towards him. He crawled to his gun, snatched it into his right hand and pointed it towards the sky.
Bang!
His one and only remaining shot rang out loud and clear and echoed around the fort. The jeering of the crowd ceased along with their attempts at stoning Thanquil and he slowly pushed himself to his feet. There was a stunned silence as everyone failed to realise just what he had done. The images of Jezzet all looked at him in confusion, unsure of how to proceed. Thanquil ran a hand through his dusty hair and it came away red, wet and sticky where the rock had struck him. Still the confused silence held.
It took less than a minute before his shot was answered. A low rumbling spreading across the sky and building into a cacophony far louder and more violent than anything the gathered crowd of angry fools could throw at him. The crash of thunder built up to near deafening levels as it passed over the fort and sent a wave of panic through the crowd. A rain storm was not something any of them wanted to be caught outside in, especially not with so many people in a confined space.
A flash a lightning streaked across the sky just as the first fat drops of rain plummeted to the earth. Slow at first the rain quickly built in speed and soon began to threaten being classed as a downpour.
The crowd broke with the next crack of thunder.
The dragon knights’ vain attempts to impose order failed in an instant as people began pushing and pulling, barging and stumbling as they all rushed and clambered to get away and out of the rain. People went down with screams of terror as they were trampled by their neighbours. Thanquil plucked his sword from the ground just in time as the crowd surged forward and engulfed him. People bumped into him from all directions as they struggled to run somewhere, anywhere and the rain built and built until it fell in noisy, grey sheets soaking everything it touched.
Under the wave of people and the fall of rain the witch could no longer hold her weave of illusions and as one they failed. Where before there had been ten images of the woman Thanquil loved now there just stood a single person; the witch Verla Pre’lain, her face a mask of panic.
The Dragon Prince shouted something but was drowned out by another crack of thunder and could not come to his witch’s aid as he was forced to stay on his pedestal and protect his daughter from the crush of the crowd.
Thanquil began to push his way towards the witch, forcing the crowd to part before him with a blessing of enhanced strength.
Another fork of lightning lit the sky a dazzling white-blue as it arced towards the fort and struck the battlements. The dragon, still perched nearby let out a shrill squawk that seemed out of place coming from its giant maw. As it edged sideways away from the site of the lightning strike it trampled two soldiers not quick enough to get away.
Thanquil hadn’t let his eyes move from the witch since the panic began and now she saw him coming and struggled to push through the crowd to escape him. Already the flow of people was beginning to lessen but the effect was already clear, the mustering yard had been churned by the rain and the people’s feet into a thick mud that squelched and sucked at the feet. Here and there bodies lay trampled and bloody in the brown mess and some of the injured were crying out in pain, screaming for assistance but Thanquil ignored it all.
He pushed the last person out of the way with unnatural strength and there was no one left between him and Verla Pre’lain. The witch spoke a word and hurled a blast of sizzling energy his way, streaking from her hand towards him but Thanquil was prepared. He snapped the wooden rune he had hold of and the spell disintegrated. The witch screamed and collapsed as the backlash from the neutralising rune hit her.
Her dress, now brown from the mud tore beneath her as she struggled to stand and stumble away. Watery blood leaked from her nose and eyes. She looked
Bang!
His one and only remaining shot rang out loud and clear and echoed around the fort. The jeering of the crowd ceased along with their attempts at stoning Thanquil and he slowly pushed himself to his feet. There was a stunned silence as everyone failed to realise just what he had done. The images of Jezzet all looked at him in confusion, unsure of how to proceed. Thanquil ran a hand through his dusty hair and it came away red, wet and sticky where the rock had struck him. Still the confused silence held.
It took less than a minute before his shot was answered. A low rumbling spreading across the sky and building into a cacophony far louder and more violent than anything the gathered crowd of angry fools could throw at him. The crash of thunder built up to near deafening levels as it passed over the fort and sent a wave of panic through the crowd. A rain storm was not something any of them wanted to be caught outside in, especially not with so many people in a confined space.
A flash a lightning streaked across the sky just as the first fat drops of rain plummeted to the earth. Slow at first the rain quickly built in speed and soon began to threaten being classed as a downpour.
The crowd broke with the next crack of thunder.
The dragon knights’ vain attempts to impose order failed in an instant as people began pushing and pulling, barging and stumbling as they all rushed and clambered to get away and out of the rain. People went down with screams of terror as they were trampled by their neighbours. Thanquil plucked his sword from the ground just in time as the crowd surged forward and engulfed him. People bumped into him from all directions as they struggled to run somewhere, anywhere and the rain built and built until it fell in noisy, grey sheets soaking everything it touched.
Under the wave of people and the fall of rain the witch could no longer hold her weave of illusions and as one they failed. Where before there had been ten images of the woman Thanquil loved now there just stood a single person; the witch Verla Pre’lain, her face a mask of panic.
The Dragon Prince shouted something but was drowned out by another crack of thunder and could not come to his witch’s aid as he was forced to stay on his pedestal and protect his daughter from the crush of the crowd.
Thanquil began to push his way towards the witch, forcing the crowd to part before him with a blessing of enhanced strength.
Another fork of lightning lit the sky a dazzling white-blue as it arced towards the fort and struck the battlements. The dragon, still perched nearby let out a shrill squawk that seemed out of place coming from its giant maw. As it edged sideways away from the site of the lightning strike it trampled two soldiers not quick enough to get away.
Thanquil hadn’t let his eyes move from the witch since the panic began and now she saw him coming and struggled to push through the crowd to escape him. Already the flow of people was beginning to lessen but the effect was already clear, the mustering yard had been churned by the rain and the people’s feet into a thick mud that squelched and sucked at the feet. Here and there bodies lay trampled and bloody in the brown mess and some of the injured were crying out in pain, screaming for assistance but Thanquil ignored it all.
He pushed the last person out of the way with unnatural strength and there was no one left between him and Verla Pre’lain. The witch spoke a word and hurled a blast of sizzling energy his way, streaking from her hand towards him but Thanquil was prepared. He snapped the wooden rune he had hold of and the spell disintegrated. The witch screamed and collapsed as the backlash from the neutralising rune hit her.
Her dress, now brown from the mud tore beneath her as she struggled to stand and stumble away. Watery blood leaked from her nose and eyes. She looked
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