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Ready for it this time, James manages to keep the barrier from failing but the draw of power from him was great.

“What’s happening?” yells Jiron over the roar of the storm.

Then a form appears out of the storm. An aged man easily in his fifties strides forward. Behind him appear more men encased in protective barriers.

Kerith-Ayxt expected more of a challenge from this mage. True, the mage weakened himself by building a useless storm but he still thought this fight would be more of a challenge.

Again he sends the bolt of energy hurtling toward the two men and this time he can feel the barrier drop for a second before the mage recovers. Grinning, he continues to advance.

“Run!” yells James as the effects of the third bolt dissipates. He almost lost the barrier that time but managed to bring it back. He and Jiron turn to race into the storm and away from Kerith-Ayxt.

The tingling spikes again. He grabs Jiron and they dodge to the right, barely avoiding the bolt as it flies past. Summoning the magic, James lashes out with a wave of force of his own but Kerith-Ayxt simply brushes it aside.

Then the rest of the mages arrayed against him unleash a barrage of spells. Fire, ice, waves of force, the attacks become unrelenting until all James can do is simply concentrate on maintaining the barrier. Kerith-Ayxt conserves his power while his mages throw everything they have at the pair.

“Watch out!” yells Jiron as a massive section of wall comes flying through the air toward them. Backpedaling rapidly, they barely get out of the way before the stone slab hits the ground. Slamming into the ground with a resounding thud, the impact shakes the ground like an earthquake.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath the slab gives way and it plummets down into darkness. Jiron sees the slab fall and quickly takes hold of James. “Come on!” he yells. Jumping forward, he yanks James off his feet and they both sail into the hole.

They fall briefly in darkness before James’ orb springs to life. The light illuminates the buried room seconds before they hit the ground. Seeing the floor coming up fast, they brace for impact. James hits hard and feels like he may have sprained his wrist from where he tried to cushion his landing. Jiron simply tucks and rolls, coming quickly back to his feet.

Jiron then takes a fraction of a second to survey the room and finds a doorway off to one side. Lending James a hand, he helps him up just before a blast strikes the ground where James had just lain. Running for their lives, they make the doorway just as a flaming ball of fire hurtles toward them from the opening in the ceiling.

Again the barrier flashes into being just before the fireball explodes. James falls to his knees from the drain of power, Jiron helps him back up and they move into the hallway extending from the room.

At the edge of the hole, Kerith-Ayxt looks down at the doorway through which his quarry disappeared.

“Should we go after them?” asks a mage of the Fourth Circle.

Shaking his head, he says, “No.” The wind has continued to die down due to several mages working to bring it to a halt until now it’s barely a bother. Most of the mages have already canceled the protective barriers they used to ward off the storm. “They’ve entered Baerustin.” At that the mage nods his head.

“Set up patrols through the ruins in case they somehow manage to make it out,” the High Lord Magus says. Glancing at the hole he says, “Though I doubt that they will.”

Stopping several yards from the entrance of the room they just left, Jiron eases James to the floor of the hallway. Moving back to the doorway, he glances back up to the hole in the ceiling.

“Are they coming?” James’ whisper comes to him.

Turning his head back, he replies, “No. There’s one looking through the opening but it doesn’t appear that they mean to follow.” He remains there watching for several more minutes before returning to James’ side.

Jiron takes notice of the way James is favoring