Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga)

by Jackson, D. W.

  Thad let out a hearty laugh. “I honestly thought about it Crusher, but I got too much on my mind to add another woman to it, and women like Brianna there tend to take up a lot of time and energy, which I just don’t have at the moment.”

  “That be the truth,” Crusher said laughing.

  CHAPTER II

  Thad woke early the next morning with his head screaming. He had drunk way more than was wise the previous night but Crusher had been more than a little insistent that they celebrate the completion of his weapon and for some reason that included trying to drink the bar out of beer. His stomach churning Thad made his way to the small basin of water that he kept in his room and began splashing cold water on his face in hopes of clearing his mind or at least keep it from banging so hard.

  Turning around Thad’s eyes fell to the sword that now hung in its new scabbard on the wall. With his head still trying to break free of the rest of his body, Thad sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and placed his hands around his ears in attempt to help ease the pain. As soon as everything began to settle down a loud knock resounded making the thumping in his head redouble its efforts in driving him mad.

  Slowly Thad got to his feet and inched toward the door. The old hinges creaked sending slivers of pain into his mind as it opened. A grey beaded dwarf stood on the other side of the wooden portal his wrinkled face smiling brightly. “I heard you finished your sword. Guess that means ya be headed ta go talk ta those goblin loving Vathari?” Grenlor asked half in jest.

  “I was planning on leaving today but thanks to Crusher my head feels like someone used it as an anvil all night long.” Thad said wincing with every word.

  Grenlor laughed loudly causing more pain to erupt throughout Thad’s body. “A few more years of some fine dwarven brew and it won’t even bother ya lad.” Grenlor said as he reached inside his pocket pulling out a silver flask. “Take a swig of this; it’ll stop some of the racket rattling around in that noggin of yours.”

  Thad took the offered flask and took a quick swig. Whatever was inside burned like acid as it made its way down his throat but as promised, the pounding in his head lessened to a dull roar after a few moments. “I was planning on visiting you later in the day Grenlor.”

  “I figured as much lad, so I figured I’d save ya the trouble and make my way over ta see ya meself. You still planning to go talk to that mage friend of yours I take it.”

  Thad knew the subject with the Vathari was an uneasy one for most of the dwarves. They didn’t hate the Vathari but they didn’t like them much either. Every so many generations a war would break out and the dwarves and Vathari would kill each other for years then it would die down and the two groups would go back to their uneasy truce. Both groups had something the other wanted. The Vathari had rare ores and gems mined from the deepest parts of the earth and the dwarves had weapons unequaled in craftsmanship in all the realms.

  “That’s the plan. I need someone to teach me and while the dwarves have plenty of magic, you have no true mages. I can’t teach myself beyond what I have already learned and if I am going to survive and outlast the Brotherhood I am going to need to know everything I can.” Thad said pointedly.

  The smile faded from Grenlor’s face. “I know lad. I wish we could be of more help ta ya, but yer just not ready yet. When ya return, if ya return seek me out. I should be able to tell ya more then. I promise lad while yer gone I’ll be tracking down everything I can get my grubby little hands on about the Brotherhood fer ya, so do me a favor and watch yer back. Yer a good lad and I don’t want to see ya turn up in a bad way, ya hear me laddie?”

  “I will return, you can count on that Grenlor, otherwise Crusher is going to hunt me down and drag me back, or so he says.” Thad said laughing slightly.

  Grenlor joined Thad in his subdued laughter. “Horar might just do it boy, he’s never been one ta listen to reason. We all told the boy not to go deep looking for that dang ore but he wouldn’t listen, that boy never listens, at least not to any of us.”

  “I am glad he didn’t. If not for him I don’t think I would have survived this long.”

  “You would have lad, you would have. You got some fire in yer guts, people like you always find a way to get through even if it’s just by the hair on yer hind end.” Grenlor said slapping Thad hard on the back, nearly sending him sprawling on the floor.

  The two continued to talk for a short while Thad readied his pack for the coming journey. He wasn’t sure which way it was to the Vathari home but he had a place to start. All he had to do was find a Vathari and use the code word Sae-Thae had given him. If it worked he would be escorted to the mage if not he would be escorted to his death. Thad hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

  As he made his way toward the tunnel that he and Crusher had used to get to the dwarven town he was soon greeted by many people he had come to call friend over his time in the dwarven village. Crusher silently moved up to walk beside him as Avalanche bounced around barking. Thad could see Brianna had come as well she never approached him but Thad could see that her eyes were slightly puffy. He knew he should say something to her, while he could never love her, not the way she wanted, but he still considered her a friend. Soon the opportunity passed as Brianna disappeared into the crowd and was lost to him.

  Thad soon found himself staring at the steps carved in the stone that led the way back down into the depths of the earth that had nearly claimed his life. He felt Crushers hand slap him hard on the back forcing his foot to make the first step on his journey. Looking over his shoulder he watched his friend turn and walk away with the rest of the dwarves. Avalanche bounded between Thad and the Crusher as she whined unsure of what was going on but sensing something was out of the ordinary. Putting Avalanche out of his mind Thad forced himself to take the second step and continue down into the darkness below.

  This had not been his first time back into the tunnels. He and Crusher had made the trip underground to fight the Vathari many times over the past days. Part of it was to help Thad recover; the other was because Thad was trying to prove to himself that his injury had not weakened his body. No matter what he could say, Thad knew that there was more damage done than he wanted to admit. It didn’t bother him at first but the more he worked himself the more the pain started to seep into his body. Luckily the pain never came until hours after he pushed himself, so if he was forced to fight at least he wouldn’t be hampered during a battle.

  As soon as the light was completely gone Thad let his magical eye switch to the infrared spectrum. He had practiced a lot over the passing weeks and while not as good as the dwarves with their night sight he could make out the different walls and heat signatures of creatures. It wasn’t as good as having a light but it was a lot less taxing on his magical items and reserves. Shaking his head Thad almost laughed. How different it was this time as he headed into the darkness when he had run from the Ablaians. He had learned a lot during his time in the caves, as he stumbled about looking for an exit but he had learned even more once he could properly talk to Crusher who was a wealth of information.

  The silence of the tunnels was broken as Thad heard a loud noise rushing up with great speed from behind him. He wasn’t worried he had grown used to the noise and knew its origin. Turning his head slightly Thad saw Avalanche as she quickly made her way to his side. Though the creature didn’t have much in the way of facial features Thad could almost feel her sadness at having to leave the dwarven village. Avalanche had thoroughly enjoyed her stay and dwarves young and old had played with her, and the stoutest dwarves often enjoyed a good wrestle to see if they could match her boundless strength.

  Leaning down Thad patted Avalanche on the top of her head. “We will be back before you know it girl.” Thad said reassuringly unsure whether she understood him or not. That was the one thing about the creature that still amazed Thad. Sometimes she almost seemed to be able to converse with him while other times it was as if she was completely clueless. There was no rhyme or reason to it,
it simply just was. Thad had long ago given up on analyzing Avalanche’s unique magical signatures; no matter how close he looked at it, he still didn’t understand its complex workings.

  Thad walked slowly enjoying the stroll through the Underearth. His mind still battled with itself. He knew he had to go on but a large part of him urged him to turn around and head back to the dwarven village. He already missed the sound of the hammers beating against the anvils, and Crusher’s rough voice as the dwarf poked and prodded at the mage. It would have been easy to simply live out the rest of his days with the dwarves, but if everyone in the world took the easy route then little would be accomplished, he told himself that over and over as he forced his legs to carry him onward.

  It was a short journey into Vathari territory or he should say the territory they had claimed as theirs. Thad could hear the sound of the pickaxes against the stone as the Vathari workers mined the rich ore that the dwarves held invaluable. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he encountered a Vathari warrior he just hoped everything went according to plan. He didn’t mind dying, but he preferred it not to be when he was alone. Death came for everyone in due time, but dying alone in the dark seemed to be a lonely way to go, from Thad’s point of thought.

  Thad followed the sound of the workers through the darkness, though he knew his way well. There was a split up ahead, less than fifty yards, if he took a left it would lead him to a cave where a large herd of cave lizards nested, a right would lead him closer to the Vathari war parties and to Sae-Thae. Thad’s heart raced slightly faster with each step, its beat almost in time with his footsteps, each beat bringing him closer to his goal or his death.

  When he got to the split, Thad took the right path and continued on. He tried to calm himself but his nerves were on edge like they always were when battle drew near. He had heard of warriors who remained calm, never showing any change during battle and ones who lost complete control letting their bloodlust consume them. Thad was neither of these. As hard as he might try, the blood always quickened in his veins when he drew upon his sword or magic for battle, but he never lost himself to the slaughter. Just thinking of such a thing made his blood run cold. A warrior without thought was a danger not only to his enemies but also his friends. A mage without thought was a danger to the world.

  Shortly after his turn Thad came across a group of seven armed Vathari warriors guarding the entrance to one of the larger tunnels. They hadn’t seen him so he quickly forced himself against the wall, though he knew that with his distinct heat signature if they looked it wouldn’t be hard for them to find him. Working up his courage Thad repeated the password that Sae-Thae had told him to say and steeped forward. “Val sur tala reth,” Thad shouted.

  As soon as the words left his lips one of the Vathari fighters turned to Thad and threw a short shafted spear in his direction. Thad easily pulled up a wall of magical energy and deflected it. “Val sur tala reth,” he repeated louder. The Vathari warriors began to argue among each other then one of them started shouting something at Thad though he didn’t understand the meaning. “Val sur tala reth,” Thad repeated over and over as he walked toward the Vathari holding his arms wide only holding his staff.

  “ Del mer raen tue mo Val sur tala reth sue mer?” one of the Vathari said his voice sounding none too pleased.

  Thad didn’t know the meaning of the words so he simply shrugged his shoulders. “Sae-Thae, Val sur tala reth, Sae-Thae.” Thad repeated until one of the Vathari nodded and waved for Thad to follow him. Thad obeyed and was escorted by the soldier along with two others who kept the points of their spears uncomfortably close to Thad’s ribs.

  They must have walked five miles before reaching their destination, a small encampment in a large cavern. Thad could see many different forms walking around but there were so many different heat signatures it was hard to tell where one person ended and another began. He let his magical eye slip back into the normal light spectrum and sent a small flow of magical energy into his staff causing the end of it to light up faintly.

  While the light wasn’t strong in the darkness of the cavern it was like a beacon and lit up the room well enough for Thad to make out the faces gathered around him. As soon as the light had sprung forth, some of the Vathari began to yell and Thad cursed his own stupidity, he just hoped that none of them began to attack. He was fairly confident in his abilities but he was seriously outnumbered. A robed Vathari female approached him and looked him over as if she was inspecting a slave in the pens. It was a feeling Thad was all too used to and one he didn’t enjoy. “Human, what has brought you to our domain. Back to kill more of my brothers and sisters, or are you just out for a friendly afternoon stroll.” The Vathari asked perfectly in the common tongue leaving Thad more than a little surprised. “What didn’t expect for any of us to know your language, fool. We are warriors and the key to any victory is knowledge, and languages spoken and unspoken are the road to knowledge. Now answer my question, before one of my men slip and you find your chest impaled with a nice new shiny trinket.”

  Thad involuntary shivered as one his guards poked him lightly with the tip of its weapon. “I wish to be taken to your village. I need to see a Mage by the name of Sae-Thae. I was instructed to tell you, Val sur tala reth.”

  The Vathari female let out a long string of what Thad could only suspect to be curses mainly direct at him. The Vathari grabbed Thad’s clothes tunic and pulled him in close. “So you are on your pilgrimage, I don’t believe it. No Mage has visited a Vathari village for their pilgrimage for centuries. Why have you decided to do so now?”

  So the words were something about a pilgrimage. Thad wasn’t sure what the pilgrimage was about but he would have to play along, the alternative to not doing so was not looking very pleasant. “There is a time for everything and the time for my pilgrimage is now.”

  “Very well heir of Moriudonius I shall take you to see Sae-Thae. Feel free to do something stupid along the way, I would love a reason to gut you and turn your carcass into a nice belt for my robes.” The Vathari said as she turned away in disgust and walked back to a large tent that had been set up in the middle of the cavern.

  Knowing that the Vathari woman held his life in her hands, Thad followed behind her closely. He didn’t plan to let her get out of his sight if her could manage it, there was too many unknowns when it came to the Vathari, and the only chance he had at getting where he wanted to go was a woman who it seemed had a severe distaste for him.

  CHAPTER III

  The Vathari woman escorted him just as promised though she continued to her verbal assault of him whenever she saw an opportunity. Though she was hostile Thad learned a lot from her. Her name was Bahia She was a priestess though she refused to tell him the name of her god. Despite her venomous words her actions towards Thad were completely different. She allowed him to sleep in her tent, and shared her food with him, which was much better than the standard fare the other Vathari soldiers were getting.

  The first time they had stopped for rest Thad was a little reluctant to bed down in the same room as the woman, there was no telling if she would bury a dagger in his heart while he slept, but while she was openly hostile to him the soldiers were the ones who kept their eyes on him, licking their lips and fingering the hilts of their weapons.

  It was now their third day on the road to their village which Bahia had told him was called Xi’han. Thad did his best to keep her talking about her home as it was one of the few times she wasn’t making a slighted remark or open threats to him. Thad spent his time not only listening to Bahia’s words but also studying her. She didn’t mind if he conjured up light from his staff so when he had the energy available he did so. The Vathari woman was vastly different than the other Vathari he had met. While she still had the large black eyes and ashen grey skin she was much taller than the average Vathari, almost as tall as Thad. Besides her eyes and skin she looked human. Her eyes were the main thing Thad found himself gazing at. They were plum size and completely bla
ck, like obsidian jewels. At first glance their eyes made them look odd but after a period Thad began to envy them. Not because they could see in the darkness but because of their abstract beauty.

  “What are you staring at?” Bahia barked. “Every time I turn around you’re always looking at me with those dreadful eyes of yours.”

  Before he thought about what he was saying the words jumped out of his mouth. “I apologize; I just find your eyes so intriguing, they’re stunning.”

  Bahia turned her face away from him. If he didn’t know better he would have thought she was blushing. “Be careful what you say human, I might take it as an insult. None of my men would say a word if you met with an accident. A lot of dangerous things lurk in this darkness.”

  Thad understood her warning. In fact, it was all too clear with the added effect of the other Vathari grinning at him as if he was a simple lamb waiting to be slaughtered. He wished the others could speak his tongue as well so he could get a better understanding of what they actually thought. He knew the Vathari were a warrior race but little else. He had learned that they could reason, some of them were even thoughtful and in their own way kind. It just seemed that everything didn’t match up. In all the stories the creatures of darkness were always evil without exception but in reality he was finding very little evil in the creatures so far. They enjoyed battle, but the same could have been said about many of the races.

  “I didn’t mean any…” Thad started to say when Bahia grabbed him by the arm and flung him to the ground, covering his body with her own. At first Thad was sure she was going to try and kill him but after only a second his mind cleared and he began to understand something else was going on. The large tunnel they were traveling down erupted in the sound of metal on metal and screams of pain filled his ears. Thad could feel something wet dripping on his shoulder looking close he found that it was blood and not his own.