“What has yer britches in a bunch?” Brianna said pinching Thad on the rear.
Thad tried to give Brianna a bright smile but he had little heart for it. After a few moments of her stern look Thad dropped the facade and sighed heavily. “I’m worried about the Brotherhood. We shouldn’t have let any of them escape. They’re sure to come after us now that they know where we are.”
Brianna grabbed Thad and pulled him down where he was forced to look at her in the eyes. “There be no need to worry about those gutter rats, they’re not worth our time. If they appear we will fight and I have no intention of losing.” She said fiercely.
Thad planted a light kiss on Brianna’s lips. “You’re right, no reason to let them ruin my time with you, even when they’re not around.”
Brianna laughed lightly. “That’s a little better,” Brianna said then she grabbed Thad around the waist and pulled him along with her. Her refreshing demeanor always amazed Thad. Thad was sure that even if she were lying dying on the ground she would still find a way to make him laugh. She was nothing like the other women he had met. She never hesitated she went straight for what she wanted with little care for anything but the present. Thad envied her in that regard; if he could only forget about the things that seemed to press in around him, he would have a lot less sleepless nights.
They stopped for the midday meal next to a small grove of trees. The day was abnormally hot and Thad could smell the sour smell of his leathers as his sweat soaked and dried into them. The slight shade from the trees was a blessing since the wind was almost nonexistent.
Sitting against one of the trees Thad pulled one of the gems from his pack and tossed it toward Avalanche. Thad watched as the creature swatted the gem around as if it was a toy. He had spent so much time with Avalanche he had forgotten one of her meals could feed most families for a year. Before he had been chased into the Underearth, Thad would have begged for one of the gems that now brimmed his pack. Instead, he had been forced to work with whatever he could afford; even after his enchanted items began to sell, a gem of the size and quality that he now held would have been out of his reach. How quickly a person’s outlook on things could change. When he was in the academy, he looked forward too little in life and looking back now, he could see more of his choices. He had never really fought against anything he only went with what he was told. He never understood why he had agreed to help the princess or queen when he had been asked. At the time, it seemed like the only thing to do, but now he understood it was simply the way he was raised. Like a pet trained to listen to his masters orders. He knew it should bother him but the choices hadn’t been all bad and in the end had led him to where he was now.
Thad ran his hand over the boot that hid his metal foot. He had lost a lot during his short life but in the end he hadn’t lost anything that couldn’t be replaced. His eye was gone but he could still see, his foot had been torn from his body but he could still walk. Not only had he replaced what he had lost they were in many ways better than the original. His eye could see farther and it could also see in the dark though he was still unskilled in its use. His foot held his weight and thanks to Crusher’s craftsmanship and his own enchantments, his new foot was much stronger, and if he needed he could put a lot more force into it without fear of injury.
Thad was pulled from his own musings from a loud noise to his right. Thad found Crusher cursing and pulling on his clothes like a mad man. “What’s got you so bothered?” Thad yelled trying his best to keep the laughter out of his voice.
“Got some sap down me back.” Crusher yelled as he tried to strip his clothes off. With great effort Thad was able to keep himself from laughing, though Brianna didn’t seem to feel the need to hold herself back as she laughed so hard tears rolled from her eyes. After a long struggle and a lot of cursing Crusher was able to get his armor and undershirt off. “Boyo get some water and help me get this blasted stuff off me back.”
Thad ran to the ocean with one of his empty skins to fill it. He knew he would have to carefully wash it out later, but it was better than using what little fresh water they had. As soon as he returned, Thad tore a section out of one of his old undershirts and wetted it. The sap was all over the dwarf’s back as if he had rolled in a large vat of the sticky liquid. With each pass of the makeshift cloth, a small amount of the sap came off along with a fair amount of Crusher’s hair. After a long time, the last of the sap was removed leaving the dwarf’s back bright red.
“Looks like yer luck has left ya.” Brianna said slapping Crusher hard on the back.
They had wasted a fair amount of time and the sun had moved a great deal in the sky, but they decided to move on even if it was only for a short time. Crusher was eager to reach a tavern so he could restock on his ale, and Brianna seemed simply eager to continue on. Thad himself had mixed feelings on the journey. He was in a hurry to get back to Farlan and find out what was going on. His dreams had left him with an uneasy feeling but he was also worried. How would everything turn out once he finally returned?
The second half of the day was much livelier than it had been earlier as Brianna continued to hassle Crusher over his bad luck. Thad let out a silent chuckle as he watched the two. He knew that Crusher enjoyed Brianna’s company. At first, he thought that the burly dwarf had romantic feelings towards her but now he could tell that they acted much more like siblings than lovers. He could understand his enjoyment at having her around she was unlike the other dwarven women he had met. Dwarven women were much like the men in most regards with the exception they tended to be much kinder in spirit. They often reminded him of Joan, both stern demeanor, demanding respect, but kind eyes and a gentle touch. Brianna was different, she was as loud and brash as any male dwarf and more so than most. Thad smiled gently and laughed to himself. Lately he had been looking forward to the days ahead instead of simply living day by day.
As the sun set, the trio found a secluded place a little off the road. It wasn’t always easy to find a place that was suitable to camp. Many times they were forced to stay near the road and while that wasn’t bad it increased their chances of encountering bandits and other less reputable sorts. With Crusher’s current mood it was hard to get him to agree to camp farther away from the road than normal. In fact he was almost praying to run into someone to strike down with his axe.
The group ate a light meal around a small fire. The small amount of heat that their small fire put off wasn’t even enough to chase away the cold that was being carried in from the coast. Thad wanted to build a larger fire but both Brianna and Crusher had protested that the light from anything larger would give away their position to anyone nearby. Crusher had drunk the rest of his ale in an attempt to drink away his foul mood and had quickly fallen asleep, leaving Brianna and Thad a few rare moments alone.
Brianna wore her normal battle leathers, they were plain but the way they fit her firm body, makeing her stand out in a less than modest way. Whenever Thad looked at her, he couldn’t help from his eyes settling on her chest. “Do you think the brotherhood will come after us?” Thad asked fishing for something to say to break the quiet tension that was building in the air.
Brianna looked at him and gave him a wry look. “You sure know how ta foul tha mood.” She said her voice carrying her displeasure. “I can’t say fer sure. I doubt they’ll just leave us be, but how fast they come at us depends on how long it takes fer them to find more men. I doubt they’ll try again with the few members we let skitter off.” A sly smile crept onto Brianna’s face. “My face is up here boyo.”
Thad’s face turned bright red. Brianna bent over placing her head almost in Thad’s lap. “Don’t ya know that it ain’t proper to stare at a lady’s chest when yer talking to her.” Thad wasn’t sure how red ones face could get, but he was sure he was pushing the bounds to the human limits. “Don’t feel so good now does it boyo.” Thad tried to stutter a response but he was cut short as Brianna gave his a rough but satisfying kiss. “Are ya a man or not. If I have
ta keep making all the moves I’m gonna start getting a little pissy with ya.”
Thad couldn’t think of anything to say so he simply gave Brianna a light kiss. Thad had never met such a brash and forward woman in his life. Eloen was bawdy but she became nervous whenever she became close to him. Once Thad had noticed her feelings, he had silently enjoyed watching her reactions around him. “What ya thinking about with such a happy expression?”
Thad face went slightly pale when he looked at Brianna’s face. If she knew he was thinking about another woman there was no way he would get out of it unscathed. “I was just thinking of an old friend.” Thad said defensively getting an annoyed look from Brianna.
Pain shot through Thad’s arm as Brianna squeezed his upper arm. Her grip was like cold iron and the look in her eyes put Thad into a cold sweat. “Yer friend wouldn’t happen to be a female?” The tone in her voice let Thad know that if he gave the wrong answer he was in for a rough time.
“Impossible!” Thad said quickly, though from the look in Brianna’s eyes she wasn’t convinced. “Haven’t I told you that women in my country treat men like toys?”
“Toys eh?” Brianna said as she squeezed Thad arm tighter making his fingers tingle painfully. “How many of these women treated you as their toy, eh?”
Thad cursed himself for his poor choice of words. Thad knew that anything he said denying his involvement with anyone wasn’t going to fly with Brianna. She was the type to stubbornly hold to her own suspicions. He had once seen her argue with another dwarf that he had made a flawed paring knife for her in the past. When another dwarf admitted to the poor work she still continued on with her argument saying, “That was a different knife.” Everyone knew that she was wrong but no matter what was said she held to her convictions. “She’s right even if she’s wrong,” was a common saying in the bar when dealing with Brianna. “I thought you didn’t care about my past,” Thad said in an overly dramatic tone. “I thought you only cared about my time with you.” Thad batted his eyes at Brianna, while trying his best not to laugh.
Brianna gave him a stern look then slowly shook her head.”Ya never play fair, boyo.”
As the fire died down Thad drifted off to sleep with Brianna stuck uncomfortably to his arm. In his dreams, Thad found himself back on Joan’s farm. From the look of everything, it was almost harvest time. He couldn’t see anyone around but just seeing the familiar setting put his mind at ease. The farm was the first place he had truly felt at ease. Joan had been as stern as any of the mothers at the academy but she had a warmth to her the mothers lacked.
He had made his first enchanted item at the farm using broken tools and some spare crystals. They hadn’t been very strong but they had been an important step in his life. He had been so young and foolish back then, telling himself to hide his magic but unable to stop himself from using it. Like any child with a new toy he had been too eager to play with it and show it off, so his resolve to hide it had quickly failed. Thinking about it the only reason he was able to stay out of the eye of the Brotherhood was most likely due to the fact he was hiding in the shadows afraid the queen would find him. Monique flashed through his mind for a brief moment. If anyone had attracted the Brotherhood’s attention it would have been her. A moment of fear raced through his heart as he imagined Monique in a cell being tortured by the Brotherhood but he quickly shook off the horrid thought. There was little use in being afraid for his friend when he had no way to find out how she was doing. The best he could do was to hope she was ok until he was in a position to check on her or help her if she was in need.
Thad jolted awake to Crusher’s screams. Instinctively Thad built a magical shield around himself and grabbed for his sword as he jumped to his feet. His nerves relaxed when he noticed Brianna hunched over laughing as Crusher danced around as dozens of small things buzzed around him. It took Thad’s eyes and moment to clear enough for him to understand what was happening. For some reason a hive of bees were on the attack and Crusher was their intended target.
“That’s the last strike of the hammer ya dang fairy. I know yer out there.” Crusher yelled at the sky in a roar of anger. “If ya don’t show yerself I am going to destroy every bird nest and egg I can find fer the rest of me life.” Crusher added picking up his axe.
Thad could no longer help himself as he watched the burly dwarf jump and shout at the sky and he began to laugh. Not to be left out Avalanche bounced around barking at Crusher. Thad’s jubilation was cut short by a shrill laugh coming from his right. Turning his head he saw what appeared to be a young female child no more than five summers old. Her clothes were ragged and her long silver hair was tangled as if it hadn’t been washed or cared for in a long time. To Thad, she looked much like many of the street kids he had seen in his life.
“Mean ol’ dwarf leave the birdies alone.” The child said in a light musical tone.
Thad watched as Crusher wrung the handle of his axe with his hand as he began stomping toward the child. Without thinking Thad moved in between his angry friend and the small girl. “Calm down Crusher she is just a child.” Thad said calmly.
To Thad’s surprise Crusher didn’t yell at him but laughed and pointed his axe toward the girl. “Don’t be fooled that dang Nadirie is probably three times older than yer mother. I thought we told ya Nadirie are known fer sneaking into towns and causing havoc in the guise of children.”
Thad felt small hands grip at the back of his armor, looking down he saw the small face of the Nadirie poke around his side to stare defiantly at the dwarf as she used him as a shield. “I am a young maiden of only sixteen summers.” She said defiantly. Between the almost shy attitude of the Nadirie and blunt fierceness of the dwarf, Thad couldn’t help but break into a fit of laughter.
“Ya wouldn’t think it was so funny if it were you that had bees put in yer bed.” Crusher said as he took a step toward Thad his axe still held firmly in his hands. From the side, Avalanche who had been enjoying the show lunged forward and clamped down on the stubborn dwarf’s ankle. “Ya dang mutt let go me foot.” Crusher yelled as he tried to shake Avalanche’s grip. Both Thad and the Nadirie began laughing when Crusher fell to the ground still trying to dislodge Avalanche.
Well after the sun was fully in the sky Thad was able to get everyone to calm down. Sitting around the camp everything still felt tense but at least no one was brandishing their weapons. Crusher was still eyeing the Nadirie dangerously who was still using Thad as a shield, in turn she was making childish faces at him. Every time Crusher started to go for his axe Avalanche would nip at his hand. Brianna continued to laugh at the exchange, while Thad rubbed his temples, his head hurting from the constant strain of trying to get the two to calm down.
“Why don’t we start with something simple? What is your name?” Thad asked the small childlike Nadirie trying his best not to scowl.
“Arianna, my name is Arianna.” The Nadirie exclaimed as if she we announcing herself as the queen of the world.
CHAPTER XVII
The past few days of travel had been much livelier. Arianna got along well with Avalanche and rode on her back as if she were a war horse. Time to time, the Nadirie would shoot into the air and she and Avalanche would disappear for short periods of time. Crusher still did not seem happy with the new addition to their group but even if he was he would die before admitting it. Brianna seemed to take everything in stride, though it was obvious that she didn’t like it when Arianna grabbed him to use his as a shield. Thad himself was unsure how to treat Arianna; she looked like a child but was near his own age. Often he treated her of the age she looked and she enjoyed the attention from him. Brianna would often pull him aside by the arm angrily and grumble about him flirting with the “darned fairy.”
Though the trip had gotten much noisier Thad didn’t mind. He had spent too much time in the quiet lonely depths of the earth. Even when Crusher and Avalanche were around he had no one to truly talk to since Crusher’s windpipe had been crushed at the time. Now he d
idn’t mind a little noise as long as it drove away the feeling of loneliness that had engulfed him during that time in his life. A clear picture of the dark room with his staff sitting in the corner flashed into his mind. Thad looked down at his staff and smiled. “Yes I still had you around, but all you did was complain,” Thad said silently in his mind.
A jolt of magical energy shot through Thad’s right arm. Thad looked down at his staff more amazed than mad. It had been the first time his staff had used any form of magical energy without his aid. He had spent hours in the past talking to his staff and, in many ways he no longer considered it just a tool but a separate entity with its own mind. When he fought he no longer simply directed it but fought with it as if it was a companion. He had learned that the magical currents running through the world were more than a simple force that he could control. Each type of energy held its own form, use, and feeling toward it. Magical items were known to become self-aware, but he didn’t know they could act so independently. Was his own regard for the staff allowing it to use magic through his unconscious mind or was it truly doing it on its own power.
I don’t know, the words reverberated in his mind like a small whisper, so soft they almost escaped his attention. “So you can speak now?” Thad asked his staff, his mind still whirling with the possibilities both good and bad. No, you can finally hear me. Thad looked around, Brianna and Crusher were walking at the front with Arianna riding Avalanche running around them. “It’s a little unnerving to talk to you,” Thad said nervously. Why? I am you.
Thad stopped and looked at the staff in his hand. It was him. What did that mean? Do you still not understand? All this time we have been linked; your thoughts, your magic, your fears, everything I have felt. Thad took a tentative step forward then another trying not to let his unease show to the others. It made sense. He had kept the staff with him and relied on it heavily, especially during his time in the Underearth. His other magical items were only used when he needed them and he never had to pour his own magic into them, they worked off their own stored magical energy. His rings were a close second as they stayed on his fingers but he still never ran his own magic through them. “Was it the fact that he talked to his staff as if it were a person while he was alone in the Underearth, or because of the sheer amount of magical energy he had ran through the staff? There had to be more to it otherwise any magical item that used high levels of magical energy would gain awareness. Even items with low magical yield would start to gain awareness after a long period of time. Thad pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, right now he had other worries, he could always investigate his staff, if he lived long enough to make it back to Farlan.
Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) Page 12
