Chapter 57: Right! The Hammer
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Chapter 57: Right! The Hammer
More than an hour later, Tala felt like she couldnt lift her head, let alone her arms, and she lay, sprawled on the roof of the wagon once more.
This was not her first break.
While she recovered, Ashin stretched and drank from a waterskin that hed brought. Youre improving, but I think you might be overdoing it.
She groaned. The ending-berries, it seemed, did not prevent her from working the muscles. That would have been a disaster. No, you cant get stronger while were here! Though, the muscles did seem to be prevented from tearing. Thats useful. I cant overwork themat least not in that way.
To her surprise, the ending-berries power had been draining away at a steady, if miniscule, rate over the past hour, and when she investigated, during one of her gasping respites, shed found that the power was being funneled through her regenerative spell-forms and reflected away from her skin, into her muscles, causing them to recover in minutes from what should have taken days.
And thats a secondary effect. I cant wait until the muscles, themselves, are inscribed and are powered properly.
Even so, she was at her limit. One more. She tried to sit up. She failed.
Den called back. Were about to make camp, so expect a bit more side-to-side movement from the wagon pretty soon.
Tala waved his way, or at least she tried. Her hand mainly just flopped a bit at her side. Thank you, Den. I guess we have to call it a day, eh?
Ashin snorted a laugh. Honestly, I expected us to be done nearly an hour ago?
She glared at him. You think so little of me?
He held up his hands placatingly. Not at all. Sparring is really taxing. And what were doing it closer to full on fighting. You can take hits; Ill give you that. Id say it was your magic, but I dont see any spell-forms active. He genuinely sounded impressed. They would be glowing right? Like when that plant attacked you? Or the thunder bull?
You are quite right. No glowing, no magicfor the most part. She pulled out her flask and took a drink. An extra cup, today, wont kill me. Liquid courage.
He gave her a flat look. There is no way youre drunk. He sniffed the air. Theres no alcohol in that at all.
What are you, some sort of bloodhound?
He grunted, standing from where hed been stretching. Want help up?
Dont you dare.
He grinned down at her. Im going to go get cleaned up. My shift starts after dinner.
She groaned rolling over and pushing herself up into a seated position. How are you not exhausted?
Well, I wasnt just kicked, punched, thrown, and placed into innumerable locks and holds. He shook his head. You really should have at least a few bruises. I was trying to pull my hits, but Im not perfect at that.
She shrugged. Ill be fine. That doesnt answer my question, though; you were moving at least as much as I was. Slippery rust bucket. I didnt even get a single solid hit on you.
He grinned at that. You landed a few glancing blows. You are improving much faster than normal. He gave her a questioning look, but when she didnt respond, he shrugged. As to my weariness? Training. Lots and lots of training. I ran twenty miles each day that we were in Alefast, as a warm-up. This is my job, Mistress Tala. I have to be able to fight for as long as it takes to keep this caravan safe. He hesitated. What did you do, while we were in Alefast?
She sighed, thinking of the ending-berry grove. Mostly hunted up tasty food.
He snorted another laugh. There you go. He shrugged. This is known as a safer route, and we still had fighting almost every day. You might be aware, but some arcanous creatures can take hours to bring down. They arent tough enough to warrant the expense of Mage involvement, so we have to be able to go toe-to-toe with them and bring victory. They arent very common, but we have to be ready.
That sounds horrible. Well, you seem well suited to it.
He smiled gratefully, seeming to stand a bit straighter. Ive really got to go.
She waved goodbye. Thank you, Ashin.
He simply nodded, climbing down the ladder.
A minute or so after Ashin had departed, Den turned to glance her way. Sonot a suitor?
She glowered. No, Den.
A small smile was evident across his features. You spend more than an hour getting sweaty with a man, and you want me to believe theres nothing there.
Youre making it weird, Den.
He shrugged. Fine, fine. But if you were my daughter, Id be giving that young man a stern talking to. Because, in all likelihood, hes thinking along those lines. His voice lost some of its mirth. Also, he was far too ready to hit you.
She sighed. He asked to spar, Den. That's where his mind was. I hope. As to hitting me: I asked him to. Besides, Im fine. She gestured to herself, but he wasnt looking. Thank you for the concern, though.
He grunted. I dont want to see you get hurt, and I dont just mean physically. After a moment, he added. And you are making my trip much more complicated. You know, I come on these for some time away. He gave her a mock-stern look over his shoulder.
She held up her hands. Fair, fair. If you ever want me to go elsewhere, just say so.
When the two searching tendrils met, Tala seized the power. This was only possible because the tendrils from the tunic and pants had reached up, into her hand of their own accord, trying to get an advantage on the other item in acquiring power.
Thus, with the power now within herself, she had mastery over it. In an effort of will, she flipped the tendrils together, turning them back on themselves and forming a very rudimentary facsimile of a now familiar shape: an Archon star. The book had called it a binding knot only describing it in how it differed from an Archon star. This would be useless to me if I didnt know that spell-formis that why it isnt restricted knowledge? The result was much simpler than the Archon stars shed made.
Aside from her familiarity with a very similar spell-form, she somehow felt that the process was made almost trivially easy because the two garments had been one, previously, when they were still a part of the immortal elk. Got it, dont expect such an easy time, in the future.
The spell-form complete, three things happened:
First, a knot-shaped, bright brand seemed to blossom into existence on each garment simultaneously before fading once more from normal sight. To her mage-sight, they seemed to have but one brand, spread across both pieces, and that didnt fade.
Second, what had been two shallow puddles of power splashed together, clashing and swirling into a single much deeper basin. It didnt quite seem to reside in either part while, at the same time, was clearly within both. It was like looking at a fountain cross-eyed. She saw two, while knowing they were one and the same.
Third, the clothing moved around her, seeming almost to flow over her for a brief instant as the magical and physical manifestations of the two items became briefly malleable.
It was a surprisingly intimate experience, like witnessing a baby being born or attending a wedding. And two have become one, and out of the two come a new creation. She smiled. This, this is real magic.
She laughed out loud at that. Sure, manipulating fundamental forces of the universe is a neat trick, but Ive made my clothing harmonize!
She laughed again, with a snort.
Still, the working felt like something deeper than manipulating gravity. Something more potent. She couldnt explain it, even to herself.
She closed her books and her notes, the task complete, and stored them in Kit.
That done, she placed her right hand back where it had been, intuitively knowing that that was the right place, and pushed power into the leather.
It drank in the power, taking at least four times more than the two pieces had before, combined. That should give it more staying power She grinned. And, so long as a scrap survives of either, both should be able to regrow, with the application of enough power. That was a relief. Shed been mildly concerned that something would wholly eliminate just one piece, leaving her in a state of perpetual half-nakedness, whenever she went through damaging experiences. Never again!
Her dinner done and the binding of the items complete, she leaned back, satisfied. Id been planning on doing something after dinnerwhat was it She couldnt remember.
She took her dishes back to the chuckwagon and dealt with them there, quickly returning to her wagon to avoid interacting with anyone.
She was about to climb back up, when her eye caught sight of a particularly interesting rock formation, and that tickled something in the back of her mind.
It was something to do with rocks?
Right! The hammer. She pulled out the hammer and examined it. Shed already topped off its power, though she really wasnt sure why it needed it. Not like Ive used you
From examining the portions of its magic, which she could see, it appeared that it would take most of any force exerted on its striking surfaces and send it back, so long as someone wielded it with intention.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If she understood it correctly, that should mean that any blow would have nearly double the force that would have been delivered by a normal hammer, used with the same strength.
Huh. Why would the hammer stop moving, then? If the hammer didnt have full force exerted against it, it should continue, barely slowed. Would that mean it would continue to exert nearly the same force, which would again have a reactionary force applied against it? The magic would then turn most of that around, with the hammer still barely being slowed
It was a dizzying concept, that she couldnt quite fathom, but if she was understanding it correctly, it would make any simple strike into an almost infinite string of hits, possibly repeating endlessly, forever, until the wielder pulled the hammer back or the object struck moved or was destroyed. Or until the iterating force diminished so much that it was virtually meaningless. After all, all objects resting on the ground were constantly exerting downward force, and that didnt crack the world.
Even so, how can that be correct? Only one way to find out.
She walked over to a small, plain looking rock and started by striking it with the butt of the hammers handle. There was a soft, but not quiet, ring of metal on stone, just as expected. The rock, which was barely bigger than her head, was virtually undamaged, though there was a small speck of lighter rock where the metal handle had made contact.
Ok. Thats the baseline, I guess? She then moved with the same gentle motion to tap with the hammers face.
The sound of a thousand small raps- no, a million. More? -rang out in a single long peel as the rock seemed to vibrate, skittering across the ground out of the way as the hammer continued, virtually unimpeded, into the dirt.
When it hit the dirt, there was a burst of wet earth, and the hammer came to rest, head completely buried.
She pulled back, and the earth vibrated around the metal, allowing the hammer to come free easily.
She examined the rock, finding a line of lightened material where the hammer had skittered down the surface. Fascinating.
She clicked her tongue, considering. So, that was a soft tap. What does a normal strike do?
She pulled her arm back and struck a true blow against the rock.
There was a crack like thunder, which her enhanced mind was able to distinguish as more than a dozen overlapping hits coming nearly simultaneously.
The rock exploded, and the world went black.
Pain.
Pain filled her dark world, and she was greeted with the crystal-clear memory of rock shards zipping outwards in all directions, including straight into her eyes.
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Chapter 57: Right! The Hammer
More than an hour later, Tala felt like she couldnt lift her head, let alone her arms, and she lay, sprawled on the roof of the wagon once more.
This was not her first break.
While she recovered, Ashin stretched and drank from a waterskin that hed brought. Youre improving, but I think you might be overdoing it.
She groaned. The ending-berries, it seemed, did not prevent her from working the muscles. That would have been a disaster. No, you cant get stronger while were here! Though, the muscles did seem to be prevented from tearing. Thats useful. I cant overwork themat least not in that way.
To her surprise, the ending-berries power had been draining away at a steady, if miniscule, rate over the past hour, and when she investigated, during one of her gasping respites, shed found that the power was being funneled through her regenerative spell-forms and reflected away from her skin, into her muscles, causing them to recover in minutes from what should have taken days.
And thats a secondary effect. I cant wait until the muscles, themselves, are inscribed and are powered properly.
Even so, she was at her limit. One more. She tried to sit up. She failed.
Den called back. Were about to make camp, so expect a bit more side-to-side movement from the wagon pretty soon.
Tala waved his way, or at least she tried. Her hand mainly just flopped a bit at her side. Thank you, Den. I guess we have to call it a day, eh?
Ashin snorted a laugh. Honestly, I expected us to be done nearly an hour ago?
She glared at him. You think so little of me?
He held up his hands placatingly. Not at all. Sparring is really taxing. And what were doing it closer to full on fighting. You can take hits; Ill give you that. Id say it was your magic, but I dont see any spell-forms active. He genuinely sounded impressed. They would be glowing right? Like when that plant attacked you? Or the thunder bull?
You are quite right. No glowing, no magicfor the most part. She pulled out her flask and took a drink. An extra cup, today, wont kill me. Liquid courage.
He gave her a flat look. There is no way youre drunk. He sniffed the air. Theres no alcohol in that at all.
What are you, some sort of bloodhound?
He grunted, standing from where hed been stretching. Want help up?
Dont you dare.
He grinned down at her. Im going to go get cleaned up. My shift starts after dinner.
She groaned rolling over and pushing herself up into a seated position. How are you not exhausted?
Well, I wasnt just kicked, punched, thrown, and placed into innumerable locks and holds. He shook his head. You really should have at least a few bruises. I was trying to pull my hits, but Im not perfect at that.
She shrugged. Ill be fine. That doesnt answer my question, though; you were moving at least as much as I was. Slippery rust bucket. I didnt even get a single solid hit on you.
He grinned at that. You landed a few glancing blows. You are improving much faster than normal. He gave her a questioning look, but when she didnt respond, he shrugged. As to my weariness? Training. Lots and lots of training. I ran twenty miles each day that we were in Alefast, as a warm-up. This is my job, Mistress Tala. I have to be able to fight for as long as it takes to keep this caravan safe. He hesitated. What did you do, while we were in Alefast?
She sighed, thinking of the ending-berry grove. Mostly hunted up tasty food.
He snorted another laugh. There you go. He shrugged. This is known as a safer route, and we still had fighting almost every day. You might be aware, but some arcanous creatures can take hours to bring down. They arent tough enough to warrant the expense of Mage involvement, so we have to be able to go toe-to-toe with them and bring victory. They arent very common, but we have to be ready.
That sounds horrible. Well, you seem well suited to it.
He smiled gratefully, seeming to stand a bit straighter. Ive really got to go.
She waved goodbye. Thank you, Ashin.
He simply nodded, climbing down the ladder.
A minute or so after Ashin had departed, Den turned to glance her way. Sonot a suitor?
She glowered. No, Den.
A small smile was evident across his features. You spend more than an hour getting sweaty with a man, and you want me to believe theres nothing there.
Youre making it weird, Den.
He shrugged. Fine, fine. But if you were my daughter, Id be giving that young man a stern talking to. Because, in all likelihood, hes thinking along those lines. His voice lost some of its mirth. Also, he was far too ready to hit you.
She sighed. He asked to spar, Den. That's where his mind was. I hope. As to hitting me: I asked him to. Besides, Im fine. She gestured to herself, but he wasnt looking. Thank you for the concern, though.
He grunted. I dont want to see you get hurt, and I dont just mean physically. After a moment, he added. And you are making my trip much more complicated. You know, I come on these for some time away. He gave her a mock-stern look over his shoulder.
She held up her hands. Fair, fair. If you ever want me to go elsewhere, just say so.
When the two searching tendrils met, Tala seized the power. This was only possible because the tendrils from the tunic and pants had reached up, into her hand of their own accord, trying to get an advantage on the other item in acquiring power.
Thus, with the power now within herself, she had mastery over it. In an effort of will, she flipped the tendrils together, turning them back on themselves and forming a very rudimentary facsimile of a now familiar shape: an Archon star. The book had called it a binding knot only describing it in how it differed from an Archon star. This would be useless to me if I didnt know that spell-formis that why it isnt restricted knowledge? The result was much simpler than the Archon stars shed made.
Aside from her familiarity with a very similar spell-form, she somehow felt that the process was made almost trivially easy because the two garments had been one, previously, when they were still a part of the immortal elk. Got it, dont expect such an easy time, in the future.
The spell-form complete, three things happened:
First, a knot-shaped, bright brand seemed to blossom into existence on each garment simultaneously before fading once more from normal sight. To her mage-sight, they seemed to have but one brand, spread across both pieces, and that didnt fade.
Second, what had been two shallow puddles of power splashed together, clashing and swirling into a single much deeper basin. It didnt quite seem to reside in either part while, at the same time, was clearly within both. It was like looking at a fountain cross-eyed. She saw two, while knowing they were one and the same.
Third, the clothing moved around her, seeming almost to flow over her for a brief instant as the magical and physical manifestations of the two items became briefly malleable.
It was a surprisingly intimate experience, like witnessing a baby being born or attending a wedding. And two have become one, and out of the two come a new creation. She smiled. This, this is real magic.
She laughed out loud at that. Sure, manipulating fundamental forces of the universe is a neat trick, but Ive made my clothing harmonize!
She laughed again, with a snort.
Still, the working felt like something deeper than manipulating gravity. Something more potent. She couldnt explain it, even to herself.
She closed her books and her notes, the task complete, and stored them in Kit.
That done, she placed her right hand back where it had been, intuitively knowing that that was the right place, and pushed power into the leather.
It drank in the power, taking at least four times more than the two pieces had before, combined. That should give it more staying power She grinned. And, so long as a scrap survives of either, both should be able to regrow, with the application of enough power. That was a relief. Shed been mildly concerned that something would wholly eliminate just one piece, leaving her in a state of perpetual half-nakedness, whenever she went through damaging experiences. Never again!
Her dinner done and the binding of the items complete, she leaned back, satisfied. Id been planning on doing something after dinnerwhat was it She couldnt remember.
She took her dishes back to the chuckwagon and dealt with them there, quickly returning to her wagon to avoid interacting with anyone.
She was about to climb back up, when her eye caught sight of a particularly interesting rock formation, and that tickled something in the back of her mind.
It was something to do with rocks?
Right! The hammer. She pulled out the hammer and examined it. Shed already topped off its power, though she really wasnt sure why it needed it. Not like Ive used you
From examining the portions of its magic, which she could see, it appeared that it would take most of any force exerted on its striking surfaces and send it back, so long as someone wielded it with intention.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If she understood it correctly, that should mean that any blow would have nearly double the force that would have been delivered by a normal hammer, used with the same strength.
Huh. Why would the hammer stop moving, then? If the hammer didnt have full force exerted against it, it should continue, barely slowed. Would that mean it would continue to exert nearly the same force, which would again have a reactionary force applied against it? The magic would then turn most of that around, with the hammer still barely being slowed
It was a dizzying concept, that she couldnt quite fathom, but if she was understanding it correctly, it would make any simple strike into an almost infinite string of hits, possibly repeating endlessly, forever, until the wielder pulled the hammer back or the object struck moved or was destroyed. Or until the iterating force diminished so much that it was virtually meaningless. After all, all objects resting on the ground were constantly exerting downward force, and that didnt crack the world.
Even so, how can that be correct? Only one way to find out.
She walked over to a small, plain looking rock and started by striking it with the butt of the hammers handle. There was a soft, but not quiet, ring of metal on stone, just as expected. The rock, which was barely bigger than her head, was virtually undamaged, though there was a small speck of lighter rock where the metal handle had made contact.
Ok. Thats the baseline, I guess? She then moved with the same gentle motion to tap with the hammers face.
The sound of a thousand small raps- no, a million. More? -rang out in a single long peel as the rock seemed to vibrate, skittering across the ground out of the way as the hammer continued, virtually unimpeded, into the dirt.
When it hit the dirt, there was a burst of wet earth, and the hammer came to rest, head completely buried.
She pulled back, and the earth vibrated around the metal, allowing the hammer to come free easily.
She examined the rock, finding a line of lightened material where the hammer had skittered down the surface. Fascinating.
She clicked her tongue, considering. So, that was a soft tap. What does a normal strike do?
She pulled her arm back and struck a true blow against the rock.
There was a crack like thunder, which her enhanced mind was able to distinguish as more than a dozen overlapping hits coming nearly simultaneously.
The rock exploded, and the world went black.
Pain.
Pain filled her dark world, and she was greeted with the crystal-clear memory of rock shards zipping outwards in all directions, including straight into her eyes.
Chapter 57: Right! The HammerMore than an hour later, Tala felt like she couldnt lift her head, let alone her arms, and she lay, sprawled on the roof of the wagon once more.This was not her first break.While she recovered, Ashin stretched and drank from a waterskin that hed brought. Youre improving, but I think you might be overdoing it.She groaned. The ending-berries, it seemed, did not prevent her from working the muscles. That would have been a disaster. No, you cant get stronger while were here! Though, the muscles did seem to be prevented from tearing. Thats useful. I cant overwork themat least not in that way.To her surprise, the ending-berries power had been draining away at a steady, if miniscule, rate over the past hour, and when she investigated, during one of her gasping respites, shed found that the power was being funneled through her regenerative spell-forms and reflected away from her skin, into her muscles, causing them to recover in minutes from what should have taken days.And thats a secondary effect. I cant wait until the muscles, themselves, are inscribed and are powered properly.Even so, she was at her limit. One more. She tried to sit up. She failed.Den called back. Were about to make camp, so expect a bit more side-to-side movement from the wagon pretty soon.Tala waved his way, or at least she tried. Her hand mainly just flopped a bit at her side. Thank you, Den. I guess we have to call it a day, eh?Ashin snorted a laugh. Honestly, I expected us to be done nearly an hour ago?She glared at him. You think so little of me?He held up his hands placatingly. Not at all. Sparring is really taxing. And what were doing it closer to full on fighting. You can take hits; Ill give you that. Id say it was your magic, but I dont see any spell-forms active. He genuinely sounded impressed. They would be glowing right? Like when that plant attacked you? Or the thunder bull?You are quite right. No glowing, no magicfor the most part. She pulled out her flask and took a drink. An extra cup, today, wont kill me. Liquid courage.He gave her a flat look. There is no way youre drunk. He sniffed the air. Theres no alcohol in that at all.What are you, some sort of bloodhound?He grunted, standing from where hed been stretching. Want help up?Dont you dare.He grinned down at her. Im going to go get cleaned up. My shift starts after dinner.She groaned rolling over and pushing herself up into a seated position. How are you not exhausted?Well, I wasnt just kicked, punched, thrown, and placed into innumerable locks and holds. He shook his head. You really should have at least a few bruises. I was trying to pull my hits, but Im not perfect at that.She shrugged. Ill be fine. That doesnt answer my question, though; you were moving at least as much as I was. Slippery rust bucket. I didnt even get a single solid hit on you.He grinned at that. You landed a few glancing blows. You are improving much faster than normal. He gave her a questioning look, but when she didnt respond, he shrugged. As to my weariness? Training. Lots and lots of training. I ran twenty miles each day that we were in Alefast, as a warm-up. This is my job, Mistress Tala. I have to be able to fight for as long as it takes to keep this caravan safe. He hesitated. What did you do, while we were in Alefast?She sighed, thinking of the ending-berry grove. Mostly hunted up tasty food.He snorted another laugh. There you go. He shrugged. This is known as a safer route, and we still had fighting almost every day. You might be aware, but some arcanous creatures can take hours to bring down. They arent tough enough to warrant the expense of Mage involvement, so we have to be able to go toe-to-toe with them and bring victory. They arent very common, but we have to be ready.That sounds horrible. Well, you seem well suited to it.He smiled gratefully, seeming to stand a bit straighter. Ive really got to go.She waved goodbye. Thank you, Ashin.He simply nodded, climbing down the ladder.A minute or so after Ashin had departed, Den turned to glance her way. Sonot a suitor?She glowered. No, Den.A small smile was evident across his features. You spend more than an hour getting sweaty with a man, and you want me to believe theres nothing there.Youre making it weird, Den.He shrugged. Fine, fine. But if you were my daughter, Id be giving that young man a stern talking to. Because, in all likelihood, hes thinking along those lines. His voice lost some of its mirth. Also, he was far too ready to hit you.She sighed. He asked to spar, Den. That's where his mind was. I hope. As to hitting me: I asked him to. Besides, Im fine. She gestured to herself, but he wasnt looking. Thank you for the concern, though.He grunted. I dont want to see you get hurt, and I dont just mean physically. After a moment, he added. And you are making my trip much more complicated. You know, I come on these for some time away. He gave her a mock-stern look over his shoulder.She held up her hands. Fair, fair. If you ever want me to go elsewhere, just say so.When the two searching tendrils met, Tala seized the power. This was only possible because the tendrils from the tunic and pants had reached up, into her hand of their own accord, trying to get an advantage on the other item in acquiring power.Thus, with the power now within herself, she had mastery over it. In an effort of will, she flipped the tendrils together, turning them back on themselves and forming a very rudimentary facsimile of a now familiar shape: an Archon star. The book had called it a binding knot only describing it in how it differed from an Archon star. This would be useless to me if I didnt know that spell-formis that why it isnt restricted knowledge? The result was much simpler than the Archon stars shed made.Aside from her familiarity with a very similar spell-form, she somehow felt that the process was made almost trivially easy because the two garments had been one, previously, when they were still a part of the immortal elk. Got it, dont expect such an easy time, in the future.The spell-form complete, three things happened:First, a knot-shaped, bright brand seemed to blossom into existence on each garment simultaneously before fading once more from normal sight. To her mage-sight, they seemed to have but one brand, spread across both pieces, and that didnt fade.Second, what had been two shallow puddles of power splashed together, clashing and swirling into a single much deeper basin. It didnt quite seem to reside in either part while, at the same time, was clearly within both. It was like looking at a fountain cross-eyed. She saw two, while knowing they were one and the same.Third, the clothing moved around her, seeming almost to flow over her for a brief instant as the magical and physical manifestations of the two items became briefly malleable.It was a surprisingly intimate experience, like witnessing a baby being born or attending a wedding. And two have become one, and out of the two come a new creation. She smiled. This, this is real magic.She laughed out loud at that. Sure, manipulating fundamental forces of the universe is a neat trick, but Ive made my clothing harmonize!She laughed again, with a snort.Still, the working felt like something deeper than manipulating gravity. Something more potent. She couldnt explain it, even to herself.She closed her books and her notes, the task complete, and stored them in Kit.That done, she placed her right hand back where it had been, intuitively knowing that that was the right place, and pushed power into the leather.It drank in the power, taking at least four times more than the two pieces had before, combined. That should give it more staying power She grinned. And, so long as a scrap survives of either, both should be able to regrow, with the application of enough power. That was a relief. Shed been mildly concerned that something would wholly eliminate just one piece, leaving her in a state of perpetual half-nakedness, whenever she went through damaging experiences. Never again!Her dinner done and the binding of the items complete, she leaned back, satisfied. Id been planning on doing something after dinnerwhat was it She couldnt remember.She took her dishes back to the chuckwagon and dealt with them there, quickly returning to her wagon to avoid interacting with anyone.She was about to climb back up, when her eye caught sight of a particularly interesting rock formation, and that tickled something in the back of her mind.It was something to do with rocks?Right! The hammer. She pulled out the hammer and examined it. Shed already topped off its power, though she really wasnt sure why it needed it. Not like Ive used youFrom examining the portions of its magic, which she could see, it appeared that it would take most of any force exerted on its striking surfaces and send it back, so long as someone wielded it with intention.For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If she understood it correctly, that should mean that any blow would have nearly double the force that would have been delivered by a normal hammer, used with the same strength.Huh. Why would the hammer stop moving, then? If the hammer didnt have full force exerted against it, it should continue, barely slowed. Would that mean it would continue to exert nearly the same force, which would again have a reactionary force applied against it? The magic would then turn most of that around, with the hammer still barely being slowedIt was a dizzying concept, that she couldnt quite fathom, but if she was understanding it correctly, it would make any simple strike into an almost infinite string of hits, possibly repeating endlessly, forever, until the wielder pulled the hammer back or the object struck moved or was destroyed. Or until the iterating force diminished so much that it was virtually meaningless. After all, all objects resting on the ground were constantly exerting downward force, and that didnt crack the world.Even so, how can that be correct? Only one way to find out.She walked over to a small, plain looking rock and started by striking it with the butt of the hammers handle. There was a soft, but not quiet, ring of metal on stone, just as expected. The rock, which was barely bigger than her head, was virtually undamaged, though there was a small speck of lighter rock where the metal handle had made contact.Ok. Thats the baseline, I guess? She then moved with the same gentle motion to tap with the hammers face.The sound of a thousand small raps- no, a million. More? -rang out in a single long peel as the rock seemed to vibrate, skittering across the ground out of the way as the hammer continued, virtually unimpeded, into the dirt.When it hit the dirt, there was a burst of wet earth, and the hammer came to rest, head completely buried.She pulled back, and the earth vibrated around the metal, allowing the hammer to come free easily.She examined the rock, finding a line of lightened material where the hammer had skittered down the surface. Fascinating.She clicked her tongue, considering. So, that was a soft tap. What does a normal strike do?She pulled her arm back and struck a true blow against the rock.There was a crack like thunder, which her enhanced mind was able to distinguish as more than a dozen overlapping hits coming nearly simultaneously.The rock exploded, and the world went black.Pain.Pain filled her dark world, and she was greeted with the crystal-clear memory of rock shards zipping outwards in all directions, including straight into her eyes.
