by D. W.
“Having fun reading through that musty old book?” Darryl asked as he plopped down heavily on the edge of Thad’s bed.
Thad kicked Darryl hard in the back. “I was trying to enjoy it until some loudmouth illiterate buffoon had to interrupt me.”
Darryl freighted ignorance and shock. “Who would do such a thing? Tell me who was so inconsiderate and I shall smite them with my holy wrath.” The two young men sat with serious expressions for a few moments before breaking out into a gall of laughter.
“You really know how to stir up a heap of trouble you know that Thad? Ever since your little attack, they have been searching every last soldiers personal effects trying to ferret out spies. So far they have found two more soldiers with missives from the Ablaians. It isn’t pretty, but spies are inevitable between countries and with this fort being the only link between Farlan and Abla, you would expect to find a couple. Everyone knows and expects that’s why we all observe each other so closely, but no one took it so seriously until you were attacked. I can understand why. If the Ablaians don’t know about you, then they’re in for a surprise when they launch their little attack.” Darryl said punching him solidly in the arm.
“Well next time I’ll try not to get myself injured so you don’t have to worry about upsetting your little routine.” Thad replied dryly.
“See that you don’t, and if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you see that you don’t upset the captain like that again. She has been a pain the backside since you got attacked. I don’t know what you said to her today, but she’s been on a rampage ever since she left your room.”
Thad let out a heavy sigh and grabbed the glass of water on the table next to his bed. After taking a hearty drink, he offered some of it to Darryl who gladly accepted. “We had a little disagreement on if I should be present on the battlements during the battle. She wants me to sit back in the safety of the command center while everyone else is out there in harm’s way.”
“Ah, so the young captain is worried about your safety and your pride forced you to refuse her generous offer. I’m telling you, the way you are with women, you will be lucky if one doesn’t kill you.” Darryl said laughing.
“You might just be right there my friend.” Thad said laughing along with Darryl.
The two talked until Darryl’s guard shift was over. Once he was gone, Thad went back to reading. The diary was still incredibly boring and he soon drifted off to sleep with the tome still in his hands.
The next two days were a measure of Thad’s patience. It was agonizing, having to stay in bed, but he had already fought with Eloen more than he wanted to and wasn’t looking forward for another round. The doctor had said that he would be able to get out of the bed today as long as his vitals were still good and his arm was healing normally, and there were no signs of infection. It was still early, but it was hard to wait for him to show.
Shortly after the sun cleared the horizon, the doctor walked through his door. He was a kind, older man with sandy-brown hair and a bushy mustache that looked as if a caterpillar had crawled on top of his lip.
“How are we felling today Master Torin?” He asked in his gruff voice.
“Feeling just fine doc. Ready to get out of this bed that’s for sure.”
“Well let’s take a look.” The doctor said as he gently lifted up Thad’s arm and removed the bandages covering his wound. The wound had already scabbed over and didn’t look pretty, but it wasn’t red or swollen so that was good.
“Looks like its healing just fine. You still have to be careful of infection, so make sure you keep it clean. If you can promise to do that, I’ll tell the captain you’re free to get out of bed.”
Thad reached up and gave the doctor a hug. It was the best news he had gotten in days. Wasting no time, he jumped out of bed, quickly dressed himself. The guards in tow he headed for the bathes. It had been too long since he felt clean, and the smell that was coming off his own body was beginning to make him gag.
Once he was clean, Thad headed directly to his lab to get back to work. The one charging plate he had finished was already at work, but at only one orb a day, it was incredibly slow. The second one was nearly finished when he left and wouldn’t take long to complete. Instead of heading though the main door, Thad made a detour and entered the armory through the Smithy entrance where he found Todd busy making more glass orbs. The young man must have already made enough to last them weeks already, but he was still fast at work.
“Hi Todd, still working hard I see.” Thad said starting the young man a bit.
“Master Torin glad to see you’re doing better. If you got a moment I have something I want to show you.” The young man rattled off enthusiastically.
Todd took him to a small box stored on a shelf at the back of the workshop. Opening the box, he placed a perfect replication of Southpass Fort in glass on the workbench. “I was wondering if you would be able to send this to the queen as a gift. I don’t know if she would like anything I make, but since you know her, I thought you would be the best person to deliver it for me.”
Thad could easily see the hope in Todd’s face. The glass fort wasn’t very big; it was barely taller than his hand. Each little section of the thing looked so frail Thad was afraid to touch it. The miniature fort was small enough to fit in his sending box and if the queen didn’t find it as beautiful as he did, the princess would.
“I can see to that, but before I move it do you mind if I magically strengthen it? I’m afraid it would break on its way to its destination as it is.”
“Could you do that? I had it placed in this box with plenty of padding, but with things this delicate, there’s always a fear of breaking.” Todd said almost jumping with excitement.
“It only took a few moments to imbue the glass with magic. Once he was done, he was sure he could pick it up without it breaking but it would still shatter if he dropped it from any height. With the gift for the queen safely stored in its box under his arm, Thad went straight to his office.
Unlike before, his guards didn’t wait outside, but insisted on being inside the room with him. It made him a little uneasy at first considering his last guard had attempted to kill him. After reassuring himself that the two men were friends that had traveled all the way from the capital with him, he sat down and began to work.
After finishing up the last bit on the second magical charger, he quickly finished up the second one. Once that was finished, he checked the time and noticed he didn’t have time to finish a third before the midday meal so he picked up a bundle of arrows and began the tedious job of enchanting them. The arrows were easy to do and only took about ten minutes apiece to complete.
Thad didn’t want to stop working to go the mess hall, so he asked Alden to send a runner to grab them a plate of food. He had already been out for too many days and didn’t want to fall behind any further.
Everything was going well and Thad had finished three bundles of arrows as well as four of the chargers well before dinner. His head was throbbing slightly from the strain, but it was far from unbearable. As was his normal routine, Thad checked each of his new works with his magical sight to make sure there were no weak links between the body and core of the items. It was a simple thing, but it was one of the most enjoyable parts of the day. Not only was he sure that his work was doing what it was supposed to, the golden lines that arched and twisted between the gems, connecting them together was a sight to behold.
Tearing himself away from the natural beauty of the magical forces. Thad stretched, his body stiff from hours of sitting still while his mind worked. Thad wasn’t really in the mood to eat in the mess, so he asked Ballard to send a runner to bring his food to his room. He knew they didn’t mind, and had even suggested that eating in such a crowded place was unnecessarily dangerous.
Once back in his room, Thad grabbed the sending box and opened it. For once he was happy to find it empty, or he would have to wait a day or more before he could send the queen her gift. After scra
tching out a quick note to the queen explaining the gift and who it was from, as well as a short letter to the princess updating her on current events, Thad placed all three in the sending box and closed the lid.
His meal arrived shortly, delivered by Eloen. She placed the plate of food on his night stand and then turned to Alden and Peterson who guarded his door. “You two can wait outside for a bit. I promise he will be safe in here with me for the time being.”
Alden gave them a knowing smile while Peterson whispered something into his cohort’s ear, getting a healthy laugh from Alden. Eloen cleared her throat and both men looked up keenly before darting out of the room.
“Why have I been graced with your presence this lovely evening my lady?”
Eloen turned on him, her face slightly less than pleased. “Don’t you dare start that crap with me. I’m still not that happy with you at the moment. The doctor told me you have been released for duty so I thought I would come by and check on you myself.”
“How kind of you.” Thad replied disingenuously.
Eloen looked down at Thad as he lay on his bed eating his meal. She let out a soft sigh. Her eyes melted from their hard glare too their usual soft radiance. “I won’t apologize; I still don’t think you should be on the battlements during the battle. That said, I don’t want to fight about it either. I can’t stop you, just promise me you’ll try and stay safe.”
Thad wasn’t sure what to say. He could hear the catch in her voice and it sounded as she was on the verge of tears. “Well I’m not in any more of a hurry to die than you are.”
His words didn’t magically improve Eloen’s morose mood, but it did earn him a sad smile. Eloen never said anything else; she just stood there and watched him eat. He tried to think of what to say, but nothing would come to mind. He silently wished he had a spell that let him read someone’s mind. He quickly discounted the idea while it might be handy in certain situations, using it on a friend seemed wrong and more than slightly dishonest.
As soon as he finished his meal, Eloen collected his plate and cup and headed to the door. Thad called out to her to wait. She turned around and looked at him her eyes downcast and her face sullen.
“Eloen, I’ll promise to keep myself safe as long as you do the same. I don’t have many people who I count as true friends, but you are one of them. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you around to constantly harass me.”
Eloen didn’t say anything, she just took the few steps to where he sat and wrapped him in a tight hug. He could feel as something wet dropped on his cheek as she squeezed tighter. Then hiding her face, she quickly turned and left the room. When she left, his two guards reentered the room fixing him with harsh glairs.
Neither Alden nor Peterson said anything, but he could tell they weren’t pleased with him. He knew that with the way Eloen left the room it must have looked bad, but if she had wanted them to know what had been said, she would have told them so he refused to explain himself.
CHAPTER XIX
Thad stood on the battlements and looked down at the ground below. The snow was all but gone and everyone was on edge. They Ablaians should attack any day. Thad had wondered why they hadn’t already. The ground had been more than clear enough for days now. The only thing that made sense, was they were waiting for the ground to dry so the small layer of mud wouldn’t slow them down.
He had already finished the sphere chargers and they were building up an impressive stock of magical explosives. There were already almost a hundred of the violent little orbs in the vault. Thad thought that would be more than enough, but the army kept making more. He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake in giving them a source of such power. His only solace was that they wouldn’t last long after the battle.
The blacksmith and some of the soldiers were busy making miniature catapults to fling the magical orbs at the enemy so they wouldn’t have to worry about one landing too close and destroying part of the wall they were meant to protect. Todd was still busy making stockpiles of the orbs. Eloen and her troops were still playing babysitter to him.
At least the relationship between Eloen and himself had returned to its former glory, with her constantly trying to make him blush as he tried to figure her out. He wasn’t sure how long he could have put up with her being morose and gloomy.
“Are you going to stand there until the Ablaians show up?” Darryl said from behind him.
“Thad turned around and started down the stairs back down to the lower compound popping Darryl in the back of the head as he passed him. “I thought about it, but I didn’t want to hear you whine all day long.”
With his main project done and plenty of arrows, Thad was working on enchanting armor for the troops, but he wasn’t pushing himself. He still did a pack of arrows a day, but he was sure that he had more than enough for the battle, but one could never tell. He had never been in a siege before, so it was hard for him to calculate how many they would actually need.
Thad really didn’t want to go back to his office and spend the rest of the day working. It would be different if he was working on something unique and new, but doing the same thing over and over day in and out was driving him insane.
“If you don’t want to work on the armor, take a few days off. I don’t think anyone will begrudge you some time to yourself. Even soldiers get down time.” Alden said as they made their way across the courtyard.
“I know, but what would I do. “
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do Thad, but you could always take the captain down to Soldiers Reprieve.” Alden replied laughing.
“Soldiers Reprieve?”
“It’s a hot spring a few miles from the fort. It’s a bit of a pain to get to, but it’s well worth it.”
“I might just do that, thanks for the tip Alden.”
Alden slid up next to him and slapped him roughly on the back. “Think nothing of it. Just try not to make the captain mad again.”
Thad found Eloen in the command center talking to General Foreman. The old general and young maiden seemed to get along well and Thad often found the two chatting. The only downside to their chats was that he was often the topic of conversation between the two. He knew people talked about him, but he didn’t think he would have to listen to the conversation from his room a few doors down. He slightly suspected Eloen knew he could hear her and chose the opportunity to redden his ears even if she couldn’t see him.
The old general gave him a smile as he walked into the man’s office. Eloen joined in, but where the general’s smile was friendly, hers seemed calculating and planned. He was getting used to it. She always seemed to be planning something where he was concerned; he just wasn’t sure what it was all the time.
“Just the Woman I was looking for.” Thad said cheerfully.
Eloen’s raised her left eyebrow and her smile became more of a smirk. “Oh, you’re looking for me. Pray tell, what has our gallant mage out searching for a lowly captain.”
“I could use some time off and one of my friends suggested I go to a place called Soldiers Reprieve. I was hoping you could show me the way.”
Eloen’s face changed to one of surprise and what he was sure was excitement. The sudden change slightly worried him as she jumped out of her chair and rushed for the door. Right before exiting the room she grabbed the doorframe and turned back to him. “I’ll be right back, I just got to grab a few things then we can leave.”
The general let out a barking laugh. “You two enjoy yourselves. I fear soon there won’t be much time for merry making. Ah! To be young again.”
Thad went to his own room and grabbed a second set of clothes and a towel. Alden had sad it was a hot springs and Thad didn’t think Eloen would let him get away with staying out of the water. With his supplies nearly packed away, he went back to the main chamber to await his friend as Alden and Darryl made light of the situation.
Eloen returned in short order, carrying the travel sack that Thad had made. “Let’s go, we’re burn
ing daylight.” She said, grabbing his arm and tugging him outside with Darryl and Alden following behind laughing. Eloen turned quickly, giving the two men a scathing glare. “I think you two could use some time off yourself why don’t you go see what the others are up too?”
Alden face took on a hurt expression. “That’s very kind of you but we would be remiss in our duties if we did such a thing.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, now go before I have you scrubbing pots in the mess for the foreseeable future.” Eloen said pointing toward the barracks.
Darryl turned to Alden, holding out his arm. “Shall we?” Smiling Alden too Darryl’s offered arm and the two ambled off.
With their shadows gone, Eloen quickly took off, Thad racing to keep up with her. When Alden said that it took a bit of effort to get to the hot springs Thad imagined a long hike. Instead, it was more of a series of long climbs up and down steep sections of the mountain. Thad knew he needed to exercise more, but this was ridiculous.
When the hot spring finally came into view, it was like seeing an oasis in the desert. Everything around them was barren and rocky except the large pool of water that had trees and flowers sprouting around it.
With her normal disregard, Eloen stripped down to her underclothes and jumped in the water laughing like a child at play. Thad followed her example except with a bit more decorum. The water was hotter than what he normally liked and the cool air blowing down from the mountain caused him to shiver.
Eloen floated around him, splashing him every so often with water. Suddenly she jumped up and placing her hands on his shoulders shoved him under the water. He could hear her laughing as he resurfaced.
