Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) (12 page)

CHAPTER XVI

Thad woke from his restless sleep. The faces of the dead Nadirie still fresh in his mind. From what Crusher had told him about them, they were much like the mischievous sprites that he had read in stories. It was
said, they loved to sneak into towns and trick children into pulling pranks on the adults. Whenever something went missing or broke people always blamed it on unseen sprites.

Thad was pulled from his own sleepy thoughts as Avalanche began barking and running around the camp. Grabbing his sword Thad jumped up and searched the surrounding area but found nothing. He called out to Avalanche
, and his friend rushed up to him as happy as she had ever been.

Tho
ugh the sun had yet to rise but with everyone already awake, Thad decided to build a small fire to stave off the cold air and began to pull out rations for their morning meal. Everything seemed to be going well until Crusher took a long drink from one of his skins and started spitting and cursing. “How in the nine hells did saltwater get into me ale?”

Unable to control himself Thad began laughing at the burly dwarf.  “You shouldn’t be drinking this early in the day anyway.”

“What’s wrong with takin a few drinks ta open yer eyes in tha morning?” Crusher said looking disdainfully at his skin.

“Then you shouldn’t be complaining,” Brianna said with a snicker. “Looks like
yer eyes are wide open thanks ta that drink.”

Crusher turned toward Brianna
, his face contorted in anger. “This be yer doing lassie?” He growled shaking the skin wildly in his fist.

Thad’s eyes could barely see as Brianna’s fist raced through the air slamming into Crusher’s jaw, sending the burley dwarf sprawling into the dirt. “Don’t
ya dare be insulting me, next time I won’t let ya go until ya don’t have a tooth left in the ugly mouth of yers.”

Crusher rubbed his jaw as he looked up at Brianna. “My bad lassie,” Crusher said
, in as close to an apologetic tone as Thad had ever heard come from the headstrong dwarf. “Watch yerself boyo, one wrong move and yer bits will be used to feed the wolves.”

Thad felt a slight twinge of fear run through his body as he looked at Brianna. He had never seen her truly mad before. She had always been a somewhat blusterous and overly brash woman. Crusher was right, if he made her mad there was little in the world that would stop her from getting at him. He had hoped to tell her about the princess and Eloen sometime but now he was afraid of her reaction. He knew he couldn’t put it off forever but maybe he would find a good time, such as her being completely entrapped in stone for a few decades.

After they broke their fast and Crusher tested the rest of his skins of ale for tampering they headed back to the road.  A thick layer of fog lay over the ground making it hard to tell where they walked. Thad had never seen such a thick fog before it wrapped around his ankles as if he were walking through water. The chill of the morning air forced him to shiver whenever one of the metal buckles from his pack brushed against his skin.

The trio was oddly quiet as they walked. The only one who seemed to be unaffected by the sour atmosphere was Avalanche who seemed to be in high spirits as she bounced around often disappearing for long periods
of time. When they were in the Underearth Avalanche was prone to disappearing but Thad had little fear for the rock creature, but on the surface it was much different. If one of the Brotherhood with their white swords appeared, Avalanche would be in danger. Normally he wouldn’t worry about the Brotherhood, but they had let a few of the ones from the prior day escape. It was completely possible that more would come after them, and this time they would be prepared to go against the trio. They had only been on the surface for a few days; it was unbelievable they would run into the Brotherhood so soon. He had spent years in Farlan without ever running across the mysterious group. It looked as if his luck was starting to turn against him.

“What has
yer britches in a bunch?” Brianna said pinching Thad on the rear.

Thad tried to give Brianna a bright smile but he had little heart for it. After a few moments of her stern look Thad dropped the fac
ade and sighed heavily. “I’m worried about the Brotherhood. We shouldn’t have let any of them escape. They’re sure to come after us now that they know where we are.”

Brianna grabbed Thad and pulled him down where he was forced to look at her in the eyes. “There be no need to worry about those gutter rats, they’re not worth our time. If they appear we will fight and I have no intention of losing.” She said fiercely.

Thad planted a light kiss on Brianna’s lips. “You’re right, no reason to let them ruin my time with you, even when they’re not around.”

Brianna laughed lightly. “That’s a little better,” Brianna said then she grabbed Thad around the waist and pulled him along with her.
Her refreshing demeanor always amazed Thad. Thad was sure that even if she were lying dying on the ground she would still find a way to make him laugh. She was nothing like the other women he had met. She never hesitated she went straight for what she wanted with little care for anything but the present. Thad envied her in that regard; if he could only forget about the things that seemed to press in around him, he would have a lot less sleepless nights.

They stopped for the midday meal next to a small grove of trees. The day was abnormally hot and Thad could smell the sour smell of his leathers as his sweat soaked and dried into them. The slight shade from the trees was a blessing since the wind was almost nonexistent.

Sitting against one of the trees Thad pulled one of the gems from his pack and tossed it toward Avalanche. Thad watched as the creature swatted the gem around as if it was a toy. He had spent so much time with Avalanche he had forgotten one of her meals could feed most families for a year. Before he had been chased into the Underearth, Thad would have begged for one of the gems that now brimmed his pack. Instead, he had been forced to work with whatever he could afford; even after his enchanted items began to sell, a gem of the size and quality that he now held would have been out of his reach. How quickly a person’s outlook on things could change. When he was in the academy, he looked forward too little in life and looking back now, he could see more of his choices. He had never really fought against anything he only went with what he was told. He never understood why he had agreed to help the princess or queen when he had been asked. At the time, it seemed like the only thing to do, but now he understood it was simply the way he was raised. Like a pet trained to listen to his masters orders. He knew it should bother him but the choices hadn’t been all bad and in the end had led him to where he was now.

Thad ran his hand over the boot that hid his metal foot. He had lost a lot during his short life but in the end he hadn’t lost anything that couldn’t be replaced. His eye was gone but he could still see, his foot had been torn from his body but he could still walk. Not only had he replaced what he had lost they were in many way
s better than the original. His eye could see farther and it could also see in the dark though he was still unskilled in its use. His foot held his weight and thanks to Crusher’s craftsmanship and his own enchantments, his new foot was much stronger, and if he needed he could put a lot more force into it without fear of injury.

Thad was pulled from his own musings from a loud noise
to his right. Thad found Crusher cursing and pulling on his clothes like a mad man. “What’s got you so bothered?” Thad yelled trying his best to keep the laughter out of his voice.

“Got some sap down me back.” Crusher yelled as he tried to strip his clothes off. With great effort Thad was able to keep himself from laughing, though Brianna didn’t seem to feel the need to hold herself back as she laughed so hard tears rolled from her eyes. After a long struggle
and a lot of cursing Crusher was able to get his armor and undershirt off. “Boyo get some water and help me get this blasted stuff off me back.”

Thad ran to the ocean with one of his empty skins to fill it. He knew he would have to carefully wash it out later
, but it was better than using what little fresh water they had. As soon as he returned, Thad tore a section out of one of his old undershirts and wetted it. The sap was all over the dwarf’s back as if he had rolled in a large vat of the sticky liquid. With each pass of the makeshift cloth, a small amount of the sap came off along with a fair amount of Crusher’s hair. After a long time, the last of the sap was removed leaving the dwarf’s back bright red.

“Looks like
yer luck has left ya.” Brianna said slapping Crusher hard on the back.

They had wasted a fair amount of time and the sun had moved a great deal in the sky
, but they decided to move on even if it was only for a short time. Crusher was eager to reach a tavern so he could restock on his ale, and Brianna seemed simply eager to continue on. Thad himself had mixed feelings on the journey. He was in a hurry to get back to Farlan and find out what was going on. His dreams had left him with an uneasy feeling but he was also worried. How would everything turn out once he finally returned?

The second half of the day was much livelier than it had been earlier as Brianna continued to hassle Crusher over his bad luck. Thad let out a silent chuckle as he watched the two. He knew that Crusher enjoyed Brianna’s company. At first
, he thought that the burly dwarf had romantic feelings towards her but now he could tell that they acted much more like siblings than lovers. He could understand his enjoyment at having her around she was unlike the other dwarven women he had met. Dwarven women were much like the men in most regards with the exception they tended to be much kinder in spirit. They often reminded him of Joan, both stern demeanor, demanding respect, but kind eyes and a gentle touch. Brianna was different, she was as loud and brash as any male dwarf and more so than most. Thad smiled gently and laughed to himself. Lately he had been looking forward to the days ahead instead of simply living day by day.

As the sun se
t, the trio found a secluded place a little off the road. It wasn’t always easy to find a place that was suitable to camp. Many times they were forced to stay near the road and while that wasn’t bad it increased their chances of encountering bandits and other less reputable sorts. With Crusher’s current mood it was hard to get him to agree to camp farther away from the road than normal. In fact he was almost praying to run into someone to strike down with his axe.

The group ate a light meal around a small fire. The small amount of heat that their small fire put off wasn’t even enough to chase away the cold that was being carried in from the coast. Thad wanted to build a larger fire but both Brianna and Crusher had protested that the light from anything larger would give away their position to any
one nearby. Crusher had drunk the rest of his ale in an attempt to drink away his foul mood and had quickly fallen asleep, leaving Brianna and Thad a few rare moments alone.

Brianna wore her normal battle leathers, they were plain but the way they fit her firm body
, makeing her stand out in a less than modest way. Whenever Thad looked at her, he couldn’t help from his eyes settling on her chest. “Do you think the brotherhood will come after us?” Thad asked fishing for something to say to break the quiet tension that was building in the air.

Brianna looked at him and gave him a wry look. “You sure know how ta foul
tha mood.” She said her voice carrying her displeasure. “I can’t say fer sure. I doubt they’ll just leave us be, but how fast they come at us depends on how long it takes fer them to find more men. I doubt they’ll try again with the few members we let skitter off.”  A sly smile crept onto Brianna’s face. “My face is up here boyo.”

Thad’s face turned bright red. Brianna bent over placing her head almost in Thad’s lap. “Don’t
ya know that it ain’t proper to stare at a lady’s chest when yer talking to her.” Thad wasn’t sure how red ones face could get, but he was sure he was pushing the bounds to the human limits. “Don’t feel so good now does it boyo.” Thad tried to stutter a response but he was cut short as Brianna gave his a rough but satisfying kiss. “Are ya a man or not. If I have ta keep making all the moves I’m gonna start getting a little pissy with ya.”

Thad couldn’t think of anything to say so he simply gave Brianna a light kiss. Thad had never met such a brash and forward woman in his life. Eloen was bawdy but she became nervous whenever she became close to him. Once Thad had noticed her feeling
s, he had silently enjoyed watching her reactions around him. “What ya thinking about with such a happy expression?”

Thad face went slightly pale when he looked at Brianna’s face. If she knew he was thinking about another woman there was no way he would get out of it unscathed. “I was just thinking of an old friend.” Thad said defensively getting an annoyed look from Brianna.

Pain shot through Thad’s arm as Brianna squeezed his upper arm. Her grip was like cold iron and the look in her eyes put Thad into a cold sweat. “Yer friend wouldn’t happen to be a female?” The tone in her voice let Thad know that if he gave the wrong answer he was in for a rough time.

“Impossible!” Thad said quickly
, though from the look in Brianna’s eyes she wasn’t convinced. “Haven’t I told you that women in my country treat men like toys?”

“Toys eh?” Brianna said as she squeezed Thad arm tighter making his fingers tingle painfully. “How many of these women treated you as their toy, eh?”