“How will we get there so quickly?”
“You forget, Hellsfire, we will have a dragon with us. But first, let’s eat. After that, we will go through some more training.”
I shook my head and ran my fingers through my matted hair. “Can’t wait.”
After our meal, Master Stradus led me to the practice room. “Let’s see how well you’ve progressed since you left me.”
“But I haven’t been gone that long, Master.”
“You’d be surprised at how much things can change in a short period of time. Go over and stand on the other side of the room. As the dwarves would say, ‘I want you to hit me as hard as you can.’”
“Hit you?”
“Yes, but not physically. I’m an old man, and you’d knock me to the ground.” He laughed and leaned on his staff. “I know we've never done this before, but I want you to throw a spell at me, and I will try to counter it. You will keep doing that until I say stop, or until you’re too tired. A practice wizard’s duel. Understand?”
“I do.” I raised an eyebrow. “But are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” He raised his voice. “Now attack, and don’t hold anything back!”
I raised my arms and engulfed him with flames. He disappeared inside the cone of fire. Within moments, a funnel of wind took its place. I needed another idea.
I grabbed one of the growth potions from my pouch and threw it against the ground, hoping I wasn’t going to need it later, and that potions weren’t against the rules. But Master Stradus had his staff; it was only fair I had something. And once I was fighting Premier, there would be no rules.
The potion spread over the floor. I spoke an incantation, combining it with earth mana. The ground swayed and rumbled as I poured my energy into the spell. Two green vines sprang from the rock and wrapped around Master Stradus’s arms, binding them. A third erupted and grasped his neck. More shot out, holding his legs in place. Master Stradus struggled to free himself, but soon he realized that he would never be able to break free through physical means. His face became stone-hard with concentration.
The pearl on top of Master Stradus’s staff hummed with power. Out of the ground rose a humongous carnivorous plant. I hadn’t expected or intended that. It was twice as big as Master Stradus and me combined. Its head thrashed about, teeth snapping, saliva dripping from its mouth. It turned toward Master Stradus and narrowed its hungry, mad eyes. Before I could stop it, it swallowed him whole.
I waited a few tense seconds for him to burst out of the plant monster. He didn’t. The plant had gone completely still. I didn’t know if that should worry me or not. I took a couple of cautious steps closer, concerned. Suddenly, the plant exploded, spewing green stuff all over the place.
“Yuck,” I said, wiping plant goo from my face. Master Stradus stood tall, untouched and unharmed. He had a white glow about him.
“Not bad, my boy. Tell me, are you tired at all?”
“I feel a little light-headed, but I’m ready whenever you are, Master.”
“Good. Now, let’s see how skilled your defenses are. Prepare yourself!” I took a deep breath and clenched my fists, gathering in mana. I readied myself for whatever came my way.
Master Stradus chanted in the old language, his eyes becoming solid blue gems. A cold breeze entered the room; the candles swayed. A drop of water dripped on me. I wiped my face, still wondering what he was going to do. Another drop struck. When I looked up, I saw a cloud had formed just under the ceiling. I was about to disperse it, when a bolt of lightning shot out of the cloud—straight at me.
I scrambled out of the way just in time. The lightning tore a hole in the floor. I raised my hands to disperse the cloud, and this time a huge gust of wind hit me. It sent me flying against the wall of the cave. I groaned as my back slammed into the rocky wall. Master Stradus continued to channel his power through his staff, the globe ever swirling.
The little cloud quickly grew into a monstrous one. Huge winds knocked me back and forth against the hard rocks. Rain fell so hard it stung with every drop. In the midst of the storm stood Master Stradus—calm, dry, and chanting.
I strained my muscles, pushing my hands against the wind and trying to keep on my feet. “Just as water can extinguish fire, can fire burn water!”
Fire exploded out of my hands and rolled over the ceiling in waves, smothering the cloud. Steam blanketed everything, leaving the ceiling scorched and the room smelling like charcoal. With the cloud gone, the rain and wind both stopped. I thought Master Stradus would have come out of his trance, but he was still chanting. The globe atop his snaked staff whirled.