Branded Mage (18 page)

The woman behind the counter screamed for someone to put out the fire and half a dozen people from the kitchen ran out carrying buckets of water. Not really in the frame of mine to burn everyone alive Thad didn’t add anymore flames to the fire and let them put it out.

The smell of burnt hair and wood hung heavily over the room as Eloen turned back to the woman giving her a menacing smile. “Well looks like you’re lucky our young mage isn’t inclined to violence, but I suggest you change your mind about the rooms. If not, I don’t care if he helps or not this place will be coming down.”

The lady looked for a few moments as if she was still deciding but finally let out a heavy sigh. “He can stay but I will not give him his own room. I hate to think what he will do without proper
supervision. Either take it or I’ll call the guards now and you can see how much you can get done in the city dungeon.”

Eloen stared down the woman then turned toward Thad. “Looks like were roomies tonight lover boy.” She said her face changing from anger to joy so fast it unnerved Thad more than just a little. In the recesses of his mind he wondered if all women were as mentally unstable.

Up in the room he shared with Eloen, he was happy to find two beds. At first he had feared that he would be forced to sleep next to the woman all night. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but last time he didn’t even know about it until the next morning when he woke. If he was forced to try and sleep next to her knowingly he didn’t think he would get much rest.

After depositing their belongings in their rooms, Thad and the three women went back to the common room to get something to eat. They found a table on the opposite side of the room from where that had sat the chair on fire. It had already been cleaned but a small charred spot remained on the floor where the chair had sat.

The waitress appeared at the table before the four even had a chance to get completely situated. “What can I get for you?” She asked her voice pleasant and unassuming.

“Yes, we would like a bottle of wine to start with and four orders of your house special.” Eloen said never looking up at the waitress.

Thad remained silent as the three women talked about everything from the weather, the current clothing trends, and what they thought of different men that were traveling with them. The last subject caused him to blush more than once as his name was mentioned often. He was sure they were doing it just to get a response from him, and as much as he would like to be able to ignore their comments, he wasn’t in complete control of his face.

It didn’t take long for the waitress to return with a large bottle of wine and four glasses as well as four large bowls of thick stew with large chunks of meat and vegetables. The stew was rich and tasted great though it sat heavily on his empty stomach. The wine was made from some kind of berry. It was sweet, more of a treat then a drink. Before Thad knew what he was doing he was on his third glass.

His bladder full
, Thad stood to make his way to the latrine when the room started to spin. He tried to catch himself as his legs buckled, but all he accomplished was knocking the blond soldier from her chair and landing on top of her.

CHAPTER X
IV

The next morning, Thad woke to his head screaming far worse than it ever had when he had overused his magic. Afraid of what he would find Thad opened his eyes slowly. He was relieved to find that he was asleep in his own bed and that Eloen was still snoring soundly in hers. He was in a state of undress but his clothes were haphazardly thrown on the floor giving him hope that he had disrobed himself.

Thad slipped out of his bed quietly his stomach vehemently protesting his every move and dressed quickly. He knew he must have smelled like a winery but the inn offered no bathing facilities for men, and he wasn’t about to walk into the women’s baths. He would have to settle with a bird bath out of a basin of cold water. Thad opened the door, trying to keeping it from creaking.

His efforts paid off and he was able to escape from the room without waking Eloen. The hallway was empty and Thad figured it must be much earlier in the day than he first thought. The main room had only a handful of people scattered around at tables eating a delicious smelling breakfast. The aroma reaching his nose was tantalizing and any thought of eating made his stomach flip-flop.

The auburn haired lady that had greeted them the evening before was nowhere to be seen
. Instead, a much younger lady stood behind the counter. She was slightly taller than him with long light black hair that almost looked pale gray in the dim light. She wore a smile on her young face that looked as natural as leaves on a tree. Upon seeing him approach the counter her face didn’t contort into disdain as it had on most the women he had come across in Tremon, but held its enchanting smile.

“What can I do for you today?” She said in a high pitched bubbly voice that sent spirals of pain coursing through his head. Thad tried to smile though his discomfort but was unable to keep the charade up for long. The young lady looked at him with true concern in her face. “Are you ok sir?”

“Yes I’m fine thank you, a little too much to drink last night. I was wondering if I could get a basin of water to take back to my room so I could get washed up before I get back on the road." Thad said holding his head in an attempt to keep the room from spinning.

The young lady looked at him for a moment her face echoing her confusion then a slightly baleful grin replaced her smile. “Oh! So you’re the man that gave my mother such a fright last night. Well good for you, I keep telling her that she shouldn’t teat people in such a manner male or not. As for the basin if you want I could have a bath brought to your room along with some hot water.”

“That would be wonderful. I’m in the second to last room on the left. I better head back before I dirty your floor. Thank you.” Thad said trying to return her smile and faring poorly at it.

After hitting the latrine, Thad made his way back to the room. A score of slaves were already passing him in the hall carrying steaming buckets of water to his room. Eloen was still in bed but was holding her cover over her head moaning lightly.

Once everyone had vacated the room Eloen slipped the covers from her face. Her hair was a mess and her face was an off shade of green. “Are you trying to punish me for something? Having a horde of people burst into the room making more noise than I would hear on a battlefield?”

Thad couldn’t help but laugh at the way she kept bringing her hand up to her head and swaying slightly as she tried to sit up in the bed. She returned his laugh with a hastily thrown pillow that landed far from its mark only earning a few more laughs from Thad. It was funny, but the whole thing also made his head throb as if a small man was inside trying to break out with a large hammer.

Though he was worried about the consequences of undressing in front of Eloen, the nauseating smell coming from his own body was enough to make up his mind. After a few brief moments of indecision he shimmied out of his clothing and settled down into the bath. The water was hotter than he normally liked, but it was far better than washing out of a basin of freezing water in the brisk morning air.

Closing his eyes Thad let the water envelop him. He felt the water rise and heard as Eloen joined him in the bath. Cursing silently to himself he squeezed his eyes tight and fought the growing urge to open them.

Opening one of his eyes, he quickly scanned the small table that had been set up next to the bath for the soap. He couldn’t find it, but the slight whistling coming from in front of him told him where it had gone. He turned to Eloen, happy to see that she had emerged deep enough that only her face showed above the water. In her hand she held the small bar of lye soap her face showing her enjoyment of the current situation.

After a little teasing she handed over the soap and Thad quickly washed himself. After weeks on the road with no chance to clean himself properly Thad had to scrub hard to get the dirt that matted his hair and clung to every crease of his body. Once finished he handed the soap back to Eloen and looked around for his chance to escape.

Thad soon gave up on escaping without being seen and let out an audible sigh. “Would you please close your eyes for a second?”

Eloen let out a low giggle raking her eyes over him with a very amused look on her face. “Getting a little shy now? Here I was thinking that after last night some of your prudishness would have worn off.”

The playful tone of her words let him know in no uncertain terms that he would get no privacy. Then as if slapped hard he remembered that he could still use magic. He wasn’t sure how magic would help him escape. He doubted that Eloen would fall for his disappearing trick. As he looked around the room for a clue of what to do he noticed the steam that was steadily rising from the hot water.

It was simple really, he felt like an idiot for not thinking of it before. Non-tangible illusions were easy and caused very little strain even in his weekend state he should be able to pull it off with little effort. Focusing he went to work and slowly the room began to fill with a dense fog. Once he could no longer see Eloen through his magically created cover, he sprang from the tub and rushed to his clothing hitting his toe against one of the tables.

When the fog cleared Thad was still hastily pulling his tunic over his head. He could hear Eloen laughing. She was probably enjoying the spectacle of him hoping around in a hurry to save his shattered dignity. Once dressed Thad grabbed his belongings and ran for the door to a gale of laughter from his female companion. Not even taking the time to look back Thad left the room shutting the door hard behind him.

In the main dining hall, Thad found his other two female companions sitting at a table. He wasn’t sure if they would mind his company, but figured it was worth the risk. “Good morning Bonnie.” Thad said, giving the lanky blond a nervous smile. “It is nice to see you again Alice.” He said, bowing to the short brunet who was well muscled even compared to the men.

“I see our drunken mage has sobered up. I must say
, you gave quite the show last night. Though I would suggest next time you pick something other than frogs floating around the room. How about next time you try some birds. They are much more pleasing to the eye.” Bonnie said giving him a quirky smile.

Thad sunk down in his chair covering his face with his hands. Had he really done that, he tried to remember but the night before was hazy with only a few clear moments. He knew he had danced with
Alice at some point in the night as well as a few other women who he had never met before, but as to his antics with his magic nothing came to mind.

Eloen joined them a short time later wearing her normal battle leathers with her hair pulled up into a tight ponytail. As they ate the three girls talked about any and everything that they thought would bring a blush to his face and succeeded more often than not.

After the meal, the four made their way down the cobblestone sidewalk that ran in front of all the buildings. The condition of the road as well as the buildings slowly started to degrade. They finally stopped in front of one of the better looking buildings. It had a gray slat roof that only had a few holes. The walls were made of dreary light brown bricks that were chipped in many areas, but it looked like it would still hold off the cold for the most part. As bad as it was it was still much better than the buildings next to it. One had rooms that were all but nonexistent, and its north wall had a massive hole in it. The other ones roof seemed to be in decent repair but its walls had holes dotting the entire building. In some parts it only looked as if the boards that had been placed to stave off the cold were holding it up.

The rest of their group slowly began to amble out of the building most of them looking as if they had spent their night on the hard ground instead of a soft bed. He was quickly greeted by his friends as well as his keeper, Captain Harmon who situated himself right next to the young mage. No one said much as they formed up and marched out of the town but Thad could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from everyone as they passed the threshold of the gates leading out of town.

Thad was slightly anxious. It was only a two day ride through the narrow canyon that led to Southpass Fort. In the spring one could make the trip in little under a day but with the snow still blanketing the canyon floor traveling was slow and often tedious.

The farther they went into the canyon the faster the temperature dropped. He was suddenly very happy for the pair of woolen underclothes he had gotten back in the duchy, even though they still offered little help against the biting wind that arbitrarily tore through the canyon. Even with his cloak wrapped tightly around his body, his face and hands were still exposed and were quickly turning red. Looking around he noticed that the others had brought thick gloves as well as hooded cloaks lined in fur to keep them from the cold. Cursing his own lack of foresight Thad tried to use his magic as a buffer against the cold.

              At first Thad had tried to build a wall around him. Much like a shield but to stop the wind, while it worked it also made it impossible to breath after a few moments. His second attempt he tried to block out just the fast moving wind but it still only helped to keep the worst off him. Finally he tried to mix up the first one while also trying to make a barrier that would hold the heat in. It took a while but slowly he was able to tell the deference. It wasn’t a huge strain on him but after a couple of hours the sweat on his brow started to drip increasingly. When his heat shield failed the cold wind ripped through him making him shiver as it raked across his sweat soaked body.