Broken Mage (7 page)

Shaking the morose thoughts from his
mind Thad continued his way down the dark corridor. The thoughts
refused to be shaken from his mind easily so Thad tried to keep
himself busy by studying the rock formations around him closely. It
reminded him of his time spent as a youth watching the clouds. Most
of the time they were simply rocks but every now and then one would
look as if it had purposely been formed to look like something
else.

As he studied the rocks he noticed one
section of rock that looked as if it were moving. Secure in his own
protection Thad let his curiosity get the better of him. The closer
he got the more apparent it was that the rocks didn’t simply look
as if they were moving but actually were.

The memory of the large rock snake that
had nearly killed him shortly after he had entered into the depths
of the underground forced its way into his thoughts. Thad nearly
bolted but boredom mixed with curiosity won out over better
judgment. He continued warily forward each step coming less
confident than the last.

When he was no more than a few paces
from the rocks it was easy for him to see that whatever was moving
was no larger than a large dog. He could also hear a slight whining
noise from the creature. Using his staff Thad cast a large ball of
light above the area where the rocks moved letting him see the
creature as if it was midday on the surface.

The creature looked like a mix between
a large dog and a small horse. Its body while large had long legs
that looked as if they were meant for running. Its head looked
large and slightly off with sharp rows of teeth easily visible. Its
eyes were what really caught Thad’s attention. They were like two
large rubies that had been placed in front of a bright glowing
candle. If Thad had met the creature without a shield he would have
ran for his life. Even with his shield he still had the urge to
run.

After the initial shock of seeing the
creature Thad let his view widen and take in everything. The animal
was obviously trapped by large boulders that had fallen around it.
The poor creature continuously tried to move but the boulders held
it fast in place. It was amazing that the thing could even stand
given the sheer amount of weight that must have been on its
back.

Thad couldn’t help but feel sorry for
the poor creature. In a way he was in the same situation. He was
trapped though he was able to move he just couldn’t get out. He
wanted to help it, but was afraid that if he did so it would attack
and he would be forced to kill it. His mind warred with itself as
Thad forced himself to move closer.

When Thad was no more than a foot from
the beast it took notice of him. It didn’t snarl or bite at him as
he expected. The creature simply looked at him and whined. As close
as he was Thad could see that the creature didn’t have fur or even
skin. Instead it looked as if the creature was completely made up
of rock.

His mind made up Thad took a steady
breath and prepared for the worst. His staff glowed brightly and
the rocks holding the creature to the ground shifted and rose
slowly. Thad had lifted a lot of things with his magic including a
frog the size of a small cottage but the sheer weight of the rocks
atop the creature was staggering. He wasn’t sure how long he could
hold it but hoped the animal got the idea and ran the second it had
the chance.

As soon as the weight was off the
creature it jumped toward Thad making him flinch. The creature
simply bounced off of his shield. Moving back it looked at Thad
cocking its head slightly to the side its ruby eyes glowing
brightly. Its ears moved slightly when Thad began to lower the
boulders slowly back to the ground. The creature turned quickly and
began to growl at the rocks.

With his work done and the creature
safe Thad turned back toward the river. It didn’t take long for him
to realize that he was being followed. The creature wasn’t exactly
quiet it sounded as if an avalanche of rocks were chasing after
him. Stopping for a moment Thad turned to find the rock dog right
behind him its face contorted into what Thad figured was an off
sided grin.

He got down on his knees so he was eye
to eye with the creature who continued to look at him happily. Thad
deactivated his shield ring but quickly replaced it using his own
power only letting the palm of his hand go unprotected. Reaching
out his hand he rubbed the animal on the top of its head. Its skin
was smooth and cold and reminded him of the well-worn stone table
he had often eaten on at the Slave Academy.

After a few moments the creature nudged
Thad’s arm with its nose and began to jump around in a circle. It
sounded like someone had begun beating on the ground with a large
stick. After a few moments of scampering around the rock dog
creature began circling around Thad. When it got to his pack the
creature began trying to get at it with vigor.

The antics of the beast made him laugh.
“Hungry are you boy?” Thad said pulling one of the last pieces of
dried lizard he had left.

The creature sniffed at it for a few
seconds then turned its head and began trying to get at Thad’s pack
again. It left him wondering what the creature could be trying to
get at. Thad pulled one thing at a time from his pack offering it
to the creature. It wasn’t until Thad pulled one of the large gems
from his pack, that the creature went wild.

Thad wasn’t sure what the creature
wanted with the gem but offered it to him anyway. As soon as the
gem was cleared of the protection of Thad’s shield the rock dog
jumped on the crystal sucking the whole thing into its mouth. The
creature didn’t chew on the gems it simply swallowed the gem whole.
With its meal finished the rock creature began to bounce around
Thad again making a sound that sounded like someone banging a
hammer on a rock.

If the creature ate a gem that size a
day it would cost Thad a fortune to keep the creature fed. He only
had about five that size left in his pack along with a handful of
smaller ones, but he had hoped to save those in case he needed them
to make enchantments.

Thad had hoped that the creature would
amble off after it had been fed but it continued to follow him. At
first the noisy creature grated on his nerves but after a short
time he was starting to enjoy the silly antics of the beast. It
would randomly stop to bark at the wall, well what Thad thought of
as its bark though it sounded more like someone had started a small
avalanche. The longer he spent with the animal the more he was sure
that it was some type of subterranean dog.

When he decided to stop for the night
the creature settled next to him resting its head on the ground.
Unlike dogs its feet looked more like hoofs so it tucked them under
its body. Looking down on the animal Thad had to be honest with
himself he was glad to have the companionship. The staff flashed a
picture of itself into his mind getting Thad to chuckle
slightly.

If the creature was going to be
spending much time with him he needed a name. “What sort of name
would fit you?” Thad asked his new companion getting the creature
to lift his head slightly from where it had rested. “Rocky, Rox,
Quartz, Avalanche?” When Thad said avalanche the Dog gave out
another one of its loud barks. “Avalanche it is.”

It sounded more like a girl’s name but
honestly Thad couldn’t tell if the creature even had a sex. “Well
Avalanche if you’re going to be sticking around for any amount of
time we’re going to have to find a way to keep you fed. I don’t
think what I have with me is going to last that long.” Thad said
rubbing Avalanche’s head.

Avalanche eyes seemed to light up a
little when he was being petted. With the animal sitting right next
to him in a contented mood Thad figured it would be a good chance
to learn more about it. Closing his eyes Thad let his magical sight
take over.

Avalanche was indeed made of a
rock-like substance though it appeared different than what was
around him. Through his magical sight Avalanche looked much like
his staff. His body radiated with magic, it flowed through its body
much the way blood flowed through a humans. It didn’t have a heart
but it did have a central core that all the magic flowed to and
from. Thad couldn’t find a trace of the gem it had eaten earlier
but made a point to pay more attention the next time Avalanche was
feeding.

Thad didn’t think Avalanche had been
made by a mage. If it had then it didn’t have a traditional body.
Rock was nice and smooth but it didn’t take well to enchantments.
The few times he had tried to use it for some of his more volatile
spells it hadn’t worked at all. He couldn’t find any source of the
actual spell so while Avalanche obviously had a core it wasn’t a
true enchantment but some sort of magically occurring
creature.

Watching Avalanche, Thad wondered if
there were any more of its kind. Was it just a freak occurrence or
was it a whole breed that thrived in the underground world. It was
hard to imaging hundreds of Avalanches running around the
subterranean networks. Then again he had already met more than one
odd creature in the darkness. If he had two or three lifetimes to
devote to the study of the massive underworld Thad wasn’t sure he
could even make a dent in its hidden secrets.

When Thad put up the walls to his
magical room Avalanche spent a good time walking around the
interior of the room checking every corner. When it had finished
its fourth round it laid down right next to Thad.

Closing his eyes Thad began his normal
meditative state. Over the time Thad had gotten used to his staff’s
influence on the magical currents that flowed around him. It wasn’t
a large effect mostly it just drew power to it in a small manner.
Avalanche did the same thing but in a much more pronounced fashion.
Avalanche also emitted magic but only that of the earth element. It
was odd and made it much more difficult to match his own internal
magical senses with that of the world around him.

Thad looked down at Avalanche, amazed
by the curious little beast. “What exactly are you?” Thad asked but
Avalanche simply let out a low happy bark.

That night Thad’s mind went wild
imagining all kinds of beasts that could roam the underground. His
dreams were filled with things he had read about as a kid. Dwarfs,
dragons, giant worms, and living darkness haunted his
thoughts.

The next day Thad tried to feed
Avalanche another gem but she didn’t seem to be hungry. He simply
sniffed at the gem and then began bouncing around Thad. It didn’t
bother Thad overly in truth he was a little relieved if Avalanche
ate even once a day it would be hard to keep enough gems around to
keep the thing happy.

Thad could have easily set up a shield
and left the creature behind but the thought of having such a
unique pet sparked something inside of him. Not to mention only
having his staff to talk to was beginning to make him think he was
going mad. While Avalanche couldn’t talk back it could at least
give some sign of outward emotion no matter how
primitive.

Throughout the day Thad found himself
talking to Avalanche as he walked. The animal didn’t respond much
but continued to scamper around behind him chasing after anything
that moved usually squashing small bugs under its heavy feet.
Whenever Avalanche killed one of the bugs he would whine for a
short period about his lost toy. The whole thing greatly amused
Thad.

A few hours before he would have
normally decided to stop Avalanche began making an awful racket.
The creature kept running in front of Thad and nudging him toward a
small side tunnel. After the third time Thad gave in and followed
Avalanche as he merrily ran down the dark corridor turning back
every so often giving a loud bark as if demanding Thad to keep up
with him.

When Thad finally caught up with
Avalanche he found the creature growling at a section of the cave
wall. Wondering what Avalanche was going on about Thad shined a
bright light on the wall. As soon as the light hit the wall a host
of gems reflected his light in a myriad of colors.

“Did you find yourself a snack girl?”
Thad asked the humor evident in his voice.

Avalanche bounced around barking at the
offending wall that was between it and its treasure. To help out
his little friend Thad blasted at the wall getting a frightened
yelp from Avalanche as rocks showered around them. As soon as the
dust settled Avalanche searched the ground for pieces of gems
sucking down any that he found. As soon as the ground was clean he
went straight back to the wall and began clawing at a now exposed,
rather large gem.

Walking over to the wall Thad placed
his hand on the rocks surfaces and began to turn the rock around
the large gem to sand. As soon as the gem was free it quickly
disappeared into Avalanches maw.

With his hunger sated Avalanche found a
comfortable place on the ground and curled up for a nap. Laughing
Thad removed a few of the larger gems from the wall in case
Avalanche got hungry when there wasn’t such a nice cache of food
available.

After setting up his magical walls on
the two entrances into the small section of cave Thad sat down next
to Avalanche and gently stroked the animals head. It was nice to
know that it could find its own food though it did seem as if it
had a bit of trouble getting to it. With that thought in mind Thad
wondered if that had been what happened when he had met the
creature. Had it been trying to get to a cache of food when the
wall had collapsed down on it? He wished he could go back and check
to see if that had been the case but it didn’t really matter in the
end. He just hoped Avalanche didn’t cause the same thing to happen
when he was around.