Broken Mage (19 page)

The traps went off at the same time
sending arcs of lightning throughout the room as well as small
beams of light that cut through anything they came into contact
with. One of the beams came eerily close to where they hid cutting
a thick line into the rock above Crusher’s head.

Not wanting to waste a good chance Thad
readied one of his new enchantments. It looked like a large version
of one of his slugs but it had a completely different function.
Tossing the ball into the middle of the room he activated the
enchantment on it and suddenly the room was bathed in a bright
light. Usually Thad used one of his light rings to produce the
light needed to fight by but it had a limited range. This way the
whole cavern was illuminated and as an added bonus when it was time
to leave Thad had created a second enchantment to send out a ball
of fire that would if it worked correctly destroy the first gem
causing an explosion aiding in their escape. It hadn’t been tested
so Thad could only hope that it worked as planned.

The second the traps had expended their
magic Thad and Crusher rushed into the room taking down any enemy
that was nearby. Thad focused his attention in the direction of the
traps in an effort to collect them so that they could be used again
if needed. The first trap was easy to locate and get to as it had
cut large circular holes in the rock around it. Scooping up the
trap Thad hastily threw it in his pack as he came around to face
his first enemy.

The traps had worked wonders and many
of the soldiers that had littered the cavern were now in disarray.
It hadn’t killed as many as he had hoped but the ones left standing
were easily unnerved from the immense display of magic that had cut
down their comrades.

His first enemy was still slightly
disoriented and had a black scorched mark in the center of his
breastplate. It was obvious from the way the Vathari looked and
moved that he had been hit by the lightning trap though it seemed
he had only caught a weak strike of lightning. The creatures slowed
movements made it easy for Thad to knock away his offered sword and
score a hit on the Vathari midsection. His new sword passed through
the creature as if it was simply cutting through the air. If not
for the blood that rushed from the new wound Thad would have
thought he had missed his mark.

Giving a low whistle at the
effectiveness of his new weapon Thad rushed on toward where the
second trap had been hidden. He met two other enemies blocking his
way not having to hold back anymore stretched out his arm and sent
a thick stream of fire engulfing the two
Vathari. Thad rushed past the two creatures as they screamed
in the final throws of death and quickly grabbed up his
prize.

Turning around Thad was faced with ever
growing numbers of Vathari as they rushed in from every tunnel
opening. Thad raised his staff and sent three thick bolts of
lightning at the largest tunnel opening striking the roof above it.
When nothing happened Thad continued the barrage. After two more
strikes the rocks began to lose their hold and collapsed upon their
own weight barring the entrance and killing three unsuspecting
Vathari.

Before he had another chance to do
anymore damage with his magic Thad found himself engaged by four
large Vathari warriors. With what little time he had Thad looked
around and noticed that all of the smaller Vathari had disappeared
from the cavern. He wasn’t sure what that meant and wasn’t sure he
wanted to find out.

The larger Vathari were
skilled swordsman and Thad found himself on constant defense. Thad
tried to get in a few attacks but everything he tried was easily
blocked by the warriors. Thad knew he couldn’t sit there and wait
for more of the
Vathari to show up so
looking around to make sure neither Crusher nor Avalanche was close
to him he activated his paralyzing ring. It was a onetime use item
and would take days before it could be used again but it had worked
and every creature within a fifty foot radius was stopped in
motion. That included the four warriors who were attacking him as
well as two others who were coming to their aid.

Even though he was in the middle of a
battle it felt wrong to Thad to kill a defenseless warrior but he
had no time for such sentimentality. With only a small twang of
guilt running through his mind Thad went through and methodically
cut the throats of the frozen warriors. Shortly after he was
finished Thad looked to his companions.

Avalanche was doing well and seemed to
be having little trouble despite the large number of Vathari that
surrounded her. Their weapons struck again and again but they found
no flesh to bite and Thad figured they wouldn’t unless one of them
happened to carry one made of magic and even then it would be a
tough battle.

Crusher wasn’t fairing as well. Over a
dozen Vathari were attacking him and while many lay at his feet
there was no way that the stout dwarf would hold out long without
some assistance. Thad was sure that if it had not been for the
magical shield that still surrounded him the dwarf would have
already fallen prey to one of the enemy’s blades. As it was the
shield was beginning to wane and wouldn’t last for very
long.

After looking around for a few moments
Thad noticed a perfect chance to help his friend. Focusing on the
weapons that the Vathari held in their hands. Suddenly the weapons
began to glow a bright red as they heated to immense temperatures.
The Vathari dropped the superheated weapons and Crusher took the
chance to quickly cut them down. Once his bloody work was done
Crusher gave Thad a quick smile then headed off to find his next
target.

Taking a hint from Crusher Thad looked
around for his next target. It was obvious a lot of the Vathari
were hanging out of the battle but Thad didn’t understand why until
he began looking around to where they were standing. A group of
Vathari warriors were blocking off every exit to the cavern
including the hidden one they had come through. They weren’t simply
waiting, they were trapping the three until something came. What
they were waiting on Thad didn’t know and was more than a little
worried to find out. Noticing that he was unchallenged a few of the
warriors broke from where they were guarding and engaged him. It
was an obvious tactic to keep him busy until something or someone
arrived but under the current conditions he had little choice in
the matter.

Shrugging his shoulders Thad
lifted his sword and moved to meet the two Vathari that moved
toward him. The first warrior raised his sword in a standard
attack. Thad knew that the second he bested these two more would
come to keep him busy so he decided to play along for awhile.
Lifting his sword Thad parried the sword as it came in a downward
arc then turned on his lead leg and struck his second attacker with
the head of his staff adding a small blast of energy throwing
the
Vathari to the ground.

Seeing what had happened to his
companion the first Vathari moved back and kept his distance
circling Thad and protecting his counterpart. Thad not wanting to
waste his momentum pressed the attack alternating strikes with his
sword and staff. The two warriors were skilled but they were scared
and that showed in every movement. Their movements were hesitant
and their eyes stayed focused on the staff that he held in his left
hand and they avoided it instead of parrying it when he chose to
use it in an attack.

Thad heard some of the Vathari shouting
in the corner and the warriors in front of him redoubled their
efforts. None of their attacks were killing blows but merely meant
to keep him busy. He had spent hours sparring with the queen’s
guard and they had used the same tactic so they could measure his
strengths and comment on his weaknesses later. It could only mean
one thing that whatever they were waiting on was nearby and they
weren’t willing to take any risks with their lives.

A bad feeling filled his gut so he
decided it was time to leave. Thad launched a quick attack with his
staff forcing the two warriors to jump back then he hit them with a
bolt of lightning sending both of them to the ground. One of them
was lucky enough to survive his attack but it didn’t seem as if it
had the strength to continue the fight.

Thad gave out a high whistle grabbing
the attention of both Crusher and Avalanche and pointed toward the
exit. Avalanche didn’t understand the motion but none the less she
bounded away from the Vathari she was playing with and toward the
ones who were blocking their way out. Crusher didn’t look too happy
but quickly cut down the last one facing him and followed behind
Thad as he rushed toward the guarded tunnel.

There were a least ten Vathari guarding
the tunnel and the noise from behind him confirmed that the others
were coming to join the fight meaning they didn’t have the time to
play around. Stretching his staff toward where Avalanche fought
Thad let loose a roaring ball of fire forcing the Vathari to jump
aside or risk being burnt to a crisp. Two of the warriors and
Avalanche were unable to get out of the way in time and the
fireball slammed into them hard. Avalanche looked no worse but the
other two weren’t as lucky as they looked as if they had spent
hours in a large funeral pyre.

Thad jumped over the burned men and
continued on only hoping that his friends were close behind. Once
he was a safe distance away Thad risked a glance over his shoulder
to see that Crusher and Avalanche were close on his heels as were a
large number of the Vathari warriors.

Thad stopped in his tracks letting his
two friends pass him. Crusher gave him a sideways glance but Thad
simply smiled at him, giving him a sly wink as he passed. As soon
as they were out of the way Thad let go of a huge torrent of magic
that had been building in his staff since he had first started his
mad dash for the tunnel. He had little control over the form of the
magic as the staff was using him to release the magic in the same
way he often used it to direct his.

A large version of Avalanche filled the
tunnel in front of him. It didn’t make noise and a slight aura or
purple blazed around it. The Vathari didn’t turn and run until the
magical beast reached the first in the line of warriors and they
fell to the ground their skin simply torn away wherever the magical
creature touched. Noticing the horrible death that faced them, the
others broke rank and began trampling each other in order to get
out of the tunnel.

Thad didn’t wait to see how the Vathari
faired in their flight but instead took up his own running with all
his might to catch up to his companions. It didn’t take long for
him to find Crusher and Avalanche who had stopped after a turn in
the tunnel to wait for him. Thad was slightly relived as he wasn’t
sure that he could find his way through the twisting darkness that
was the subterranean real without Crusher’s help.

The way back to their base was slow as
they had to stop and wait frequently for parties of roving Vathari.
When they finally got back to their rooms the three friends
collapsed and began laughing. It had been a hard fight and
strangely entertaining. They hadn’t received any wounds and had
taken out a large amount of the Vathari forces. It wasn’t even a
scratch on their overall forces if the amount in the halls was any
indication but it was still a victory in his eyes.

As was his ritual after a fight Crusher
started cleaning his axe and sharpening its blade. Avalanche didn’t
seem to care much for anything other than lounging around. Thad
himself was tired with his magical and physical energy spent he
decided it was time to take a rest and try and recoup what energy
he could.

CHAPTER XVI

Thad found himself floating
in the darkness again. He knew that his Vathari friend was probably
visiting him again. He wasn’t sure how the
Vathari mage was contacting him but he was more than slightly
curious on that matter. If he could learn how to do it he might
just be able to communicate with the princess and his other friends
to see how they were doing.

“I see you were able to escape before
you got to see the surprise today. Such a shame after I went
through all the trouble to set it up for you. Sadly we had one of
the surprises for you in the cavern but your impressive little
magical toys seemed to have gotten him while his guard was down. I
must say it was a magnificent use of magic there at the end. Some
of the things you humans think up are so astounding. I have read
stories in our histories of such things but it is unique to hear
and see firsthand accounts.”

“You were watching the battle?” Thad
asked slightly astounded.

The Vathari let one of its guttural
laughs. “Yes, I didn’t see the beginning but once the connection
with Fareth was lost I decided to take a peek myself. And we found
one of your magical toys to bring back. We had the other but it
destroyed itself along with a few of my warriors. I must admit that
was brilliant. It has the soldiers carrying the other quite worried
it will do the same even after the mage traveling with them has
assured them it will not.”

“So do you have names, if so, would you
be so kind as to grace me with yours? It will make it much easier
to talk with you.” Thad said trying to hide his anger that they had
gotten his other trap. He had completely forgotten about it with
everything going on.

The creature in front of him gave a low
bow as a smile spread across his face. “Forgive my rudeness. I must
admit in my own arrogance I have forgotten to introduce myself. I
am Sae-Thae the chief mage of the Tralath Clan. Now may I have your
name?”