The Hammer of Fire (30 page)

“What is your question?” said Petra her voice
suddenly lowering and becoming rather monotonic.

“Will Dol kill Gazadum?” said Milli.

“The next thing is to pick a single card from
the deck,” said Petra. “This represents your overall position in
the matter.”

“Ok,” said Milli and reached forward with a
hand that shook slightly and picked a card from the middle of the
deck. She flipped it over and it depicted a young boy bent over a
wooden platform. He was shirtless and there were a number of red
welts on his back. Around the border of the card were whips and
scourges. “Oh no!” gasped Milli. “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“It is The Beating,” said Petra. “It is an
evil card but can have many different meanings. It generally
involves being attacked from all sides but it can also represent
either going insane or finding strength when being assaulted.”

“Oh well, we were attacked from all sides,”
said Milli and looked to Brogus to confirm this statement and he
quickly nodded his head up and down while watching with wide
eyes.

Petra said nothing while Brogus nodded his
head in the affirmative and Dol shook his in quick little shakes
and muttered something under his breath that the others could not
hear.

“What’s next?” asked Milli her eyes now
shining more brightly and her hand steadier.

“Now, we start with the first three cards
which represent the past. First I shuffle the cards and then you
cut the deck.” Petra took the one card already chosen and mixed it
in with the others and then gave them a couple of quick little
shuffles.

Milli watched as Petra did one final shuffle
and then handed the heavy deck of cards to the girl. “Cut them.”
Milli reached forward tentatively, her hand trembling slightly, and
took them. She needed both hands to hold onto the big cards but cut
the deck somewhere near the middle and placed the bottom half on
top. “Now, take the top three cards,” instructed Petra, “and put
them in the three positions. You decide for yourself where they go
but they must go into the first section here.”

Milli did as she was told and soon three
cards lay face down on the cloth backing.

“Now cut the deck again, and take three more
cards,” said Petra. The process repeated a third time and soon
enough nine cards lay face down on the cloth and everyone stared at
them in silence as the sun began to cast its final rays of the day
on the little camp.

“Now what?” said Milli eagerly gazing at the
layout.

“Turn over the three cards from the past,”
said Petra pointing to the left most of the three little lines of
cards.

“This one is good?” said Milli pointing
tentatively at the top most of the three.

“Yes,” said Petra with a nod of her head and
a gentle smile. “Go on.”

“Should I do good first?” asked Milli still
hesitating with her hand hovering over the cards.

“It’s up to you. We can’t begin until all
three are turned over in any case, so it doesn’t really matter all
that much.”

“Ok,” squeaked Milli her voice going up an
octave as she began to flip over the cards. The first one depicted
a hugely fat man sitting on a throne laughing uproariously while a
colorfully dressed man capered in front of him. “That’s a good one,
right, and in the good position so it means more?”

“The Joke,” said Petra. “It is aligned in the
good position so that might give it more meaning. It represents
using humor to overcome adversity.”

Brogus put his hand to his chin, “When did we
use humor?”

“I humored the First Edos,” chimed in Milli.
“When he came to visit me. He was a little addled and I think I
told some jokes, or something.”

“How is that overcoming adversity,” said Dol
who suddenly found himself drawn into the little circle.

“I thought you didn’t believe in any of this
nonsense?” said Milli turning to her friend with a wide smile. “Now
you’re interested?”

“Just to prove it’s stupid,” said Dol with a
shrug.

“We can’t make any judgments on the card
until the other two are turned,” Petra interrupted. “It could be
The Joke isn’t the one that will tell of the past. Go on, Milli. Do
the other two.”

Milli reached forward and flipped the middle
card. It showed a beautiful woman sitting on a comfortable chair
while other women attended to her. “Ohhh, is that me?”

“The Courtesan,” said Petra. “She represents
social whims. She can be as powerful as the queen but easily
deposed if she makes a single slip. It is a neutral card in the
middle position which is a match as well.”

“When we were dealing with Ming back with the
nomads,” shrieked Milli putting her hands to her rosy cheeks. “We
had to behave socially otherwise they would have killed us!”

“Yeah!” said Brogus, “that’s right. It was
because we were so good that Manetho let us go! This stuff really
works, see Dol? And you didn’t believe.”

“I thought Manetho let us go because he
thought we might be able to help him sometime in the future,” said
Dol although he still watched the proceedings.

“That’s stupid,” said Brogus. “You’re
remembering it all wrong. He liked us because we fit in with the
nomads, we didn’t do anything stupid. Usually it’s me who does the
stupid thing so I guess we lucked out!” he finished with a broad
smile and, although still seated, somehow bent over in a deep
bow.

Milli applauded, “That’s the way I remember
it too,” she said. “Now, the third card is evil, right?”

The third position is the evil representation
of past events,” said Petra. “The card itself is yet to be
revealed.”

Milli reached forward hesitantly again, her
hand steady, but her eyes darted back and forth to Brogus who urged
her forward with a nod of his head, “Go on, Milli, show it.”

She flipped the card which showed a pair of
heavy draft horses pulling a large wagon, “The Team,” said Petra.
“It’s a neutral card in the evil position and is mismatched so it
probably doesn’t mean anything. Usually it represents an external
force driving you forward.”

Dol laughed, “That’s exactly our
situation.”

“No it’s not,” said Milli defiantly crossing
her arms across her chest. “What the cards say is what things are.
So, which one is most important then?” said Milli, “The Joke or the
Courtesan?”

Petra studied the cards for a long moment,
“This is where I don’t have the gift as strongly as some others,”
she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I can only guess.”

“Go on,” said Brogus, as he eagerly leaned
over the cards laid out on the cloth. “Tell us!”

Petra studied the cards for a bit longer,
cleared her throat, and then spoke, “The Courtesan is obviously a
representation of Milli as she tries to bring Dol towards his goal
of killing the elemental. She is precariously perched between a
position of great power and being destroyed by the forces she is
trying to manipulate.”

Milli and Brogus stared at her with wide eyes
and mouths slightly slack, “That’s exactly right,” said the
halfling girl and Brogus nodded his head vigorously. Dol said
nothing but continued to watch the other three.

“Now, the present,” said Petra and Milli
reached forward eagerly. This time she started with the bottom
positioned card and flipped it over quickly showing a small man
kneeling over a chest and plying it with little instruments, “The
Locksmith,” said the older woman. “It is a neutral card in the evil
position and thus mismatched.”

“What would it have meant?” said Milli.

“It usually is interpreted to mean that you
will get the keys to unlock whatever puzzles you at the moment.
This can be a physical thing or some knowledge.”

“Ohhh, that would have been a good one,” said
Milli.

Petra shrugged. “Next card.”

Milli then reached towards the middle
position and flipped over the card showing a one eyed man pouring
liquid from a pitcher into a large mug, “What’s that?”

“The Cyclopes,” said Petra. “He has insight
and wisdom and it is a good card. Its meaning is not dissimilar
from the Locksmith. In this position it means that you might have
gained insight into how to solve your problem but that insight
doesn’t necessarily translate to success.”

“Oh,” said Brogus. “Now the good card!”

Milli reached forward to flip the last card
in the middle pile but then paused to look at Dol who was watching
the proceedings closely now, “See, Dol. You are interested. It’s
not just silly girls.”

“I’m not a girl,” said Brogus.

“Might as well be one for the way you’re
carrying on,” said Dol and turned his back to the trio. “Fine, go
ahead and make fools of yourselves.”

“Oh Dol,” said Milli. “I didn’t mean to make
you go away. Stay and watch, please, for me? Even if it is stupid,
what harm can it do?”

Dol looked at her and put his hand in his
hair and gave it a scratch, “By Davim!” he shouted and yanked it
away.

“What? What’s wrong?” said Milli and
Brogus.

“Damn apples,” he said and showed them two
little apples, one was more reddish in color than the normal green
but the other was almost a bright red and seemed to glow with
energy and life in the light of the campfire and the setting
sun.

“I think they’re getting ripe,” said Milli
with a giggle.

“I didn’t want to say anything,” said Petra
as she suddenly gave off a loud snort.

Brogus slapped Dol on the back and the thick
dwarf suddenly began to laugh himself. Great guffaws burst from his
mouth as he bent forward and put his hands on his knees.

Milli looked at Petra, “He never had a sense
of humor about it before,” she said. “Maybe this change of late
isn’t all for the bad.”

Petra watched the tall dwarf gasp for breath
as laughter continued to emerge and then shook her head, “Anger and
happiness are two sides of the same coin. Would you say his
personality has completely changed?”

Milli nodded her head, “He was always so dour
before, so careful.”

Petra nodded her head as Dol finally began to
settle down. “All right, all right,” he said. “Maybe it is funny;
now get on with the stupid reading so we can eat.”

Milli turned back to the cards which,
miraculously, managed to stay on the cloth in their original
positions during the uproar; she flipped over the topmost card in
the middle line and revealed a stout dwarf working at a forge, “A
Blacksmith!” she shouted. “In the good position, that has to be
good!”

Petra shook her head, “The Forge is also a
neutral card and is misaligned. You didn’t align any of the cards
in the column,” she went on. “This makes the reading
difficult.”

“It has to be the forge,” said Milli, “It
just has to be. The Hammer of Fire was made at the Deep Forge and
that is what my question was about.”

Petra nodded her head and looked the girl in
the eyes, “Maybe you have the gift, Milli.”

“Oh, oh no,” said the little blonde halfling
shaking her head and putting up her hands with palms towards Petra.
“It just seems obvious, that’s all.”

“The Forge is a symbol of strength,
perseverance in the face of an enemy or an obstacle. It means that
you are facing difficult times and that only by staying strong can
you hope to come out victorious. If Dol is to slay the great
elemental then it will be by force and strength.”

“That’s so true,” said Brogus. “We aren’t
going to kill something like that with a few witty insults.”

“That’s right,” said Milli nodding her head
vigorously and smiling broadly. “But, now comes the most important
set, right, Petra, the future.”

“That’s right, Milli,” said Petra. “The first
two lines merely set the stage for the question to be answered. Are
you ready to turn over your destiny?”

Milli looked at the cards, her yellow eyes
were bright, and she wore an eager grin on her face, “Let’s start
with the bad,” she said and flipped over the bottom card. The card
depicted a man crawling, fully clothed, onto the beach and a
sinking ship in the background far out to sea.

“The Survivor,” intoned Petra. “A good card
in the evil position so we can ignore it for the moment. Generally
it represents going through an ordeal.”

“Fairly appropriate,” said Dol unable to keep
the thought to himself.

“Yes, but in the wrong place so that means it
doesn’t play into the fortune,” said Petra.

“It could,” said Milli. “I mean if the other
two cards are misplaced as well, right?”

“It’s possible; shall we turn them over and
find out?”

Milli nodded and Brogus prodded her in the
shoulder with a gentle nudge of his right hand, “C’mon Milli. Get
finished so I can do it.”

“Ok, ok,” said the halfling girl with a
little grin, I’ll go with the middle one next,” and turned over the
card with a quick flip of her hand. It showed a large owl sitting
on a branch gazing out at them. “He’s so handsome,” said Milli.

“The Owl,” said Petra and paused.

“Even I could have figured out that one,”
said Brogus. “Wisdom, right?”

“Wisdom of a natural sort, yes,” replied
Petra. “In the neutral position as well which means it is in
alignment.”

“What do you mean, ‘natural sort’”, said
Milli carefully scrutinizing the card.

“The Owl holds life together but also brings
death. Like a wolf-pack taking down an elk. The pack must survive
but the elk does not. Natural wisdom means more of an instinctual
thought process,” she went on. “It means that you must trust your
instincts and not rely too much on what your intellect thinks.”

Milli nodded her head slowly and made a
little humming sound, “I see. When it comes down to Dol and the
beast I must trust myself.”

“Exactly, although we have one more card to
play and it could also be in alignment,” said Petra.

“But I like the one we just did,” said Milli,
“do I have to turn over the last card.”