Rief's Story

Chapter 9:

Thaum was sitting in a luxurious conference room while staring across the table at Mayor Sterling who was trying very hard to fumble his way through small talk. Thaum was getting more than impatient with the mayor. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time left and he wished Rief would hurry up.

Mayor Sterling was just about to compliment Thaum on his robes and possibly talk about the weather when a crashing sound came from behind the door. With a sudden burst, the door split inward as several guards were thrown through the doorway and sent crashing into a table. Rief quickly hurled himself into the room landing behind the table with both blades drawn. Rief cautiously looked behind the table to see Thaum sitting next to a very dumbfounded looking Mayor.

“About time I found you! Do you have any idea big this place is?” Rief asked while catching his breath. “I’ve got the crystal thing, let’s go.” Rief said, tossing the crystal to Thaum who quickly pocketed it.

“Well Mr. Starling,” Thaum said to the still confused Mayor, “This has been a most profitable get-together, but I’m afraid that I must depart now,” Thaum said as he hit the Mayor over the head with his staff, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious.

“How are we getting out of here? Can you displace the room again?” Rief asked while watching the doorway for more guards.

Thaum concentrated for a minute before a tired expression came over his face, “I’m afraid I don’t have enough power left to displace this room. That last displacement took too much out of me,” Thaum finished, looking more haggard than usual.

“Then how are we supposed to get back?”

“The bakery! The residue from the last spell should still be there. I can use that to reverse the spell for us.” Thaum explained.

“Well between us and the bakery is a lot of guards.”

“We’ll deal with them. Let’s get moving. We don’t have a lot of time.” Thaum said as he moved out of the conference room and into the hallway. Rief followed him in close pursuit, entering the hallway in time to see Thaum engulfing a group of guards in a ring of flames. “Keep moving!” Thaum shouted over his shoulder.

Rief clutched his daggers and launched himself into the center of a group of guards and felled the group with a circular swipe of both blades. Thaum fired a stunning spell past Rief’s head and into a guard turning the corner, causing him to tumble mid-step.

A large batter of guards charged the two from behind as Thaum threw up a solid wall of red light across the corridor before them. The first couple of guards to hit the wall simply vanished from existence as the rest of the guards held back.

Rief turned the corner to where he remembered the entrance being and let loose a flurry of arrows from his bow, collapsing the guards that were stationed there. The two exited the castle as Thaum threw up a second red wall over the fortress’ entrance.

“Crimson Barrier. That should keep them back until it wears off.” Thaum mumbled.

Rief and Thaum were halfway back to the bakery when Thaum shuddered and collapsed to the ground. Rief picked the magician up and lugged him over his shoulders while bolting for the bakery entrance.

Bursting into the eatery to a group of surprised patrons, Rief gently set Thaum down on a nearby table.

“Thaum, I need you to cast the Displacement Spell,” Rief said as alarms began calling all over the city.

“I’m not sure that I have enough strength left,” Thaum muttered weakly. Rief looked over his shoulder through the window to the sight of what appeared to be a small army marching towards the diner.

“You seriously need to try harder!” Rief said hurriedly.

Thaum closed his eyes as a surge of energy ran through the room.

“Good man,” Rief said as he picked Thaum up from the table and headed for the door. Rief wrenched the door open to reveal the familiar walls of Thaum’s fortress beyond. Turning to the crowd of stunned civilians in the bakery, Rief announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. If you would be so kind as to forget our faces, we will leave you to your croissants,” Rief finished as bowed flashily and kicked the door shut.