Stranded Mage (26 page)

For a brief moment Thad thought he might even win the day but his dreams were short lived as something hard smashed against the back of his head, knocking him to the floor. Thad tried to rise but his head was spinning as something warm and wet began to run down his face. His vision blurring Thad again tried to rise until another sharp blow forced him back to the ground.

“Don’t kill him,” Thad heard someone say in the distance.

Looks like you were not lucky enough to find your death.
Thad heard his staff say almost sadly inside his head.
Though our time tighter seems to be coming to an end for what it’s worth I did enjoy your company.

“Where are you going?” Thad asked nearly crying.

Do you really expect the Brotherhood to keep a magical item intact? No, as soon as they are given the chance I expect I will be broken and scattered to the four winds.

Thad could accept his own death. He had known that it had been a possibility since he had decided to come to Rane, but the loss of his staff seemed a much greater punishment. Thad stretched his hand out feebly the tips of his fingers brushing weakly against the cold wood of Thuraman, then he felt another rap on the back of his head, and then he saw nothing but darkness as he slipped into unconsciousness.

When Thad woke his head felt as if it was lodged between an anvil and a dwarven hammer. Opening his eyes Thad noticed that he could no longer see out of the left side and what he could out of the right was blurred and out of focus.

When his mind cleared Thad tried to pull in magical energy and while he could feel it enter his body it drained away just as fast. Tilting his head slightly Thad looked up at his hands and found that he was bound tightly to a large wooden table. His hands, arms, and legs shackled by large bands of the same white metal that the Brotherhood’s swords were made of.

“Can you hear me?” Thad asked his staff, praying for an answer.

Ye…ear…ou...a…it.

Even though Thad couldn’t understand what Thuraman was saying he was glad just to know that it was still in one piece. “Where are you?” Thad asked not expecting to understand the answer but wanting to have something to distract his mind from what he knew was sure to come as soon as the Brotherhood learned he was awake.

I…don…ow…som…ace…ose….he…est…of…yo…uff.is….her…as…ell.

The fact that Thad could still communicate with his staff meant that he still had access to some small reserve of magical energy.

Thad pulled on his bonds and found they had no give. As he lay twisting his body about the tip of his nose started to itch. “Great,” Thad thought to himself, “self-imposed torture.”

Migh…as…ell…be…edy…or….he…rea…ing…fore…it…mes.

Thad started to think he was losing his mind but he half understood what his staff had said that time. It was like trying to talk through a crowd in the middle of a busy market day. “Is anyone in the room with you?”

No...is…ere…ut…on…of…he…der…en…fro.. he…arlie.

Thad slowly worked through what his staff had said trying to piece it tighter like a puzzle. Once he was sure he understood the bulk of the message he breathed a sigh of relief. At least his staff wasn’t in any danger at the present. “Can you tell where they are?”

I…not…ence…ho..os..wh…ut…ost…he…ank… ots…are…in…he…rge…oom…we…ought…in…ast …night.

So he had only been asleep for a short time that was good to know. Maybe the Brotherhood would ignore his presence for a short while.

Thad looked around him and found that the room was bare except him, the table, and a wall full of nasty looking instruments. After seeing what was most likely the tools that would be used against him Thad wasn’t sure if he wanted to put if off as long as possible or get it over with. No matter how he looked at it soon he was going to be in a great deal of pain.

“You don’t happen to know of a way to make it where I won’t feel the pain of what is coming?” Thad asked, knowing the answer but hoping he was wrong.

O...I… don…ust…mem…er…ou…ot…yo…elf… int…his…ould…ave…tak…my…vice…nd…ent…to…lan ...tead…of… omin…on…his…ool…miso.

In spite of himself Thad laughed. He could tell that his staff was trying to be sarcastic but it really didn’t carry well when he could only pick up bits of the words.

Thad continued to talk back and forth with Thuraman, occupying his mind trying to decipher what the staff was saying. He knew it was useless but if he simply had to stare at the walls and instruments of torture he was sure he would have lost his mind long before the Brotherhood could get around to him.

Thad grew quickly bored with his game with Thuraman and started to doze off and on. Soon he lost the battle to stay awake and drifted off into the darkness of sleep where unpleasant dreams awaited him.

Thad was jolted away by a hard slap to the face. “Time to wake up,” a voice said far too enthusiastically for Thad’s liking.

As his eye focused he could make out two people in the room. The first was the one called Sallias who supported a splinted arm and a grim look. The other was a younger man in his mid-thirties who had an evil looking grin on his face.

“I will ask you some questions and you will answer them,” Sallias said, bending down so his face was only inches away. “If you refuse to answer or do not answer the question completely Hern will help loosen your tongue.”

“You are the mage, Thaddeus, who had dealings with Monique Torin of the Rose Trading Company. The same mage who was reported to have been in Farlan a little over five years ago and vanished after the battle at Southpass where reports indicated you had been captured and imprisoned by the Ablaians.

At first Thad had thought to be defiant to the last and refuse to answer any questions but his good sense won the day. He didn’t mind answering questions as long as they wouldn’t put his friends in danger. “Yes I am Thaddeus.”

Sallias gave him a warm smile while Hern gave him a look of sheer disappointment. “How refreshing, most people tend to play dumb until after we remove a few yards of their insides. It makes it so much harder to get a coherent answer when the person speaking is in pain.”

“What I need to know is what happened and where you went after you escaped the Ablaians.”

Thad considered the question for a moment. In truth he didn’t know how he had made it to the dwarven village nor how to return so he figured that nothing he could really tell them would put the dwarves in danger.

“I ran into one of their abandoned mines and collapsed the roof down on their heads. After that I wandered the Underearth for what seemed like years before finally stumbling across a dwarven village. They let me rest and heal until I was well then they blindfolded me and delivered me back to the surface.”

As he spoke, Sallias watched him carefully. Thad did not know what the man was looking for but the piercing gaze made him feel more than a little uncomfortable. During his tale Thad had left off him meeting with Crusher or the rock dog Avalanche. He had also left off his interactions with the vathari. If the Brotherhood didn’t know about any of those then he was not going to be the one to alert them.

“How would you get to the dwarven village if you wished to return?” Sallias asked, his face one of rapt attention.

“I don’t know,” Thad answered honestly.

Sallias make a clicking noise with his tongue. “I would like to believe that is the truth but it’s my job to be skeptical,” he said, shaking his head.

Thad could hear a slight chuckle escape Hern’s lips before he felt his arms and legs being pulled apart as immense waves of pain rolled over his body. After only a short time the pressure was released and Thad arched his back in an effort to reduce the pain that still pulled at his joints.

“How would one get to the dwarven village?” Sallias asked again, this time his voice more demanding.

“I don’t know,” Thad gasped.

The series of the same question, then the same answer was repeated many times with only a short break for Hern to perform his work. This went on until Thad finally passed out.

When Thad awoke he was once again alone. Shifting slightly to alleviate the pain in his back, Thad nearly screamed out in pain as his swollen joints burned as if on fire. “Are you still there?” Thad asked his staff hoping for a ray a light in an otherwise dismal day.

Ye…ough…i…on’t…kno…ow…or..ow…lon.

“Why is there someone there?” Thad asked afraid to hear the answer.

No…ut…ere…ave…een…vis…nce…we…ad…ast…tal…oug…the…int…ove…any…ng.

At least his staff was still there. Thad didn't know why he should take comfort in that simple knowledge but he did. A dim hope still burned in his mind that the Brotherhood would make a mistake and allow him a chance to escape. When Thad shifted again sharp pains ran though his body reminding him of his previous meeting with Sallias. Even if he had control over his magic what could he do? He was in so much pain it would be almost impossible for him to correctly draw in and mold magic strong enough to create enough light to guide his way let alone clear the hundreds of guards who seemed to be housed within the building.

Knowing that it was near impossible at best Thad still couldn’t give up on the possibility of escape. The second he gave into his death what would be left to keep him from betraying his friends. “Have any ideas on how to get out of here?” Thad asked Thuraman almost jokingly.

Ure…i…ave…n…dea…i….old…it…ou…enda…go…e…ould…ave…ent…ack…to…farl.

“I know you said the same thing last time. We should have gone back to Farlan but it’s a little late for that now. Have any thoughts that could get us out of the predicament we are in now?”

Ray.

Thad wanted to shake his head and laugh at his staff but he could find little humor in his situation. Worst of all he had not only doomed himself but had brought over a hundred elves with him who now waited for him to return. Thad hoped they took his warning and left on the appointed day. If the dallied even for an extra sunrise then they would all be at risk.

Hey ill lea…hen…oppo…ed…to…unli…ou…hey …end…to…sten.

This time Thad couldn’t help but to laugh at Thuraman’s taunt, though as pain once again ripped through his body he wished he had refrained.

Ore…ite…swo…ovin…in…ure…dir…ion.

Thad cursed the Brotherhood as the sound of footsteps rang in his ears. Thad found himself praying that they would pass by his door but he had no such luck. Knowing that pain would follow Thad still turned his head to see what he least wanted to see. Hern and Sallias stood in the candlelight, both looking far too pleased to see him.

Sallias grabbed a wooden stool and carried it over sitting down at eye level with Thad. “I know we didn’t end on the best terms last time but I hope this time will be different,” the man said ingeniously. “If memory serves me correctly we were talking about the dwarven village and we had some trouble with its location. Now where did you say it was?”

Thad cursed inwardly and had the urge to give the man some fake destination that might at least control his urge to let Hern work but he didn’t want to give the man anything that might be used later. If he told him something now and refused later he might drag on the torture for days in the hopes of garnering more than Thad had or was willing to give. “I don’t know,” Thad replied. He waited for the familiar feel of pain as his body was stretched far beyond its intended limit but the pain never came.

“I was hoping you were lying about that but either you are the best liar I have met or you are simply telling the truth,” Sallias said disappointedly. “Now that we are past that bit of unpleasantness why don’t you continue with your story after you left the dwarven village?”

“Water,” Thad said his voice dry and raspy. He didn’t expect the man to oblige him but right now even a few turns of the wheel was worth it if he received something to quench his parched throat.

“Yes it does get a bit hard to talk when one’s throat is dry,” Sallias said.

Thad was amazed when the old man produced a ladle and bucket of water. It wasn’t cold water but it still cooled the fire that had been burning in his throat. “Now you had left the dwarven village,” Sallias prompted Thad.

“Once I was clear of the village and out of the Underearth I walked to the nearest town. I am not sure what the name of the town was, all I was really curious about was if I could get passage back home to Farlan. When we were turned away we headed to the port town of Handlane. Along the way we met up with a group of your vulgar friends slaughtering a small family of nadirie so we returned the favor.”

Before Thad had a chance to say another word he was racked with immense pain as his body was stretched. “Do try and keep it truthful. You should have said you murdered them,” Sallias said his voice flaring angrily.

“Before we reached Handlane we found another group of the Brotherhood who had lain in wait for us,” Thad continued. “Once we knew they were there it was a simple task to prepare a surprise of our own. In the end we killed nearly the whole force leaving them to run away like the wounded dogs they were.”

Thad felt another surge of pain as Hern pulled back on the lever. When the room resounded with a loud crack darkness started to move in on Thad but unluckily it receded before it claimed him. Once Hern let go and the pressure subsided from the continued pain in his left leg Thad was certain something had broken.