The Hammer of Fire

by Tom Liberman

  “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.”

  “To do a full reading you must show all the cards,” said Petra.

  Milli gave a little snort of air out of her nose, “Ok, if you say so,” and turned over the final card as Brogus peered eagerly over her shoulder. On it was a picture of a halfling woman with a newborn baby in her arms. “Oh,” said Milli, “a mother?”

  “No,” said Petra. “The Midwife.It is a good card though and in the good position and it does depict a halfling so I’d say that it’s the most important one for the future.”

  “What does it mean?” interjected Brogus. “Tell us!”

  “It means seeing good in things and can also mean a new arrival,” said Petra.

  “Milli, is there something you haven’t told us?” said Brogus as he nudged the little halfling girl in the ribs. “You were in that tent with Petra and those bare-chested nomad guards. Did something happen we don’t know about?”

  Milli blushed a bright red, “Well, if something had happened I certainly wouldn’t be telling you about it in any case,” she said.

  “We’ll know soon enough anyway,” said Brogus with another playful dig into her side.

  “Stop poking me,” said Milli slapping at his hand.

  “Do I have to separate you children,” said Petra with a smile and a shake of her head as she began to gather up the cards.

  “You started it,” said Brogus with yet another poke.

  “How did I start it?” said Milli and gave him a poke right back. “It’s your turn to do the fortune anyway.”

  “But what does it mean?” said Brogus. “You asked if we were going to kill Gazadum.”

  “Oh, yes,” said Milli. “What’s the final answer, Petra?”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” said the witchy woman. “You have to interpret the cards yourself. I can only give you their meaning in the spread. It’s up to you to decide what they signify about the future.”

  “That’s convenient,” said Dol.

  “I never said I was any good at this,” said Petra with a shrug as she began to gather up the cards and put them back into the deck. />
  “Let me have a turn,” said Brogus.

  Milli looked at him and grinned, “But you can’t ask the same question I did.”

  “Oh, well, I can think of something else,” said Brogus.

  “You can’t ask what’s for dinner,” said Dol with a deep laugh.

  “Still trying to be funny, Dol,” said Brogus.

  “No, I thought that might be the most complex thought you were capable of,” replied Dol as he shook his head and went back to the fire.

  Brogus looked at Dol as he walked away and then turned to Milli, “What did he say?”

  Milli laughed in her musical little voice, “Nothing to worry about Brogus; you just go on and have your fortune told and ask about anything you want.”

  Hours later the four sat around the low fire and watched the stars make their nightly journey across the sky as they lay on bedrolls and talked among themselves. “It’s a beautiful night,” said Milli. “I can’t get used to all these stars.”

  “I can’t believe all these stars,” said Petra.

  “I thought you always lived outside,” said Brogus. “We dwarves of the mountain don’t see stars often. I mean the caves have their crystals and what-not but I’ve only seen the stars a dozen times in my life.”

  “No,” said Petra. “I meant to say I can’t get used to this sky. It’s so different than the northern sky. Every star is different although I keep thinking that’s one of the planets there. It’s a planet that is visible on summer evenings in the north. I guess because we’re on the opposite side its visible now. I don’t really understand but I it makes a sort of sense. When a planet is gone from one side of the world then it must be on the other.”

  Brogus made a sort of grunting sound, “It’s too confusing for me. I’ll stick with knowing that there are bunnies on both sides of the world.” With this he gave off a huge burp.

  Milli and Petra stifled giggles, “Brogus, that’s disgusting,” said the halfing girl while covering her mouth.

  “We can’t take him anywhere,” said Petra.

  “Go to sleep,” said Dol from under his own bedroll. “If we head into town in the morning we don’t know what we’ll find. It could be dangerous. We don’t speak the language.”