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
