columns were still as black as pitch, which made the sculptures stand out like ghosts in the night. Shafts of light came down from unseen openings in the ceiling and did their best to pierce the darkness. Uritus felt dizzy as they walked by the gigantic room. The far columns and statues were so distant that they did not seem to slide by in his vision as they should have. He shook his head to clear his eyes of the effect.

  "What is this place? Why have I never heard of this before?" he asked.

  "It is a secret place, Red Master, or at least it was. These halls were sealed long ago, although I cannot guess how long it has been since anyone has been here. From a paragraph in the book, I found the way to open a wall at the end of a corridor which led us here. There may be more than one way to get here, but this is the only way I know of so far."

  "This place is much grander than our secret chamber we use for ceremonies," Uritus said. "How close are we to the Forum?"

  "We are no longer close to the rear of the Emperor's Hall. We are somewhere near the center of the mountain," Denura said as he finally turned and went through the columns out into the enormous room. Uritus followed.

  "We will use this place from now on," Uritus said as he looked to the ceiling that seemed to be miles above him. "I am in absolute awe of it. Is this what you wanted to show me?"

  Denura smiled again, but then turned away from Uritus and continued on without a word. Uritus followed with almost unfathomable excitement and wonder brimming. He knew that the man had found something truly special, and he was able to contain himself; at least for a few moments more.

  "In there, Red Master," Denura said as he pointed to an open archway at the center of the rear wall. It was covered in silver adornments, but its exquisite details did little to draw Uritus's attention. He knew that there was something far more interesting inside the next room.

  "What is it? What is in the room?" Uritus asked absently as he stared into the dark doorway. Denura's only answer was a hand held out, urging his master to enter.

  Uritus stepped into the room and immediately he felt a surge of magic at his feet. The stones in the floor slowly began to glow a soft purple color to light the room, and the highly polished black marble ceiling and walls caught the light and aided the effect. There was so much purple light that the shadows seemed to cancel out, giving the room an eerie feel.

  In the center of the room stood a statue, but this one was not large like the others in the previous room. This one was the size of an ordinary man, but on the sculpture was something that was not ordinary by any means. Uritus stared in disbelief for a moment at the tattered fabric that swayed gently in a wind that could not be felt. He put a proud hand on Denura's shoulder as he continued to stare at the sight. He found himself smiling uncontrollably. There was no doubt; these were the sacred robes of Inshae.

  "It is nearly the same as when the armor of Arius was found," Denura said. "The vambraces were found on a statue as well, although there was no special room built for it. They were found behind the first archway built in Medora, a section of aqueduct that was bricked over. It seems odd to me that these robes were placed here in such a worthy place, and the armor of Arius was tucked away in some dirty underground cave where an ancient aqueduct was built."

  Uritus could not take his eyes from the robes before him. He tried to remember the details of when the other Mage had brought the vambraces to him in a sack in the small library. "Tell me, Denura, did you see the other statue?"

  "No Red Master, I was not the one who found the armor."

  "Do you know if the statue was a depiction of Arius himself?"

  "Yes it was. That I am sure of."

  "Did the statue have other armor carved in the marble? I mean, was there a cuirass or other armor besides the vambraces that were actually real armor?"

  "I cannot say for sure, Red Master. But I don't think that the Mage who found the armor would have known it was a statue of Arius if he was not depicted wearing his armor. Why?"

  "Because if the statue was wearing armor that was carved from stone, then I don't think that there is any more armor than the vambraces alone. There would be no need to carve armor on a sculpture that you only intend to cover up with real armor. I think we can stop looking for the rest of the armor now and concentrate on the other artifacts."

  "As you command, Red Master."

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