by D. W.
“It’s your turn to check on our new guest to see if he’s awake. The general wants to see him as soon as he opens his eyes.”
“Alright, but it’s only been a few hours since the doc got finished with him, do you really expect him to be awake yet.”
Thad stepped from his hidden spot in the shadows and stunned the two men before their minds had a chance to register his presence. For a brief moment, Thad thought about killing the two men so they would be unable to raise the alarm. He knew he was angry at what had been done to him and killing these men in cold blood would in no way bring his foot back. He knew it was wrong, but he still had to fight the urge to kill the men as they lay helpless on the ground. He settled instead of hitting them repeatedly with his staff until he was sure that they wouldn’t be waking for a long while.
With the guards incapacitated, Thad searched their bodies for anything of use. Their coin pouches were fairly light on gold, but there was enough to fill his belly assuming he could make it out. Nothing else they had really seemed prudent to take with him. He already had two swords and every item that he carried would weigh him down, forcing him to use more magic to keep his stub from touching the ground.
Directly across from the guard station, Thad found stairs leading up. Going up the stairs was only slightly harder than walking on a level surface. Thad was slightly surprised that he wasn’t tiring yet. He still wasn’t sure of how the magic was flowing through him without him having to force it to his will.
At the top of the stairs, Thad opened a door to find another long hall decorated with rich tapestries depicting different battles. Every time his staff landed on the stone beneath his feet it sent an echo down the hall that made him wince. The halls were empty, so Thad hoped it was late in the night and he would be able to make his escape long before people started to stir.
He tried to keep going in one general direction, but with so many twists and turns it was hard to keep his bearings. After what seemed like an endless walking down dark corridors, he finally found a door leading outside.
The courtyard of the building was surrounded by a tall wall that even with the aid of his magic, Thad was unsure of his ability to cross. Not wanting to attempt it just to fall and injure himself further, Thad followed the outside wall of the building, looking for an exit to the compound.
He found the main gate to the compound after turning the first corner of the large building. It wasn’t a large gate; it only had the room for a single wagon to pass at a time. It was easy to see the building was designed for defense. The gate was guarded by five heavily armored and armed men. There were no men walked the top of the wall and for that Thad was grateful.
Thad knew he would only get one chance to break through the gate. He doubted that if he was recaptured, the Ablaians would give him a second chance. That is if they even let him live. Letting the magic flow into him like a great torrent, Thad mixed his illusionary magic with fire making a large flaming horse the size of a small house and sent it toward the guards.
The guards had mixed reactions, but the primary one seemed to be panic. Only one of the guards stayed in the path of the raging beast as it rushed the gate and Thad involuntary heaved as the man was run down and turned into a burnt husk.
Shortly before the horse reached the gates, the small portcullis slammed down, but it was of little use as the metal melted away as if was made of wax. The thick wooden doors burst apart flaming as the magical creature continued a short way into the town beyond before disappearing.
The sheer force of the magic that had coursed through his body left him feeling tired and spent, but it wasn’t followed by the normal pounding in his head that he had grown to expect. Thad continued his slow pace, hobbling his way toward the gate where the guards quickly recovered and sounded a loud bell through the night. Thad cursed slightly knowing that if he didn’t act soon, he would find himself surrounded.
Allowing more magic in, Thad lifted himself off the ground until his remaining foot was clear of the cobble stone and shot forward with as much speed as he could muster. The guards moved to block his path. He leveled his staff at them and sent a torrent of force knocking the soldiers aside as he soared past them.
His victory was short lived as numerous soldiers rushed through the town toward him. Though his head wasn’t hurting, he knew his body was starting to reach its limit on magic. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he felt fatigued as if he had been running for hours. Not wanting to chance it, he flew toward the direction of a small ally.
Turning every few minutes, Thad continued to evade his captors until he saw the edge of the town. He was happy to learn that there was no wall, just open field beyond the houses. Thad dared not look behind him, as he could hear the clanging and scraping of metal close behind him.
Ahead of him, all Thad could see was a large looming mountain. He hoped that it could provide some shelter or a way to elude his followers who were closing quickly. His hopes were soon shatter as the walls of the mountain were steep and with his waning magic, he dared not try and float up to the nearest edge. Turning sharply, Thad followed the canyon wall looking for anything he could use to his advantage.
Noticing some large boulders perched close to the edge, Thad send a small tendril of force against them, causing them to lose their hold and plummet toward the canyon floor behind him. He heard as they impacted and from the sounds behind him it had bought him some time, but not much.
Off to his right he saw an overgrown mine entrance. With little other choice, Thad shot inside the safety the mine offered. He wasn’t sure if his pursuers saw him, but when a few minutes passed and still no one followed behind him, he let out a sigh of relief.
With hopes that he had made a good escape, Thad sat down on the cold ground letting the magic that had been holding him up slip from his grasp. Once the magic was gone, the fatigue from its use hit him full force and he had to fight to keep his eyes open. He was glad his head wasn’t pounding, but passing out would be just as bad in the current situation. In the end, Thad had little choice as his mind shunt down sending him into a deep restful sleep.
Thad awoke with a start as the sound of men moving around outside of the mine carried to his ears. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep, but the light from outside said it was for more than a few hours; plenty of time for the guards to bring in trackers to find him. From the sound of things outside, that is just what they had done.
The voices continued to come closer and Thad’s fears were realized as the first group of soldiers made their way into the mine. Thad moved behind a large bolder, hugging the side of the cave hoping the darkness would conceal him.
“He’s still somewhere in the mine, there are no signs of anyone leaving. Spread out, there’s no telling how deep he went. If you find him, yell out. Don’t try and fight him by yourself. He’s already proved a difficult foe. Johnson, you go let the rest know we found him.” a commanding voice said from the mouth of the mine.
Thad wanted to curse. There were easily thirty of them and from what he had just heard, there were more outside. He had no clue what to do. The chances of continuing to elude capture were dwindling with every second.
Thad only saw one way out of his current situation and even then, all he would be doing was sending himself to a slow death underground. After his short stay with the Ablaians, he figured even death was better than spending what was left of his life as their guest.
From behind his boulder, Thad sent his magic into the mountain, weakening the integrity of the mine entrance. Nothing happened. He started panicking as the soldiers began to draw closer to his location. He sent a massive surge of energy into the earth.
With his effort to collapse the entrance to the mine failing, his only option was to fight. Shutting off his link with the earth, Thad readjusted his magic and brought himself off the ground using his magic once again to replace his missing foot. Stepping from behind his cover, Thad drew his sword and faced off against the soldiers who were block
ing his escape.
The soldiers began to yell out, and then form up to attack him as a single group. It was obvious they were well trained, and it also was apparent that from the orders their leader were giving, they expected to take him alive. Thad knew his chances of winning were almost nonexistent, but he promised himself that before he allowed himself to be taken back as a prisoner, he would end his own life.
Thad raked the first line of soldiers with a stream of fire that sent them and two behind them rolling and screaming on the ground. Not wanting to let up, Thad followed it up with a blast of sheer force, knocking most the others from their feet. The few who remained standing rushed him, forcing Thad to put his sword to work.
Thad considered himself fairly skilled with a sword, but these men put his skill to shame. Their movements and stance left no opening, and they struck at every chance, forcing Thad back. If not for his shield, he would have been cut to ribbons in the matter of seconds.
His sword never met flesh, but it did allow him to keep his opponents busy while he used his magic to take them out one by one. The sound of ringing steel and screams of the men who were unlucky enough to be on the bad end of his magic filled the cave. Thad was amazed; he could hear more soldiers amassing outside. He knew he was running out of time, but he didn’t know what else he could do.
As he fought with four different men, the ground below him began to shake. It started lightly at first, but steadily began to grow in intensity until it was even hard for him to stand without using his magic to lift himself completely off the ground.
With the soldiers falling to the ground, Thad took the advantage and headed for the mouth of the mine. A few feet away from the entrance, the old timbers framing the entrance cracked and fell, along with a large section of the roof, effectively blocking his path.
Cursing, Thad reversed direction as large sections of the roof of the cave began to rain from above. He raced down the winding tunnels of the mine, hoping to find someplace where it didn’t seem like he was going to get buried alive.
As suddenly as it started, the earthquake stopped. His nerves on end and exhaustion wearing him thin, Thad released his magic and allowed himself to settle on the ground. It hadn’t worked as he had planned, but at least it didn’t sound like anyone would be able to get to him.
He was safe for the time being. Now he just had to find a way out of the caves and make his way to Farlan. He wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, but for now, all he needed was rest. So pulling off his pack, he used it as a pillow as he lay down for a good restful sleep.
