Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

  Chapter 11

  Tannis paced back and forth in concern and frustration. For the last few weeks his suspicions had been growing, and now it seemed that the waves of unavoidable doom had finally reached the Medoran shores. But perhaps doom was too strong of a word for the situation. He had faith in his Legions, and knew that every last man would die before they let harm come to the Empire. He looked to the floor as his mind raced for solutions to endless scenarios. Normally he would clasp his hands behind his back as he pondered in this way, but today he wore his long black cape, which made the habit difficult. He knew that the men would see the gravity of the situation when they arrived and saw him dressed as if he was riding to war.

  A cape was a nuisance, but it served his purpose. When the army saw him on the field charging off alone to the front line, they roared with determination. When the men were falling back, losing ground in battle, he rode out and inspired them. He could not be mistaken for anyone else, with his massive frame atop his giant warhorse, all black from hoof to helm. The sight frightened men on both sides of battle.

  Even his sword was black; except for the sharp, gleaming edge. He moved on the field as if he were the shadow of a ghost, slaying anyone near him with great ease. His horse was as eager to ride to battle as he was, and no man seemed to be able to injure the beast. His name was Rhodiir, which in Old Medoran meant "shadow of the gods". While Rhodiir was called a warhorse, he was far too young to have seen an actual war, since peace had held with the neighboring nations for nearly 20 years. He had, however, seen plenty of skirmishes with Vindyri who were brave enough to cross the border and attempt an attack.

  As he paced, Tannis thought that perhaps the time was near for Rhodiir to finally witness a war. He stopped, his cape curling around him, and looked up at the fresco on the wall in front of him. It was very old and poorly executed, so servants had begun chiseling the rock-hard plaster from the walls in order to make the wall ready for a better painting. The paint was not really paint at all, but finely ground minerals applied to wet plaster. The painter only had about one day to finish each section before the wall would not soak up any more pigment. The process fascinated him.

  Like he always did with any subject, he compared the process to war. A change was coming. His enemies had been chiseling at the ways of old in order to replace what they saw as inferior with something to better suit their tastes. Their window of opportunity would be small, since any enemy would know that the eyes of Medora were ever-watchful, and the throats of the soldiers thirsty for war. These enemies were almost certainly Vindyri, but the moves could not have been made without Medorans who shared the vision of their ideal painting. The Vindyri woman imprisoned at the Star Legion barracks was his only link to information on the plot. When this meeting was over, he would return there and finish questioning her.

  "Have the men not yet arrived?" a voice asked from behind him.

  Tannis turned around. "No Emperor, not all of them. We await the Officers and Nobles from the nearby towns and cities. We sent word only yesterday, so some have not had enough time to get here."

  "We cannot afford to wait any longer. Let us go to the Forum and address the men who have already arrived."

  "Yes my Lord."

  The two of them left the room and made their way to the north side of the Emperor's Hall as Tannis's heavy boots sent sounds to echo from the marble walls. In some places, long carpets muted the noise while bringing the place to life with vibrant colors. People moved aside and bowed their heads slightly as the two of them passed. Soldiers saluted and stayed at attention until they were well out of sight. Respect was something that all people in Medora understood, even if some of them were unwilling to show it.

  "We are mighty, my General. Medora has seen war before and crushed our enemies in battle. We have had our dark days in the past, and just as we did then, we will prevail now."

  The Emperor was making an effort to address his concerns and comfort him, but Tannis thought the man was more likely saying these words to comfort himself. Tannis needed no comfort, only a sharp sword and an army behind him that was willing to follow him. He already had both of those things.

  "General Tirinius," a man behind them called as he rushed over to them, "a Vindyri Ambassador has arrived. Shall I send him to the Forum?"

  "Under no circumstances!" shouted Tannis. "Keep him out of the Emperor's Hall, and make no mention of this meeting whatsoever to him or any other Vindyri. Send men to guard him, one for every door and window in the place, understood?"

  The man looked confused, but saluted. "Yes Lord Tirinius, right away." He turned to leave but stopped suddenly. "Oh, General, I do have other news as well. The Vindyri woman we captured escaped?"

  Anger flashed in Tannis's eyes. "How can this be?" he interrupted.

  "No one is certain, sir, but rest assured, we caught her before she could leave the barracks. We locked her away in the pit so that she would not be able to escape again. Commander Soterus had us release the other women once she was locked away. Everything is under control now, but the Commander wanted you to be informed of the situation."

  Without a word, Tannis turned and continued on, anger still roaring behind his eyes. When they walked down the hall and turned the corner, Tannis finally spoke. "These fools will ruin everything. All it takes is a few simple mistakes and the whole of the Empire will fall. We already have enough to deal with without blundering idiots running into walls trying to find a woman in their own barracks."

  "It is easy to see the problems in the details, Tannis. But look at the big picture. We are taking steps to avoid this conflict already. Our wheels are forever in motion, not stuck in the mud."

  Tannis thought to mention the horrible storm of the night before and all the mud it created, but he thought it was better to hold his tongue. He didn't want the Emperor to be offended, nor did he want him to think he was off daydreaming about symbolism during such a serious time. By morning the storm had waned to little more than a drizzle, but it still carried with it a chill that was uncommon in these parts during the summer. As they passed a window he looked out into the dull gray mist. Days like this seemed to pull all the color from the world, leaving it quiet and dead.

  They came to a large set of ornate doors where two guards stood. Upon their arrival, the guards pulled the heavy doors open and returned to their posts. Marble steps covered in bright red carpeting led them down to the lower level at the north side of the Emperor's Hall. The Forum and all the surrounding rooms in the North Hall were dug deep into the foot of the nearby mountain, making the chambers a very quiet and very well-protected place. The rest of the buildings and roads were built on top of the mountain as it rose ever so slightly to the sky. This far south in Medora, the mountains were tall, but did not rise abruptly like the ranges to the north. The sheer walls of those northern mountains stretched into Vindyrion and kept people from entering the Land of the Gods.

  They finally came to the doors of the Forum, and two more guards heaved them open. Inside the semi-circular room was nearly filled with men talking loudly amongst themselves. Some of them were clearly angry with one another, but most were simply complaining and carrying on like they normally did when called to the Forum. A hush fell over them when they saw Tannis in his black cape enter the room with the Emperor following.

  Tannis took his time looking up into the crowd, meeting as many eyes as he could. He made sure to convey his seriousness and anger so that these men would know this was no ordinary matter of governance with which they could play their petty games. Most of the men shrank back with a mixture of fear and respect, but some rolled their eyes at the spectacle like they usually did. He made sure to stare at those men the longest.

  Taking the center of the floor in front of the Emperor's podium, he finally spoke. "Fellow citizens of Medora," he said in his booming voice, "we have called you here on a matter of great urgency, so you will pardon me as I skip the usual formalities. There are some among you who know what i
s going on, but most of you do not. I bring you news of war coming to our nation."

  The people began nervously chatting, but he quieted them with a raised hand. "We have seen great dust clouds raised by marching men on the eastern front for many days. Today is the first day in nearly a week that we have not detected this movement, but the rains are to blame for that. It is our estimate that at least half the Vindyri army advances west, but we cannot be sure."

  "The Vindyri are free to move where they will in their lands," a fat Noble stated. "It is not our duty to stop them from moving their forces or training them."

  "It is our duty to protect our people, Barchetto," Tannis snapped. To his surprise, many of them men voiced their discontent with the statement.

  "Why should we send our men to war with little more than smoke in the air as proof of hostility?" another man asked.

  "That is not all the proof," the Emperor said as he rested his hands on his podium. "A Vindyri has made an attempt on General Tirinius's life. An attempt was made on his son as well, though we do not know much about either. We fear the city of Brinn is full of spies and assassins, and the time has come for them to make their moves."

  Barchetto laughed loudly. "So it's a personal thing then. You are angry because someone got the better of you and your son, Tirinius."

  "This is a matter of importance for all of us, not for just me. Does it not make sense to you, Barchetto, that an assassin would strike at the heart of his enemy, as well as the hand carrying the sword? The Vindyri know that they cannot confront us face to face, so they send villains to chip away at our strengths and bring us to our knees before bringing war to our doorsteps. The troops on the move could not yet know that their attempt to kill me has failed."

  "And what of your son, Tirinius? What do the Vindyri need with him? He is as unimportant in Medora as he is in Vindyrion, you know this," said Barchetto down his nose to the General.

  "You will speak with respect to the General and my father, Barchetto, or I will personally throw you from this Hall," Uritus said as he emerged from a corner. "And it makes sense to me to harm the son of the General. Such an unfortunate event might very well shake the will of any man, and in turn, his army."

  "You see, my son is wise beyond his years. Even he sees the storm coming when you all refuse to," Piro said as he smiled to his son.

  "Not all of us refuse to, Emperor," the Earth Legion Commander said. "I support your war, even if it has not yet come to our borders." Many men voiced the same opinion.

  "A war with Vindyrion will disrupt trade between the nations," Barchetto explained. "We cannot afford to lose the business with them, let alone the foods and grains we purchase from them. And on the other side of the coin, their nation would be in much worse shape if they should lose trade with us." He smiled smugly, content with the point he had made.

  "Barchetto, you should be less concerned with food, grain and coins, and pay attention to the larger picture," Tannis retorted sharply. "If a nation is comfortable in their strength, they will risk losing such trade because they feel they can destroy their enemy and simply take whatever they want. To assume an enemy is weak or unwilling to attack only opens the doorway for them to make moves against you in secret. Luckily for you, I have been looking to the east while you have been staring at your dinner plate." Most of the room laughed at Barchetto and his love of food.

  The Emperor raised his hands to silence the crowd. "Barchetto does have a point. Regardless of what we think they will do, the Vindyri have built a strong nation alongside us, and we have been at peace for many years. But I must remind you that years ago, when we were at war with them, we still thrived. We always have, even during wars long forgotten. To shatter the peace seems reckless to me, but perhaps there are reasons for the recent events that we have simply not yet uncovered."

  "We might have uncovered reasons if my scouts in Vindyrion would return, but they, along with any of our Ambassadors are suspiciously delayed," said Tannis as he turned to the Emperor, "All of these events together are cause for alarm, even if separately they are not."

  "I say we should go to war, or at least build the threat of war so as to knock some sense back into the Vindyri," said Uritus, "Perhaps putting a little fear in their hearts will convince them to lower their prices along with their swords."

  "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."

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