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Message: <blockquote data-quote="simmo" data-source="post: 1480950" data-attributes="member: 9744">Part 23 Worthy Opponents chapter 1 Aggemam the DestroyerCaleb sat on the edge of the cart polishing his hammer, thinking about what powers might lie dormant inside it. There were dwarven runes on the side of the hammer that Littleby had explained to him spelled out the name Aggemam the Destroyer.The earth genasi stood up from the wooden cart and walked a couple of hundred feet away. Hefting the large hammer over his head he swung it around and let go. The weapon sailed through the air, spinning as it went and when it had gone some distance it flew back to his hand completing a large arc.Caleb practised throwing the hammer numerous times using his mephit followers to determine its range and accuracy. Just after he'd thrown it for the umpteenth time he heard a mental voice say stop that in a peeved tone. Caleb pondered who the source off the voice might be and almost missed catching it as the hammer returned. He shrugged his shoulder and thought: I WILL NOT HAVE THE MEPHITS TELL ME WHAT TO DO.When he next threw the hammer it spun through the air just as it had all the other times before, but this time it did not return. Instead it hung suspended in the air with the shaft pointing straight down. It looked as if someone invisible might have caught it before it could return.Caleb walked over to it slowly and cautiously, glancing side-ways at his mephits to check that there were not playing any tricks on him. When he approached the hammer, he tried to move it from the place where it hung in the air and after some effort he managed to get it unstuck.I am Aggemam the Destroyer, a voice echoed in the earth genasi's cavernous skull. It's tone was angry and had a curious accent. I will be treated with respect!“SORRY.” Caleb replied aloud. “I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU COULD THINK. SOMETIMES I'M NOT SURE THAT EVEN I CAN THINK.” The earth genasi paused to let the thought settle in his mind. “WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?”Well, if you are going to throw me then make sure that the target is worthwhile. Caleb had been trying to figure out what the accent might be that belonged to the voice projecting from the hammer. When he later described it to Littleby, the scholar had replied obscurely with the word 'Danish'.“RIGHT,” Caleb replied. He slowly looked around for some targets to practise with. “MEPHITS!”These creatures are beneath me. Aggemam chuckled at the thought of splattering the annoying creatures. However, as a legendary weapon it had a reputation to maintain and destroying minor elemental pests was not something to brag about. I want worthy opponents.“VERY WELL.” Caleb looked around again for something to throw at and his gaze rested on a nondescript outcropping of rock. “ANDREW CAN YOU JUST GO AND STAND OVER THERE PLEASE?”Andrew was silent for a few moments, weighing up what Caleb might be up to. “Alright,” he said as he called the earth genasi's bluff.“Odds are three to one he'll survive,” the ooze mephit whispered.“Twenty five to one that he'll miss,” the earth mephit replied who had never got to grips with how the whole numbers thing worked in the betting game. The mineral mephit pulled out some coins from his small satchel and passed them to the ooze mephit.“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY WORTHY OPPONENTS?” Caleb asked wondering if nondescript gentleman adventurers were included in that category.Glorious battle. Opponents worthy of being struck down by my might. Aggemam's voice sang with the promise of epic battles, of immense armies clashing in a conflict that would determine the fate of empires and have Aggemam at the centre of the melee.“RIGHT, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY RIGHT NOW.” Caleb lowered the hammer and Andrew resumed his seat on a nearby rock, watching another caravan following the path that the modrons had taken. “THIS LOT ARE ALL A BIT FEEBLE,” Caleb stated apologetically.Yes so I've noticed, the hammer agreed. It sighed mentally, feeling weary and somewhat let down. You will do as a wielder for now.“AHA, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS QUITE A PRIVILEGE FOR YOU," Caleb's laughter thundered like an avalanche and was accompanied by the cackling of his mephits. Some of the other laughed as well, confirming the earth genasi's suspicion that they'd been included in the non-vocalised side of the conversation.I shouldn't complain considering that I've been in the arms of a STONE dwarf for centuries. The hammer muttered despondently. Having remained stationary for so long was almost more that it could bear and it longed to strike thunderously in to an opponent that was worthy of receiving the punishment that it could deal out.“YES, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SPENT THE NEXT FEW CENTURIES IN THE ARMS OF A STONE DWARF – RESPECT IS A TWO-WAY STREET MATEY.” The earth genasi had yet to make up his mind about the hammer being able to talk and that it might be intelligent. However, he was certain about the fact that he did not need more companions who made snide comments and complained a lot.OK, let's come to an agreement. The hammer still sounded weary but not as down-beat as before. I'll help you, if you help me to find a shield.“THAT'S EASY, THERE'S ONE OVER THERE.” Caleb pointed with the hammer at a nearby spherical object and then realised that it was a boulder. For a moment he realised that the hammer might not be able to see or sense the rock in any case, but then dismissed the thought.“Unfortunately I have not memorized that spell today.” Littleby started laughing but change it to a cough when he saw Serena and Andrew staring at his pointedly.“BUGGER,” Caleb said quietly, not particularly wanting to add any more quests to his already full log of quests. “WHAT KIND OF SHIELD?”A legendary shield called Tejali. The hammer's voice rose as it sang the name.“THE JELLY?” the earth genasi asked.Once we are reunited we would become more powerful that you could ever hope for. Aggemam went on, ignoring its wielder's question. Either Caleb was joking or simply too slow on the uptake.“YES, I WAS RATHER HOPING THAT *I* WOULD BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR.” Caleb thumped the shaft of the hammer against the ground as he put the emphasis on the word 'I'.Of course, Aggemam replied quickly. *You* would be more powerful than you could ever hope for.“I DON'T KNOW,” Caleb shrugged, his thoughts turning ponderously towards the idea of defeating one of the elemental princes. “I HAVE RATHER BIG HOPES.”How big? The hammer asked enthusiastically. Now its wielder was beginning to sound a more promising prospect.“BIGGER THAN THE TWO OF US,” Caleb stated flatly.There would be three of us. Aggemam pointed out. The earth genasi's mind was filled with the image of himself standing as tall as a storm giant on a mound of fallen foes. His skin was grey and strong as granite. In one hand he wielded Aggemam the Destroyer and on his other arm was a magnificent shield, beautifully inlaid with gems and runic carvings around the outer edge.“I DON'T KNOW.” Caleb shook his head and the mental image cleared like fog in the morning sun. “SHIELDS ARE FOR GIRLS AND SISSIES.”Yes she is. The hammer responded longingly.“OH. WELL IN THAT CASE IT IS OK.” The earth genasi smiled thinking that the hammer sounded like it might actually be alright. The first impression that he'd got from it had not been that favourable, but he was slowly coming around to the idea that it might be useful having a thinking weapon that could respond quickly to the changing circumstances in a fight.I'm glad that's settled. The hammer thrummed with power and the runes crackled with energy.“I WILL USE YOU TO SMITE DOWN MY ENEMIES...” Caleb said slowly, turning the thought over in his head carefully. “WHEN THEY TURN UP OF COURSE.”“IF they turn up,” Andrew quipped.“QUITE FRANKLY I'M NOT SURE WHO THEY ARE. ANY GUIDANCE FROM YOU WOULD BE APPRECIATED.” The fight at the Rendering works had been invigorating Caleb thought. But when it came to more complex battles of words he felt that Littleby or another might be better equipped to deal with it.I'll give you a few words of advice when the time is right. Aggemam reassured its wielder in his strong Danish accent. In the mean time let's practise. The hammer continued to thrum with energy. When Caleb threw it in the air it shot out of his hand as if launched by a ballista.“WELL OK THEN,” Caleb shouted jubilantly in agreement. “MEPHITS!”</blockquote>

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