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The battle between the warrior priest and the Hand of Asran wages behind him but he doesn’t let that distract him from the creatures before him. Snarling, biting, scratching, the creatures try to escape their confines. Unlike the shield they tried to breach that had surrounded him, these shields move with them sort of like a hamster in an exercise ball. The magic used to sustain them is much less than when they were trying to breach his protective shield.

Concentrating now on just one of the encased creatures, he decreases the temperature of the shield, which is possible now with the heat of but one creature to contend with. Also, he begins shrinking the shield in around the creature until it is barely able to move. The outer shell of the barrier begins to frost from the coldness within, he can feel the creature struggle mightily to escape and increases the strength and integrity of the shield as he continues collapsing it.

Spots begin to dance in front of his eyes from the struggle to maintain one shield while collapsing the other. His throat dries up and his breathing becomes labored. Behind him, he hears a cry as one of the brothers falls in the battle with the warrior priest, the sound of birds still fills the air.

Now down to the size of a basketball, the shrinking shield finally collapses completely and disappears as the creature dies and vanishes. Turning to the remaining creature, he begins shrinking its confining shield same as the other. This time, with but one shield to maintain, the draw of magic isn’t nearly as bad. Still, his inner reserves are all but depleted and the effects upon him are becoming more pronounced.

Headaches and dizziness begin to plague him as the remaining shield continues to implode upon itself, stealing away the life from the creature it contains. Before it disappears, James’ legs give out and he drops to the ground, barely catching himself before hitting hard. Almost losing concentration, he lies there on the ground, sending forth the last bits of magic from his reserves as the shield shrinks to the size of a softball and then implodes completely when the life of the creature contained within goes out.

Panting hard, he tries to get to his feet but simply hasn’t the strength and passes out.

Leaving James to deal with the creatures, Brother Willim and the rest of the Hand of Asran face off with the warrior priest. Above, the birds have answered their call and are even now diving to distract the crossbowmen on the palisade. In the coming fight with the warrior priest, they can’t have their concentration divided with bolts flying at them.

As the warrior priest reaches the edge of the flames, he glances from where James is battling the two remaining creatures and then to Brother Willim and the Hand. Seeing them as the most immediate threat, he turns to face them. From the flames to his right, a veritable meteor shower of fire flies toward the brothers.

In response, the Hand throws seeds in the air and with the power of their god, causes them to grow exponentially. When the meteor shower encounters the tendrils of life, their heat is absorbed by them and few make it as far as where the brothers stand. The few that do are easily avoided.

Ash from the burnt tendrils of life float upon the breeze as vines erupt from the ground under the warrior priest’s feet. Twining and twisting, they quickly bind him in a tangle of thick vegetation.

Another brother throws a dark resin which expands greatly into a three foot wide viscous mass which strikes the warrior priest and encases him from the chest up in a sticky, gooey substance.

Taking up their staves, they begin moving toward the entrapped warrior priest.

Bam!

An explosion knocks them backward as the vines and gooey substance is blasted away from him. At the same time, a black miasmic cloud forms before the warrior priest and flows toward them.

Brother Willim raises his hand and a breeze develops to blow the dark cloud away