“What are you doing?” asked Cryallai not sensing a pattern in her counting and the steps she was taking.

“The time between shakes. The gap is closing at a steady rate. If the climax is what we’re counting down to then we have only moments left.”

Cryallai looked at Ennill, “What will happen at the climax?”

Ennill gripped the ground with claw like hands digging his very fingers into the solid dirt floor, “A great release of energy. Those purple waves are ambient magical energy. At first it was above us affecting the sky and causing the storm. These waves are now being pushed through the ground itself causing minor treamors.”

“Minor!?” Cryallai and Juniper exclaimed and asked together.

“Only because the ground has yet to rip open. I imagine this house is build well enough to withstand it for the most part, especially since you boarded it up and spelled it shut. The town on the other hand will be more devastated, including the crops.”

“The water tower!” exclaimed Cryallai.

“Is more than secure to withstand this part, I expected this.”

Cryallai changed coarse and crawled towards Ennill, “Expected it! Why didn’t you tell!……” She stopped in mid argument. “Ennill! Your back.”

Juniper turned to look and gasped. Ennill was no longer wearing his cloak as it has slowly been melted to shreds and lay scattered behind him. His tunic was also shredded and mostly hung around his waist and pants. But it wasn’t his lack of clothes that surprised them. It was six purple bruises that formed imperfect circles on his back. In the centre of these circles were six marble sized black blobs.

“The Black pudding it got you!” Cryallai got to her feet in fear. The tremors continued but she didn’t buckle. “You IDIOT!” she yelled, “They hit you when you blocked me. I could have phased out.”

“I did not expect you to react in time, I couldn’t let that happen. It’s not a big deal it barely hurts.” The black pudding vibrated on their own and Ennill stopped to wince secretly in pain.

However it did not escape Juniper’s notice. “Get rid of them!” she screamed.

“Fire was bad, should have gone with cold.” she raised her hand pointing a flat palm at his back. “Ray of frost,” she whispered and a faint blue light moved like a beam of light. She moved her hand rapidly as to not waste time. There was a crackling sound as the ray came into contact with the Black Puddings. When she was done the six stone like orbs fell harmlessly to the ground. The black bruises remained etched into Ennill’s skin.

Cryallai tried to run over but a tremor knocked her on her backside sending the remains of her apron and skirt over her head.

“Cryallai we don’t have much time,” replied Ennill looking over and catching a very good look at her smooth elven legs and marigold yellow panties. Cryallai found her wait around her apron and skirt and caught Ennill staring right at her crotch. She took in a good lungful of air, but before she could give him a good verbal lashing there was a dead calm. She looked around and turned back to Ennill when the ceiling above began to ripple. Ennill and Juniper could only watch as a trench began to open in the ceiling above them raining mounds of dirt, stone and wood.

The room became dark as the dust suffocated the torch and lights from the staircase snuffed out. The three off them could only sit and cover their mouths as a layers of dirt settled upon them. Cryallai’s emerald was the only remaining light but it was clouded by the dust in the air. Screams and voices could be heard from upstairs but nothing intelligible.

A strong vibration radiated from what Cryallai could only assume was the same directions that the purple energy was coming from. There was an odd magical sensation that ran over every inch of her body. From the tips of her exposed toes, over her heel and around her ankles. Moving slowly over her smooth legs tickling her knees The vibration moved steadily over her pelvis and hips continuing around her stomach and torso swirling separately around her now exposed breasts up to her shoulders and down her slender, yet strong arms towards the ends of her fingernails. She couldn’t breathe for the few seconds it surrounded her neck, face and sending an electric thrill through her scalp as it ran through her hair.

A squeak drew her attention up at the ceiling. The rooms above continued to grow weaker as the trench widened letting in more debris. Two crossing beams were bending under the weight of debris. Cryallai looked to Ennill and Juniper who coughed and tried to clear dust themselves off.

Ennill noticed the squeak and looked up. The constant vibration still preventing him from moving.

“Cryallai!” he reached out. She could see a sparkle of gold in the centre of his green eyes, “Be carefull. This is the climax. Ambient magic that’s now coursing through us. Penetrating out skin, through our muscles adjourns through our nerves and charging our very bones. It’s dangerous now for us to use any spells.”

“Why?” asked Juniper.

“It’s an unnatural charge of power. It can boost a spell if we could harness it properly. Since we can’t it’ll just do it randomly. There is no telling how even an even simple spell will react to so much power.”

Cryallai looked at the beams and felt the concern in Ennill’s words. He knew she could save herself with a shield spell, but without knowing how the charge will affect it. She looked back to Ennill painfully and saw his worried face staring back.

Ennill closed his eyes and Cryallai let out a tear. He didn’t want to see her trapped. Her heart began to burn in pain. She steadily raised an arm above her. She could see some of the hair on her arms sticking up on end. “Mage Armour!” A blue magical sphere quickly formed in her hand before it imploded knocking her against the ground.

“No!” cried Ennill.

Cryallai’s head throbbed in pain and her eyes wanted to close. She strained to keep them open looking at Ennill whose concerned eyes touched her heart. She heard the beams finally snap and she closed her eyes. A flash of golden light was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep, happy that she did not feel weight of what was about to crush her.