Hammer Out A Future (Cart-Dragger Saga Book 1) Page 15

  So then, his answer was worse than if they just settled for double teaming her. "Sorry, I can't allow that." Cart-Dragger took a deep breath, then barreled at Strength swinging her hammer like a madwoman. Weakened and caught off guard by the intensity of her assault, the giantess backpedaled. But before she could deliver a telling blow, Resolve stabbed at her from the side. She dodged by leaning back, kicked him away and returned her attention to Strength fearing she would go off and kill her friends if given a chance. "I guess I'll have to take you both on!"

  "Then you will die first!" Resolve roared. The two Virtues came at her together. She parried both their massive weapons simultaneously though the impact hurt her fingers and made her almost lose her grip, ducked under Strength's next slash and blocked Resolve's. Strength thrust at her stomach. She sidestepped, slipping out from under Resolve's heavy sword so that it slammed into the ground and cracked it. Shit, this was intense. Considering Strength had been a decent match for her alone, how long could she keep up against both of them? Their blows continued to rain down furiously, keeping her on the defensive as her speed and nimbleness barely saved her. Chased back and forth around the chamber taking minor wounds, she managed a few counterattacks, but couldn't find room to launch a sustained offense. She needed to focus even more, and push herself to a higher level. Strength and Resolve swung at her from two sides; she dove between the blades and drew her chain-attached javelin, threw it as she rolled up. Resolve batted it aside with his sword.

  "Want help?" Lars asked, but the way he and Ruth had stood back until now indicated they knew they'd be in over their heads.

  Cart-Dragger pulled on the chain, yanking the javelin back into hand. "It's too dangerous. Unless it looks like I'll fall, stay put for now."

  "You will fall," Resolve said. "It's impossible that the one of you-"

  She threw the javelin. He deflected it again, but she had dashed after it and was already within melee range. Her hammer plowed into his ribs, putting a huge dent into the armor over them and making him gasp. As he reeled away, Strength reached her. She blocked the glaive with her haft, pulled the javelin into hand and jabbed at her opponent's face. Strength mostly avoided it, the point scratching a thin red line across her cheek, but Cart-Dragger followed up with a leaping kick that warped her features. Resolve charged back into the fray, limping somewhat as he favored his side. She rolled in close under his downward chop, grabbed hold of a leg and threw him over herself. He landed well for his bulk, quickly scrambling up—but failed to react in time to the javelin she hurled into his thigh.

  "Now it's time for some pain!" Cart-Dragger yelled. She jerked Resolve off his feet and towards herself, shouting in pain. He put his sword in the way of her descending hammer, but it nonetheless crushed the blade against his chest plate and made him cough blood. Strength cut at her neck. She ducked, whipped her maul skyward in an uppercut that cracked facial bones. The giantess tottered back. Resolve stabbed up from the ground, piercing Cart-Dragger's torso. Dammit, why had that happened again... She grasped the thick blade, hand shaking.

  "Now die," he said.

  Before he could twist the sword, she brought the hammer down. It shattered his elbow, flattening the armor around it, and he screamed in utter anguish. She pulled herself off the sword and stepped back from a slash by Strength as she came to Resolve's aid. Though stricken herself with agony, as one Virtue helped the other up, she flashed them a grin. "Still think you're the best warriors in the world?"

  "It's inconceivable," Resolve muttered. "The one of you... and you're so small... how can you be this strong?"

  "The 'small' thing again? I draw my strength from my friends. You calling them weak was wrong. My strength and theirs, it's one and the same."

  She was being a tad hyperbolic when it came to her physical strength and combat prowess, but then, she wanted her companions to feel less bad about not doing anything in the second part of the fight.

  "Oh?" Strength asked. "Then let's test that claim!" She ran at Lars and Ruth.

  Cart-Dragger pounded the floor with her hammer, making it shake and Strength struggle to retain her balance. Lars and Ruth managed to wound her chest with axe and sword, and Cart-Dragger prepared to put a javelin through her back only to find herself flying backwards. Resolve used the chain attached to her quiver against her? Pretty impressive considering his destroyed arm, and fitting for his name. Dragged on her back towards him after a hard landing, she saw his sword rise over her in his good hand. Things would be looking grim... if she didn't still grip her hammer. "Reverse Meteor!" she said, and brought it sweeping up over herself. The spike end buried itself in his face. He sank towards the ground and it came out with a sick squishing sound, revealing the red and white pulp that remained. Cart-Dragger stood.

  Bleeding badly from her front, Strength knelt by Resolve's corpse, then looked up. "You really are incredible," she said with respect in her eyes. "In a different world, we could have fought side by side and learned from one another..."

  She felt the urge to taunt her by replying, "What could you possibly have to teach me?" but held it back. There was probably something she could learn given the other woman's experience. "Why do you fight for the empire, anyway?" she asked in lieu of the insult. "After the disaster it's already wrought, I don't understand why anyone would stick with it."

  "We, the Four Virtues value winning above all else. So whichever side is strongest, is the one we fight for."

  Cart-Dragger got an idea. "But since I already defeated Maximilian, wouldn't that make me stronger?"

  "So that's what he was so aggravated about," Strength mumbled. "Ability in single combat isn't all that counts. Even now what is left of the empire probably has more resources than you and your little group, and if our plan succeeds, we will easily be the greatest force in the world again."

  "I'm aware of the latter. I'm a duchess though, so I may have more resources than you think. How about this, then? If I foil Maximilian's plans and bring him down for good, will you acknowledge us to be stronger and come work for me?"

  Lars' jaw dropped. "What?!"

  She smiled in response. "There's no personal grudge between me and her, or you and her I imagine. She would make a powerful ally, so if we could join forces, why not?"

  "B-but she's one of the Four Virtues, the generals of the Red Empire who led it to war and ruin..."

  "Rumor had it that way, and we heard Maximilian say it"—she rolled her eyes—"yet I kind of doubt a bunch of generals could hold that much sway if the emperor truly disapproved. It sounds good in a story, and I'm sure the imperial heir is eager to lay the blame on someone besides his father, but tell us Strength, was it really so?"

  She shrugged. "We wanted to fight. It didn't take any special convincing for them to send us out to do so, though."

  "I expected as much. Well, what do you think of my offer?"

  "It seems reasonable. I'll consider it if you're able to do what you say." She limped away, looking humbled and sad.

  Allen woke, and having missed the conversation asked, "Why you letting her go? You could finish her, right?"

  "I probably could. But there's still some fight left in her, so I might get hurt more in the process. Besides, it appears she's open to becoming our ally in the future."

  "How do you know she won't continue fighting for the empire against us?" Scott asked.

  "I didn't get the impression she will. I mean, she could. But I had a feeling like she would sit things out until she saw what the outcome was."

  "Just a feeling? That doesn't sound too trustworthy."

  "We'll see, I suppose. I am also pretty hurt, so I wasn't that eager to continue fighting if it could be helped."

  Lars looked doubtfully at her. "You seem like the last person who would let that deter you. Are you sure you aren't just showing favoritism towards another woman warrior?"

  "Stop kidding. I didn't end up killing that Neverwrong guy either."

  "That took a little more convincing, tho
ugh."

  "Whatever."

  He came to her side and examined her abdominal wound. "By the way, are you okay? This looks rather gruesome."

  "It's a little off center, not as bad as some I've had. Besides, you know me. I eat stabs like candy." She winked. "I'm more concerned about the rest of you."

  Ruth touched the gash on her chest. "I'm fine. It's not too deep."

  "I feel nauseous," Allen said, still belly down. He pushed his head up a bit off the ground, then puked.

  Scott sat holding his head. "Mine's probably not as bad as his. I'll live." But he still looked miserable.

  "Guess I'm the lucky one," Lars mused.

  They took a few minutes to recover, then walked towards the double ring structure standing in the center of the titanic chamber. It rose higher than any building Cart-Dragger had seen, aside from the very one it stood in. The dark gray metal rings set into the floor lay still now, but she imagined they would turn when it was in operation—otherwise, it would be hard to fathom the purpose of having two one inside the other. "I'm not sure we'd have much luck trying to destroy that," Cart-Dragger said.

  "What do we do now?" Ruth asked. "If they're trying to fix this one, maybe we should wait here for the rest of them to come back."

  She shook her head. "No, I think it's probable they'll have a way of knowing this location has been compromised—like maybe one of those archers we killed would be on guard and greet them when they arrive normally, and when they aren't... Just waiting here for them would likely be pointless. We'd be better off examining the Rings and seeing what materials they might still need to repair it—right Scott?"

  "I'm on it." He used his books and instruments to determine what the Rings was composed of. When he finished, he said, "The bulk of it seems to be normal iron, with condutin to amplify the magic drawn from the core, transmium rods to spread the command signal around the world, and absorption nodes to keep the whole thing from overloading. But another important thing is, I could only determine most of this through the residue of parts that have already been removed or fused together into useless alloys. There's no usable condutin or transmium here, and the absorption nodes are long burned out. I don't think they mean to restore this Rings. They salvaged what they could and intend to build a new one elsewhere."

  "Then what were the Four—er, two Virtues doing here along with those archers?" Allen asked. "Was it a trap for whoever came to investigate?"

  Cart-Dragger replied, "Seems so. Maybe they even anticipated us coming here."

  "So now what?"

  She looked to Scott and Ruth for their knowledge and experience with the empire respectively. "Do you guys know where we might find transmium or absorption nodes around here? Maybe even condutin too, although I suspect they might've gotten that from somewhere else by now."

  "According to the books," Scott recalled, "transmium is usually mined from volcanoes, and absorption nodes are made from crystals found under the ocean."

  Ruth frowned in thought. "I'd imagine they might save getting the absorption nodes for last then, unless there are some already made in storage somewhere? As for volcanoes, well, the one that destroyed my village isn't that far away..."

  "Then they might be mining the transmium from there," Cart-Dragger said. She placed a hand on Ruth's shoulder. "Is it all right? You don't have to come if you don't want."

  "No, it's fine. I'm not a child who needs to be shielded from reality, that should be pretty obvious. Besides, maybe I'll find my parents and get to bury them."

  "If that's what you desire, I hope you do."

  After patching up their wounds as best they could, they left the giant fortress and journeyed west towards Ruth's hometown. Allen complained about headaches from Strength's blow which made Lars worry, and Cart-Dragger as well. Since he had suffered serious head trauma before, they didn't know how many more concussive impacts he could endure without going into a coma or worse. She offered to let him ride in her cart, but he refused. So there was nothing they could do, other than wish for him to feel better.

  Little more than a week later they came to a land of deep ash, which their boots sank into like snow while they trudged on. A relatively short but wide mountain loomed in the distance. "That's the volcano?" Cart-Dragger asked.

  Ruth swallowed. "Yeah."

  As they drew closer, the outlines of buildings could be seen at its foot. Allen looked at Ruth. "Is that your village?"

  Instead of taking on the sad expression Cart-Dragger expected, however, her eyes narrowed. "Our houses were wood, they shouldn't have survived the eruption. Somebody else built those."

  Scott chewed on his nails. "They must've already begun mining."

  "Then we'll crush their little operation!" Cart-Dragger said. In a lower voice, she added, "I just hope they don't have anyone as strong as the Virtues guarding it."

  "They were the empire's strongest fighters," Lars reassured her, "and you already handed them their rears. So probably not."

  They approached the cluster of buildings and spotted dirty men pushing wheelbarrows full of greenish rocks from the direction of the mountain. "The workers might not be blameworthy," Ruth pointed out, "since they could be coerced or not know the purpose of their work. So just barging in and killing everyone may not be the best idea."

  Cart-Dragger agreed, "You're right. We should find out who's in charge, if we get them to submit that should be the end of it."

  "Also," Scott suggested, "maybe instead of announcing our presence like you tend to, we should look around and get a better sense of things first? It would be good to know where things are stored, how many people are around, what kind of opposition we might face, and so on before doing anything."

  "I could probably walk in and handle everybody there without a problem, but it's possible they have something nasty in store for us. Fine, let's do it your way." She smiled. "If we're going to sneak around, I guess I'll have to leave my wagon."

  They hid the cart behind a boulder and crept towards the mining camp. Darting from behind one building to another, they took in the number of men outside, how many were armed, and which buildings were used for what as best they could. There seemed to be at least thirty miners, but less than ten guards. Of course, more of either could be indoors. They identified the living quarters, storehouses, and a medical station, but another large building's function remained a mystery.

  "What do you think that's for?" Cart-Dragger asked.

  "It could be where they extract the metal from the ore," Lars said. "I don't imagine transporting the whole rocks far would be practical."

  Scott added, "Yeah, I heard the concentration of transmium is very small even in rock where it's present. Hence why they have to dig so much just for enough to make the rods needed."

  "I see," Cart-Dragger said. "I wonder where their leader is?"

  "You need wonder no more," a voice replied from above. She looked up, and anger tinted her vision red. Maximilian Rouge stood atop the unidentified building gazing down. "You got past the Virtues? Remarkable. You should not waste your talents opposing-"

  "Shut up! Nothing you say will keep you from going down now!" She sprinted towards the building upon which he stood.

  Ruth asked, "Wait, shouldn't we be a little more..." She was probably looking for a word similar to "patient" or "cautious" but trailed off as Maximilian pointed his fist downward.

  The world exploded beneath Cart-Dragger.

  Chapter 10

  Cart-Dragger waited for Maximilian's fist to tighten and jumped. As she had figured out the timing of his attack, the blast he conjured exploded below her feet as she ascended instead of around her. She caught hold of a second story windowsill, pulled herself upward and quickly climbed onto the roof. "I'm going to kill you!" She charged him. "How are you still so pretty?" she snarled. "Shouldn't I have at least given you some scars like you did me?"

  "My water magic allows me to heal better than most." He leapt away to another roof. It surprised her how easily
he seemed to cross the gap, considering he hadn't appeared physically superior to her. Maybe he used magic to make himself lighter. She took a running start and jumped after him, making the roof shake when she landed on it harder than he had. She swung her maul, but he bounded again to a different roof before it could connect. "Why are you running, stand and face me!" As she tried to follow, he aimed his fist at her, but she threw a javelin and interrupted his spell by forcing him to dodge. She landed next to him too close to properly use the hammer, elbowed him in the temple. Sent sprawling, he raised an open hand towards her and lightning crackled mere feet above her head. It rained down, enveloping her in what resembled a cage of thin bolts, and her body spasmed painfully from the shocks.

  She powered through it and struck Maximilian with her hammer, though he turned enough so it hit him in the shoulder instead of a more important part. He stumbled towards the edge, looking like he might fall over. Just before he would have, he regained his balance and launched himself through the air again, this time sailing away from the roof in the direction of the mountain. Dammit, how did he land so lightly from such a long drop? Well, it was probably the same thing that let him leap far. She gritted her teeth and dashed after him.

  "Willow, where are you going?" Scott asked.

  "To kill that devil!"

  "But what should we do?"

  "Just watch the workers! Make sure they don't escape with the metal!" she shouted right before she jumped.

  If he uttered a response, she didn't hear it. The impact of her feet on the ground jarred her legs; she rolled and came up running. "Are you that scared?" she spat at Maximilian's fleeing back. She threw another javelin.

  He spun and deflected it with his sword. "Scared? Not at all. I wanted us to be able to fight away from your friends so the risk to them wouldn't hinder your concentration."

  "Don't mock me!" She closed with him, and he met her. They exchanged ringing strokes for moments before a heavy strike from her hammer drove him back. He summoned a spike of earth from the ground which she broke before it could impale her, but delayed her momentarily as he turned and ran. "Again?" While her hatred of him continued to heat her back, she also felt the growing lesser emotion of annoyance. This wasn't the way she'd envisioned her next confrontation with her nemesis. She caught up to him and tried to bash in his chest from the side, but he blocked with his sword and let the momentum of the blow carry him backwards away from her. That stupid lightness magic... "Why are you being so elusive?" she demanded. "You didn't fight like this the last time."