Hammer Out A Path (Cart-Dragger Saga Book 2)

by Billy Wong

What, does it not feed your pride to prove yourself against such tremendous foes?

  "Yes, a little but... it was much better when I could fight them one on one and not as members of two opposing forces. Thousands of people have died in this conflict already, I can't celebrate my feats in light of that. I want peace now, and for our poor region to have a chance to recover and rebuild."

  Hearing her choked up voice, Lars and then Ruth patted her back. "It'll be alright," Lars said, "we'll pull through as we always do. You're the strongest warrior in the world after all, and have plenty of steadfast friends backing you up."

  She brightened up a tad, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "You're probably right that we'll get through. I just hope we can protect enough of the people that we have a future, though." She turned to Vana. "Say, I have a new idea. We have friends waiting nearby, elementals who helped us travel here. Maybe I could send the fastest of them to check on Athendar while I begin the meditation training. It should only take her a couple days to get there and back, and if everything's fine, I can stay here and continue my lessons."

  Still eager to be rid of me, are you?

  "You brought it on yourself jumping uninvited into my head."

  She had Ruth deliver her request to E, who agreed to it and flew back towards Athendar. She told Vana she was ready to start, and the woman invited her into her hut to sit down on the sheet of heavy cloth that passed for a bed. She produced two long, hollow tubes from a stout chest, bent at the wider end to somewhat resemble a ladle, and handed one to Cart-Dragger. "What's this?"

  The Queen of Mercy sprinkled dry flakes of... something from a jar into the depression past the bend. "Put the other end to your mouth. We burn herbs in these, and inhale the smoke as we do. It will relax you, and help you open your mind to our teachings."

  "Er, I don't know if this sounds the most conducive towards focus."

  I was thinking the same thing. But by all means, go ahead.

  "The first step will be to clear your mind. In that, this will aid you." Vana lit the pipe, and Cart-Dragger thought about pushing it away. But then she figured she might as well give it a try, put the narrower end to her mouth and sucked in a breath. The smoke entering her made her feel light, like the weight of all her worries was lifted off. She slouched down there on the floor at ease, while Vana did the same with her own pipe. "Now close your eyes and think not of anything, just feel your own existence."

  Yet even with the drug, after a few minutes she felt like it wasn't going to happen. She tried to just see the darkness behind her eyelids and think of nothing else, but thoughts kept creeping into her mind, both serious and not so much. Was Athendar okay, was it being attacked and she should be speeding back instead of sitting pretty? Her more conservative friends, like Gene and Mindy, would probably think she looked silly right now. "I don't know if this is going to work," she said opening her eyes. "Maybe this isn't for me."

  "Always thinking, are you?" Vana studied her face, her own gaze hazy. "I would not have taken you for such a thoughtful person."

  It could've been viewed as an insult, but Cart-Dragger remembered they were both under the influence of the drug and let it go. "They're not all important thoughts. Some of them are trivial, but still, I have a lot of mental energy to go with the physical."

  "Patience, child. You're a leader, aren't you? You should know some good things take time."

  "You're right." She supposed she had been skeptical ever since Vana brought out the pipes, and should probably give it more of a chance. "How old are you anyway," she asked out of curiosity, "calling me a child? Have you led the druids since the beginning or what?"

  A sly grin played across the woman's face. "If I answered all such intrusive questions, what mystery would be left around our order? Let's just say I've led them for a long time, and leave it at that."

  The best guess Cart-Dragger could make was that she was in her late thirties to early forties, but she might be off by quite a ways in either direction. She wanted to ask if Vana had always lived here, or at least since before the world's near end, but doubted she would give a proper answer to that either. She did feel more comfortable around her than she'd thought she would upon hearing that "Queen of Mercy" moniker. "Can you humor me with the origin of your title, at least? You seem more down to earth than that, but Queen of Mercy almost sounds like one being held up as a false god."

  She broke into vibrant laughter. "I agree it's a bit over-lofty. It was chosen simply to bolster our leader's credibility in the minds of outsiders. With your kings and queens and emperors, we concluded a 'queen' of our own would convey a beneficial air of authority among those who heard of us."

  "Oh... that's not a bad reason. Why mercy, though? Wait, I have an idea. What do you druids eat?"

  "Very perceptive," Vana said with a smile. "We eat mainly things grown from the earth, and do not kill for meat. That along with our nurturing of plants accounts for our official name, The Merciful. Occasionally we may indulge in the flesh of an animal we happen upon already dying of old age or injury, but even that is marked with a celebration of the cycle of life."

  Cart-Dragger asked the question that had nagged at her since she began suspecting something like this would be the answer. "Do you get enough nourishment eating so little meat? I don't know if I could live that way. To me, meat seems to give me the energy I need to be what I am."

  "Well, if that isn't a fancy way of putting it. With adequate knowledge of plants, we can stay strong—not as strong as you perhaps, but strong enough. I won't stop you from eating meat here if you want though, as long as it's meat you brought with you."

  She had been wondering if she would have to sneak jerky out of her pack. Only eating what she brought could be problematic during an extended stay for meditation training, though. She feared she'd weaken from abstaining from meat for long, and one thing she always needed ready access to was her strength, along with her hammer. "I'll continue this training until E gets back. If no progress has been made by then, I might have to reevaluate things."

  "Do you know of any other means to rid yourself of Maximilian's shade?"

  "No, not really. But then, have you ever actually seen a possessing spirit exorcised this way?"

  Vana's expression grew hard to read. "There are known instances of such being driven out by focused will." Yet that left whether or not her group's specific techniques would help up in the air.

  "I'm grateful for the aid you've offered, but as I said, I'll have to think about how to proceed from here on out."

  After a moment, Vana said, "That is fine. It's wise for a leader to not let any one thing carry too much weight in their decisions. However, I hope you'll ponder carefully if this is an opportunity you want to let slip away."

  "It's not as if this place is going anywhere." I hope you won't be so petty as to hold not giving highest priority to your meditation techniques against me, she left unsaid. "I'll probably come back to give it another go, unless these two days are really discouraging, but there are other considerations I need to account for." She pictured a cart full of preserved meat, so she wouldn't turn feeble by her standards for lack of fuel.

  "I understand. I wish you the best in your training—now, should we get back to it?"

  Indeed, let's continue getting absent-minded inhaling burnt herbs, Maximilian put in.

  She had to agree with him once again that this was something of a questionable setup. Still, "Yes, and I'll do my best to make this work." She closed her eyes again and resumed attempting to clear her head of thoughts to little avail, hoping in the meantime for E to return with good news.

  "By the way," Vana said, "one other thing. You killed what you assume to be the new King Elemental of Water, did you not?" She nodded. "If you can bring its core here, it is possible we might be able to figure something out from it that could help you."

  "I don't know where the core is now. I told them in Athendar to cut Tentacle Nest to pieces to facilitate getting rid of the corp
se. Even if the core isn't sitting at the bottom of the ocean right now, finding a way to get it into the valley might be difficult depending on its size. But I'll see what we can come up with."

  Chapter 7

  After several hours of trying, Cart-Dragger finally cleared her head enough that she thought she could get away with saying it was fully clear and progress to the next part of training. While she might not have been completely honest, who could manage not to think at all when awake and talking at that? Vana began telling her how she should feel, repeatedly claiming she was getting sleepy even though she wasn't. At first it confused her, but then she realized she had heard about something like this. Vana attempted to use the power of suggestion on her? Though rare, some had utilized such techniques in the old world to improve their confidence and resolve basically by convincing themselves they should have more, or so Jen told her. Why start by making her sleepy, though? Perhaps Vana tested her receptiveness to it, but so far that didn't seem to be going well.

  "You're not very sleepy, are you?" Vana said eventually, probably noticing her lack of a slumping body or relaxed muscles.

  "Yeah, this isn't very effective. I don't know if it can work on me."

  "Is it a matter of can't, or won't? Of course it won't work, given how strong willed you are, if you don't let it—consciously or otherwise. You have to trust me and allow me to guide you."

  Why should she already trust Vana so completely though, when they'd only met earlier today? To put herself under the control of another would be like what Maximilian wanted, only without resistance from her. Should she really do it, especially in a way that would render her most vulnerable? "I'm not the most comfortable with the idea of somebody being able to tell me to sleep at will. Can we try some other thing to suggest, like maybe making me feel even more... er I mean, just more confident, or at least something less unnerving like feeling cooler in this smoke-filled hut?"

  "I will hardly murder you in your sleep, if that's what you're thinking."

  "That's not exactly what I fear right now, although since you mention it that would be a possibility too. It's more the power of suggestion over me being increased... I don't want to think someone might tell me something in a fight one day, and I'll just crumble because of it."

  Vana giggled, a somewhat surprising sound, but maybe it reflected how childlike she found Cart-Dragger's way of thinking. "That is not quite how it works. Even if you open yourself up here, it will be different should someone try similar on the battlefield, where you would have your guard up and be naturally inclined to resist. You would not become incredibly susceptible just because you let it happen now. But if it's your wish to work on a less risky-sounding alternative, I have no problem doing so. We are here to help you, after all."

  "Yeah, I'd like it if you could say suggest that I feel cooler instead of go to sleep."

  The druid changed her approach as requested, and Cart-Dragger tried her best to give it a chance. However, the suggestion still couldn't get her to not be hot. She wondered if it was really her thoughts that interfered, or she still subconsciously resisted giving in to such an influence. A night and half the next morning of futility later, she again settled on saying it worked so she could see the next step. Maybe if it appealed enough to her, she could get herself to properly open up. She wondered whether Maximilian knew how badly she failed at this, though. If he could feel that she hadn't gotten any cooler and was still sweating a river under her clothes, he would probably laugh at her.

  From there on Vana kept telling her she was strong and unconquerable, and that her body was her own. While she knew she was quite strong and hoped she would prove unconquerable, hearing it over and over felt awkward and bordering on hubris, except for the fact she wasn't the one who said it. She guessed it was intended to bolster her resolve, but made her cringe instead... she suspected Vana would try to teach her to do this herself, which tempted her to stop altogether. On the off chance it might actually work though, she pressed onward.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when Lars and Ruth, who had left to await E's return, came into the village the next day. This would give her an excuse to take a break from the meditation and think more clearly about it. She attempted not to let her frustration show, though, when she met her friends. "I take it E is back? What news, has there been another attack?"

  "No, things have been calm thus far." Ruth sniffed the air. "The smell on you makes me feel woozy..."

  Lars slapped her back. "What, is the oh-so-tough and hardened warrioress that sensitive to some herb scents?"

  "I didn't say I don't like it. It's a comfortable wooziness."

  It would have been soothing to Cart-Dragger too, if not for the circumstances under which she'd acquired it. The relaxing effect wasn't quite enough to overcome the frustration of her hope for getting rid of Maximilian seemingly going up in "smoke." Those techniques appeared so basic and unimpressive, it became increasingly hard for her to imagine them actually being sufficient to exorcise him. He probably was snickering at her inwardly, though she wouldn't have expected him to stay so quiet. "What about Tentacle Nest's body? Have they gotten rid of it yet?"

  "E didn't mention it," Lars said, "since it wasn't one of the questions we had. Why the sudden interest in it when you approved of just dumping it in the sea before?"

  "Vana says it might be possible to learn something from the core, so I'm hoping they haven't sent it to the depths yet."

  "Ah. Let's go ask E and hope she noticed if the corpse was still there."

  They headed back through the cavern leading to the valley and met E outside the mountains. She reported she had glimpsed Tentacle Nest's carcass still lying near the docks as she passed over the city, but didn't know when they might start taking it apart for disposal. "I'm kind of surprised they haven't yet," Cart-Dragger said, "considering the stink it would make. I suppose it's a lot of work, but we better hurry back before they get around to doing it."

  The trio mounted E and the bird-lizards and flew for Athendar. Along the way Lars expressed his disappointment at not having learned anything about how to treat Allen's condition during their stay with the Merciful, and Cart-Dragger comforted him. As they approached the port, they didn't see the still corpse where it should be—but instead spotted a writhing mass in the middle of the city, gargantuan tentacles turning any buildings they touched into rubble as they flailed about. "It's... revived..." Ruth said, mouth agape.

  On one hand, they'd known about water elementals' incredible healing capabilities. But Cart-Dragger had killed Leviathan in a similar way, and she stayed dead. Maybe it was because of the metal plates that replaced her hide hindering the old King Elemental's regeneration, or perhaps the new generation was superior in some ways. She wondered how many had already died, and the damage to structures looked to be extensive. Much of the city between the ocean and Tentacle Nest's current position lay in ruins. Her chest tightened with guilt, and she felt irresponsible. She should've made more sure somehow... she should have taken out the core, which would certainly be the end of the elemental. Protector of humanity? If people actually bought into that, this was their wakeup call not to rely on her...

  "What do we do?" E asked. "We're going to fly past it at this rate."

  She drew her hammer. "Take me down there," she growled, voice thick, "and I'll make sure it never hurts a human being again."

  E dove at the squidlike titan. It saw them coming and stretched massive limbs up. Cart-Dragger jumped off E while shouting, "Rise!" Two tentacles passed by her, but might have caught her winged ally had she not swung her maul left and right, bashing great dents into them. Falling the height of a decent sized tower, she hit the pavement with a grunt and rolled upright. "Tentacle Nest, you are mine!"

  "The little insect dares to return. What, do you offer yourself as a sacrifice to appease me so your fellow puny humans can be spared? Your intentions are in vain! Nothing will stop me from destroying this city and every human in it."

  As up
set as she was over failing to ensure the populace's safety from Tentacle Nest, she cracked a smile. "Has almost dying driven you insane? You've lost repeatedly to me before, what makes you think this time will be any different?"

  Its appendages twitched as with annoyance. "I had scarcely been born when I faced you before. With each battle, each day of life even, I learn more. You have not scratched even the surface of my potential. I will defeat you today... if I reached my peak, I could defeat every warrior of your race at once!"

  "You know, that is..." She put a finger to her chin as if in thought, then started to laugh. "That is really unrealistic! You may have a slight point about experience, but your predecessor Leviathan was alive for much longer than me and I still took her. I'm, as much as I don't think I'm necessarily better than anyone, not a normal person you know. I'm strong, and maybe I was destined to defend humankind against those who would bully it like you. Whether or not that's the case, I'll stop you now."

  "But what if I show you how powerless you are to do that?" It raised two of its tentacles which it had kept resting against the ground. Her mouth grew dry as she saw under them numerous bodies, divided evenly between men, women and children, but all dressed in ordinary clothes—more likely than not noncombatants who wouldn't have a clue how to defend themselves even if they got a chance, and must've died in terror praying for somebody to save them. She hadn't been there, her reach being far too short for such a lofty role as she tried to give herself. She was so limited, and her pretensions just that... what reason should anyone have to trust her?

  Lars and Ruth shot their crossbow and bow respectively at Tentacle Nest, but it barely seemed to feel their projectiles stick in its arms. "Wait your turn, weak humans. After I squash your short friend, then you can die at my hand." A tentacle rose, casting its shadow over Cart-Dragger. She prepared to react to its attack. Even if she might not be the ideal champion of her kind, she would hardly stand there and die just because she felt remorseful.