Stranded Mage (25 page)

Thad continued to listen but nothing of much importance seemed to be said. It was the same argument over and over. In the end it mattered little to Thad. It was clear that members of the Brotherhood council were in the adjoining room, and that’s all he needed to know.

In the darkness Thad moved his hands up and down the old wood looking for anything that might open the passage into the room beyond. Much like with the bookcase Thad knew there was a way out but simply couldn’t find it. He could use his magic but without being able to clearly see into the next room then he might not cover everything properly with his spells.

His magical sight would allow him to see but it was not the same as using his actual eyes and Thad was not confident that he wouldn’t miss something. Cursing, Thad continued to listen to the men through the wall as he searched.

“I still want to know how the lady Torin was able to shake our trackers. There have been rumors among some of our foot soldiers that there is a contingent of abominations living within our own borders.”

“It is not impossible for such a thing to occur. We have focused more on the other lands than our own.” Thad heard one of the men reply, his tone serious and demanding.

“After the business with the renegade mage and the elves has been dealt with we should make a sweep within our own borders.”

The news that Monique had escaped them completely rang joyfully in his ears. He had suspected as much given parts of the conversation earlier but he had not been sure if they were talking about Monique, Maria, or Eloen. As he breathed a silent sigh of relief for his friend Thad’s hand brushed against an oddly shaped knot at the bottom of the wall.

Thad let his fingers glide around the knot and felt it move slightly. griping it as tightly as he could Thad gave it a twist and the knot gave way along with a rust sounding click the panel moved slightly.

Thad held his breath and listened quietly hoping no one had been alerted by the noise. After a span of heartbeats when the men’s conversation continued without so much a hint of hearing the noise, Thad relaxed and slowly pushed on the wall panel.

The wall panel swung forward with a slight creak that sounded like a booming trumpet to Thad ears. As his heart threatened to beat itself out of his chest Thad continued to slowly move the wall.

Once the wall had moved enough for him to slip through Thad took a few deep breaths and once again listened for any sign that anyone had taken notice of the sounds. When he was sure no one was the wiser Thad slipped out of the passage and into the room beyond.

Thad soon realized why no one had taken notice of him or the sight of the wall panel swinging out from the wall. While he could still hear the voices clearly he was not in the same room with the men. From the looks of his surroundings he was in an office of some kind.

The office had two doors, one led down a long hallway, and the other opened up into a large open room with a circular table in the middle with five chairs four of which were currently occupied.

Most of the men were late into their years with salt and pepper hair or no hair at all. One of the men though was still young only a few years into his twenties. Each of the men wore long elaborate robes as well as many pieces of expensive jewelry.

Thad could not see everything through the keyhole of the door but he spotted two other doors across from the one he hid behind. Knowing his magic could be easily countered Thad had to choose his spells wisely.

Focusing Thad sent a stream of energy across the room and into the doors forcing the wood to expand until the backlash from the pressure made his head throb lightly.

Once the two doors were secure, Thad slowly opened the one in front of him and slipped into the room beyond. Closing the door silently behind him Thad pressed his hand against the door sealing it with the same spell as the other two.

Luckily the men were so enthralled in their discussion they didn’t notice his presence. Thad crept along moving silently until he crouched behind a long divan and out of eyesight.

Looking around Thad noticed another six doors leading into the large circular room. Why there was so many doors to one room Thad didn’t know. Closing his eyes Thad sent out waves of energy forcing the wood of the doors to expand so only an extreme feat of strength had any hopes of dislodging them.

Once the doors were sealed Thad started thinking a way to use his silence spell in a way it couldn’t be countered by one of the white swords. The spell worked by using energy to block any sound that passed a certain area. As long as the white swords didn’t touch the surface of the spell then it wouldn’t matter if they were inside or outside of its boundary. They only way Thad could see using the spell safely was to bind it inside the very walls themselves.

Creating the barrier in the air was simple. Air wasn’t dense and produced very little resistance but wood and stone created quite a bit. When he was finished Thad’s shirt clung to him as the strain had caused him to sweat profusely. His head pounding Thad leaned back against the divan and took a few long breathes to regain his strength. As soon as a small portion of the pain subsided Thad peered around the corner of the divan.

“If we can get our hands on the mage or one of the elves we can learn where they have hidden themselves away from us and end their existence once and for good,” the younger man said adamantly.

“The elves have never been known to sell out their own kind,” one of the others, a balding man with a neatly trimmed white beard, replied. “The mage on the other hand might be a well of information. From some of the reports we have received we believe that he had not only had contact with elves but with the dwarves and nadirie as well.”

A tall skinny man who looked like nothing more than skin pulled over bones shook his head. “From all the reports the mage is very resourceful. He has eluded us for far longer than any in many centuries. Not only does he have his magic to aid him but he is also an enchanter, and one with promising skills if the reports are correct. His is the worst kind not only does he wield the power reserved for the true god he binds that power to metal and stone so others can use it at will. He must be dealt with quickly not captured.”

“In the end it depends on the effort involved,” a portly, elderly man said. “Notify all the troops that if possible to take him alive but if there is any chance that it looks like he could escape to kill him without quarter. Capturing him would be preferable but not at the risk of letting him continue to taint our world.”

The longer Thad listened, the more his rage began to grow. Here the men sat casually talking about killing his friends and capturing him so they could torture information from him. “Capturing the mage might be a bit harder than you might suspect.” Thad said, standing to his feet and walking around the divan to stand in front of the round table.

“Who are you and what are you doing within these chambers?” the young man asked, his face full of rage.

After the shock faded the thin man looked at the younger man and gave him a cold stare. “Are you daft Brandon? Can you not tell simply by looking at him?” the man said, giving Thad a disgusted look. “I think I should congratulate you on your skill in not only getting into our city undetected but even into the heart of this very building. You saved us the trouble of hunting you down after we finished off your elven friends.”

Thad laughed, “I don’t think you will be singing that tune when all four of you are burning on your funeral pyres.”

“GUARDS,” Brandon yelled at the top his lungs.

The portly gentlemen laughed at his young companion. “I think Sallias was right, you are daft Brandon. Do you really think he would have showed himself before taking precautions against intrusion?”

Thad could visibly see the color drain from Brandon’s face as the realization that they were trapped in the room with the deadly mage. “Don’t wet yourself boy, we’re not lost yet,” Sallias said as he pulled on a cord that Thad had not noticed. “Must be a spell that blocks out noise but I am sure that while we can’t hear it the bells strung throughout the building are still ringing loudly.”

Thad had never considered that there might be a warning system that reached outside the room. He didn’t know why he was surprised. The Brotherhood had over a thousand years to prepare for all kinds of events. Cursing his own forethought Thad tried his best not to let his worries show on his face.

“No matter, you four will be dead long before any of your cronies can arrive to save you.” Thad said, pulling his sword free of its scabbard.

“That is yet to be seen,” the portly man said, bringing his own white sword to bear. Unlike the other members of the Brotherhood’s swords he had met, the white swords were anything but plain. Their hilts were gold and held more than a few gems.

The other three members of the council each pulled their swords free. It was obvious that while the men had seen more than their share of seasons they still retained some skill with the blade.

Not as sure of himself as he had been Thad quickly slid his hand into one of the pouches belted on his waist and pulled out one of his magical slugs and launched it. The slug flew straight at the man called Sallias, who from Thad’s view was one of the most dangerous ones in the room despite his sickly appearance.

The older man was able to get his sword up to block the slug’s path. Thad didn’t know if Sallias expected the stone to stop when it encountered the sword or if blocking it had simply been instinctive.

The sound of metal hitting metal reverberated throughout the room as the stone hit the flat of the sword forcing it back with tremendous force. The sound was echoed by Sallias scream as his arm broke from the force of the blow.

Thad tried to grab another slug but Brandon was on him before he had the chance. Thad had thought the younger man the least troublesome given his reactions earlier on but in truth the young man was a competent swordsman.

Thad continued to move backwards trying to keep himself from being surrounded by the other two older gentlemen. While his attention was focused on his surroundings Brandon scored a deep cut to his left shoulder nearly causing Thad to drop his sword. Gritting through the pain Thad tried to block out any distraction and face the deadly man in front of him.

Brandon came in with a low slash aimed for Thad’s right leg. Thinking quickly Thad lifted his leg instead of dodging letting the blade slam into his metal foot. Brandon looked at Thad’s foot, shocked that his sword had done nothing more than cut a deep slash into Thad’s foot. The young man was only distracted for the briefest of moments but it was more than long enough for Thad to strike a deadly blow, his sword darting in and digging deep between Brandon’s ribs and into his heart.

As soon as Thad’s sword slipped into the man’s ribcage Brandon doubled over. Thad tried to yank his weapon free but his hands were still sweaty from the exertion of preparing the room and the hilt slipped from his hand.

Thad wanted to reach for his sword but the other two men were quickly on him and Thad was forced to abandon it for the time being. Thad dodged, danced, and blocked strikes he could with his staff as he tried to reposition himself to regain his sword. The men seemed to know what he was thinking and constantly moved to bar his path. The older men were skilled, Thad had no doubt about that, but their movements were slowed by age.

Rolling under another vicious strike Thad grabbed in his pouch for a slug and fired it without looking. He was rewarded with the sound of breaking bone and the screams of the portly councilman.

Thad wanted to give out a scream of triumph but his advantage was short lived as one of the doors burst apart and more than three dozen armed guards filed in the room.

Thad ran past the last standing councilman narrowly dodging the blade of his sword. Rolling forward Thad came to his knees only a short distance away from the corpse of Brandon.

Jumping to his feet Thad grabbed the hilt of his sword while he placed his foot on the man’s chest and pulled the blade free.

The soldiers who had entered the room had begun to spread out leaving Thad no path for an easy escape. Sallias and the other two remaining councilmen were moved to the back of the soldiers where their wounds could be tended.

What are you going to do now? I would suggest you run but I don’t even see where you would run to. Maybe you will be lucky and get a quick death. I am sure you would prefer that to a great deal of torture before they finally allow you to die.

The idea of spending any more time in a dark cell didn’t sit well with Thad. During his long stay in the Farlan dungeon he had his likening of such treatment, and that was only compounded by his stay as an Ablaian prisoner.

Thad looked around for any way to escape but found none. Even given his formidable magic there was little he could do cornered and vastly outnumbered against so many soldiers many of which who had the detestable magic eating white swords.

With a quick prayer to the gods Thad rushed the soldiers his sword flashing in front of him. The first three moved quickly to surround him. The blades of their swords cutting so close to his body Thad could feel the wind as they moved past him. Thad fought harder than he had ever before in his life. His heart was racing and everything seemed to move at a fraction of the time it had only moments before. His sword and staff rang out catching soldier after soldier in any unguarded area.