Broken Mage (17 page)

While the creature looked over its
fallen comrade Thad loaded another slug and fired. Its aim was true
and busted through the creatures back sending it wailing to the
floor. Thad called the slug back the second he knew it had hit, and
this time the only sound that filled the cavern was the dying calls
of the creature, which now twitched on the ground as its blood
pooled below it.

Every creature in the cavern took
notice as their comrade thrashed on the ground. Thad thought that
while they were distracted by their dying comrade it would be the
perfect time to attack but Crusher held him back and signaled for
him to continue with his slugs.

Thad did as he was instructed and
looked around for the best target. Most of the creatures were
packed together looking around at their now dead companions but
there were a few who were searching the dark for whatever had
caused their death. Thad found one that was alone and fired the
slug. It arc and twisted missing the moving target by inches. Thad
called back the slug but he was too slow to keep it from slamming
hard into the stone.

The creature called out and the others
began to move in a hurry to his position but his hollering was cut
short as Thad’s second slug caught him in the back of the head
spraying the creatures that rushed to his call with gore. Not
wanting to waste the hysteria that was beginning to grip the
creatures below him Thad let loose another of his slugs catching
one of the creatures who was lagging behind in the shoulder,
ripping its arm from its body.

Thad continued to rip through their
ranks with his magical slugs taking them out one at a time. With
each new death they got less organized and more than one ran from
the cavern to the safety of the tunnels beyond. Thad ran out of
magical charged slugs when only three of the creatures
remained.

With nothing left to do Crusher jumped
from their high perch landing with a small tumbling to the ground
below. It wasn’t a far fall but just high enough that Thad knew it
would send a nasty shock through his body. Jumping down Thad sent a
wave of magical force to the ground below softening his landing.
The spell worked a little too well and Thad ended up looking like a
piece of wood bobbing in water as he came to a rest inches above
the ground.

Before Thad had time to get his
bearings Crusher had already dispatched the remaining foes. With
little else to do Thad started on rummaging through the mass of
bodies stripping them of all their worldly belongings. Most of them
only carried the same basic items the others had but one of the
larger creatures carried a sword that gave off a distinct magical
aura.

Unlike the other magical items they had
found on the creatures that were obviously of dwarven make this one
had a different feel to it. Thad didn’t have time at the moment to
inspect his find so he strapped it to his pack so he could look at
it closer at his leisure.

There was a large amount of stuff
stacked in the center of the room by time they were done. This had
easily been their biggest engagement and he had not used anything
overtly magical in nature. His slugs were all he really used but
the magical signature they left was quickly absorbed back into the
natural flow of energies around them.

Crusher pulled out the magical pack he
had made him and began stuffing the loot in it. When they had first
begun their forays into the tunnels Crusher had emptied the metal
ingots and piled them in his room. It was a brilliant idea and it
allowed them to move a large amount of loot without having to carry
it through the tunnels on their backs.

Once back in their base Thad moved back
to his room with the magical sword he had found. It looked much
like the others he had found among the creatures. The only
difference from the sword in his hand and many of the others he had
found was the fact it held magical properties. Closing his eyes
Thad started to check the sword with his magical sight.

The enchantment on the weapon was
simple. It allowed the sword to draw in shadow and use it to
magically damage whatever it was cut with. It didn’t so much as cut
but simply destroyed whatever it came in contact with. It was an
easy use of magical force but it had its limits. If the weapon was
used in the sunlight it would be no more dangerous than a normal
weapon but here where everything was cloaked in darkness it was a
dangerous weapon indeed. Now that he understood how the enchantment
was made he knew he could reproduce it with almost any element,
though some of them would be impractical such as earth or fire.
While a fire sword sounded nice you would have to immerse the
weapon in fire for it to draw enough constant magic to be of use.
There were other ways for him to charge the weapons with the needed
magical element but that would be to drain his own personal
stores.

While the weapon was nice and would be
a nice addition to his own stores of magical items it also brought
something new to mind. The creatures had the ability to use magic.
He hadn’t personally seen them use magic before but this weapon was
proof of that fact.

Thad sat down hard on the ground. It
was unsettling to know that he might have to face others with
magical powers. He had known from Crusher that the dwarfs had their
own unique magical powers and had seen it first hand from the
presence of his tattoos, but the knowledge that others might as
well hit him hard. He had searched for years for any knowledge of
magic users of the past and now there was a chance he would have to
face another mage. While it wouldn’t be a human mage the fact that
he might have to face another magic user was intimidating. He only
had his own knowledge and experience to fall back on where his
opponent would have the collective history and knowledge of all
their magic users at their command.

Thad turned on his magical eye and
watched the female creature. She was currently at what he believed
was her house. It was a somber looking place though it was
surrounded by hundreds of others of her kind. Thad still had
trouble telling everything that was going on but from what he could
tell she was very important in the house but she wasn’t the highest
rank within its walls.

Normally he simply watched the
creatures through the magical eye but now he was looking at any
hint of magical power around them. He didn’t find anything obvious
but then again all he could do was see he couldn’t even send his
power through the object to look around with his magical sense. It
was frustrating every day he found more questions and the answers
were close, yet just outside of his reach.

Thad spent hours watching the creatures
in the mirror as he held the magical sword in his hand, as if he
was willing them to cede to his commands. The hours of watching
gained him nothing and all he was left with was the urge for
knowledge denied him. Frustrated, Thad lay down to sleep. His rest
wasn’t peaceful, as it was filled with the same questions that
plagued his waking hours.

CHAPTER XIV

Everything around him was dark and Thad
found himself floating in the darkness. It was vaguely familiar
almost like the time he had been held prisoner by the Ablaians but
there was a slightly different feel to it. Thad called a light to
his hand and it sprung forth as easy as if he had been
awake.

“So you’re the one who has been
watching us.” A voice said in his mind. Well saying it was a voice
was stretching it a bit. It was more like the thoughts formed in
his mind but felt different than his own much the way it felt when
his staff forced images upon him.

“What is a human mage doing within our
domain?” The voice said giving Thad the feeling of curiosity more
than anger.

“Got lost and some of your creatures
attacked me I’m just returning the favor.” Thad said aloud to the
darkness surrounding him.

“So you’re the one who has been killing
our troops in the northern mines. From my reports the weapons used
led us to believe at least one of the attackers were dwarven. I can
understand some of our troops can be less than pleasant but is that
any reason to go on a slaughtering spree. I am sure that if you
would simply sit down for a good discussion we can come to an
agreement that is beneficial to both of us.”

The creature’s words seemed reassuring
and compelling. Why was he fighting them anyway? A picture of
Crusher popped into his mind making Thad nearly laugh. Even in his
sleep his staff was there to help. Shaking the fog from his mind he
regained his composure. It was obvious to him that whoever was
present within his mind had been trying to compel him to think as
it wanted him to.

Stretching out his hand Thad’s staff
appeared in his hand. “I don’t know who you are, but if you think
trying to force me to do as you wish will work you’re
mistaken.”

The air around him twisted and
shimmered as the darkness seemed to begin to form into something
more substantial. Right before his eyes where once there had been
nothing now stood a tall dark form. It was slightly taller than him
with a bald head and large black eyes. He knew it was one of the
creatures but different than one he had encountered
before.

The creature looked him over but his
eyes lingered for the longest on the staff he now held in his
hands. “That is a fine staff. Very powerful though I never did much
care for magical items that had their own minds, it makes them so
much harder to use. Did you make it yourself? You humans were
always quite skilled at such endeavors.” The creature said as it
reached his hand toward the staff. Each of the creatures long boney
fingers were covered in rings and Thad could tell that each was
magical in nature but didn’t have time to study their
function.

“I’ll ask again who or what are you?”
Thad said moving his staff from the reach of the creature in front
of him.

“It seems that your history has washed
all knowledge of us out with the passing of time. We are the
Vathari. Once, before your human king decided we no longer deserved
to be among humans, we had a good relationship with your kind. Many
of your human mages would travel to find one of our hidden cities
to train and obtain our unique power though few ever accomplished
such a feat. If you wished you could follow in the footsteps of
your ancestors and walk that path once again.”

Thad had to hide his excitement. He had
looked for information of the knowledge lost in the Fae Wars and
now it was being offered to him freely. A picture of Crusher once
again was forced into his thoughts by his staff. Shaking his head
he remembered it wouldn’t be free. If he was to walk that path he
would have to leave his friend behind.

The fact that he was even contemplating
the idea made Thad sick at himself, but he couldn’t deny the allure
of the chance being offered to him. In the end it was what was more
important to him the knowledge he had been seeking or his
friendship. It was an easy call in the end. Knowledge was always
there and there was just as much chance he would find it in the
dwarven homeland.

“I’m sorry but I can’t take you up on
that offer as tempting as it is.” Thad said his voice betraying his
own mixed feelings.

The creatures face twisted into an odd
grin showing his sharp teeth. “Then good hunting human.”

Thad was surprised at the almost happy
tone that reverberated through his mind. He had expected a
different reaction; anger, disappointment, or outrage.

Seeing his confused expression the
Vathari gave out a laugh that sounded almost human with a slightly
darker undertone. “I see you don’t understand. I guess I could
shine a light on your ignorance. We Vathari thrive on battle, in
the past we used to start a war with the humans every few years,
but for centuries we have been forced to seek out new
entertainment. The dwarves are a hearty bunch and good at battle
but without any diversity it does get a tad boring. Though I do
wish there was more than just one of you, but we will take what we
can get. In the morning you will find yourself submerged in my best
warriors I hope you keep us entertained and should you live please
do stop by and take me up on our offer. Nothing is more celebrated
in our culture than a skilled warrior even one of our
enemies.”

The Vathari disappeared leaving Thad
alone with the information he had been given. The option to visit
their city was still open but only if he lived through the coming
battles. It sounded easy at first but so far they had chosen where
and when the battles would take place. It didn’t seem like the
Vathari would allow that to continue for much longer.

As soon as his eyes opened Thad was on
his feet and off to where Crusher slept. The dwarf didn’t wake
easily and Thad to finally hit him over the head with the flat of
his sword before he opened his eyes.

After a bit of silent grumbling from
his friend, Thad tried to explain what had happened. After a few
illusions where he and one of the creatures talking Crusher began
to understand the implication of what Thad was trying to tell
him.

Thad wasn’t sure what reaction Crusher
would have but instead of flying off the handle he merely grumbled
a bit and pulled out a white rock and began drawing plans on the
large map on the far wall.

After scratching at the wall for a bit
Crusher began pacing back and forth running his hands on the top of
his bald head. Thad found it more than slightly entertaining to
watch the dwarf as he tried to decide their next move. The dwarf
looked excited and agitated at the same time. Thad had to admit to
feeling a bit of excitement himself. It was obvious from his
discussion with the creature that the dwarves and the Vathari had
an ongoing fight for thousands of years. It didn’t seem to be out
of hatred on the Vatharis side but just out of a need to test
themselves in battle.