by D. W.
It didn’t take long for Thad to come to find an answer. He had seldom been rational in most of his decisions. He was sure that if faced with the same situation he would do exactly like Crusher. Run into the fight well before he found a better solution. His staff didn’t seem to like his train of thought as it forced pictures of him and the dwarf lying dead in a dark tunnel. His staff did have a point even with Crusher’s inhuman strength and Thad’s magic if they followed this path there was a good chance they would both end up dead.
In the end it was an easy decision. He had only had few friends in his life and many of them had taken great risks for his sake. Joan had taken him in even knowing he was an escaped slave. The princess had kept his secret knowing her mother was anxious to find him. Monique had partnered with him knowing full well that if anyone found out he was an escaped slave her business would suffer, and Eloen had helped him escape capture at great personal risk.
With everything his friends had gone through to help him when he was in need. There was no way he would turn his back on someone now when they needed him even if it was an insane mission.
Thad placed his hand on Crusher shoulder as he continued ranting with his hands oblivious to the fact Thad wasn’t paying attention anymore. When his companion finally stopped his frantic hand gestures and looked at him Thad opened his hand and showed the dwarf an illusion of the two of them fighting a horde of the creatures that now roamed the subterranean tunnels.
Crusher looked at him awestruck for a few minutes then let out what Thad was sure would have been a roaring laugh as he pounded Thad hard on the back. Thad joined in his friend’s laughter.
Crusher quickly switched from celebrating to planning how the three could best attack the invaders. Thad had some trouble following but not much as Crusher drew figures on the ground often scribbling one out and redrawing it to make it clearer to his friend.
The plan was simple they would stalk and attack any group they could find that seemed small enough to handle in a short period of time without the use of Thad’s magic. At the same time they would have to dodge the larger patrols and armed groups. After a short time the enemy would begin searching for whoever was killing off their men. The increase in troops would allow Thad’s magic to be put into devastating effect. Crusher wanted to know if Thad could make magical traps that would only be triggered by the creatures and not them or any other unsuspecting being.
After giving it a lot of thought Thad figured it wouldn’t be impossible for him to make magical traps. Since they wouldn’t be held he wouldn’t have to worry about the feedback problem he had been faced with when trying to make rings with offensive capabilities.
The plan was brilliant as far as Thad could tell. By keeping his magic a secret the enemy wouldn’t be prepared for the magical onslaught allowing them to take out large number of troops very easily. There was still the problem of what to do when the enemy adjusted for his magic after he began putting it into effect, but until they knew of how they would respond there was little they could do to prepare for it themselves.
With the basic plan set out for the coming war Thad and Crusher settled down for a good sleep not knowing when the next time it would be afforded to them. Even with the promise of bloody days ahead Thad had no trouble falling into a peaceful slumber. It was frightening that he had grown so accustomed to bloodshed. The fear that he would not only grow used to the endless battles but also grow to enjoy them much as his friend did crept into his mind. Thad tried to dispel the fear but it continued to linger in the back of his mind.
CHAPTER XII
The first day of their personal war started slow. They had come across a few of the enemy but Crusher had let them go without challenge. The groups weren’t large and Thad could not see the reason to let them go but in the end he was leaving the majority of the choices up to his friend. It was his war and Thad couldn’t argue that he had vastly more experience in the subterranean world than he did.
Crusher was using Avalanche by having her scout ahead using an enchantment Thad had made that allowed him to see around her with little effort. While the rock dog was loud the creatures seemed to take little notice after her initial appearance. They would watch her but other than that they treated her as a passing curiosity, allowing them to stalk their prey effortlessly.
Instead of having to describe everything that was happening around Avalanche to Crusher Thad linked the new enchantment to a polished piece of the ultra-light metal. It wasn’t as good as a mirror but with a little magical assistance they were able to see what was going on. With little to do and Crusher seeming intent on merely watching their enemies Thad sat down with his magical tome and began to read.
After four pages into his book Crusher tapped him on the shoulder grabbing his attention. After a small pause Crusher pointed at the polished piece of metal. Looking at it he saw that Avalanche was stalking a small group of only five creatures. One of the creatures was slightly different than what he was used to seeing. It had a much larger body standing nearly two foot taller than its companions. While it was obvious that the creatures were the same breed they were bred for different purposes.
It didn’t take long for them to reach where the creatures were located. The four smaller creatures carried tools that looked as if they were made for mining while the large one simply stood behind them looking intimidating. Thad and Crusher positioned themselves a good distance away and watched them through the magically linked metal mirror.
They moved slowly, searching the tunnels intently until they found what they were looking for and began to chip away at the rock. One of the smaller creatures accidently dropped its load onto the larger ones foot and was rewarded with a vicious backhand. From what Thad had seen of the creatures he had expected the smaller one to attack back but it simply whimpered and went back to work.
The battle started easily with Avalanche springing into action and ripping the throat out of one of the smaller creatures then turning and running back toward where Thad and Crusher hid. The creatures took the bait and chased after Avalanche with the larger one leading the charge. Focused on the dog they didn’t even notice them until Crusher’s axe took the large one full in the chest.
Surprisingly the larger creature didn’t die from the attack and pulled the blade of the axe from its chest and lifting Crusher from the ground as he stubbornly held onto the axe’s haft. Thad made a cut across the back of the creature’s outstretched arm causing him to drop Crusher. As soon as he regained his feet Crusher started hacking at the creature’s leg as if he was a lumberjack trying to fell a tree. Thad wanted to help his friend but he had his own worries and he fended off the attacks of two of the three remaining smaller creatures.
Avalanche was faring much better than he was as she darted in and out attacking the remaining creature who was frantically trying to escape her vicious attacks. Thad didn’t know how much he had begun to rely on his magic until he had faced off without using it in an offensive manner. He still had his shield but he had to forcibly refrain himself from using any of his magic offensively.
Thad had only finished off one of the creatures when he was joined by both Avalanche and Crusher. With the three of them the poor creature had little chance and were soon overwhelmed. With the battle finished Thad and Crusher looted the bodies taking everything including the clothes from the creature’s backs. Thad wasn’t sure why they went so far but if that’s what Crusher wanted to do then he didn’t have a problem with it.
When their morbid task was done they returned to their base. Crusher had picked the place out and Thad had to agree it was perfect for their needs. It was a network of dead-end tunnels giving Thad and Crusher their own small room. Their first night there Thad had placed one of his magical walls up and added an extra enchantment to make it look like the surrounding walls to both normal vision and nightsight.
The spoils they didn’t need were thrown in the farthest room. They hadn’t got much of use, a few more of the weird coins and a c
ouple of gems were all that Thad had found. Crusher had taken a dagger that looked as if it was of dwarven make, as well as a couple of the weird coins.
In the largest room Thad had built a fire pit in the ground and on the far wall Crusher had begun a large map. It outlined the surrounding tunnels and marked their recent encounter with a large x. Food was plentiful besides what they were able to scrounge off the dead creatures, as there was a nice herd of sheep like creatures not far away.
The creatures looked like sheep though they had seven eyes and where their mouth should have been there was a sucker. Thad figured they lived off the moss that grew thickly in the subterranean tunnels. He had succumbed to eating the moss before and while it tasted foul it had sustained him.
While Crusher sat next to the fire pit sharpening his axe Thad worked on some magical traps. The plan was to have them set off for anything except them. He had worked with making an enchantment work only for him but this time it was in reverse. It wasn’t as easy to do as he had initially thought. While making it set off by movement was easy and excluding himself was simple as well. The trouble came from when he tried to add in Crusher and Avalanche.
It was a fun project for him as he could finally use spells that he had otherwise considered out of his reach due to the backflow. Whenever a physical spell was cast such as fire or lightning, the item channeling the spell also got a small backlash of the effect. If it was fire the person wearing the ring would be burnt and if lightning would receive a nasty shock. He had once tried to replace the metal with wood but that worked even less as the fire burned or blew apart nearly taking off some of his fingers.
He had thought about insulating the metal using a layer of rock but he had yet to try it. Whenever the idea occurred to him he was too busy to try it and when he had time it always seemed to skip his mind for other more interesting ideas.
Currently he was working on a lightning trap. Just like his paralyzing ring it sought out any nearby bodies and targeted them. To make sure they didn’t set off the traps Thad had made, a set of rings that he and Crusher could wear and for Avalanche he had made a necklace that she could wear around her neck. There was still the chance she could rub it off but it was the best thing he could come up with.
They wouldn’t be putting the traps into effect until the tunnels flooded with enemy soldiers looking for whatever was killing off their people. Thad wasn’t sure how long that would take but every day he had gave him time to make more traps to help reduce the enemies’ numbers. From what he had seen there were countless numbers of the creatures and every one that they killed without having to engage increased their chances of surviving this endeavor.
Over the next few days they continued to stalk their prey only attacking if there were six or less of them in one group. Thad had gotten much better at timing his initial attacks to do the most damage. During their fights he had learned that the enemy had at least three different types of soldiers. There was the small agile ones that seemed to do most of the manual labor and the large ones who protected the smaller ones as well as kept them in line whenever they seemed to argue amongst themselves. There was also one that was in-between the two, though taller than the large one, it wasn’t as well built and seemed to be in charge.
They had only found one of them so far and even though the group was slightly larger than the ones they had faced so far Crusher was eager to attack. From Crusher’s actions and eagerness he was sure that the new creature was important to their enemies. The battle had been short lived as Crusher’s axe had found the tall one first nearly cutting it in half as Thad and Avalanche rushed the others scattering them and easily cutting them down in the ensuing chaos.
Each day when they finished their hunting they would return to their base and plan out the next day’s attacks. They had centered their attacks a good ways from where they were based and kept them to a close group of tunnels in hopes that they could lure a large group of soldiers into one area. Every time they went out Thad would place the traps he had made the night before but he wouldn’t activate them. The traps would simply lay dormant until he decided it was time for them be of use. He could either activate them all at once from a distance or set one off from close range without activating the others.
The traps were an assortment of types from fire, lightning, ice, light, and darkness. The wide array of types was Crusher’s idea. Thad figured it was to increase the amount of panic and confusion among their enemies but without being able to really discuss the issues with Crusher he only had guesses. His staff had also been helpful with some of the ideas for traps, giving him a picture of how one could be used much like his exploding glass orbs. It was simple it would build up magic and then destroying itself causing all the magic to be released in a massive explosion. There was some risk in using an explosion, namely a cave-in, but Thad figured it was worth the risk.
Thad’s favorite new enchantment was the different magical eyes he had placed around the tunnels. They were each linked to the metal mirror just like the one hung around Avalanche. It allowed them to search out the area they had hit without the need to let Avalanche go out.
Thad had learned a lot from watching the enemies when they discovered their dead allies. Unlike humans they didn’t seem to mourn their dead. They would simply drag them off then begin looking around for the perpetrators.
With his spare time Thad had also been working on a new spell that could be effective without leaving a noticeable trace. It was simple, so much so that he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. All the spell did was push against whatever it was targeted too. It could be used to push down from any direction the only problem Thad faced was adjusting the force to be effective without being deadly. In the end he came up with three different strengths for the spell and placed it on a rune and added it to his necklace.
Their loot room was growing steadily with an assortment of goods. Thad had found a bastard sword much to his liking on their third excursion. It was well balanced though he could have done without the bone hilt. Crusher had noticed the sword as well and without being asked changed the hilt out with one from another of the other swords, making Thad wonder what kind of bone it had been.
Thad had heard of evil creatures who lived off bringing others pain but most of them only functioned on the most base of thoughts. These creatures not only seemed to revel in the pain of others they seemed intelligent. They obviously knew how to make weapons and clothing and had a language even if Thad couldn’t understand it. The idea of an intelligent group living under the earth that prayed on others indiscriminately sent a shiver down his spine.
On the fifth day, one of the creatures found one of Thad’s magical eyes and placed it in one of their pouches. Thad contemplated canceling the spell but decided against it after giving it a bit of thought. Later that day the magical eye was passed off to one of the tall creatures.
The tall creature carrying it kept it in its own pouch but would bring it out occasionally to look at it. Two days after it had been taken Thad got his first view of how the creatures lived. When the tall creature pulled the gem out and presented it to another of his kind though this one seemed squat and fat compared to the others he had seen.
It wasn’t the other creature that had caught his attention but the surroundings. It was obviously a small village but it was built right into a massive cavern. Thad couldn’t see all of it but from what he could see it looked as if the Farlan capital could easily fit inside the cavern. The creature looking at the gem was obviously a merchant as it had an assortment of other items placed in front of him on a shoddy looking table.
After a few moments the merchant handed the other creature a bag of something and took the gem placing it in a lockbox. Thad knew he should cancel the spell but his curiosity had piqued. He had never imagined such a place as that before. He wondered if the dwarves lived in the same fashion. Suddenly the urge to continue onto the dwarven village hit him and he had to force it aside and concentrate on the war ahead
of him. Switching the magical mirror to another of the eyes Thad continued to watch the tunnels for any signs of their enemies.
That night when Thad laid down to sleep the vision of the massive underground town filled his thoughts. The sight of the thousands of the creatures moving around scared him. At first he had no clue how many of the creatures roamed the tunnels and now he had gotten a small glimpse of their home. If they sent even a fraction of their true strength against them there would be no way they could hold out against them. With those thoughts thoroughly in his mind he drifted off into an unsettling sleep filled with thoughts of being tortured at the hands of the monstrous creatures.
CHAPTER XIII
It didn’t take long before the tunnels were filled with search parties that began scouring every corner for whatever had been attacking their men. The first few days of the increased activity they were still able to kill a few of the smaller groups without the use of magic but now the tunnels were packed so tight with the creatures even leaving their base without being seen was a challenge.
Thad had figured that once the tunnels were crawling with enough creatures they would rush out and fight until they finally fell. Luckily he was wrong as Crusher continued to plan out strategic movements that would allow them to take out their enemies with little danger to themselves.
He still hadn’t had to use any of his magical traps even though with as tightly packed as the creatures were he could deal a massive blow at any time he wanted. The problem was it was hard to keep himself from doing just that. Crusher wanted to wait until they engaged an enemy in the area to use the traps in case they needed them to escape or to increase the confusion among the enemy troops. It sounded reasonable to Thad but it was like holding a wrapped package and not being able to open it until you’re told.
