Broken Mage (6 page)

He had plenty of time while he walked
and thanks to all of his enchantments his magic was mostly freed
up. There would be a slight chance that it would distract him from
noticing an impending danger. After giving it a lot of though he
decided it would be more prudent to stop a little earlier and study
the fish before he laid down to sleep rather than risking getting
himself injured by inattentiveness.

With his meal finished Thad took down
his magical walls and started his walk following the river. Most of
the time the tunnel allowed him plenty of room but every so often
the path would disappear. The first time this happened it took Thad
awhile to figure out how to continue on. He could see where the
tunnel widened more but at the fast pace the water was traveling
there was no telling how far it would sweep him downriver if he
tried to swim. Not to mention it would be impossible to tell if all
his magical items would survive the trip.

He had finally tried a series of
different maneuvers to cross the water. After a few attempts he had
found a successful tactic. All he had to do was cast the same spell
on his left foot that was on his right stump. The added height did
make him a little off-balance when he stepped but it allowed him to
walk on the water with little trouble. Though the water wasn’t hard
it still registered as a solid object below him and the spell
responded in the same way pushing him up.

As long as he didn’t stand still for
more than a few seconds he could move across the water’s surface
without trouble. He wasn’t sure why the water just didn’t part
sending him to the bottom of the river but who was he to argue with
what worked.

The first day of travel went well all
things considered. And when he found a place where the tunnel
widened giving him plenty of room for his magical walls Thad
decided to stop for the night. He started off with only two walls
that stretched almost to the edges of the water. He knew before he
lay down to sleep he would have to completely close off the small
room, but this allowed him a measure of protection while still
allowing him access to the water and glowing fish.

After eating two of the fish Thad
pulled a third one up to study. The creature was fascinating. He
didn’t know why he didn’t notice while he was flaying the creatures
but their scales were translucent and some type of liquid coated
them on the inside. Once exposed to air the liquid glowed for a
short time on his fingers but began to dim quickly. The only
problem he ran into was that the fish died too quickly once outside
of the water for an in-depth study of the animal.

His mind still deep in thought Thad
placed the last wall up closing himself off from the world around
him. Laying back on the ground he tried to think of different ways
he might be able to reproduce the fish’s effect in other animals or
plants. Remembering the queen’s gardens and the glowing lilies he
made a mental note to study them when he returned. It was possible
that they were natural but even if they were he might still be able
to learn something from their study.

The next few days passed by quickly in
a routine manner. With a supply of fresh water and food as well as
the almost artistic glowing dance from the water the trip had so
far been enjoyable. He was surprised he hadn’t encountered any
other creatures in the dark. With such a large body of water he was
sure that he would have to fight his way through many creatures
that had already claimed dominion over the area. The fact he had
been left to his own devices had been slightly
depressing.

Everything seemed to be going well
until Thad found himself staring into a clean rock face with no
perceivable way to continue on. The water seemed to simply
disappear into the rock. Using his mage sight he could see that it
flowed into a massive underground cavern through a gap at the
bottom of the river.

It was impossible to tell what exactly
was on the other side. He knew it was filled with water with some
room for air but it was hard to tell just using his magical sense.
It still wasn’t too soon to turn back but at this point he didn’t
really want to. He knew his staff was right if he didn’t force
himself to continue on he might just find himself an old man
puttering around in these caves waiting for death to claim
him.

Following the river wasn’t a problem.
All he had to do was jump in and swim to the bottom and let it
carry him. The problem was keeping his belongings dry and safe with
him. He didn’t want to lose the princess’s letters or any of his
magical items. The answer seemed simple enough. All he had to do
was form a shield around him that would hold out the water. The
second problem was much harder. What would he do if the space
further on didn’t have enough air for him to breathe? After
surviving thus far he didn’t want it to end by drowning due to his
own stupidity.

At first he had tried linking the
shield to the ground above but after less than four hundred feet or
so the magical drain became too much. After two days of endlessly
trying to figure out a solution to his problem he was beginning to
get agitated.

Gazing down at the fish swimming around
he started wondering how they were able to breath underwater.
Focusing on one of the larger creatures he followed it with his
magical sense trying to see if he could figure out how it
functioned. He could see that the gills pulled air from the very
water as it passed through them.

The process seemed simple enough; all
he had to do was get his shield to mimic the effect. It didn’t take
long to get the basic feel for the spell down, now all he had to do
was test it, and the only way to do that was to get in the water.
If he did that he knew there was no coming back up. He wanted to
just jump in and see what happened but his better judgment won the
battle. While he could hold the spell for a good time, sooner or
later he would need to take a break. He had brought gems and a
small supply of metal with him. If he made some enchanted rings
with the new shield spell it would give him a chance to rest even
if he found himself in a place without air.

It took what he believed to be two days
to get everything ready. He had made five rings though he hadn’t
tested them. They each had two gems since he had been unable to
make the new spell work as an individual enchantment. It was hard
to tell how long they would last but there had only been minor
changes in the shield composition to force it to keep out
everything. He still believed it should last a good two to three
hours before it began to wane.

Looking down into the dark water Thad
took one final breath to steady his nerves and stepped over the
edge. He didn’t fall straight down as he expected, as he forgot
about the enchantment on his right foot that had him bobbing in and
out of the water like a piece of driftwood.

Laughing at his own ineptitude Thad
turned off the enchantment to his foot and let the water pull him
down. It was an odd feeling being pulled under the water without
any ever touching him. He had made his shield so it stayed close to
his body to keep from wasting excess energy so the water was simply
inches away yet he remained dry.

He was pulled along in the darkness for
a long time. His new spell seemed to be working as expected as he
hadn’t had any trouble breathing so far. The only trouble he ran
into was when he could feel the weakening of his first ring. He
hadn’t anticipated changing out his rings while he was still
floating in the water. No matter how fast he was there would still
be a brief moment where the water would be able to reach him. That
didn’t seem bad on its own but if he was completely submerged when
the second ring was activated the water would be trapped inside
with him.

Thad didn’t have a long time to find a
way around his current predicament so he did the first thing that
came to mind. He cast a shield around his entire body around the
one already encompassing it. Turning off one shield ring he quickly
activated the next then let his own magical shield go. It had
worked perfectly and he was still dry with a new ring powering his
protection. He still had three rings left and didn’t want to use
them unless he had to, in the event he was forced to sleep while
still underwater.

When his second ring was about halfway
through its magical reserve the underground river began to slow
down. And within moments he found himself able to stand once again.
Using one of his rings to illuminate the area Thad found himself in
a wide cavern where the water had pooled into a large underground
lake. He couldn’t see the walls of the cavern but that meant very
little with his limited vision.

Thad continued on walking on top of the
water. The main problem he faced was that without a point of
reference it was hard to tell what direction he was heading. For
all he knew he was walking in circles. When he finally found a
small section of rock that jutted from the water big enough for him
to lay on he decided it was a good time to stop and
rest.

As far as he was concerned the day had
been a success. He was no closer to an exit as far as he knew but
his new spells had worked perfectly. So far he had to fight for
every little piece of magic he had learned but lately it had come
much more naturally to him. As long as he could figure out the
principles the spell worked on it was easy to recreate
it.

As much as he enjoyed using his magic
he wished he had a fresh supply of wood to make a raft. While he
was resting he picked up a small stone and tried to change it
enough so that it would float but no matter what he tried the rock
refused to stay above the water. He didn’t really expect the spell
to work but it was something to occupy his time while his meal
cooked.

That night he checked the sending box
and was happy to find that it was empty. The fact that the princess
had finally checked the box put a smile on his face. It would still
be a few days before she could send a response but he could wait.
He hoped everything was going well with her. He knew that her life
could get busy at times but something inside him told him this
wasn’t one of those times.

Setting aside his fears of things he
couldn’t do anything about Thad focused on what he could control.
At the moment that was finding the best direction to head. The
underground lake stretched far in every direction and seemed to
feed many different small rivers and streams. Many of them seemed
promising but Thad decided to follow the largest one hoping it
would have the biggest chance of leading him to the
surface.

With his direction determined Thad cut
a rough arrow in the stone for future reference. With his belly
full and everything planned for the next leg of his journey Thad
settled back trying to find a comfortable place to sleep. He knew
that he was exposed but there was little he could do about it.
There wasn’t enough room to use his magical walls. He turned on one
of his shield rings but he knew it would expire long before he
woke. He hadn’t seen anything dangerous in the water, though that
meant very little, as the darkness was apt at hiding the creatures
that prowled within.

When Thad woke he found that he had
remained safe despite being unprotected. His dreams had been filled
with countless monsters that his mind had created. Sleeping
unprotected wasn’t something he wanted to do again if he could help
it. Sooner or later he was sure his luck would run out.

It only took about half a day of travel
to reach where the underground river broke away from the lake. The
walls were still narrow, forcing him to continue walking on the
water for quite a ways, but after what he believed was about two
miles the walls of the tunnel widened enough for him to once again
set his foot down on solid ground.

He wasn’t sure how long the small ledge
would last so he used the chance to take a small break. With his
walls up it left him just enough room to lie down comfortably. He
wasn’t really tired but he had learned that he must take his rest
where it could be found in safety. Closing his eyes Thad daydreamed
until he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

CHAPTER V

Over the past few days the tunnel had
widened greatly giving Thad plenty of room. He still hadn’t been
able to locate an exit but he was still hopeful. If nothing else he
was making an effort. It wasn’t as if the tunnels could stretch on
forever without end. There had to be countless way back to the
surface and all he had to do was find one of them.

The princess still hadn’t sent a
message to him and that worried him far more than his lack of
finding a way out. She had been one of his first real friends. If
anything had happened to her Thad wasn’t sure what he would do. He
still wasn’t sure if he had any romantic feelings toward Maria but
he did know that he considered her very important in his
life.

He had tried to push his worries aside
but with only the darkness and the glowing fish to keep him company
it was hard to do. His mind constantly conjured up the worst
possible scenarios for both Eloen and Maria. He could usually put
aside his fears for the princess she was well protected but it
wouldn’t be impossible for her to be in danger. With Eloen it was a
much different story. She had rushed into enemy territory after
him. His only link to her was the princess and now with that cut
there is no telling what had happened to her. It was very possible
that she was in the very prison that once held him huddled in a
cold corner crying for someone to save her.