Free Broken Mage by D.W. Jackson

without warning. While he found it endearing
his limbs and back found it exceptionally painful.
    The next morning Thad was woken by
Avalanche’s loud barking. He stirred slowly still tired. From the
feel of his body he had only been asleep for a few hours. After
getting her to quiet down he understood why she was making such a
commotion. A loud sound was reverberating through the underground.
Concentrating hard on the sound he picked out what sounded like a
human yell. His hopes up Thad quickly took down his magical walls
and ran in the direction of the noise.
    A few moments later Thad realized that
while he could hear the noise he couldn’t tell where it was coming
from. Avalanche saved him by running past and continuing on down
the tunnel. Thad followed her using his magic to lift himself from
the ground so he could keep up with her fast pace.
    After what felt like an eternity they
finally reached the source of the noise. A short looking human with
dark tanned skin fought with a massive metal monstrosity. The human
was about four foot six and while obviously well-muscled it didn’t
look out of proportion like many of the other smaller humans he had
met. The man’s head had been shaved bald and tattoos covered his
right arm and left side of his face making Thad think he might be a
slave. If that was true he might know of a way out of the
caves.
    The creature the short man fought was
at least nine feet tall and looked to be made of a silvery metal.
Its arms and legs were easily the size of Thad’s waist. Its eyes
reminded Thad of Avalanche’s except they looked as if they had been
made of sapphires instead of rubies. Thad wished he had the time to
examine the creature but with the dire situation the man was in he
would either have to help now or watch his chance to escape die in
front of his own eyes.
    The battle looked one sided with the
man getting the worse end of the deal. The man was bleeding from
many cuts while the monster looked as if it hadn’t been harmed at
all. Avalanche was the first one to join the battle trying to grab
the metal beast by its leg. It did little damage and Avalanche was
soon thrown across the large cavern and into the wall.
    Thad joined in as well throwing
fireballs at the creatures back. They seemed to do little to no
damage so he switched to lightning that seemed to at least get the
monsters attention. He soon found himself shaking as the hulking
monstrosity turned toward him and began making its slow advance on
his position. Thad hastily tried to use his paralyzing ring on the
beast but all it accomplished was getting the thing to stop for the
briefest of moments.
    With his magic doing no damage, Thad
pulled his magical dagger from his side and activated it so it grew
into a full length sword. If his magically enchanted sword didn’t
damage the creature he would have little choice but to run for his
life. Running through his options he decided if he ran he would
have to take the other man with him even if he had to do so by
force. He wasn’t about to lose his only link with the surface no
matter the cost.
    Before he had a chance to make a strike
the small man jumped at the monster from the side swinging a
massive axe at the creature landing a hearty blow on the creature’s
right leg. The weapon dug into the creature’s leg carving out a
small chunk that clanked loudly on the ground. The monster let out
a loud roar and backhanded the small man knocking him half way
across the cavern. It didn’t stop there as it rushed the downed man
and began stomping on him wildly.
    Thad feared for a moment the man was
dead and in haste let loose such a massive lightning bolt it left
him light headed. The attack had the desired effect knocking the
monster off the man and throwing it a few feet
backwards.
    The creature gave him a look filled
with hate. Avalanche still continued to rush the creature but its
attacks didn’t even bother the monster enough for a response. Thad
shaking slightly swallowed