The Dwarven Sorcerer

The Dwarven Sorcerer Ch 28

His power had grown aggressively, it had become much more powerful than he could ever have imagined. He found he could change it, manipulate it into so much more; it was no longer limited to ice and snow, Thrack had now dominion over fire and lightning. One night, out of curiosity, Thrack managed to shoot a lightning bolt from his hammer; blinding white sparks exploded into the night as it cracked against the tree. He jumped up and pumped his fist in the air out of sheer exhilaration. He felt like Donner Wodinsson himself. He wondered briefly if that was the secret to the gods, it all came down to magic. He pushed the thought away quickly, it felt blasphemous.

Now, he stood stoic in the middle of the road watching the figure grow close enough that Thrack could see it was a human; too tall and thin to be a dwarf, and too short and clumsy to be an elf. Would the inquisition have hired a human mercenary to hunt him down? He reckoned they might, nothing was beneath them, and Thrack had learned that humans would do anything for a piece of dwarven gold; they had no honour. The person wore a long dark cloak that hid its face and body making Thrack feel uneasy.

The figure stopped several steps away, the horse breathing heavily. They stared at each other for several moments. "Will you let me pass," came a woman's voice. Thrack raised an eyebrow, he wasn't expecting that. She pulled her hood back revealing brown hair tied in a tight bun on the top of her head. Her face was round and plain looking, splattered with brown freckles, and she had large friendly eyes.

"Aye," he said. "I ain't going to stop you."

She didn't move, looked too afraid to come any closer but she kept looking back over her shoulder like she was too afraid to go back.

"I'm Emily," she said.

"Thrack, son of Durim," he replied.

"Is that a Brownie?" Emily asked, smiling slightly, looking at Kline standing next to Thrack.

"A what?" Thrack turned to Kline standing next to him looking fierce in his armour and holding his tiny hammer, as fierce as he could standing only six inches tall while riding a small fox.

"A brownie," she repeated. "They're good luck you know. Magical creatures that help and protect those they're drawn to."

Thrack looked at the wee man again, "You gonna protect me?" he asked in Dwarven. Kline stuck out his chin, daring anyone to say otherwise.

They stood in silence a moment longer, neither of them moving. Waiting for the other to decide what happens next.

"I'm going to the Mage's College. Are you going there too?" she asked. The question was unnecessary, the college was the only thing down the road.

Thrack hesitated then shuddered and nodded. "Aye."

"Would it be alright if I travelled with you?" She asked.

Thrack didn't want another companion but there was something in the way she kept looking over her shoulder that made him feel like he couldn't deny her; besides, if his mum ever found out that he refused to accompany a lone frightened woman down the road he wouldn't need to worry about the Inquisition anymore, she'd kill him.

Emily led her horse by the reins, walking beside Thrack and Kline. She asked an incredible amount of questions as they travelled as if talking would conceal her nervousness. She asked about his life in the mountains, what Thrack did there, what his family was like, and anything else she could think of.

He told her of his mountain home but kept his answers short, it pained him to talk of what he left behind in too much detail, even if it was temporary. "The mountain's roots run deep, giving us many treasures. Iron, gold, gems, and even the stone itself." he felt a longing for his home and was hit with an overwhelming feeling of homesickness. "We have many machines to make our lives easier. We have steam pipes that run underneath the streets to power it all." He talked about his friends the dower Bofac and the jocular Grundi. Ula's face filled Thrack's mind, he said nothing else about his home after that and walked in silence.