The Ground Torn Asunder

Thier progress was also impeded in another way. Astra and Exotica were both barefoot, and the ground was quickly becoming littered with jagged stones. With no time to be concerned about modesty, Fred scooped up Exotica into his arms, who herself was carrying the defenseless Sigin. Astra, with some reluctance, agreed to be carried by Matthias. Adele led the group on, her 'witch light' being their only illumination as they moved away from Belboz's chamber, hopefully to the cave entrance and to safety.

Elsewhere....

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Twin jets of searing fire streamed forth from the dragon's nostrils. They flowed like water around the blue bubble of magic that Elaine had encased herself in. The flames scorched the cave walls around her, turning some parts of them to molten glass. Elaine responded, levitating some 20 feet off the ground to dodge a swipe of the dragon's tail, and firing off a powerful lightning bolt. It struck the ground just in front of Minestus, flinging him backwards. The ground itself was torn asunder. Pools of magma in the long dormant Shreken were awakening. This area of the caves, Minestus' own chambers, had been crafted by his magical skill (and probably hundreds of his slaves) into the kind of magestic underground palace that the dwarves of old sometimes spoke of. Now, though, it was being reduced to rubble.

Elaine was still riding high on the wave of power Belboz's ring provided. She had come to terms with the necromancer's seeming influence over her behavior. So what if the old man had dreamed of this, the moment when he could openly challenge Minestus? It's what she wanted too, after all. Her life, interrupted for eight centuries? Her home, the mighty Tellurian Empire, was now nothing but a mere ruin, a memory? Someone was going to pay. Even if I have to bring this entire damn mountain down on our heads!

Minestus, for his part, was happy to engage the sorceress in arcane combat. It had been a long time, far too long, since he had a worthy opponent. Belboz alone at his height was never this powerful, and Elaine would have been nothing more than a nuisance, when he had struck his deal with the necromancer to keep her and a few others in stasis jewels. But with his ring fueling her power, she had become quite formidable. Not since Sigin himself had anyone put up such a fight. Of course, the dragon-mage still had absolute confidence that he would win out in the end. Even her most powerful spells had so far been unable to do much damage to this, his dragon form. Athough, she had also effectively parried his physical and fire-based attacks. He would transform soon, to bring more fully to bear his own magical arsenal. But for now, he was content to let the battle rage. Even a perceived threat was better than the pathetic litany of would-be dragon slayers that sometimes came to the caves. This foolish girl actually thinks she's doing well. I will show her my true power soon enough!

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"Oh, no,,," whispered Adele.

They had reached the entrance, or rather where the entrance would have been, had it not been blocked by falling rocks.

"Can't you blast your way through, Adele?" Astra asked.

"There could be a hundred feet of rock out there! Also, trying to blast through with magic could cause the ceiling to collapse on us!" Adele responded.

"Then the only option is to go back, deeper into the caves, and hope to find another way out. At least the cave has stopped shaking." Astra said.

1. "It may be that my father kept other magical artifacts in his chamber, less dangerous than the ring, and they could be of use to us. I think that we should go back that way first."
2. The way back to Belboz's chamber had been blocked, so they had to head off in a different direction.
3. "Wait a minute, what happened to Fred and Exotica?!" In the confusion and haste of their flight, they hadn't noticed until now that the group had become separated.
4. Meanwhile, the battle between Elaine and Minestus continues...

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