Broken Mage (14 page)

Thad was amazed, if he had guessed
right, Crusher was making him a new foot. He had tried making a
metal foot but it was still and unyielding and hard to keep
attached to his stump. He wasn’t sure how the dwarfs design would
be different from his own but he found himself looking forward to
finding out.

After they finished their meal Crusher
placed some more of the red rocks that he had used for fuel in the
makeshift forge and headed back to where their small room was
located. Thad guessed it was time to turn in but before he lay down
for the night he wanted to get the two magical walls in place he
had finished. He chose to put one over the tunnel he had taken when
he had found the weird creatures and the other on the tunnel
nearest to it.

The next morning Thad woke from the
gentle nudging of Crusher. Thad knew something was wrong the second
his eyes focused as his companion already had his battle axe out
and in hand. After his head cleared Thad could hear what had
alerted Crusher to the possible danger. He could hear voices in the
outside cavern though the language was foreign to him.

Following his friends lead Thad pulled
his new sword from its makeshift scabbard. The balance was good but
it still felt odd in his hand. The blade was shorter, and thinner
than was normal. He had meant to enchant the blade but it didn’t
look like he had the time now.

Crusher patted him on the shoulder and
pointed at the wall and signaled for him to take it down. Thad was
a bit hesitant to take down their only defense but placed his hand
on the wall none the less praying that the dwarf knew what he was
doing. As soon as the wall disappeared Crusher rushed out with
Avalanche following quickly behind him. Thad wasn’t as eager as his
two companions moving slowly and cautiously.

Thad found the cavern filled with the
same creatures he had seen the other day. More than twenty of the
creatures had made the way into their cavern home. Crusher was
making quick work of a large group of them while Avalanche attacked
at any creature unfortunate enough to get within her
range.

Thad started pulling slugs from his
pack and firing them off at any creatures far enough away from his
companions that he didn’t have to worry about hitting the wrong
target. He still didn’t have great accuracy only hitting one out of
every four targets he aimed at. Soon he was down to his last pack
and he had only taken out a few of the creatures and for each one
he took down another quickly replaced it.

Soon he was out of slugs and left only
with the sword in his hand. Avalanche was doing well and looked in
no danger as the creature’s weapons seemed completely ineffective
against the animal’s stone skin. Crusher wasn’t fairing so well he
didn’t appear to have any deep wounds but he was surrounded and
Thad knew it would only be a matter of time before he fell due to
sheer numbers.

Thad rushed into the weakest area of
the attackers, taking one from behind. His new sword while awkward
in his hand was wickedly sharp and slid easily into the creature’s
soft flesh. As soon as the sword slid free of its burden Thad did a
half turn snapping his hips as the blade met with the neck of his
next victim. As the body fell to the ground Thad pressed his attack
until he broke through to where Crusher fought.

Crusher gave a whoop when he saw Thad
along with one of his grins. Soon the two were fighting back to
back. It wasn’t perfect and sometimes they got in each other’s way
but thanks to Thad’s magical shield neither of them was touched by
their enemy’s weapons.

When the last enemy fell Thad and
Crusher slumped to the ground amidst the heap of dead bodies
laughing. Thad wasn’t sure how many of the creatures were strewn
around the cavern but from where he sat it looked like far more
than he remembered fighting.

After a quick breather Thad and Crusher
began searching the bodies for anything of use. There were plenty
of weapons and Thad chose a few well balanced daggers for his own,
while Crusher inspected each one tossing them aside one by one.
When they were finished they took them far enough out into the
tunnels that the smell of their rotting corpses wouldn’t reach
them.

CHAPTER XI

Thad worked hard and got the rest of
the magical walls finished the day after the attack. Crusher
continued on as if nothing had happened in fact he seemed to have a
bit more bounce in his step since the grueling battle. In the
stories dwarfs were always depicted as a little battle hungry and
Thad was beginning to believe that was more fact that
fiction.

With the magical walls up they didn’t
have to worry about anymore night time visits from their little
friends though they could still hear them mulling around in the
outside tunnels. It was weird, they would come close enough to the
magical walls to be heard but they never tested them and as far as
he knew they never even touched them.

With the walls up and little to do
until Crusher finished his new foot Thad spent his day watching
Crusher work the forge. After the molds had set he had went
straight into reheating the metal and making minor changes. Thad
wasn’t sure what the dwarf was doing but listening to the rhythmic
banging of his hammer was somewhat peaceful.

Thad did notice one weird thing when
Crusher removed his armor due to the heat the small forge was
putting off. The dwarf had two large tattoos, one on his right arm
the other in the middle of his shoulder blades. The tattoos were
made in an elegant flowing design that looked as if it might be
writing. He wasn’t sure what they meant but even without using his
magical sight he could tell they were more than just mundane
markings.

Four days after the attack Crusher
finally finished his project. The object that Crusher placed in
front of him was a large black boot. Thad pulled back the boots
leather to see the series of shaped layers of metal within. He
wasn’t sure how it worked but was more than eager to try it
on.

After turning off his magic aid Thad
let the metal loosen and pulled it from the end of his stub. The
smell that drifted up to his nose from his now exposed flesh nearly
made him gag. In the time he had worn the metal cuff over his stump
he hadn’t removed it once to wash the skin underneath and with all
the sweating it had become more than rank.

Thad washed the dirt and smell from his
leg then began strapping on his new foot. The boot strapped to his
leg tightly by a series of buckles. It didn’t take long to get
everything situated and soon Thad was standing on his own without
magical aid for the first time since he had escaped from his prison
cell.

Thad took a few practice steps and
found that with the exception of the small discomfort where the
buckles were pinching his skin it felt as if he was walking on his
real foot again. Thad moved from a slow walk into a faster one
until he was at a full sprint. He had gotten so used to the magical
aid that it felt odd to once again have something solid underneath
him. Looking down to see his two boots Thad let a large grin spread
across his face.

Thad wasn’t sure when Crusher had
gotten his other boot from his pack but he was glad he had. He
wasn’t even sure why he had held onto the boot other than it was
one of the few pieces of clothing left to him. Each boot was unique
and held a small gem as well as metal plate in the bottom of them.
He had enchanted them shortly after the queen had given them to him
back in the palace. He had thought about doing the same thing to
his clothing but then he risked having them break every time he had
them washed. Looking down at the rags he now wore he wished he had
risked it with at least one pair at the very least.

Crusher grabbed his bag then walked to
one of the larger tunnel exists and tapped the metal then turned
back toward Thad and signaled for him to follow. Thad was almost
overcome they were finally moving on with their journey. Over the
past few days he had worried that this was going to become his new
home, now he had hope that at least some day in the future he would
once again feel the sun on his face.

Thad held up his hand asking Crusher to
wait as he ran around the room gathering his effects. He took down
all of the magical walls including all the ones he had recently
made. He had made the mistake of leaving the ones in the other
cavern in place in the off chance he might once again need its
sanctuary. He didn’t plan to make the same mistake
twice.

With his belongings in hand Thad moved
over to where Crusher waited patiently for him. Once he took the
wall blocking the path down Crusher headed off with Thad right
behind him. While they walked Thad asked Crusher where they were
headed. Crusher tried to explain it with his hands but Thad only
understood that wherever they were headed was a good distance
away.

The first few miles were easy enough
but soon it was easy for him to tell how weak his right leg had
gotten. The magic that had kept him up also kept his leg from
having to do much work. It had worked well when he was using it but
now he was starting to regret not working out his leg more while he
had worn it.

Crusher took pity on him and slowed
down his pace as well as taking breaks to let him rest. Every time
they stopped Thad would loosen the new boot and rub the area where
it chafed and pinched. He knew that given time the area would
toughen and callous but at the moment it was raw and sore. To help
with the pain Crusher offered him a bright green salve to rub into
it. Thad wasn’t sure where he had gotten the mixture and at the
moment didn’t really care. It was cool and made his leg numb,
slightly reducing his discomfort.

They stopped earlier than Thad normally
would have but with his right leg screaming he was more than glad
for the early respite. He went to put up the walls but Crusher
stooped him after he had gotten the one up behind them. Thad wasn’t
sure why Crusher wanted to wait but he trusted his new
friend.

Crusher sat down his pack and unhitched
his axe from its resting place on his back and headed off down the
tunnel. Thad stood to follow him but he was quickly waved back with
Crusher’s normal smile. Thad wasn’t sure what was going on but so
far nothing the dwarf had done had brought him any trouble. The
only one who seemed to get themselves in tight spots was Thad.
Avalanche didn’t seem to be bothered by anything as she picked out
a comfortable spot and laid down.

Crusher returned after a short time
dragging one of the subterranean lizards behind him. Thad wished he
knew how the dwarf always was able to find a source of food. The
only times Thad had had a guaranteed source of food was when he had
been living in his large cavern and when he had traveled next to
the river teaming with fish.

As they sat Crusher pulled the nub of
coal that was left and began drawing on the ground. Due to the dark
color of the stone in the area even with his magical light it was
hard for Thad to see what Crusher was drawing. After awhile it was
clear it was a mountain range surrounding something but he couldn’t
tell what. When he still didn’t get it Crusher drew a bunch of
stick men and pointed at his chest then the crude drawing of the
men.

Thad made an illusion of a small
underground village with lots of miniature Crushers running around.
From his companions reaction he had gotten part of it right but not
quite the whole picture. Thad wasn’t sure what he was missing but
Crusher seemed happy that he had gotten the main points.

It was frustrating trying to
communicate with Crusher sometimes. It would have been different if
the dwarf could at least speak Thad could try and learn the
language. He had always enjoyed languages when he was in the Slave
Academy but sadly the Dwarven language wasn’t one of them
offered.

After the meal Thad put up the other
wall effectively sealing them in. Thad lay on his bedroll staring
at the ceiling. All the questions he wished to ask Crusher, but was
unable to, drifting through his mind. What were those creatures
they had fought called? What was the secret behind his
tattoos?

Looking over at his companion Thad
found him with his axe stretched across his legs as he rubbed a
whet stone on its blade. Considering the near indestructible metal
the blade of the axe was made of Thad didn’t think he was
accomplishing much. From what he had seen of Crusher it was more of
a habit than practical though in truth he knew too little about the
weapon or the dwarf to know for sure.

Over the next few days Crusher slowly
increased his pace forcing Thad to push himself to keep up with the
burly dwarf. His leg was starting to get used to the torture but he
knew it was still a long way until he wouldn’t have to pop the
blisters that were forming every day.

During his time in the subterranean
networks he had always had trouble telling if he was going toward
the surface or down farther into the depths of the earth. That had
not been the case in the past days. The ground below them had
sloped upward and more than once Thad had been forced to climb up a
steep ledge. Crusher had found his attempts to climb up one of the
steeper slopes particular entertaining.

They started to run into more of the
weird creatures that they had faced back in the cavern. The first
few times they had simply fought them quickly finishing off their
prey but their numbers steadily began to increase to the point
where stealth was a more suitable solution. Thad could tell that
Crusher would prefer to rush into battle and had to fight against
his natural instincts.