Stranded Mage (30 page)

“No, just get to Farlan and tell the queen I will be along shortly,” Thad replied hastily. “Tell her I am safe but there are still things left that I must do.”

“Alright, I will contact you again so try and not ignore me this time,”
Tuck said, his voice more than a little relieved.

You don’t plan to go back after the Brotherhood again do you? I was hoping you might have learned your lesson.
Thuraman said after Thad cut his communication with Tuck.

“No, I am quite content to never see another member of the Brotherhood as long as I live,” Thad replied solemnly. “I just doubt that I will be fit for travel anytime in the near future.”

That is good to know. I was starting to think you had lost your mind completely. Not that you ever had much of one to start with.

“It is good to clearly hear your voice again Thuraman, even if it hasn’t dulled,” Thad said laughing.

If I don’t speak up and point out your faults then your ego will get larger than it already is. You need someone to bring you back down to size.

Thad laughed and tendrils of pain raced through his body but they were much lighter than they had been the day before. Everything was going better than Thad could have ever hoped. He was away from the Brotherhood, Tuck and many of the other elves had survived and now he had been reunited with Monique.

Be careful, luck doesn’t last forever. You should know that by now. The second you drop your guard you’re going to end up like you did back at the guild house.

Thad had to agree with Thuraman on that point. Too many times in his life had he let his guard down because everything was going his way, only to end up in a bad situation. Most of the tragedies in his life could have easily been avoided had he paid just a touch more attention to his surroundings.

Glad you finally realized that.

Not long after Monique left Mary returned with another mug of the horrible brew she had forced down his throat before. Though he knew what awaited him should he drink it Thad knew better than to argue. If he had learned anything in his life it was that it was pointless to argue with a woman when you were sick. In the end you would still drink the foul brew, just in a less pleasant situation.

Over the next span Thad spent all of his time in bed healing. Thanks largely to his staff and a few mages with skills in healing Thad’s right leg and left hand had healed considerably, but it still pained him to stand unaided.

Besides his pouches of coins and magical slugs all of Thad’s belongs had been rescued from the Merchant Guild. Even though he would be near useless in a real fight Thad still felt more comfortable with his leather harness and sword once again on his person.

The elves had reached Farlan and Maria had provided them sanctuary against the Brotherhood. Tuck had said that many of the elves were talking about returning to the island and try to get more of their brethren to return to the mainland.

When Tuck told Maria that Thad was going to be delayed she was none too happy but thankfully she had yet to visit Thad in his dreams to convey her displeasure, something Thad was not looking forward too.

Thad had not spent all his time idly while he waited to heal. He had spent a great deal of time and effort to meet with any of the local mages that would see him. To many of the people who lived in the secluded village Thad was seen as a hero who had fought against their oppressors but to some he was seen as a cause for concern. Thad could understand their feelings. They had lived in hiding for many centuries, trying their best to stay out of sight, and now Thad had come marching into Rane and stirred up the hornets’ nest.

The village had a lot more residents than Thad would have thought, near four hundred. He had enquired as to how they had stayed hidden from the Brotherhood for so long. He was surprised to find that the mages had little trouble in doing so. It was simple, they only left the safety of the village when news of a new mage was found. The village itself was located in the largest forest in Rane and was surrounded by a myriad of spells that left anyone not wanted confused and disorientated should they enter its protective ring.

Monique had also introduced Thad to Jayden, the older gentleman who had saved her life and who had taken Monique as his wife. He was a good man though a bit standoffish. What surprised Thad the most was the man was nearly twice Monique’s age though she seemed to care little about that fact. Jayden himself was an internal mage who could transform into a large mountain lion at will.

Thad was quite fascinated by the change the man went through during the transformation and was happy when Jayden agreed to do it while Thad watched with his magical senses. Thad was surprised to learn that not only did Jayden’s physical body change but the magical aura surrounding him did as well, going from a light blue mixed with green and red to a very dark green when he was in his cat form.

Today was the first day Thad had been allowed out of the cottage without Mary tagging along. The woman, who Thad learned was much older than she looked, had seemed to take Thad on as her adopted child. At first Thad found it annoying but he had to admit the fussy woman was starting to grow on him. She even insisted that Thad call her Mother Mary. When Thad tried to explain he didn’t have many good memories associated with the word mother she gave him a crestfallen look until he was brow beat into calling her as she desired.

The town, aptly called Sanctuary, was like most other towns with butcher, bakers, and many other shops. The only real difference Thad could see was that magic was everywhere. Thad was even able to find an enchanting shop that supplied everything he could possibly need for his work. Much like the dwarves, there was no real need for gold in Sanctuary, everyone traded to get what they needed or wanted.

Not all the people in Sanctuary were mages. More than a few were family members of those with magical powers or people who had lost loved ones to the Brotherhood’s twisted views. The most surprising thing Thad learned was that the town had been around for more than three hundred years, about as long as the Brotherhood itself had been a major force in Rane. It was started when a small group of runaway mages hid within the security of the forest. It grew over the years as the mages started helping others escape the Brotherhood's grasp.

As Thad hobbled through the town leaning heavily on his staff he began to wonder if other towns like Sanctuary existed. From what Thad had learned the magical races had each been able to hide and live in secrecy why shouldn’t more human mages have done the same. The more Thad had contemplated this thought, the more he was sure that it wasn’t just a possibility.

“Thad, how are you this morning?” The seemingly young enchanter asked as Thad entered the shop.

“Better than yesterday Roger,” Thad answered back smiling. Even in the mages hidden city there were only two enchanters; Roger who was in his mid-thirties but look about Thad’s age, and Marcus who looked every bit of two hundred.

As soon as Thad had learned about the two enchanters he had insisted to meet them. Marcus had been less than pleasant, always seeming to find some fault with anything Thad said, whereas Roger had been welcoming. The two younger Enchanters had struck a quick friendship. Now it was a daily habit for one of the two to pay a visit to the other.

Roger had been surprised to find that Thad was not only an enchanter of some skill but also a Mage Smith, able to force his will on metal and make them freely move without fire. More often than not the two would spend hours talking about how and what they enchanted and the different methods each employed. Roger had also shown a keen interest in Thad’s staff, Thuraman, and was currently working on his own.

“Still working on your staff?”

“Still trying to work on the staff you mean,” Roger answered back, frustration creeping into his voice. “I keep trying to grow the bonds to the gems gradually as you were talking about but they don’t seem to take hold unless I force them. To make matters worse when I try and create multiple paths the gems end up shattering and I spend the rest of the day getting scolded by my wife as she picks the shards out of my hide.”

“You have to be careful not to overtax the gem,” Thad said laughing. “I am sure you will get the hang of it.”

“Maybe it’s just the difference in how we were taught,” Roger replied sadly. “You would think I should be able to do it. Unlike you, I was born and raised in Sanctuary and have worked under Marcus since I first showed talent with enchanting.”

Thad laughed again patting his friend on the back. “Sometimes danger and need can force a man to think in ways he might not have before. I am sure if you run into a few battles foolhardy like I did you might pick up a few more tricks.”

“I don’t think so, my wife would have my hide,” Roger said, joining Thad in his laughter.

“Thad, some of the elders are calling for you,” a young boy yelled from the doorway. Thad recognized the boy as one of the runners for the group of older mages who acted as the town’s overseers.

Thad had been visited by one or more of the elders nearly daily. Most of them saw him as a threat to their safety and were in a hurry to see him gone. Sighing, Thad turned to Roger and gave him a shrug of his shoulders. “Looks like I’m being called to task again,” Thad said with a dull expression.

“Don’t let them get to you. They all just spent too much time hiding, makes one a little jumpy when something jumps in to stir the pot.”

The young page led Thad to a fair sized building located in the center of the town. Thad could tell it was going to be an eventful meeting before even walking through the door as the sounding of raised voices echoed from inside. Steeling his nerves Thad took a deep breath and tried his best to walk in confidently.

“They haven’t found us in over three hundred years and they’re not going to find us now,” A thin older gentleman with a bald head and thick beard said in a raised voice.

“They have never looked that hard Illias,” countered another older man with light red hair that held more than a few strands of gray. “They have their best trackers and near to four thousand troops scouring the countryside for us now.”

“Good, let them come it is high time we started fighting back instead of just hiding,” A younger man with broad shoulders and a thin mustache said heatedly.

“Yes let’s just start a war with the Brotherhood. Fight them openly and let them know where we are, where our families are. Have you lost your mind Horus?

“If you haven’t noticed I think we have been at war with the Brotherhood for a long time,” Thad said strongly.

Every head in the room turned toward Thad as if noticing his presence for the first time. “If you don’t want to fight then take your families and make for Farlan. The queen has offered asylum to the elves, I am sure she would offer the same for you,” Thad said as an afterthought.

“How are we supposed to move everyone to Farlan without drawing the attention of every soldier in Rane? They have every able hand out looking for you and those who aided in your escape. I don’t remember a time in my entire life where they have been so worked up about a single mage escaping,” the red haired man said angrily.

Thad thought about it for a few moments running over different scenarios in his mind. “I don’t think you could, but with everyone helping out I think we could elude detection long enough to have a good chance of making it to the border. If worse comes to worse the ones who want to fight can hang back and draw the attention of the soldiers.”

“We have lived here in safety for centuries. I will not pack up and run because you have brought them down on us,” the man retorted.

“Then you are a fool Jonas,” Horus said nearly yelling. “The young man is right, we need to leave. Rane was never a safe place but we have survived. If Farlan is offering us safety I say we take it. We cannot continue to live in seclusion. Each year it becomes harder to keep everyone fed and hid. Sooner or later we will run out of room or luck.”

The room roared to life as arguments spread like a late fall wildfire. Knowing little would be accomplished in staying Thad silently slipped out the door and headed back toward his cottage for some much needed rest.

Inside the cabin Thad found Mary in the kitchen cooking. “The food will be ready in a bit why don’t you go get back in bed before you stress yourself too much,” she said without ever taking her eyes off the pot.

“Yes Mother Mary,” Thad said, shaking his head as he hobbled to his bed.

As they ate Thad told Mary about what had transpired in the assembly hall. She laughed and called the elders a bunch of squawking fools. She did seem a bit concerned about the Brotherhood's actions but she also seemed to support the idea of moving to Farlan. “We could use a little more freedom. One can only stay cooped up in one place for so long,” she said, giving Thad a warm smile.

As soon as Thad was finished eating Mary went to work with her magic slowly coaxing his wounds to heal. Thad knew the daily use of magic was taking its toll on the woman but he had learned quickly not to mention it. As she always did she focused primarily on Thad’s leg, then his hand. The rest of his wounds were almost completely healed and she continued to tell him that in no time he would be running as easily as he had before. At first Thad had doubted anything could heal the damage that had been done to his leg but now he was not so sure. He still couldn’t walk unaided but each day he was seeing a great improvement.