The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 (26 page)

Feeling good about himself, and beginning to believe he had Jeth pegged wrong, Tartum dropped his guard. He looked around and discovered that Jeth probably wasn’t lying about this being an old dungeon. The walls were moldy and coarse. The torches were definately the only light source and everything was wet. The floor was a solid piece of flat stone and was unusually clean for a dungeon. Tartum assumed this area must get alot of traffic.

“Come look in this room Tartum!” Jeth called.

Tartum walked over to his new friend and looked inside. The room was completely barren and dark. Tartum stepped in to get a closer look at whatever it was Jeth wanted him to see. The moment he stepped inside the cell, his staff went dark, and the magic inside him dissipated. The sudden weakness that hit him caused him to stumble. He started to fall, when he felt something tug at his staff. Tartum was spun around as something ripped his staff away. He saw Jeth, holding his staff, standing in the doorway of the cell, with that same grin on his face.

“Welcome to the Null Box, Recruit!” without missing a beat, Jeth kicked Tartum full in the chest and slammed the door, trapping him in the room.

Tartum fell to the ground as the door slammed shut. Momentarily winded, Tartum lay on the floor trying to breathe. He didn’t understand what had just happened. He didn’t care. He wanted his staff back, and he wanted to be let out of this room. If this was some kind of a joke, he didn’t find it funny. If it was something other than a joke, Tartum would kill everyone in the guild to exact his revenge.

He heard Jeth outside the door. He was laughing.

Tartum recovered and threw himself at the door. It was pitch black in the room, but he found the door by following the sound of Jeth’s laughter.

“OPEN THE DOOR, JETH! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Tartum shouted.

Jeth’s laughter intensified at Tartum’s plea. He was enjoying this very much.

“
SHUT UP, AND OPEN THE GODS DAMNED DOOR!
” Tartum screamed again. His fury was mounting.

Jeth got control of himself apparently, because Tartum heard his laugher ease and then stop altogether. “
JETH! OPEN THE DOOR!
” Tartum ordered again. He had had just about all he could take of this joke.

Suddenly a thin panel in the door slid open and poured light into the room. Tartum could only see Jeth’s eyes through the slot. Tartum blinked and backed up from the light. His eyes needed time to adjust.

Jeth looked at Tartum for a moment. Then an amused look formed in his eyes. “Relax, you can come out of there whevever you want. You just need to prove yourself worthy first.” he said.

Tartum’s fury took over; he rushed at the door, thinking to gouge out Jeth’s eyes through the slot. Jeth didn’t move. As Tartum reached for the slot and his fingers were almost in Jeth’s eyes, the door over the slot slammed closed, painfully hitting Tartum’s outstretched fingers. Tartum roared with pain and outrage.

“No, no, no! Bad Tartum! If you’re going to be rude I can always just leave you here. Are you going to play nice, or should I just come back later?” Jeth’s disembodied voice taunted him from the other side of the door.

Tartum dropped to his knees with the pain. It shot through his whole body, and he crouched down over his fingers, waiting for it to pass. He couldn’t speak while he waited for the pain to pass. A panel at the bottom of the door opened up, and something slid through. The panel didn’t close right away, and Tartum stared at the object, trying to determine what it was. After a moment, he realized it was a rat. A large, dead rat.

Jeth chuckled, “If you want out of the Null Box, all you have to do is eat that rat. That’s it. Nothing more. Until you eat that rat, however, you’ll be stuck in there. Forever if need be. The choice is yours.” Laughing, Jeth closed the bottom panel, but his eyes reappeared in the top slot almost immediately.

Tartum couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Jeth wanted him to eat a rat!? What kind of insanity was this? He honestly believed he was going to consume vermin!? Tartum’s rage took over, and he stood up. He would show this fool, and all the rest, who he was and what he was capable of! He opened himself to the source...and felt nothing.

Panic crushed his rage. Why couldn’t he feel the magic? What happened to his power? What had they done to him!? Did they burn him out? Was the magic gone forever!? He shouted his fear at Jeth’s amused eyes.

“What’s going on!? Why can’t I use my magic? What happened?
What did you do to me!?
Why are you doing this?! Let me out!
LET ME OUT!
” Tartum screamed.

The amused look left Jeth’s eyes, and a harder one took its place. He no longer seemed to be enjoying Tartum’s pleas.

“Shut up, you whiney bitch!” Jeth snapped at him. “Let me out! Let me out!” Jeth impersonated Tartum’s voice in a sarcastic mockery. “I’ve already told you this is a Null Box. Null, as in, it
NULLIFIES
magic. Didn’t you realize that when you walked inside, and your staff went dark? Didn’t you feel the magic leave your body? You’re an idiot, and that’s why you’re in there. You need to shed that childish mentality, that the world owes you something. It makes you weak and pathetic. I have appraised you and found you wanting. You want to prove me wrong? Eat the damned rat. It won’t kill you, and then you’ll be back outside in the world of the strong. Stop your whining though. Be a man for once in your pampered life.” Jeth said with disgust.

“Please, I just want out of this room.” Tartum begged, tears forming in his eyes.

“You disgust me. I’ll be back when your balls drop. Might as well get it over with, recruit, eventually I’ll get you to eat that rat!” And with that, Jeth slid the slot closed and left Tartum alone in the darkness.

...

Jeth was irritated with Tartum’s behavior. For a moment, he thought Tartum would impress him and eat the rat without hesitation. Unfortunatly not. Instead, he whimpered and cried like a baby. The look on his face when he realized he couldn’t use his magic was priceless! Jeth always enjoyed initiating the new recruits. Throwing casters in the Null Box always gave him a sense of satisfaction. No matter how high and mighty casters thought they were, the Null Box always broke them. It was just a question of time.

Hefting the staff, he let the bottom tip drag across the wall as he walked back to join up with the others. They would want to know how the initial training was going. He watched as the staff carved a small trail in the wall as he walked. Whatever this staff was made of, it was harder than the ancient stones that made up these walls and heavy as hells! He was admiring the staff, when he heard someone approach. Looking up, he saw Rashlarr coming towards him. Not surprising, he would come to check on the recruit. Tartum was to be his first pupil since his promotion to head caster. His predecessor had just recently come into a bout of bad luck, that earned him a guest appearence at the chopping block. From what Jeth heard, most of the town had shown up to watch.

“How did it go?” Rashlarr asked. His voice had taken on a tone of superiority. Jeth didn’t like it. He liked Rashlarr when he was his old jovial self. When he was this serious, brooding person, Jeth didn’t like being around him at all. He made him feel uncomfortable and small.

“How do you think it went? I kicked him into the room and locked the door. He got angry. Everyone gets angry at first. He made threats and false promises of course. They all do that too. When he discovered his magic wouldn’t work, he was shocked. He’s stupid. A brat. He wants everything his way. Well, I gave him the rat. When he comes to terms with the fact that not everything is going to go his way and succumbs, then he’ll be strong. Well, strong enough for the next stage of his training. Just like everyone else.” Jeth said, without really caring.

“Kinda went rough on him, didn’t you?” Rashlarr asked. He was looking at the staff now. Analyzing it with piercing eyes.

“Well of course I did. I had to get his staff from him, and I had to get him into the room without getting magicked to death, didn’t I? If you could think of a better way, then you should have put him in there.” Jeth was getting mad now. Who was Rashlarr to question his methods? Every recruit went through the breaking. Tartum would be no different.

Rashlarr was barely listening. He reached out and took the staff from Jeth. He held it up, staring at it for a moment. Then he lowered it and shook his head. He suddenly looked weary, like he’d been up for too many hours. The look in his eyes changed and was replaced by the jovial look Jeth was accustumed to seeing. The shift in personality was still very offputting, and Jeth’s hands subconsciously moved to his daggers.

If Rashlarr noticed, he didn’t say anything. “Good job, Jeth. Let me know when he eats the rat. I assume you’ll be taking bets? Put me down for a week. I know you well enough to know, you’ll probably bully him into it in a week.” Laughing, Rashlarr waved to Jeth and began to walk off.

“What if he doesn’t eat it? He’ll die, you know. It’s rare, but occasionally, someone is so full of pride, they allow themselves to die, rather than to be broken.” Jeth said, it was his turn to be serious now.

Rashlarr stopped and began to turn around. He apparently changed his mind mid-turn. Instead, he simply shrugged and continued on his way. “If that happens then I was wrong about him. We’ll sell his staff and share the profits!” he called over his shoulder.

Jeth smiled to himself. It was the answer he was hoping for. “60-40! I’m the one that got it from him remember!” he yelled.

From Rashlarr, there was no reply.

...

Tartum sat in the dark. He was positive that it was all a joke. Any minute now, the door was going to fly open, and they were going to tell him they were just kidding. No one could expect him to eat a rat. How would eating a dead rodent prove anything or teach him to be a better thief?! What was this supposed to teach him? No, it was a test; they wanted to know if he had a sense of humor. It had to be. He would wait. They would be coming any moment.

He waited. An hour past, two, three, maybe more. He had no idea. He was beginning to think this wasn’t a joke, and that they really meant for him to eat the rat. The thought was too terrible to accept. He continued to wait.

He was getting tired. Tired of this game. Maybe it was punishment? Maybe Isidor hired these people to capture him, so that the guards could arrest him for what happened in Zerous. That never sat well with Isidor. He might have left him so that this group could apprehend him and collect the bounty on his head. Did he have a bounty on his head? If so, he wondered how much it could be? It didn’t matter now, any minute that door would open, and he’d be arrested. That was fine with him. Anything to get out of this hole.

More time passed. Tartum couldnt tell how much, he had lost track. He heard nothing, saw no one. The darkness and the rat were his only companions. He became tired and laid down. Sleep took him.

When Tartum awoke, he had hoped it was all a bad dream. He willed his room in The Crenshaw to be there when he opened his eyes. When he opened them, the only thing that changed was he could faintly see around the room. Looking around the room, he felt like he was still dreaming. The rat’s corpse was still there. Its lifeless body, silhouetted by the glow of light coming from the bottom of the door. It was that faint light that allowed him to see. The room was small. No bigger than a couple outhouses. About as tall, too. There was nothing inside the room. Four solid walls, a door, a smooth, flat, cold stone floor, and a ceiling that was occasionally dripping a brackish water. It was the worst level of hell, and Tartum was trapped inside.

He sat in the gloom and tried to find a way out. The water that dripped from the ceiling tasted of dirt, but was it enough to quench his thirst. The excess water was running out of the room, through the small gap between the door and the floor. Tartum relieved his bladder against the door. He hoped that whoever walked by, stepped in it and carried around the scent of piss for the rest of the day.

He hated the people that put him inside this tomb. Jeth, with his stupid grin. Tricking him into believing they were friends, just so he could take his staff and then kick him, like a coward.

“Let’s see how well he does against me, once I gets out of here.” Tartum said to himself. He promised he would see Jeth dead one day! He hoped, feverishly, that he was the cause.

Savall, Rashlarr, Vaund, even Elizabeth. He planned to make them all pay for this treachery. Who were they to imprison him in here!? Who were they to take his staff, his pack, and his dog!? When he got out of here, they would pay! All of them would pay!

Tartum’s rage built up inside of him, and he jumped up, attacking the door.

“WHO IN THE HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?!? WHAT I CAN DO!?!!? WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOUR FATHERS WILL CRY WHEN THEY SEE WHAT I’VE DONE TO YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME!?!” Tartum vented his rage at the door. Not knowing, or caring, if anyone heard.

He threw himself against the door, slamming into it over and over. The cast iron door didn’t so much as shudder. He punched it until his knuckles bled. He kicked it until his feet went numb with pain. He clawed at the sides of the door, trying to find a weakness. Trying to find a fault he could use to escape. When his efforts failed, Tartum fell back against the door and tried, over and over, to open himself to the magic. He tried so hard; time and time again, he opened himself to the magic hoping to feel just a trickle of the power enter him. He felt nothing. Spent and bleeding, Tartum’s rage subsided, and depression took its place. He wept, he didn’t know how long he cried, but in the end, the emotional exertion proved to be too much, and Tartum passed out.