Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series)

SOUL
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN

By David
J. Guyton

Legend of Reason Series

Book T
hree

Cover a
rt by David J. Guyton

www.davidjguyton.com

All rights reserved.

All content c
opyright
©
201
2
by David Jason Guyton

Cover art copyright © 201
2
by David Jason Guyton

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means,
in
any form, in any format, including photocopying, electronic reproduction, digital
eBooks
, mechanical reproduction,
any storage and retrieval
system,
internet website, blog or otherwise,
without written permission obtained directly from the author.

For contact information visit
www.davidjguyton.com

For my father, for planting the seeds of reason in the minds of his children

Chapter 1

The knife sunk deep into his chest several times before he understood what was happening. There was no pain; just the ghostly feeling of a blade slipping through him. Metal bit into his face where the gauntlet gripped his jaw. He twisted his head to free himself, but the grasp proved to be too strong.

He wondered how long it would take his attacker to realize that his efforts were futile. While he did feel a small amount of pain from the clutch of the gauntlet, the knife was causing
him no damage at all. Like many times before
, the robes of Inshae protected him from any physical harm.

Uritus finally grabbed his assailant's wrist.
"How many times do
you think you have stabbed me?"

The man behind him froze, shocked to hear such calm words coming from a man who should have been dead.
Suddenly the man loosened his grip and took a step backwards. The knife clattered to the floor as the frightened man turned and ran to the doorway.

Uritus remained seated and spoke calmly. "I know who you are."

The frightened footfalls stopped. "Who am I?"

"You're the one who killed some of my men. You fought the man with the scar in my halls underground. You stole
the book from the Mages, and
the golden sword from that brat Rommus Tirinius. You're that little thorn
sticking
in everyone's side."

There was a long silence but Uritus could feel the presence still there in the room. He could almost hear the breath whirling through the
young
man's lungs as he fought to decide what to do. Certainly his mind was screaming for him to run, but Uritus had succeeded in instilling a fear in this man that kept him from making a move. Any move he made might be the wrong one, and he didn't know what to do.

Uritus stood, but did not turn around to face the frightened man. "I'm not going to kill you."

"No? And why not?" the man asked.

"Because you have a rare talent. You have caused a lot of trouble for me and my men. It seems you have caused some trouble for Rommus as well. I am a man who takes pride in my level of awareness. I am always aware of what is happening around me. I am extremely cautious and alert, and yet you surprised me. How did you do it?"

There was a long silence while the
young
man thought. "First you tell me how you survived me stabbing you."

Uritus slowly turned around to face the doorway. "I am protected by magic. Is that a suitable enough explanation?"

"If you want a real answer from me, then I expect more than that."

Uritus grinned at the dark figure in the doorway. "Alright
. Some time ago I discovered a few
of the artifacts of the gods.
These artifacts grant the user some of the powers of the gods. You yourself have even held at least one of these artifacts. That gold sword you stole was no ordinary sword. It was Archenarius
; the actual sword of Arius himself
.

"Another artifact was these robes you see here. While they appear to be like any other set of Mage's robes, they are the sole artifact connected to the god of death. Wearing these robes enhance
s
my power, and also grant
s
me protection from any harm. Even Archenarius cannot harm me."

The man in the shadows
took a small step backwards.
"There's always a weakness. No matter how strong armor is made, a sword can be made to pierce it."

Uritus chuckled. "Indeed, my boy. All things have their weakness. We all fall to something
one day
. Why don't you come into the light where I can see you?"

"Because I am afraid you will kill me."

"Is that right? Then why haven't you run away?"

"For the same reason. I am afraid you will strike me down no matter what I try to do."

Uritus smiled a wide smile. "
I suppose I can understand that. It is true that I could strike you down with ease, whether you ran or not. But what should be a glaring fact to you is that I have not done so. If I wanted you to die, you would have been dead as soon as I knew you were in this room with me."

"Then why have you not killed me?"

"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Uritus said as he bent over to pick up the knife that was dropped on the floor. "I asked you to explain how you were able to sneak up on me like you did."

"I don't know."

"Surely you must know. Tell me. Tell me at least
something
about your method."

He scratched his head with his bronze gauntlet.
"I saw the candles. They were still, so I knew there was no draft or breeze. I knew that you could not smell me, even if y
our senses were as keen as a wolf
's."

"Yes, go on. What else?"

"The wall in front of you is rough granite. The surface is not polished so there can be no reflections in it. There are no metal vases or other objects that can reflect. I knew you couldn't see me.

"The carpet muffled my footfalls, and I was careful not to move the gauntlet and alert you with its sound. I drew my knife
long ago
in
another
room in this maze so I knew you couldn't hear me.

"The only other senses are taste and touch, and neither
was
of any concern to me. I was certain that
once you felt my blade, it would be too late."

"Ah but you thought wrong, didn't you?" Uritus said as he examined the knife in his hand."

"Apparently I did."

Uritus took a few steps and held the knife out, handle first. "Here, come get your knife back. I'm sure it is special to you in some way. Come take it."

"You are only trying to get me into the light so that you can see my face."

Uritus turned a palm towards t
he ceiling and called forth a b
oiling ball of energy. The room was lit in a ghastly green light and all shadows fled like
frightened
rats under doors. After taking a quick look at his cowering attacker in the doorway, he flicked his wrist and sent the churning ball of light into
the stone wall next to the man. It melted
a
hole right through the stone, and g
lowing drips of melted
rock
began to solidify as they
oozed
down the stone wall.

"Now I have seen your face and proven that I could have killed you at any time. Come get your knife.
"

The man slowly stepped forward and cautiously reached for the handle. "I don't understand why you aren't angry."

"Oh I am angry, my friend. Regardless of the outcome, you
did
intend to kill me. I am not at all happy about that. But I am angrier at myself. You see, you were able to do something that I didn't think was possible. I cannot feel your presence and you were able to surprise me. I am still learning the extent of my powers, and if there is a weakness I need to know why. Or, if there is some hidden power in you that allows you to avoid detection, I need to know about it."

"What makes you think I will help you? I just tried to kill you."

Uritus threw his head back and laughed. "You will help me because if you don't, I will kill you. It's that simple. Now, what is your name?"

He hesitated but then cleared his throat and answered. "Song is my name."

"Song? That is an odd name. Is that really your name or some sort of nickname?"

"
My real name is Erratus, but no one calls me that. My name is Song. I had a mother who liked to sing.

"I see.
Those are
both
very intriguing names indeed.
Tell me, Song, did Rommus put you up to this?"

A look of surprise flashed on Song's face. "Rommus? No. He
doesn't know anything about it."

"But you do have ties with this man, yes?"

"I stole his sword."

"But his sword is once again in his possession. I saw it with my own eyes at the battle at Taburdum. How did he get it back? Did you give it to him?"

Song's eyes flitted about as he seemed to search for answers. "He tricked me. I wanted the sword for myself."

"He tricked you, did he?
I wouldn't assume that
you were
someone who is easily tricked. You look to me like a man who is much wiser than his years suggest. Am I right?"

"I don't see what this has to—"

"That Rommus is a clever one. You have to be careful
when speaking to him. Did he tell you that he has become a god? I bet he did."

Song's eyes narrowed some. "He mentioned that, yes."

Uritus nodded. "He's been spreading that rumor since autumn. He has half of Medora tricked. It's really a shame, don't you think?"

"It's really none of my business what he tells people. It doesn't affect me."

Uritus took a step closer. "Oh, my boy, it matters. It matters a lot. You see, Rommus has plans to destroy Medora, and pretending to be a god is part of his grand scheme. We have been trying to stop him for some time now."

"You mean you have been trying to kill him."

Uritus tossed his hand in the air dismissively. "Of course not. I'm not a murderer; I'm an Emperor.
I could have killed
you
and I didn't.
All I want to do is find him and question him. As a ruler I cannot allow people to rise up and overthrow the entire country. It's bad enough that I have to deal with
the
war with Bhoor-Rahn and
Vindyrion, but to have an uprising right here within these borders too is too much to handle. I just wish I could find Rommus and talk to him. Do you know where he is?"

Song slowly backed up a
nother
step. "Look, I don't know what kind of trouble you have with Rommus, but I won't let you trick me into delivering him to you. I'm not stupid."

"Okay, you're right. I apologize. I shouldn't lay such a burden on you like that. My problems are my own. However, I would like to offer you a deal."

Song's chin rose slightly. "What kind of deal?"

Chapter 2

The acrid smoke from the torches choked
Tannis's
lungs and burned his eyes. The walls around him were made of earth, supported in places with makeshift wooden beams. The walls stunk, filling his nostrils with the p
ungent stench of fresh
dirt and clay.

The torches did little to warm him and his men. They only provided enough
dancing
orange
glow
to light the immediate area and pull some of the
icy moisture from the walls, making the area
a cold, dank, soggy mess
.
Melt water trickled and dripped all around them, sapping their bodies of warmth and energy.

"This doesn't fit. It's stabbing me in the neck," Rommus said as he struggled to adjust the stolen Vindyri armor.

Tannis reached over and
twisted the black armor where the two pieces of the cuirass met over his
son's
shoulder. It wasn't a great fix, but it would have to do. None of the armor that they took from the fallen Vindyri was large enough for Rommus, and certainly not for him. Tannis stood a full head taller than the tallest men in Medora, so clothing and armor not fitting was quite normal to him.