Catching her wrists before she could hug him, he stopped her. Gently, but firmly, he pushed her hands away from his body and looked into her eyes. She was so beauitful; the way she was looking at him let him know she had no idea what was coming. He began to hate himself for what he was going to do. His resolve began to waiver, and he found he couldn’t bare to look her in the face. He lowered his head as he debated his decision once again.
The voice in the back of his head began to speak up. He noticed that it was doing that more, especially in high stress situations like this. If he listened to the voice, it usually guided his thoughts, leading him to discover an answer he was searching for. Submitting to the voice now, Tartum found himself remembering how he felt when he opened himself to the magic. The power, the immortality, the knowledge that as long as he had this connection to the magic, his life would have purpose, his life would mean something. He remembered his fight against Gurth, the terror he had felt when he thought the ogre was going to crush him and the bliss of victory when he eradicated such a worthy opponent. He recalled a similar feeling after defeating Lord Zahut. He remembered how he had felt the first time he cast his Ray of Magic spell and how he had felt when he was on top of the religious fanatic; about to blast the life out of him with a lightning bolt. Then the memory of how he had felt when Elizabeth took all of that from him came back to him. The weakness, the powerlessness that came over him. He realized his magic had come to define him, he was Tartum Fuin, the Caster; The Jade Mage! Not Tartum Fuin, the Merchant, not the domesticated father figure. His resolve solidified, and he found his strength. Looking up at Elizabeth, he no longer saw her as the beautiful woman that had stolen his heart. Now saw her as a devious temptress, a demon that threatened to devour who he truly was, as efficently as Calimsha was doing to Rashlarr. He felt his heart stop aching, and the hollowness in his stomach filled.
“Elizabeth…we’re through.” he said. He was shocked by how calm his voice was. He felt almost angry inside. He wanted this woman away from him, away from his magic. She was a threat to him now, and he needed her to leave him alone. He was determined to make her understand that, even if it required force.
He watched as the expression on her face went from joy to confusion. He knew she had understood him, he also knew she was resisting the knowledge, he decided to drive his point home.
“I have no need for you any longer. You interfere with my studies, your back and forth attitude towards me has become tiresome, and to be honest…I don’t have a use for you anymore. I ask you to leave my room and not come back. I bare you no ill will, but I would perfer it if you stayed away from me from now on. We are not friends, we are not lovers; we are strangers, and I wish you to treat me as such.” The bluntness of his words cut straight through Elizabeth. She was completely dumbfounded. Seeing she wasn’t going to reply, Tartum began to lead her towards the door. As he opened it, she finally regained her ability to speak.
“You’re…you’re dumping me?” she asked. She didn’t seem to know where she was.
Tartum didn’t bother looking at her as he guided her out the door. “Yes.” was all he said as he closed and locked his door in her face.
Walking over to his shelf, he looked at the spell books it contained and smiled. Picking up the book he had recieved from Isidor years ago, he took a moment to savor the way it felt. This book had been with him most of his life and was more of a companion to him than Elizabeth ever could be. The secrets contained inside of it would lead him on great adventures and incredible glory. He knew there would be hard times ahead; hell, he knew the minute Elizabeth got her mind around what just happened there would be hell to pay! Yet for now, life was good, and he knew he made the right decision. Walking over to his chair, he gave Buddy a quick scratch behind his ears that got his tail wagging. He opened his book with one hand, while he absently scratched Buddy with the other.
He sat there comfortably, looking over the spells his life time of study had unlocked. Each spell was as intimate to him as his relationship with Elizabeth had ever been. In fact, he decided he was closer to his spells. They had never treated him poorly or shunned him for doing something well. With Elizabeth out of the way, he knew that now there would be no more distractions. He knew there would be nothing but power and adventure in his future, and he was looking forward to the journey.
Flipping to the first page that hadn’t been unlocked, Tartum opened himself to the magic and began concentrating his power into the book. Perhaps today, he would unlock the spell that would set him in the direction of his next conquest. Perhaps today, the spell he might unlock would lead him to the next chapter of his life. Whatever happened, he took solace in the knowledge that no matter what the outcome, his life was finally heading towards the future instead of stagnating in the present. It made him feel…free.
…
Over the next several days, Tartum’s routine consisted of studying his spells and relaxing. Occasionally, he would see Elizabeth, but other than giving him a wounded look, she said and did nothing. At first he was surprised at how little the break up between them effected him. He felt the loss of their relationship, to be sure, but it didn’t depress him, nor did he feel any regret for his decision. Being free of Elizabeth made him feel like his own man; he felt he finally owned his own destiny again, and with everyday that passed he felt better and better about the direction his life was heading. He half expected Savall or Vaund to try to talk him out of the break up or ask why he had ended his relationship with Elizabeth. He was more than ready to defend his actions, but the encounter never happened. Savall spent most of his time away from the guild now. Tartum assumed he was with the other cell leaders working out how best to use what they had taken from the Bishop’s rooms. It mattered little to him; the more time he had to spend with his magic, the better.
A week had passed since the break up, Tartum had become hungry and paused in his studies, to gather up a meal for himself and Buddy. Buddy had taken no end of enjoyment from Tartum being home and in the room. He didn’t seem to mind his master being wrapped up in his spell book and never strayed from his side. Occasionally, Tartum took a break to play with Buddy or pet his friend. The bond between them had never been stronger.
Tartum returned from the kitchens and tossed Buddy a bone that had a thick slab of meat still on the bone. Delighted, Buddy jumped on his dinner; Tartum watched, with a grin on his face as his loyal companion happily ate his meal. His own stomach began to growl, which prompted him to sit at his table and eat his own meal. They ate in comfortable silence; the only sounds in the room were the occassional lip smacking or jaws crunching bone. Tartum had not felt this content in a long time; the moment was not lost on him, and he was very grateful. Finishing his meal, he leaned back in his chair. Looking over at Buddy, he saw him curled up around his bone, which was now picked clean, and napping soundly. Tartum found himself debating between taking a nap himself or continuing his studies, when Savall walked into his room. As always, he was in his black plate mail with his massive greatsword attached to his back. He looked around Tartum’s room as he entered, assessing its condition. Tartum didn’t think he was displeased by what he saw. His gaze eventually settled on Tartum; his usual fatherly smile present on his face.
“Well! I see the single life hasn’t left you any worse for wear. Glad to see it! I have another mission for you, son. Nothing difficult; just a quick snatch and grab in the market district. Another husband is cheating on his wife, and she wants you to steal proof of his affair from his office. She believes the other woman’s undergarments are kept under lock and key there.” Savall said, as he rolled his eyes and chuckled.
“She claims to not be able to access the chest they’re kept in but is willing to pay handsomly for us to do it. So, I’m sending you, son. I don’t think this should pose any real challenge for you after your last assignment.” Savall said with a wink. He was in an incredibly good mood, and Tartum found it infectious. Jumping to his feet, Tartum smiled.
> “I’m on it, Boss! I’ll be home before the sun rises!” he said. If the job was as straight forward as Savall described, he thought he might be back inside the hour.
Clapping Tartum on the shoulder, Savall laughed, “Excellent, son! See to it, then! I’ll expect you in a few hours!” With a nod and a smile, Savall left, and Tartum rushed to gather up his equipment.
After a few minutes, he felt he was prepared. He mentally checked off his spell components, staff, knife, lock picks, and robe. As an extra precaution, he cast his dome spells, just incase the merchant had guards watching over his mistress’s belongings. He was about to leave his room, when his hand accidentally banged off the edge of the table.
The unexpected pain stopped him in his tracks, as he grabbed his hand and waited for the feeling to pass. After a moment or two, Tartum recovered enough to inspect his hand. His fingers were a little red, but other than damaged pride, he was fine. The brunt of the impact seemed to have smashed the ring he had taken off of Lord Zahut, and Tartum was worried it was broken. The triangular stone that sat on the band had been pushed down and no longer spun freely, but that wasn’t what caused his jaw to hit the ground. There were now three very thin, red lines that had appeared on the band and they were glowing. There was a line on the left, top, and right sides of the stone, and they were identical in appearance and size. He couldn’t believe it! Carefully, Tartum tried to spin the stone to see if the ring reacted. The stone moved as he applied force to it, but he felt resisitance for the first time, and the ring began to gently vibrate on his finger. Something was happening, and Tartum felt his pulse begin to race. For months, he had toyed with this ring and now, by chance, he had awoken the power within!
Slowly, he twisted the stone, his plan was to spin it in a full circle or until it reacted. As the yellow tip of the triangular stone became parallel with the left marking, it flared up, and Tartum stopped. The intensity died down quickly, until the line was completely dark. Excited by this reaction, Tartum quickly spun the stone until it pointed towards the top line on the ring, the marking did not react. Disappointed, but not defeated, Tartum spun the stone until it pointed at the line on the right of the stone. A wave of satisfaction passed through him as the line reacted and grew more intense before dying down and going out just as the other line had done. Taking a deep breath, Tartum spun the yellow tip of the stone until it pointed, once again, towards the top line on his ring. The third and final line flared up as the other two had done, and the stone popped back up into it’s original position.
Tartum felt his environment change, the lights of his room were gone, the warm, smoky air was replaced by the cool, clean breeze of the outdoors. The dank and acrid smell of his room was replaced by the pungent scent of decaying meat, and Tartum found himself struggling not to purge his dinner. Closing his eyes, he focused his will in order to get control of himself. He wasn’t sure what the ring had done, but he didn’t think throwing up would be the best way to react. Once he was confident he had control of himself, he slowly opened his eyes and tried to evaluate the situation he found himself in. He knew he was outdoors because he could see the stars, unfortunately there was no moon out this night and visibility was almost null. He saw he was standing in grass, in a field; something nearby was very dead and had filled the area with its terrible odor. He didn’t hear anything other than leaves rustling on some nearby trees that he couldn’t see. He knew he needed light so he could better assess his environment, but he worried if he used his staff he would alert anyone nearby to his presence. The ring that had once belonged to an evil kritchet had brought him…somewhere…so Tartum had to assume he was in a hostile environment. He just wasn’t sure how hostile. He tried to pierce the darkness, searching for any clue that would enable him to get his bearings and determine his next course of action. He could not see anything through the blackness, so he stood in place, debating whether or not he should chance using his staff. Time passed slowly, and he began to feel very exposed. He didn’t like not knowing where he was and disliked even more having to stand out in the open not doing anything about it. Frustration got the best of him, and he pulled his staff from his back. Having the heavy jade staff in his hands made him feel infinitely safer, and he cursed himself a fool for not equipping it sooner. Opening himself to the magic, Tartum was hit by the stench of decay, yet again. His magic enchanced senses doubled the potentcy of the smell, and this time, Tartum couldn’t resist the urge to purge his stomach. Unhappily, Tartum wiped his mouth and stood up. Somehow puking had made the smell tolerable but had soured his mood considerably; Tartum took hold of his staff and uttered a word of power.
“Light!” he commanded. Light Burst forth from his staff, forcing the shadows away and revealing his surroundings. Tartum immediately regretted his decision.
He was back in the fields outside of Rebirth; no more than fifteen feet from the walls where the initial fighting had occured. The corpses of the beastmen the guild had killed still lay in the field severly decomposed. The state of the bodies was revolting, and Tartum felt his stomach clench as it threatened to purge itself once again. Swallowing hard, Tartum controlled himself and distracted his queezy stomach by looking around.
He was no longer surprised that he was alone. No one, man, woman, or beast, would come within miles of this place if they could help it; it was a nightmare. Mangled bodies of the twisted beastmen littered the ground, all of which were bloated and putrifing. Rebirth had been burned to the ground by his final fireball. The once proud little town was now a charred ruin of scorched earth and bad memories. The flames had mercifully taken care of the majority of the bodies that were inside walls of the town, but the fire hadn’t gotten the chance to burn the bodies that fell outside the town’s walls. At the time, Tartum had been proud of the example he left that pompous knight with. The look on his face had been worth it’s weight in diamonds! Now, he wished he had made the blast a lot bigger.
Covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, Tartum got his bearings. He recalled the battle and his fight with Lord Zahut. Looking down at the ring he wondered why, if Zahut had this ring, he hand’t used it to escape when they had beaten his army and breached his defenses. Taking another look at the location, he had appeared in it all quickly made sense. It wouldn’t have been much of an escape to teleport out of his tower and into the thick of his enemy. Tartum recalled the swirling vortex spell Lord Zahut had been trying to cast when they had found him; the spell must have been his backup plan of escape. It dawned on him then, just how lucky they had been to attack from this area, if they had chosen to attack Rebirth from any other direction, Zahut would have escaped with ease, and they would have failed in their mission.
Looking down at the ring Tartum experimented with spinning the triangular stone and found it was spinning freely once again. Confused, Tartum inspected the ring and noticed the three red lines were gone and had left no sign of their existance. Spinning the ring to the left, right, and top proved useless and Tartum was momentarily dissappointed. He worried that he had wasted the magic of the ring with his accidental use. Cautiously, he channeled a small amount of magic into the ring and felt it resist the flow. The reaction encouraged him; if it still repulsed his magic then it still had some power left! Forcing himself to calm down Tartum went over all the events in his head that lead to the ring activating. He recalled hitting his hand against the table and the feel of the ring at the moment of impact; doubtfully he looked down at the ring.
“It can’t be that simple…” he said to himself.
Tartum pressed down on the triangular stone and felt it yield until it clicked into place. The red lines reappeared, and a wave of excitement rippled through him. Pressing down on the stone again, he felt the ring snap into its original position and watched as the red lines disappeared once again.
“I’ll be damned!” he said in satisfaction.
He was very proud of himself. The ring was a magical escape route that apparently had failed Zahut in his moment of need,
due to luck on the guild’s part. He was very glad he had picked it up before they had left the tower. As a thief, this ring was now invaluable; Tartum decided he would show it to Rashlarr when he got back to Saroth. Perhaps he would know if the ring had limited uses, or if it would work forever. He hoped it would work at least a few more times. Being teleported so far instantly was exilarating! He wondered if he could take others with him, or if it only worked on the wearer. Checking his pockets and pouches, he saw that everything he had equipped himself with for his mission was still with him. He felt this was a good sign, he would experiment with this ring when he got home.
With one more look at Rebirth, Tartum spun on his heels and began the long journey back to Saroth. He figured if it had taken him two days on horseback it should take him about four days on foot to get back this time. It wasn’t ideal, considering he had told Savall he would finish his mission in a few hours, but what choice did he have. He didn’t want to chance draining the ring of its magic by trying a different pattern with the lines, nor did he want to end up somewhere further from home, or worse. Tartum also highly doubted that the ring could teleport him anywhere else or Lord Zahut would have gone there, instead of attempting to cast his elaborate and time consuming vortex spell. Hopefully after he showed Savall the magic of his ring, he would understand. If not, he would happily pay the price for the mission failure.
Grinning, Tartum picked up his pace. He cared very little if Savall was upset with him or not. With his new magical ring’s power, he could leave the guild at will, and if he found Savall’s reaction unsatisfactory, he would happily set out on his own path. As long as he had his magic, he firmly believed nothing could stop him.
…
Over the next two days, Tartum kept himself on a steady course back to Saroth. The weather had stayed pleasent, and although his feet hurt, he was in good spirits. Staying underground in the guild compound was where he felt at home, but something about being outdoors made him feel free. He was deep in the forest now, following the path that would eventually lead him home. Other than the occasional animal running or flying past him, the past couple days had been uneventful. He quickly fell into a routine that helped to make time pass.
The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 2 Page 22
