Fireball

Holding The Castle

Centuries, Amos wondered. What was the prince talking about? He knew some wizards lived over 150 years, but he had never heard of a wizard living over 200. The prince looked at Amos and smiled a sad, weary smile.

"You are a very special wizard, Amos, and someday you will understand. You will live a longer life than any wizard has and you will live long enough to carry out my request. Of this I am certain."

Turning to Fireball, the prince continued. "You, too, play an important role, as you will be very close to my heir, and one day you and that heir will share an unbreakable bond."

Alexander's pledge to Fireball seemed much more believable to Amos. While he knew of no wizard living past 200 years, he knew many dragons lived for centuries.

The trunk vanished, and the wizards retired to the balcony to continue the conversation. The sun began to set, and a chill settled over the castle. The wizards knew another day of hot sunshine was coming, but the thought of a beautiful day could not erase the evil and violence that was about to be unleashed on this island. An attack was imminent, and it was sure to leave a trail of death and destruction.

As the sun's last rays faded from the sky, lightning bolts began to rain down on the invisible dome that protected them. Amos, Alexander and the other wizards watched as the light bounced off the wall of protection. The prince kept watch, as if he was expecting something else. Then an even more intense light hit the protective dome and a loud crack shattered the air. The wizards watched as small cracks began to appear in the dome. They all knew the protective dome was weakening from the attack and it wouldn't be long before it failed.

Alexander saw dozens of wizards on the other side of the shield. He waived his wand and the dome shield became very visible. Fireball saw the cracks in the shield, but then it started to glow brighter. Then suddenly, 'Kaboom!' The thunderous bang rang through the air. Amos looked at Fireball and the two looked at the shield as it exploded outwards in every direction, destroying everything and everyone out more than 100 feet.

"We are safe for now," the prince said. "Marcello was not with them. I can sense when he is near. I modified your shield a bit Amos. The shield basically caught the energy from the spells the evil wizards cast upon it. When it had enough energy, it exploded outwards with more intensity then all the spells cast upon it. So, the evil wizards actually wiped themselves out."

"Are they dead?" asked Fireball.

"Most of them, I suspect. My intent is not to kill anyone, but these wizards will destroy innocent wizards if we don't. They have already killed so many innocent people in my town. And I'm sure those wizards were not the first to die at their hands. We've bought ourselves some time, but I think we had better prepare for the next attack."