Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

Clouds had moved in and a light fog fell on the land since their visit to Burnhamheade earlier in the day. The temperature had dropped and it was actually quite cool. Rommus could see that the leaves of the trees were beginning to fall to the ground and some were even slowly changing color. It would not be long before the whole land was painted in reds and yellows as fall would turn the last few pages of summer and prepare to open winter's door.

  The Vindyri capital could still be seen in the valley beneath them, but they were far from any habitable civilization, and in fact the only manmade thing nearby was the paved road beneath them. Since the overcast sky was bringing darkness a little earlier than expected, they decided to camp in the woods and not try to make it to the next town. None of them knew much about horses, and they were afraid that forcing the horses to walk in the dark might lead to some kind of injury.

  The road meandered through the forest in a somewhat haphazard fashion. While the Medorans removed obstacles from the path before paving a road, the Vindyri seemed to be content with just paving around rocks and trees. This method of paving winding roads made the forest seem denser because of the lack of a well-defined open area. But even if the road was straight and clear, Rommus figured it would be hard to see through the fog that seemed to mute the colors as well as the ambient sounds.

  Rommus saw Vohl tense. He turned around but remained seated, looking for whatever it was that caught Vohl's attention. Soon he saw the two figures walking down the road towards their campsite. Knowing that the men were aware of them, he didn't hesitate to call out Alana's name to warn her. She sat up and came closer to the campfire when she saw the men coming. Rommus rested his hand on his hilt, but kept the sword hidden beneath his cape.

  "Good evening," one of the men called out in a friendly voice. "We mean you no harm. May we speak with you a moment?"

  Rommus stared into the strange eyes of the man as he came closer. He and his companion looked very much the same, with long dark beards, narrow faces and long rounded teeth. He knew at once that for the first time, he was looking upon men from Bhoor-Rahn.

  Vohl answered before Rommus thought of what to say. "We mean you no harm either, travelers, but it is best that you be on your way."

  "But we want nothing but conversation. We will stand here at a distance if it makes you more comfortable. I am Jrad, and this is Euza."

  "You wander the roads at dusk looking for people who will speak to you? I find that odd," Rommus said as he stood slowly. "You are Bhoors, are you not?"

  "Yes my friend, we are Bhoors, although we have lived here in this land for most of our lives. What is your name?"

  "My name is not of consequence. Why are you not on the other side of Burnhamheade with the rest of your army?"

  Jrad threw his head back and laughed. "My friend, we are not with the army. I told you we have lived here in Vindyrion most of our lives."

  "Regardless of where you live, I do not trust strange men who wander around while a dangerous army makes camp so close to us."

  "My friend, the army of the Bhoors is not dangerous. They come to spread the word of Rohni. Theirs is a message of peace."

  "Is that right?" Alana broke in. "What kind of peaceful army attacks their ally to the east?"

  "The men who have fallen to that army were chosen by Rohni my friends. They are a special group of people selected to spread his word."

  Rommus felt his anger rise and his eyebrows lower. "We are not your friends. And are you saying that the people that the Bhoors slaughtered are helping spread the word of your god?"

  "Well, yes. But Rohni is not our god; he is god of us all. He is your god as well, and we have come to teach you about him so that you may worship him and know peace."

  "None of us are interested in your teachings," Rommus said. "Be on your way."

  "But my friend, we must show you the truth and the light of our god. He will bring you blessings and peace. Without hearing his message, you will be doomed."

  He tightened his grip on his sword. "Is that a threat?"

  "It is no threat my friend, but part of the message we have been chosen to spread. If you do not learn our ways, the true word of Rohni, then your soul will be lost forever. You must give us this chance to save your spirit from destruction."

  Vohl stood up and straightened to his full height. "And if we refuse?"

  "If you refuse to hear the word then you become marked by Rohni. Once you are marked you are chosen by him to spread his word in the manner he sees fit."

  Alana finally stood too, a look of anger growing on her face. "And how do you suppose that we can spread the word that we refuse to hear in the first place?"

  The man ran his hands over his tan robes in a nervous fashion, but his voice was strong and full of resolve. "Rohni might choose to have those who are unwilling to listen killed in order to send a message to the next group of people. But that is not our intention. Our dream is a peaceful world where all mankind lives in harmony, forever in the light of our god."

  Vohl drew his sword, its blade catching the dark blue light of the cloudy sky along with some of the harsh orange firelight. "You men have worn out your welcome. You have now threatened us, and we will not stand for such a thing. Arm yourselves."

  "My friend, we carry no swords. Our weapon is the word of our god and the glory of his eternal truth. We do not threaten you, we wish to save you."

  Rommus followed Vohl's lead and drew his own sword in the fading light. "You wish to save us by killing us if we refuse to follow your ridiculous religion. I can't believe you can actually say that and take your religion seriously."

  "It is not the word of man, my friend; it is the word of god. He commands such things, we only do his bidding. We will not harm you, but Rohni will ensure that you die so that others will see the folly in refusing his word. You must hear our message if you are to be rewarded in the next world, and not suffer here in this one."

  Rommus took a step toward the two men. They took a step back. "And how can you say that the god I worship is not the correct god? How can you tell me you are right and I am wrong?"

  "Your god is not god. He is nothing but a false god. There is only one god and that is Rohni," the man said as he nervously took another step backwards.

  "How dare you? How can you say that to someone when no man is provided with any knowledge about any god? How dare you be so bold as to threaten innocent people with death if they do not convert to your religion? How dare you mock another's beliefs by telling him that his god is not real, when you have no more proof than him that your god is real?"

  "Please my friend," the man said as he held up a hand, "we do not want you to die. We want you to be happy with Rohni forever. We want you to be rewarded for spreading his word in this lifetime. We were sent to save you."

  "I grow bored of this," Rommus said. "I will hear no more about your twisted ideology. Leave us now or we will kill you; not for any god, but because you are despicable, dangerous people who do not deserve to live."

  Jrad took a bold step forward, anger finally showing in his eyes. "Then I mark you! I mark all of you in the name of Rohni. He will make sure that you die in his name so that his word may spread."

  In a blink Rommus grabbed the man by his robes at his neck, catching some of his long beard as well. "If I put this sword through your neck, you won't be able to speak any words, let alone the word of your god. Your religion may have been forced upon you, but it will not be forced on me. I will kill any man who stands in the way of my freedom. Man is free to do as he wishes so long as he does not harm another in the process. Freedoms do have their limits, and sometimes it's difficult to determine the right thing to do, but right now I cast all of that aside. If you say one more word, I will run this blade through you and send you to whatever god you wish."

  The man's eyes had lost their fire. His hands clung to the heavily muscled arm that held him. Rommus gripped him even tighter, just to see what the man would do. He panicked but said nothing, obviously fearing for
his life. His companion stood helplessly behind him, not knowing what to do. After staring into the man's eyes for a moment, he threw him flailing and stumbling to the misty forest floor.

  They watched as the frightened men ran as fast as they could down the winding road. Rommus shook his head as he watched them, his anger still boiling deep within him. His jaw ached from being so tightly clenched. His muscles remained as hard as those on a statue for quite some time before he calmed down.

  "I can't believe that," Alana said, shaking her head. "I can't believe that they actually put it that way. They have never said anything like that before; at least no one has ever told me anything like that. The Bhoors have always acted so peaceful and friendly."

  Vohl sheathed his sword and straightened his cape. "The thing I can't believe is the fact that somehow that all makes sense to them in their sick society. It's like rational thought is their true enemy. Somehow they truly believe that murdering for the spread of their religion is justified. Isn't it funny that the people furthest from success seem to think they are closer to their god?"

  Rommus found himself still staring down the dark road, breathing heavily in anger. "It's no surprise to me at all. I already knew the dangers of those people. It's the foolish among us who need to experience all angles in order to gain wisdom. The truly wise can see the ends before they come. I may not be the wisest man, but I am no fool. I don't need to experience their infiltration of my culture before I realize that they are a threat. I refuse to accept them and now you both see why.

  "There are some who would call that blind hatred; hating without experiencing the truth first. But blind tolerance is more dangerous than blind hatred. Hatred can be controlled; tolerance cannot. Tolerance is the path that evil men take to destroy you. It is no virtue, it is a disease."

  They both stared at him as he continued to watch the road. His anger never cooled, and he had to find a way to shut it away inside himself before he could bring himself to do anything but stand there in a fiery rage. Finally he put his sword back in his scabbard and turned to his friends standing by the fire.

  "Are you angry with me?" he asked.

  "Of course not Master Rommus. I would have done the same thing if you hadn't grabbed him first."

  "And you?" he asked as he looked into Alana's eyes.

  "No I'm not angry Rommus. I am just a little confused that's all. Taking such a stand against people who I thought were peaceful just feels strange to me."

  "Do you see it now? Were the Medorans so wrong to keep the Bhoors out of Medora? Were we so backwards and evil and unfair? You know there is an army larger than any ever assembled waiting over there, and you now know what these people want. They want you to join them or die. This nation has greeted them with open arms and look at what has happened. Now Medora--evil Medora?must try to save it. The Bhoors are so deeply entrenched that I don't know if it can even be done."

  Alana took a step toward him. "Rommus?"

  He jerked his arm away when she touched it. "Get the horses ready and put the fire out. I don't want to be here if they come back with a few hundred soldiers willing to murder and die for their god.