Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) (8 page)

“Glad
ta see ya back lover boy, now drink up before yer buddy forgets that ya don’t drink the ale barrel and all and shoves it down yer gullet.” Brianna said laughing lightly.

CHAPTER X

Just as the elder had promised Thad was soon standing before a large door carved in the mountain awaiting his rite of pilgrimage. Crusher and Brianna had come to watch him leave. Though Crusher’s face looked the same as it did every day, though Thad could see the tension in Brianna’s. If it was anything like the dark rite there was some danger in attempting it. That mattered little to Thad. He needed strength and the only way to get it was through progressing in his magic and the rites. Borrowing the power of the gods seemed a bit overboard but he would do whatever it took to see his goals achieved.

Thad waited as the dwarven priests preformed the chants and the run
es on the door started to glow. When they opened all Thad could see was the stone wall of the mountain behind them. He looked around for some help but everyone’s eyes were on him, and it didn’t look like anyone was willing to tell him what he was supposed to do. Carefully Thad walked up to the stone and gently placed his hand on the stone and was surprised when his hand sunk in as if the stone was simply gray colored water. Taking a deep breath Thad cleared his mind and closed his eyes and walked through the wall of solid stone.

As his body entered the stone it felt as if he had been covered in ice. It was hard to move and breathing was a chore. Opening his eyes he couldn’t see anything but the stone in front of him. He continued to force himself forward but it was like walking in dense fog. He didn’t know where he was going
nor the way back to the entrance so he came to a stop. “Are you there?” Thad asked tensely.

“It has been a long time since one of my nephews paid me a visit. Give me one
moment I wasn’t expecting visitors.” A booming voice said from everywhere.

The gray fog lifted and Thad found himself in a large room that looked much like one of the dwarven forges he had spent so much time in. Standing in front of a large anvil striking a piece of metal stood a stout being
, while still twice his size looked much in stature like his children. “Have a seat nephew this will only take a short while. I hate to leave a project unfinished so you must bear with me for the time being.” The god said his voice echoing through the room like a thunderstorm.

Thad found a chair sitting in front of a large table and attempted to pull himself into it. After the third try, he used his magic to push himself high enough he could sit in the giant sized chair. Once in the chair Thad found
, even standing up, it was impossible to see the top of the table. Thad was sure the gods could choose any size they wanted. So why did he have to choose to be so large.

Thad waited patiently for the god to finish his work. He had little to do so to occupy
his time Thad watched the sparks fly with each strike of the god’s mighty hammer. It was impossible to tell what he was making but Thad was sure whatever it was it was far beyond his understanding. “Do you know why dwarves love to work metal?” The figure asked between strikes.

“They are one with the stone and forming it and giving it shape makes them feel at peace.” Thad answered quickly. He had asked the elder the same question when he had first met him.

“That is part of the answer. You enjoy creating things as well. Why is that?” the god asked giving Thad a curious look.

Thad thought about the answer. He had always enjoyed working with his hands but he had never stopped to think why. “I don’t know?”

The god laughed. “Now that is an answer. To admit when one is without knowledge is a great thing. Many who come here will give any answer they think I might accept is right but few simply answer with I don’t know. It is refreshing to see an honest soul. The truth is no one knows, not even I, why the dwarves love to work the forges. All creatures I believe love to create and since they are born of the earth my children have an inherent gift with molding metal. I like to believe it is as simple as that.” The god said as he stuck the end of what he was working on back in the forge to let it reheat.

“I thought the gods knew everything?” Thad said slightly confused.

“Know everything,” the god said laughing so loud Thad had to cover his ears. “If the gods knew everything then there would be no point to any existence including our own. It is true we can see many paths the future can take but each being in the world can affect the overall fate of the world.” The god said smiling as he took a seat across from Thad. The table and chairs began to shrink until both he and the god were eye to eye. “Let us say you are a simple farmer and one day a passing traveler stops by your farm and beg for some food. Your heart is filled with compassion and you give him enough to hold him over until the next town. Thanks to your kindness the traveler survives and when he reaches the next town he once again begs for food. No one listens to the man and in a desperate act he breaks into a nobles home and kills three people. Now let’s say the farmer never gave him any food and the traveler starved to death half way to town. Each action a being makes impacts the world around him.”

“That is an odd story, normally when someone tells you of a person preforming a selfless act it always ends good, but in your story the
selfish act is the better of the two.”

The god laughed again. “Yes the farmer was selfless and caring and gave food to a man who would la
ter murder but does that make the action wrong. If the man had reached the town and others were as selfless he would not have been so desperate as to enter the house. Because of the many beings that inhabit the world we cannot always control what happens to us and around us in life. The only thing we truly have control over is our own actions in response to the actions around us. Those very choices are what paints a person’s soul.”

As the two continued their talk Thad studied the god. He was much different than he expected. With the exception of the strange aura around him Thad would have sworn the being in front of him was just a simple dwarven smith. In such a short period of time he had met two gods though the first never appeared in front of him
, he had only heard the god’s voice. Neither had been overly imposing, though he had to admit to a small amount of awe at being in their presence.

“Now for the reason you have come into my domain.” The god said suddenly. “You already have a steady heart, and steadfast convictions, that is why you have such strong skills in the element of earth. Though you tend to act rashly
, all of your decisions have been rooted in who you truly are. Now as your ancestors have before, you now stand before me asking for my blessing. Moriudonius was much like my father and my mother’s favorite. She blessed him with the skills far beyond what the rest of us received but in return he was denied immortality. As time passed my brother’s blood spread through the human race and now it’s to the point very few if any of your kind do not have some of his blood running through their veins, but just because one has his blood does not guarantee they will have the use of his powers. One must have a strong mind, a strong will, and an active imagination. While it is not hard to find one of these traits in a human it is rare to find all three, that’s why not everyone can use the ability.”

Everything the god was saying was interesting but it was far from the reason he was here. If he looked at it from a normal standpoint the god seemed lonely and just wanted someone to talk to. If that was the case he was much like his children, though gruff and often
brutish ,once you got a dwarf talking it was hard to get them to stop. “What about the blessing?” Thad asked nervously.

The god laughed lightly, “The blessing is a guarantee. There is no way I would deny my first visitor
, outside of my own children. The only real question is what gift of the earth to bestow upon you. All blessings are a double bladed sword with a risk to them though some risks are more costly than others.” The god said as he rubbed his chin. “I think I know the perfect one for you.”

A burning pain burned in Thad’s chest as if a hot poker had been put upon bare skin. Screaming in pain Thad pulled at his clothes but in his pain wracked state was unable to pull them off. The pain from his hand when he got the dark blessing was bad but on his chest it felt ten times worse. Thad instinctively curled into a ball until the pain subsided. When the pain was pain was gone Thad looked around to find the room empty except the door he had entered through. His body sore Thad stumbled toward the door, each step only coming with great effort. When he reached the door it swung open easily and he could see all the dwarves gathered around waiting on his return. The only thought in his mind as he stepped through the portal was wondering if all blessings were as painful. If so two might just be more than enough to have to endure.

Thad’s feet became more unsteady with each step. The cool feeling fled from his body as he stumbled through the door. Thad could hear his friend’s voices as he forced his legs forward but after only a few steps his legs gave out and Thad found himself on his knees staring at the ground. He tried to rise but he had no strength left in his body. Why was it each time he went through a ritual he was left weak as a babe? It felt as if suddenly all the life and energy had been drained from him the instant he stepped from the god’s domain.

Tha
d felt something pull on his arm. He tried to raise his head but it was as if a giant had him in its grip forcing him to stay still. His eyes grew heavy and he could feel his conciseness fading.  As the world around him was consumed in a light gray fog Thad fought to stay awake, but it was a losing battle. Thad felt as his back landed softly against the ground and the last thing he saw before everything faded away was Brianna’s worried face.

Thad once again found himself floating in the darkness of his own mind. Unlike the first time he had found himself here he did not feel worried or cut off. His magic still flowed through his body as strong as ever. He never knew why he was brought inside his own mind, he knew there had to be a reason he just hadn’t figured it out yet. His two new runes glowed brightly, the run
e of dark on his hand and his new rune that was made up of four separate lines that came together to look a lot like a mountain. Thad could feel the magic running through them, though it felt different from his own. It was stronger and more refined, like the difference between ore and refined steel.

Thad let his mind follow the small line of elemental power. The energy was very strong and had a distant overwhelming feeling coming from it. At first Thad was following it then sudden
ly he was getting pulled along, like a small raft caught in the currents of a large river. Desperately Thad tried to break free of the flow’s hold, as he felt himself being drawn far away from his own body.

CHAPTER XI

Thad woke with the familiar head splitting headache he was beginning to get used to thanks to Crusher. Though he was getting used to the feeling of his head wanting to split open, it didn’t mean that he was in any way enjoying it. Images started flashing though his head of a long road and of large cities. Thad looked over to the corner of his room where his staff sat. It had been a long time since it had decided to speak to him. Thad wasn’t sure but for some reason it felt as if his staff was mad that he had dropped it during their escape from the Underearth. Thad had thought the item lost but as soon as he was awake he found it in the corner of his room. Thad had figured Crusher had gone back after it but his friend said he hadn’t even thought about it. That had left a number of options but none that Thad was in the mood to think of at the moment. “Yes we will be leaving for the road again soon.” Thad answered the staff.

The diamond on the end of the staff glowed lightly.
It was good the staff was in a better mood, it reacted poorly to him when it was in an ill-temper. Thad had heard about magical items with their own mind and as a young child had thought it fantastical but having one himself, he had learned it was almost more of a hassle than it was worth. The staff was right though he had spent enough time standing still it was time to move on. He had little to pack almost everything he needed was still in his pack from his trip to the Vathari city. Looking around the empty room the only thing he really had left was provisions and the papers that still lay scattered around the room from Crushers antics.

Stumbling from his bed Thad began to collect the scattered parchments and stacking them ba
ck up on the table. Once they were all collected Thad tied them together with spare twine that he had in his pack. Once that was done all that was left were provisions for a long trip and to let Grenlor know it was time for him to depart. The dwarven village didn’t have a store like most towns. Everything that one dwarf had been given freely to the group. All Thad had to do was ask the local butcher and farmers for what he wanted.

It didn’t take long for him to make his way around the village and collect what he needed.
A large amount of dried and smoked meat as well as a healthy bag of vegetables. Other than food he also collected some quills and parchment so that he could start his own notes about his travel and the knowledge he had learned. Thad wasn’t sure if he would have a lot of time on the road to work on his own book but it was worth trying. With everything he needed ready for the trip the only thing left was Grenlor.

Thad found the old dwarf sitting at his table as normal. Thad could never remember finding the dwarf doing anything other than reading. It was a natural state for the dwarf
, a leaf of parchment in one hand and a mug of ale in the other. “What bring ya here taday boyo?” the dwarf asked never looking up from his studies.

Thad picked up the dwarf
’s mug and refilled it from the sat of casks that set next to the dwarf’s table. “I believe it is time for me to move on and try to find my way back to Farlan.” Thad said much more confidently than he felt about the decision.

Grenlor sat down his papers and took a healthy drink from his mug. “Sorry
ta hear that, but I figured ya be moving on soon now that tha rite be over. As I told ya before fer our own safety we gonna have ta take ya into the Underearth and lead ya to a different exist. There’s a town nearby we haven’t been ta in some time and I don’t quite remember tha name, but it has a fair amount of ships if me memory serves. You should be able ta get yerself home.”

“Farlan has a large port so if the town has
ships then I should be able to make my way home without trouble.” Thad said as he poured himself a mug from one of the upper casks that were filled with a strong cider.

“
Ya know when ya came in, I figured that ya would be asking about yer blessing.” Grenlor said giving Thad a piercing stare. “Ya got a rare blessing though also a dangerous one. Very few dwarves ever get it let alone human mages. It allows its bearers skin ta turn to stone, but as a drawback if tha elemental energy is held too long there is a risk of a permanent change. I would suggest ya don’t use it very often in battle unless ya are forced ta. There are many stories of stone dwarves littering battlefields in tha old days. I will tell ya this though the Brotherhoods swords can’t cut through the stone. While it is magic that turns your skin ta stone, tha stone itself is not magical in nature that is what makes it so dangerous.”

He could feel what the blessing did but he didn’t know it came with such risks. Thad made a mental note to work on its use as soon as possible but he didn’t plan to turn more than small sections of his skin stone. ”Thank you for the warning elder, I will take it to h
eart. When do you think we can leave for the town?”

Grenlor laughed
loudly, “I will have a group ready to escort ya in the morn. Don’t see why yer in such a hurry boyo, a day or two will make little difference in tha end. Remember rushing is the gateway in which disaster is sure ta enter.”

Thad dismissed himself and made the long walk back to his house. The elder was right if he rushed too much, he would make mistakes and with the Brotherhood looking for anything of magical in origin, he would be giving them an open invitation to strike him down. Normally if he was traveling alone it would only be his life at stake but Crusher was adamant in going with him. The brotherhood sought dwarfs and the other children of the gods as forcibly as they did mages. How in the abyss was he going to hide a dwarf?

Speaking of the devil Thad found Crusher awaiting him in his home. “Not trying ta sneak off on me are ya brother?” He said his voice crisp and laced with a twinge of anger.

“I have
not lost my brains my friend. I know if I tried to leave you behind, you would hunt me down and beat me with my own foot.” Thad said exposing the metal appendage Crusher had made to replace his own that had been cut off during his imprisonment in Alba. Most days he didn’t even notice the difference. His new foot worked the same as his old one with the exception that it was enchanted, so in many ways it worked better. At first it was odd but now that he was used to it he used it without thought. 

The scowl faded from Crusher’s face. “That’s good Thad otherwise id have to force feed
ya a handful of rocks. Now if this is going ta be our last night in such a fine place we should celebrate.”

Thad shook his head slowly. “I was afraid that you were going to say that.” Thad said rubbing his backside that was still bruised from his treatment the day before. “If you don’t mind I believe I will choose to walk today.”

Crusher looked at the pained expression on his face and began to laugh. “That is good, ta tell ya tha truth. Brianna nearly made me a foot shorter when she heard what I did ta ya. I tell ya that girl is missing a few strikes from being finished.”

“I think you might be right there.” Thad said laughing.

The two found Brianna working the bar as she did every evening. As soon as she saw them, the harsh smile that had been fixed on her face brightened as she quickly poured them two mugs of dark ale. “I head that tonight is yer last night in our fare little village.” She said sadly. “Tonight whether ya like it or not boyo I won’t be leaving ya alone.”

Thad thought back to the time he had spent in Xi’han. He had spent the night with many different women but none of them had truly touched his heart. Even though it had been a condition for the rite it still bothered him slightly. Now standing in front of him was someone who truly cared about him and he had pushed her away at each turn. “I won’t complain if you wish to keep me company for my last night.” Thad said giving the sultry dwarf a wink. Thad had never been in love, not the way he had heard it talked about. Did it truly exist or was it just an illusion of the mind. He cared for Brianna and he knew he would kill anyone who tried to harm her. Maybe that was its own form of love.

Thad watched as Brianna worked bringing all the guests drinks. Was something wrong with him? He had often felt warmth around other people but he had never truly felt any deep bonds with those around him. There were plenty he called friends who he would lament the loss of. Was he broken? Thad thought back to his time with Eloen. She had been fun, and often stirred feelings in him but those had more to do with his body than his heart. The more Thad thought about it the more he began to believe he was incapable of truly loving someone. The thought didn’t make him sad, not like he thought it would. He still cared for those around him. He figured it was hard to mourn something he had never had.

“What
has ya so worked up lover boy?” Brianna asked plopping down in his lap.

“Just mulling over a few things
Bri.” Thad said glumly.

Brianna took Thad’s face in her hands and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Though she was brash and bawdy she had never been so forward before. Thad’s first instinct was to pull away but she was not allowing that. After a few moments Thad relented and gave in and simply enjoyed the feel of her lips and the subtle taste of plumb wine that she tasted of. When she pulled back, Thad was out of breath and his heart was beating as fast as it did during a battle. “A lot more fun than mulling things over, eh
boyo?” Brianna said giving him a sly smile as she jumped off his lap and went back to work.

Thad felt a sharp blow hit his shoulder nearly knocking
him from his seat. “Ya little demon, stealing the best girl fer yerself.” Crusher said from beside him laughing.

Thad joined in his friend’s laughter and took a long drink from his mug. He figured there was no reason to set in brood over things. It was his last night in the dwarven village he should follow Crusher
’s lead and enjoy himself. The higher the moon rose in the sky the harder it was for Thad to keep things straight. Normally he drank until he felt sleepy then simply laid his head down on one of the tables and let Crusher worry about getting him back to his bed. He figured it was the least the dwarf could do after forcing him to drink so much every night. Tonight was different though he wanted to keep his mind long enough to see the night to its end. Looking around Thad could tell most the other patrons had long since gone back to their own home and Crusher was already laying on his back laughing at nothing.

“Brianna walked over to where Crusher lay and kicked the dwarf hard in the side. “Just like every night
, why do ya insist on sleeping in the bar? Oh yer still awake, by now I’ve already had someone carry ya back to yer house.” She said her face sporting a devilish grin.

Thad tried to sit up straight but after a few tries gave up and propped his head in his hands. “I promised you… I’d
spen… Spend the night with you. I was never one for… Lying.” Thad said his words slurring and his head spinning. As Brianna walked toward him Thad tried to stand but quickly found that his legs had betrayed him dumping him hard on the floor.

Thad soon found himself looking up into Brianna’s beaming face. Thad had figured that she would
throw him over her shoulder like a sack of grain but he was pleasantly surprised when she knelt down and gently helped him to his feet. Thad’s head was still spinning on the slow walk back to his house. Each step was lightly awkward as Brianna was much shorter than him forcing him to hunch over so that she could support his weight.

However,
he tried his best to keep his wits and enjoy the night he was far too much into his drinks. He could feel Brianna’s hands on his body but it was impossible for him to focus. Everything seemed like a blur and soon Thad found himself slipping peacefully into a deep sleep.