The immortal wizards were the most powerful humans ever to walk the planet Tharia, but the wars between them devastated the planet and the whole world breathed a sigh of relief when the last of them was killed. In an attempt to cheat death, though...
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Seskip breathed a sigh of relief as the sounds of destruction died out around him, to be replaced by a ringing silence.
He'd cast a Globe of Invulnerability around himself as he reached the third floor and heard the final collapse beginning above him. The rubble had crashed down through floor after floor, but thankfully it had stopped before reaching him. The ceiling above him was bowing under the weight. He could only guess how much rubble was sitting on it. So long as he did nothing to destabilise the tower, though, there was no reason to suspect that it would collapse further. He was safe so long as he did nothing stupid.
The taste of dust was thick in his mouth, and when he cast a light spell to see around him he saw that the air was full of it. One question was answered, at least. There was no longer any question of Saturn still being alive in the tower. Either he'd escaped or he was dead. Unfortunately, they might never know his fate. Finding his body in all the rubble would be an impossible task, and if he'd flown away he could be anywhere in the world before Seskip was in any shape to continue the pursuit. Where would he start looking? It was hopeless. Though it galled him to admit it, even to himself, his mission was a failure. He had no option but to find his lost proctors and take them home in defeat.
First, though, he had to get out of the tower which, he had no doubt, had to be surrounded by Agglemonian proctors by now. Moving out of the room, he saw that most of this level was intact but that the stairwell was choked with rubble. No problem, he could just teleport out. First, though, he needed to replenish his supply of magic. He had to wait while his body absorbed more of the magic force from the rocks and the air around him.
He might as well get some sleep while he waited, he thought. He took off his robe, therefore, and rolled it up to make a pillow. Then he lay down on the hard stone floor and performed the mental exercise one of his tutors had taught him long, long ago that allowed him to fall instantly into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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He was awoken by a voice calling his name. He was instantly awake and on his feet, calling the words of defensive spells to the forefront of his mind before he realised someone was trying to reach him with a Farspeaking spell. "Yes?" he snapped irritably, casting his gaze around the room to reassure himself that no further collapse had taken place while he'd been asleep.
"This is Rin Wellin," said the voice in his head. "I have left the ship and crossed to the ring so that I can talk to you. I regret to inform you that the ring has begun to radiate randomised magic. We think that Salammis set it to leak away its magical charge in case any other Immortal Wizards tried to follow him through."
Seskip cursed. "How long have we got before it fails?"
"There is no way to be sure, but I would say it is hours rather than days. You must return immediately or you may be stranded there."
