Stranded Mage (29 page)

“You have failed us,” An eerie voice echoed through Thad’s mind.

Turning around Thad stood face to face with a ghostly apparition of an older man in long flowing robes. “You have used the sacred arts to do harm to your fellow man, a grave breach in the ethics of the council of mages. For this transgression you shall be whipped until dead.”

The ghost lifted up its transparent arm and a wicked looking nine headed whip appeared. When the apparition swung down the ghostly whip shredded the flesh on Thad’s leg sending waves of pain through his body. As the ghost raised his arm for another strike Thad covered his face with his arm.

When nothing stuck him Thad slowly lowered his arms and found himself standing in the living room of Joan’s house. Joan was there along with the rest of her family though for the life of him he couldn’t remember most of their names.

“What have you done?” Joan asked, indicating a small tree that now grew in the center of the room.

“I didn’t mean …” Thad started to say but one look from Joan quickly silenced him.

“Meaning to and not meaning to don’t matter what matters is what you did or did not do.”

Joan’s face turned red as she shouted and Thad closed his eyes as the tirade continued. Suddenly everything went silent and despite his own better judgment Thad opened his eyes again.

“The little runaway,” the queen said sitting on her throne. “Guards, seize him! Time to teach the little mage a lesson he won’t soon forget.”

Dozens of strong hands grabbed Thad, dragging him from the room. As he was carried into the dark he could hear the queen’s laughter echoing behind him. Thad tried to call his magic but nothing seemed to heed his call, it was as if it abandoned him. When the guards stopped, Thad lifted his head to see the small cell where he had spent a span of his life. He tried to struggle but he was no match for the strength used against him and was thrown into the room.

Thad rushed the door but it shut it a resounding thud before he was even near. Slumping to his knees Thad pounded on the door, whimpering lightly.

“Why are ya cryin on tha floor?” Thad heard a familiar voice say from behind him.

Slowly Thad turned and nearly cried out when he saw Brianna casually tending the small bar back at the dwarven village. Thad rushed up to embrace her but stopped short when he noticed the dark fletching on the bolt sticking from her neck. “You’re dead,” Thad said, taking a step back.

“Whose fault do ya think that is lover boy?” She asked, giving him a dreadful look. “If ya would have never met me I’d still be laughing happily with me kinfolk,” she said, her voice full of sorrow.

Thad turned back toward the door and pulled on it hard, wrenching it open. As he stepped through the portal Thad found himself standing in the courtyard of the manor where he had left his elven friends.

A foul odor hung in the air making his eyes water. Thad turned his head to see that the ground was littered with bodies most of those belonging to tall golden giants he had once called friends. Reeve was propped up against the wall with a three foot long pike protruding from his chest. On his left Parson lay face down in the dirt, his body nearly cut in twain. Worst of all was Tuck whose body was not to be found, but whose head rested at Thad's feet with a look of utter horror etched into it. Unable to take anymore Thad dropped to his knees and wept.

“Raise your head child,” a warm voice said off to Thad’s side.

Fearful of what else waited for him Thad clutched his eyes tight and shook his head and tried to crawl away from the voice. As Thad crawled across the ground the voice continued to talk to him like a father consoling a frightened child.

Thad didn’t know how long he tried but it was clear he was not going to escape whatever haunted him by scampering across the ground like a fool. Standing up but keeping his head down Thad slowly opened his eyes. The dead bodies were gone replaced by flowers and trees with fluttering silky silver leaves that danced on a light breeze.

Lifting his head Thad saw the elven god leaning back against the trunk of a large oak. “You are not well my son,” the god said, looking at Thad his face etched with concern. “I can do little for you but sooth your troubled mind. It will depend on your friends whether you live through the night.”

“I am dying?” Thad asked as he walked over and sat down across from the god.

“Your body has gone through a great deal of stress, and has taken a fever. If you can overcome the fever you shall live, if not…” the god said, leaving the last word hanging.

Thad didn’t know what to say or think at the moment. Would death be so bad? There would be no more killing, no more dying, and no more watching friends die.

“There would also be no one to protect your friends. Don’t give up on life so quickly. I know it has not been an easy road for you, but even you have had times you would have went through the fires of the abyss to see again,” the god said consolingly.

Thad thought back to the found memories he had at Joan’s farm among the other children. He had worked hard but it had been the first place where he did anything more than exist. His mind then settled on his meeting with Monique who had taken him in as her own family, and years later had come to his rescue. His first meeting with the princess while not a completely happy moment, it had been the start of one of his first real friendships. The god was right, Thad had plenty of happy memories.

“What should I do?” Thad asked, looking up to the gentle god.

“Right now there is little you can do but rest. If you should perish then I shall personally escort your soul back to the ether. If you manage to live then when you wake you shall fade from my garden. Until your fate is decided all that is left for you is to rest, and if you don’t mind me saying, you could really use it.”

Taking the god’s advice Thad lie on the ground and closed his eyes, though it felt weird to try and sleep when he knew he was already sleeping.

When Thad’s eye opened again he found himself looking into a large group of worried faces. “So I didn’t die,” Thad thought to himself.

Thad tried to rise but Monique and Mary both put their hands on his chest keeping him from moving. “You shouldn’t be moving about. Just relax and rest, it’s what you need most right now,” Monique said imploringly.

Thad stopped trying to rise and settled instead for tilting his head around to get a better look at where he was at. It looked like a small cottage, with only a single room much like the one he had lived in when he stayed with the dwarves, but with only one good eye it was hard to really see much.

“Did anyone happen to grab a silver orb with a large sapphire sat in its center?” Thad asked, his voice slightly pleading.

“Let me go look,” Marry said, giving him a motherly smile.

Turning back to Monique, Thad gave her a questioning look. “How did you end up here and where did you find all these mages?” Thad asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“It’s a long story,” Monique replied with a short laugh.

“Looks like I got plenty of time,” Thad said, giving her a smug look.

“That you do,” Monique replied, giving him a worried frown. “After I returned from Farlan I received orders from the Merchant Guild to report. Winter was starting to set in and knowing the guilds reputation for dealing with those disobeying summons, I set out quickly in hopes of returning before the first heavy snows fell. I made good time and to my surprise was admitted to see the council shortly after arriving. At the time I thought it was a stroke of luck, having expected to spend a few days waiting at a local inn for them to make time to see me.”

Monique’s face took on a haunted look as she continued. “That’s where everything started to go wrong. The council members were interested in your magical items, and honestly I expected them to be, but not in the way they were. They seemed adamant to learn your whereabouts and though I found it odd I saw no reason not to tell them. They went on to request quite firmly that I sell any remaining magical items to the guild house and even offered more than a fair price so I agreed to sell those, excluding the ones you had given me for my own personal use, once the snows had melted and it was safe to travel after the winter.”

“I brought the items we recovered from the Merchant Guild,” Mary said, interrupting Monique politely.

Thad was relieved to see almost all of his belongings in Mary’s arms. Reaching out weakly Thad grasped the small sapphire orb and looked around for something to wash it in. seeing a small water basin Thad asked Mary to bring it to him. She gave him a questioning look and instead took his magical eye from his hand and proceeded to wash it for him.

Monique turned her head as Thad pulled back the bandage covering his empty eye socket and slid his magical eye back in. It stung at first but after a few minutes he could once again see clearly through it.

I will just leave the rest next to your bed in case you need anything,” Mary said with a light giggle, seeming to enjoy Monique’s displeasure.

“Please continue,” Thad said once Mary had left the cabin.

Monique gave him a scathing glare, her left eyebrow rising slightly. “While I found the actions of the council odd I didn’t really have a reason to question them, so as soon as I was done I went back to my room at the inn. That night I woke when a man put his hand over my mouth. I kicked him hard in the chest and activated the shield ring you had given me and ran out of the room. Outside I found a host of guild soldiers. When I tried to explain what had happened they drew their swords and advanced on me instead of going after the assassin.”

Monique shivered and Thad noticed a few tears welling in her eyes. “I knew something was wrong so I ran to my horse and rode as fast as I could. When I finally returned home I found my house burned to the ground and my mother’s dead body in the courtyard. That’s when a group of men rode over the hill and came after me. I jumped back on my horse and rode it until it collapsed, then I ran. I continued to run until I collapsed. When I woke I was in a cabin much like this, being tended to by an older gentleman.”

“When I explained what had transpired his face became one of concern,” Monique said, laughing weakly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “He told me about the Brotherhood and brought me here, where I found more than I could have ever imagined. Then a few days ago one of our seers told us about you and the elves fighting your way across Rane. When we learned you had been captured we decided it was past time we took some action.”

“It sounds like you went through quite a bit of trouble because of me,” Thad said morosely.

“If you weren’t injured I’d hit you for that,” Monique replied with more than a bit of fire. “The Brotherhood and their twisted views are to blame, not you. Yes I went through a rough patch but I also found a great deal along the way.”

“How did you convince everyone to risk their lives to save me?” Thad asked quickly, thinking it wise to change to tone of the conversation.

“When the seer first told of her vision of you and the name she had heard one of the elves use I knew it was you even if her description was a bit different than I remembered,” Monique replied laughing to herself. “At first many argued we should march with you, but there were a lot who didn’t want to risk the Brotherhood finding out about our hidden village, and were scared to risk their family’s lives. When the seer saw you chained in the Brotherhood dungeon there was a huge outcry to aid you and not just from me. In the end only a handful decided to go. Honestly I don’t know how we were all able to get into the guild house and find you with as little trouble as we did. It was almost as if someone was shielding us,” Monique said, smiling.

Thad instantly thought of the small flower petal that the god had given him. He wasn’t sure but he had an inkling that the gods may have played a small part in his rescue. “I am glad you came when you did. I am not sure I could have lasted much longer,” Thad said gratefully.

“What’s new, fool men are always needing to be saved by the women in their lives,” Monique said jokingly. “Now get some rest, you have been through a great deal, and your body is in shambles.”

Thad turned his head and watched as Monique left the small cabin. She had changed a great deal since he had last seen her. She had been full of life and ambition then and though her face still had the energetic shine to it, there was something also a hint of maturity in her eyes now.

As he moved his head Thad caught a glimpse of one of the rings that sat on the table by the bed and instantly thought of Tuck and the other elves. As he stretched out his hand pain ripped through his body. Ignoring the pain Thad forced himself to grab the jewelry that was within his reach. Thad found both of his rings within the small pile and struggled to get them on his fingers.

“Tuck,” Thad said, praying for an answer as soon as the ring slid onto his finger.

“Thad, where have you been? I have been trying to contact you for a fortnight,”
Tuck said, his voice ringing in Thad’s ears.

“I ran into a bit of trouble,” Thad said in explanation, not wanting to go into the full detail of the past few days. “How is everything on your end?”

“We lost a good number back at the manor, but as we promised, when you didn’t return by the appointed time we headed west toward Farlan. Right now we believe we are only a day or two away from the border. Should we turn back and meet up with you?”