Stranded Mage

by D. W. Jackson

  After Arianna had run out of thoughts she jumped up and gave Thad a kiss on his cheek. “There all better,” she said, before rushing back to where Avalanche lay to speak with the rock hound about what had happened, or at least that’s what it looked like to Thad.

  Thad relaxed a bit when everyone seemed to forget about his antics and returned to their own worlds, though Brianna’s eyes still lingered on him. He wasn’t sure if she was still thinking about his antics or if something else entirely was on her mind. Suddenly he felt self-conscious. To help cover the sight of his slightly shaking hands, Thad picked up his spoon, and started turning over the deceptively tasty food that had caused the ordeal.

  Pushing his bowl aside Thad watched the others silently as his stomach still turned in protest. Crusher and Arianna seemed to be getting along much better than they had in the past. Thad was used to the nadirie pulling pranks on Crusher and the dwarf spending the rest of the day cursing the little fairy. Now though it looked as if they were the best of friends. Thad was sure that it was only carryover from the time on the ship when the little nadirie had been frantically taking care of the dwarf. As soon as they were back on solid ground for more than a night, Thad was sure it would revert back to the way it had been.

  The day passed quickly and soon the sun had fallen out of sight. Crusher and Brianna were far into their cups and when they had finally finished Thad was forced to carry Brianna to their room.

  Once Brianna was laid on the bed, Thad return to the common room. He had intended to help the other dwarf up the stairs to his room but found Arianna and Avalanche already dragging the burly dwarf across the ground.

  Thad knew that he should stop and help his friend but the bubbling laughter that threatened to tear his sides apart prevented him from moving. Avalanche and Arianna each had a hold on one of the dwarf’s leggings and were pulling him along with Avalanche doing most of the work. Crusher was not idle during this time as he feebly tried to struggle, grabbing onto anything within his reach, as he spouted slurred curses.

  Dragging their load the two continued up the stairs. Each tug was accentuated with the sound of the dwarf’s head slapping against the hard wood of the stairs.

  Thad followed the trio making sure that Crusher reached his destination without too much injury. Once the door was closed and his laughter subsided, Thad returned to his own room and lay down next to Brianna, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

  Wake up! The sound of his staff’s voice echoed in his mind loudly. Someone is in the room.

  The sound of urgency forced Thad to stir. His mind still half-asleep, Thad didn’t fully understand the staff’s warnings. One of Thad’s eyes crept open to see a dark shadow standing over him. Something in the shadow’s hand caught the moonlight just right, and Thad realized that his and Brianna’s lives were in danger.

  His mind in no condition to perform magic, Thad did the only thing his muddled mind could think of. He grabbed for the knife. A sharp pain flashed through Thad’s hand as the dagger tore into his flesh. Thad grimaced but didn’t let the pain win and forced his hand to grab hold of the assassin’s hand.

  The pain drove away the last vestiges of sleep from Thad’s mind, and now with his thoughts much clearer, Thad reached for his staff that stood in the corner of the room. Thad knew that his staff was too far but still his hand reached, then suddenly Thad felt the familiar hard wood underneath his fingers.

  Thad threw everything he had into his staff letting it send a bolt of pure magical energy into his assailant. The magical attack hurled the man across the room and into the far wall. Brianna, who had been peaceably sleeping off her drink, jumped startled from the bed at the sound of the impact. “What in tha nine hells is going on?” She shouted her faced screwed up in irritation. When her eyes fell on Thad and his bleeding hand her face quickly softened.

  “We had a guest,” Thad replied, clutching his hand in an attempt to stanch the blood that poured freely from his gaping wound.

  Thinking of his other friends Thad rushed from the room, his blood dripping onto the floor as he ran. The sound of the door being thrown open roused even Crusher who jumped up, hand reaching for his nearby axe. Seeing that it was Thad who had barged into his room, the dwarf’s face turned to one of pure irritation. “Boy, ya trying ta give me heart attack?”

  Thad didn’t have a response for Crusher, he simply slumped down to the ground as the tension fled his body. Lifting up his hand Thad inspected his wound as he began to get light-headed. The dagger had not only dug deep into his palm it had also cut a deep line into Thad’s wrist. He was amazed at the sheer amount of blood that could flow from a wound. It almost looked like a tiny river had spouted from his wrist.

  Thad could hear the sound of his friend’s voices but they sounded as if they were coming from far away. Thad turned his head and looked around but his vision was filled with multicolored dots. Thad tried to stand but his legs had lost all strength and he was dumped onto his face.

  Suddenly Thad felt cold, as if all the warmth in his body had been stolen. He tried to push his hands underneath him so he could sit up but his body only weakly responded. Thad could feel the darkness encroaching upon him. He fought to keep his eyes open, but it was a futile struggle. With each passing moment they felt heavier and within moments he was carried off into darkness.

  CHAPTER III

  Thad shivered slightly as he opened his eyes. As his mind brought everything into focus, Thad found himself in a large room that was richly decorated. He knew he had seen the place before but in his current condition he could not remember where.

  “Looks like our young master is finally coming around,” Thad heard a faint voice say from off in the distance. Thad slowly turned his head, even that slight movement made him feel as if he were spinning. The captain of the Rose Runner was dressed in her normal finery, her face showing an unnatural worried look. “You’re lucky that you can still draw breath. Don’t get in too much of a hurry lad. You lost a lot of blood, boy.” The young captain squatted down and patted him softly on the cheek, “No reason to push it.”

  Thad didn’t argue, in truth he didn’t have the strength in him to make much of a noise. Trying to grab a blade barehanded will do that to you. The snarky remark made Thad remember the wound to his hand, and suddenly the pain that had been there hidden behind his own instability hit with full force. You’re lucky I was in your hand. I was able to stop the worst of your bleeding. Next time do me a favor and use your brain to set up some protection beforehand.

  Thad groaned, the last thing he wanted to hear was his staff’s snide remarks, even if they were true. Most the time he set up some form of protection for their rooms. He had been so engrossed the night before watching as Crusher was pulled around, that it had skipped his mind. Thad had to admit that it had been a mistake. Nearly a fatal one, his staff added as an afterthought.

  Thad let everything around him fade away. He was unsure of how long he had slept but he was still very tired. This time he did not fight the darkness that threatened to overtake him, he simply embraced it.

  Maria stood in the moonlight looking at the Farlan Palace from a large hill that overlooked the capital. Her red hair was still cut short and seemed to glow lightly in the moonlight. Thad was struck by the pure beauty that radiated from Maria. He had seen her hundreds of times in his dreams but this was the first time he took an earnest look at how much she had truly changed. Then it hit him, it was the first time he had seen her in a dress during his dream visits. She had always worn armor and carried a weapon in his other dreams. This time she wore a dark red dress that clung tight to her body

  Maria turned to Thad, her face smiling brightly but her eyes seemed dark and foreboding. “It is almost over, you can come home soon,” Maria stated, as if she were trying to convince herself more than him.

  Even though it was a dream Thad could feel that something was bothering her deeply. “What’s wrong?” Thad asked, stretching his arms out to Maria. Thad half expected
the darkness to come barging in again as it did every time he began to get close to Maria, but instead she fell into his arms burying her head into his chest.

  Thad could feel the warmth of her body against his. Maria gripped him hard, her fingers digging into the soft skin of his biceps. Thad lowered his head placing his chin on top of her head, and the faint smell of lavender filled his nose. Thad stroked her hair gently as she cried into his chest.

  “Mother is dead,” Maria said, in-between sobs. Maria’s words struck Thad in the heart. He had never cared much for the queen but he never wished her any ill will.

  As Maria continued to cry into his chest Thad tried to think of something, anything to say but his mind remained blank. “It will be ok,” was all Thad could utter before the darkness surrounded him, dragging him out of the dream.

  When Thad awoke he once again found himself in the captain’s quarters. Turning his head slightly, Thad looked down and inspected his arms. Three small bruises were now on Thad’s arm in the same place where Maria had grabbed him during the dream.

  The fact that bruises were now on his arm answered some questions but also brought up quite a bit more in their place. The dream had not simply been a dream, that much was certain, but why Maria and no one else? The dreams had the faint feel to them like the ones he had shared with Sae-Thae but they seemed to lack the same strength. Sae-Thae had said that his dreams were only capable through the use of an enchanted item he had acquired at great cost. That meant that it was possible to perform the same spell but Thad had no clue how it might be accomplished.

  Thad was pulled from his musing by the sound of a door opening off to his side. Thad looked up from his arm to see the young captain standing in the doorway. “Hi,” Thad said, his voice dry and raspy. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Two days,” the captain replied. “I am glad to see you awake. It’s not that I don’t like your company but you do snore a little loud for my tastes.”

  Thad started to push himself up but his right hand quickly reminded him that it wasn’t ready for use. He couldn’t see the wound through the bandages but Thad doubted it looked pretty. “Can you do anything to help speed up the healing?” Thad mentally asked his staff.

  I have a little magical energy stored but not nearly enough to aid much. You don’t understand how much magical energy it takes. When you have time you really need to fix that little problem, it’s not as if you’re lacking the gems.

  His staff was right, he needed to readjust some of the enchantments and add some more powerful gems to it. He was unsure of the best way to go about it. There was also a chance that any tampering might destroy the staff altogether. It might not be the most enjoyable object to have around sometimes, but Thad didn’t know how he would get by without his staff to aid him.

  Rising to his feet, Thad stumbled toward the door. His feet felt heavy and his head felt light but he was determined to make it back to his own chambers unaided.

  On his way down the hall Thad’s mind once again drifted back toward the thought of his staff that he had left back in the captain’s quarters. He remembered that the staff had appeared in his hands when he was attacked. There was no way he could have reached it so it must have been either the staff’s doing or his own. Clearing his mind of everything else Thad pictured the staff and reached out his hand.

  His empty hand was soon filled with the familiar feel of smooth wood. There had been no sound, no flash of light, one moment his hand had been empty and the next the staff was there.

  “How did that happen?” Thad asked out loud, forgetting in his moment of excitement that his staff could hear the words in his mind.

  You called so I thought I better come. Thad briefly wondered if his staff was avoiding the question on purpose to annoy him.

  “How?” Thad asked again, letting his irritation ring clearly within his mind.

  If you don’t know, how am I supposed to? All I know is that we are linked much like my gems.

  Thad thought about what his Staff had said as he opened the door to his chambers. Brianna looked up from her spot huddled in the corner. Her face showed that she was happy to see him again but from the color Thad didn’t expect that she would jump up and embrace him any time soon. Thad sat his staff against the wall and bent down to give her a slight peck on the cheek.

  Thad’s stomach growled, reminding him that it had been days since he had last eaten. He was tired and didn’t want to move much more, but the demands of his stomach were too pressing for him to ignore.

  Rubbing his hand across his brow, Thad turned back toward the door and started on his way to the galley. Luckily, the ship’s cook usually kept something on the fire. Thad’s only wish was that it wouldn’t be fish stew.

  “Good to see you back on your feet,” Thad heard a cheerful voice say as soon as he entered the small galley.

  Thad gave the portly cook a large smile. He was a hearty man who was always ready with a joke and a laugh. “I am glad to be back among the living but if all you have is that deplorable fish stew, I think I will go back to my sick bed.”

  “I do have a large pot of some fresh fish stew,” the portly cook said with a slight chuckle. “Though I think I might have some chicken in the ice room if you don’t mind waiting a bit.”

  “I will wait all day if it means I don’t have to eat any more fish stew,” Thad said gratefully.

  The cook brought Thad a large mug of spiced cider, knowing that the young mage preferred it to the strong ale the sailors tended to favor. The cider stung his dry throat as it went down making Thad cough after the first few gulps. After nearly half an hour the cook brought out a bowl of chicken with noodles and a light yellow broth.

  Thad took a tentative bite of the unfamiliar food. It had a rich flavor and the broth was tasty and went down smooth warming him down to the core. Thad quickly gulped down the rest of the food then started on his way back toward his room.

  Back in his chambers Thad found Brianna sleeping peacefully. Walking quietly, he carefully crawled into his hammock. The ship’s light rocking made his hammock sway from side to side. Thad found the movement relaxing and had to fight off the urge to slip into sleep, instead he focused his attention to the problems with his staff

  Closing his eyes Thad let his mind spread out and grasp the subtle flows of magical energy that flowed all around him. His own magical aura and that of his staff shone brightly, but Thad was more interested in the small lines, the ones he normally overlooked.

  It didn’t take long for him to find what he had been looking for. A light multicolored strand ran from Thad to his staff. He let himself flow into the small strand of energy. Down deeper and deeper Thad pushed himself into the flow of energy. There was a little resistance once he reached the staff, and then he broke through. Inside the staff there were so many different strands of energy. It looked like much like a spider’s web. The complexity of the staff was much more than anything he had done on his own. Somehow, the magical energies had expanded on his design and grown of their own accord.

  Thad opened his eyes and looked over at his staff. He was no longer sure that his staff was simply just a tool. It was far beyond a simple enchanted item. Thad knew that it had a consciousness but he never truly considered what that might mean. In a way, his staff was just as alive as he was.

  The new insight Thad had of his staff worried him. If the staff was truly alive was it right for him to tamper with it further? Would destroying the staff be the same as killing another person?

  I think you’re giving this too much thought. I would much rather you tamper if it means I don’t have to exhaust myself every time you hurt yourself. The staff’s words rang in his mind. You should really work on that by the way, or do you enjoy getting yourself injured? A weird hobby if that is true.

  Thad closed his eyes and pondered what his staff had said. He came up with hundreds of questions and few answers, and during that endless cycle, he drifted off to sleep.

  As soon as Tha
d had time to work he went straight to his pack and began searching through the different gems. Thad knew that different gems worked better with different elemental energies, but he didn’t know which one would work the best for what he needed. You know you could ask me. It is going to be part of me, so you would think my view might matter.

  “Which gem do you think will work best then?” Thad asked slightly annoyed. Why did the staff have to be so snappish?

  The large emerald on your right would work just fine. Thad picked up the indicated stone. It was a dark green gem about the size of his index finger.

  With the stone selected all that was left was to find out where to place it and bind it to the staff. “Any thoughts on where you would like your new adornment?” Thad asked the staff lazily.

  Near the top, next to the small sapphire, would work nicely I believe.

  Thad laid his staff across his lap and placed the emerald on the spot indicated and began to concentrate. Unlike any of his other work, this wasn’t a new enchantment. In a new enchantment he had to create the magical paths. With his staff if was much more complicated, there were already countless magical paths and he had to find out the best way to connect them.

  After most of the day had been spent Thad leaned back and let out an exhausted sigh. He knew adding the gem would be hard but he never thought it would be as tough as it had been. He had to force each magical line to connect to the gem. His staff had been a great help in pointing out which lines would be the best to move.

  Thad was more than a little annoyed that he had to rely on his staff for the information. If he knew just a bit more, if he had just a little more time to research the magical routes, then he wouldn’t need to rely on his staff for the information. It made Thad wonder, who was the mage and who was the tool? If he looked at it objectively this time and a few others it had been his staff that had performed the magic while he had merely supplied the energy.