Broken Mage

by D. W.

  He only wished Avalanche was as skilled at finding his food as it was her own. When he noticed the dwindling food supply he took a few days to stock up on what he could carry. With the cold temperature of the caves he didn’t have to worry about the cooked meat spoiling quickly but even with that it wouldn’t last long.

  With the widening of the river the ledge he had to walk on had decreased and more than once he had found himself having to walk across the water. He had learned that Avalanche didn’t swim, as the saying went the poor thing sunk like a rock. She began showing a great distaste of the water. After the first attempt Thad had simply levitated Avalanche over the areas where there wasn’t a place to walk.

  Wherever Avalanche was set down she would go to the waters edge and bark for a short time. It was as if she was taunting the water that she had once again kept out of its murky depths. Thad often found himself adding words to the creature’s actions. The first time he caught himself doing it he was slightly worried he had lost his mind but he quickly put the thought out of his mind.

  Thinking through his options Thad decided that if his food supply ran dry he would take the first major tunnel that appeared. He didn’t want to back track, he felt that if he did that he was going backwards. It wasn’t as if he knew where he was headed but the feeling was still there.

  In the past days he still hadn’t received anything from the princess and it had really begun to bother him. He had started his search with a new vigor stopping early each day so he could devote more time to his search for an exit. Avalanche didn’t seem to enjoy the earlier stopping time and protested by running off searching the nearby area. The first few times she had taken off Thad had worried that she might not return. After the third time she had done it he had grown so accustomed to her little romps he paid little attention to them.

  He hadn’t found any promising places yet. All he knew was that the water continued to flow for a good ways. Other than that none of the tunnels leading away seemed to go to the surface. He often found himself getting depressed about the whole situation but Avalanche would begin nudging him until he paid attention to her. Oddly it was as if she knew when he felt bad and tried to make him feel better.

  When he came to another expanse where the water covered the ground Thad decided to stop for the night instead of trying to expend the energy to cross. Thad sat up his walls changing one of them so there was a small hole just big enough for Avalanche to crawl though. He had learned that it was much easier to allow her a way in and out than to have to take down the wall when she wanted back in.

  He started his search as soon as the noise from Avalanche’s footsteps disappeared into the distance. Slightly curious as to what his four legged friend was up to Thad quickly began looking for her. It didn’t take long to spot Avalanche as the creature shined brightly in his mind.

  Avalanche was moving fast down a corridor they had passed. It didn’t take her long to make it miles away from where she had started. Thad didn’t know where she got the boundless energy she had. She had moved farther in half an hour than he could all day. Soon she was so far away it was too much of a strain for him to continue to watch her.

  Pulling away from his friend Thad let his mind drift down the river where he would travel tomorrow. He was glad he had decided to stop for the night the space to the next spot where he could walk was almost half a mile away. While that was easy for him normally having to carry Avalanche the whole way would have severely taxed him this late in the day.

  With still no sign of an exit in sight Thad set down with his staff. He still wondered what Avalanche was doing but he didn’t have the energy to spend to find out. Instead he spent the time waiting on her, daydreaming about what she could be getting herself into. In one she was searching for her family in another she was hunting down enemies to test herself against.

  When she finally returned she looked happy. Though sometimes it was hard to tell what the animal was actually thinking. Thad was sure she was much smarter than he gave her credit for. Her eyes were always inquisitive, and more than once he wished he could understand what she was saying when she was barking. It was probably the reason he filled in her words with his own mind.

  Tired and his companion back Thad closed the small hole in the wall. Pulling a small ring from his pack with four gems on it he activated one of his new shield rings. He had made four so far but he knew to keep up he would still need a few more. They had been made out of necessity since Avalanche had the urge to lay on him without warning. While he found it endearing his limbs and back found it exceptionally painful.

  The next morning Thad was woken by Avalanche’s loud barking. He stirred slowly still tired. From the feel of his body he had only been asleep for a few hours. After getting her to quiet down he understood why she was making such a commotion. A loud sound was reverberating through the underground. Concentrating hard on the sound he picked out what sounded like a human yell. His hopes up Thad quickly took down his magical walls and ran in the direction of the noise.

  A few moments later Thad realized that while he could hear the noise he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Avalanche saved him by running past and continuing on down the tunnel. Thad followed her using his magic to lift himself from the ground so he could keep up with her fast pace.

  After what felt like an eternity they finally reached the source of the noise. A short looking human with dark tanned skin fought with a massive metal monstrosity. The human was about four foot six and while obviously well-muscled it didn’t look out of proportion like many of the other smaller humans he had met. The man’s head had been shaved bald and tattoos covered his right arm and left side of his face making Thad think he might be a slave. If that was true he might know of a way out of the caves.

  The creature the short man fought was at least nine feet tall and looked to be made of a silvery metal. Its arms and legs were easily the size of Thad’s waist. Its eyes reminded Thad of Avalanche’s except they looked as if they had been made of sapphires instead of rubies. Thad wished he had the time to examine the creature but with the dire situation the man was in he would either have to help now or watch his chance to escape die in front of his own eyes.

  The battle looked one sided with the man getting the worse end of the deal. The man was bleeding from many cuts while the monster looked as if it hadn’t been harmed at all. Avalanche was the first one to join the battle trying to grab the metal beast by its leg. It did little damage and Avalanche was soon thrown across the large cavern and into the wall.

  Thad joined in as well throwing fireballs at the creatures back. They seemed to do little to no damage so he switched to lightning that seemed to at least get the monsters attention. He soon found himself shaking as the hulking monstrosity turned toward him and began making its slow advance on his position. Thad hastily tried to use his paralyzing ring on the beast but all it accomplished was getting the thing to stop for the briefest of moments.

  With his magic doing no damage, Thad pulled his magical dagger from his side and activated it so it grew into a full length sword. If his magically enchanted sword didn’t damage the creature he would have little choice but to run for his life. Running through his options he decided if he ran he would have to take the other man with him even if he had to do so by force. He wasn’t about to lose his only link with the surface no matter the cost.

  Before he had a chance to make a strike the small man jumped at the monster from the side swinging a massive axe at the creature landing a hearty blow on the creature’s right leg. The weapon dug into the creature’s leg carving out a small chunk that clanked loudly on the ground. The monster let out a loud roar and backhanded the small man knocking him half way across the cavern. It didn’t stop there as it rushed the downed man and began stomping on him wildly.

  Thad feared for a moment the man was dead and in haste let loose such a massive lightning bolt it left him light headed. The attack had the desired effect knocking the monster off the man and throwing
it a few feet backwards.

  The creature gave him a look filled with hate. Avalanche still continued to rush the creature but its attacks didn’t even bother the monster enough for a response. Thad shaking slightly swallowed loudly and made his own charge.

  Thad used his speed to his advantage darting around the slow-moving metal creature. Each attack landed but he only achieved in cutting small nicks in the monster’s natural armor. Seeing his attack doing little damage Thad lent some of his own magical force to the sword. His new method was met with marginal success as his sword began to bite deeper.

  The monster was getting more aggravated with each blow. It increased the speed of its movements but was still having trouble keeping up with Thad’s frantic pace. While the monster seemed to have boundless energy Thad was tiring fast.

  The monster finally was able to catch up with Thad’s slowing movements and caught Thad with a vicious strike to his side. Thad was knocked in to the air and landed hard on his back. Before he could climb to his feet the monster was on him. Thad put up his sword to block the impending overhead attack. When the monsters arms met with his sword the blade snapped off causing an explosion from the broken link tossing both Thad and the monster across the cavern.

  His head spinning Thad looked down at his right hand, his vision slightly off as if his left eye was closed. He let out a sigh of relief to see that it was still attached to his arm along with all his fingers. His left army hurt badly and Thad knew if it wasn’t broken it was still in bad shape. He couldn’t see any sign of bone sticking from the skin so he hoped it was just badly bruised or dislocated.

  When he was thrown his pack had been slung off his back and now the contents within had been tossed about the cavern. His food, gems, metal, and most importantly his sending box now lay scattered about.

  Getting unsteadily to his feet Thad pulled the only weapon he had left from its scabbard. The weapon felt off in his left hand but he was left with little choice. He wasn’t sure what good the blade would do but it was better than trying to block the creature’s blows with his bare hand.

  The sword had once belonged to a thug in the capital who had set upon him along with a gang of others in an attempt to rob him. The sword wasn’t magically strengthened or enchanted to have a keen blade like his other, though it wasn’t from a lack of trying on his part. The sword refused to allow any magic to affect it. In fact it cut through magic the same way a normal sword cut through flesh.

  With his sword in hand Thad backed up bracing himself against the cave wall and looked around for his enemy. It didn’t take him long to find the hulking monstrosity. It was still on the ground getting slowly to its feet. Its right arm was gone from the elbow down. The sight that the beast could be injured brought new hope to Thad. Now if only he had another ten magical swords to break upon the thing. What he wouldn’t do for one of the glass spheres at the moment.

  As soon as the metal creature got to its feet it began to lumber straight toward Thad unmindful of the rock dog that nipped at its heels. Thad watched in horror as the monster’s foot came down on the sending box that had the unfortunate luck to be in the beast’s path.

  Anger flared through Thad’s body. The beast had taken away his one link to the outside world. With a feral scream Thad launched himself at the monster. The sword bit deep scoring a thick cut on the monster’s outstretched arm.

  The creature let out a massive howl and backed a step away from Thad. At the same time Thad looked down at the sword as if it had betrayed him. He didn’t understand why it had succeeded where his own had failed miserably. As he thought about it something occurred to him. Quickly while the monster was giving him a chance Thad looked over the creature with his magical sight. Thad had only held his magical sight for a moment but he was sure that the creature was much like Avalanche. Its base construction was magical in origin.

  Knowing he now had an effective weapon Thad attacked the monster with new vigor. Giving every last ounce of energy stored in his body to the attack. The monster acted confused and continued to back away as Thad hacked at it with abandon, each swing cutting deeper and deeper into the monsters metal flesh.

  In the few moments Thad had seen the monster through his magical sight he had noticed the glowing center that worked as its core. Unlike a human its “heart” was in its stomach right below where the ribcage would have been.

  With one last lunge, Thad shoved the sword into the beast’s abdomen with all his strength. As the creature fell back the sword was ripped from Thad’s hands causing him to fall hard to the ground. He landed hard on his right arm sending tendrils of pain shooting through his body.

  Thad laid on the ground breathing hard exhausted. With what little strength remained in his body Thad forced himself to a sitting position. If he was going to die he wasn’t going to do it without fighting to his last breath. The ending blow never came as the monster lay unmoving a few feet away.

  Avalanche was at his side nudging him worriedly with her nose. “I’m ok girl.” Thad said absentmindedly running his hand down her back.

  With Avalanches help Thad got to his feet. After calling his staff back to his waiting hand Thad made his way over to the creature. Looking down into its featureless face Thad let out a stressed laugh. Its eyes had lost the bright glow that they had held in life. He didn’t have the energy to use his magic to make sure the creature was dead so he decided it was time to make his escape.

  Thad found the small man and was happy to find that he still lived. His breathing was light and strained but he was alive. Thad wished he had the energy to heal the man but he was sorely lacking at the moment. Not knowing how much longer he could hold on Thad grabbed the man’s arm and began pulling him toward the nearest wall. Seeing what he was doing Avalanche joined in grabbing ahold of the man’s armor right at the shoulder and yanking with its legs helping him pull the man forward.

  With his friend’s help it didn’t take long to get the man to the wall. After putting up the first two magical walls Thad’s eyes noticed the man’s weapon laying a few feet away. With both his weapons lost to him Thad quickly rushed over to it and tried to pick it up. The axe was much heavier than it had looked, forcing Thad to drag it awkwardly behind him.

  Once he had the axe placed against the wall Thad put the last section of wall up. He didn’t know if his walls would hold if the large monster was still alive but it would at least give him time to ready a defense.

  Thad pulled the lizard skins he had been using for a pillow and carefully placed it under the smaller man’s head. Now that they were in close quarters filled with light the man looked slightly odd but in his exhausted state Thad couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

  With his charge as comfortable as he could make him Thad sat out his own bed roll. Using his pack as a pillow Thad got out his personal shield and placed it on him. He did it none too soon as Avalanche plodded over to where he lay and laid down with her head across his abdomen. The last sight he had before drifting off to sleep was her piercing ruby eyes staring at him worriedly.

  CHAPTER VII

  Thad woke the next morning his body racked with pain. With the adrenaline gone the pain from his eye and arm had come back in full force. After thoroughly checking his right arm he was sure it wasn’t broken. It was stiff and sore but he could still move it. He was sure it wasn’t broken just bruised badly with large purple welts visible even in the dim magical light.

  Lifting his hand to see if he could get his left eye open Thad froze in horror at what he found. Even after his eye was open he still couldn’t see out of it. Thad ran over to the dwarf’s axe and used its blade as a makeshift mirror. It looks as if his eye had simply been ripped out it didn’t look empty as muscles still crisscrossed behind where his eye had been The missing eye explained the massive headache he was having.

  First his foot now his eye, what would be next? At the rate he was going by the time he made it back to Farlan all he would have left would be his ear and a tooth or two. Th
ad wanted to moan about the loss of his eye but other concerns took priority. The man who he had rescued the night before was still breathing but it looked as if every breath pained him greatly.

  Using his magical sight Thad examined the man. The first thing he noticed was that his body makeup was slightly different than he had encountered before. The bone of the man’s skeleton was much thicker and the muscles much closer together as if someone had tried to force twice the normal number into the same area. The man’s skin was also very thick compared to what he was used to, much more like that of one of the subterranean lizards.

  Thad tried not to get sidetracked by the man’s unique body and began looking for what was ailing the man. The man was riddled with injuries but most of them were minor. The major ones were the swelling in his head and throat. Thad had no idea where to begin in reducing the swelling in the man’s head but the throat was something he could work on.

  There were countless small bones in the throat and it looked like many of them had been broken in his fight with the metal monstrosity. Thad focused intently repairing each small bone one at a time. By the time he was done with the small bones his forehead was covered with sweat. Even though he had just woken up he knew he needed a break but was afraid to stop before he was sure he had done everything he could for the man.

  Focusing again Thad went back to work on the man’s throat. A lot of the small tendons had been cut and torn when the bones had been broken causing most of the swelling. Unlike the bones they were much easier to fix as all he had to do was encourage the body to speed up its own work. He thought about doing the same thing with the man’s head but he was afraid of what the consequence of such an action.

  With everything done for the man that was possible Thad sat back breathing hard. He had been up for less than a few hours and he was already exhausted. He knew he needed to eat and drink some fluids and if possible get some water down his unconscious charge’s throat as well.