Kseniya ran straight towards the dragon. They'd known from the beginning that Nedvarious would summon it, and she'd volunteered to try to stop the beast.

As she got closer she leaped, flying in between the dragon's coils. It twisted up in confusion and she blasted its wings with ice. The missiles boiled off into steam, but the beast cried in rage and turned to pursue her.

Kseniya flew as fast as she could, up and away from the town. These dragons were beautiful creatures, but ruinous. An errant breath could level entire blocks. Not to mention the damage her own magic might cause. She didn't stop fleeing until the clouds were almost level with her.

The dragon was twisting and thrashing through the sky after her, wings beating furiously against the air. Unlike Kseniya it was bound by gravity, and her sharp ascent strained its might. It belched and spewed flame as it pursued, but she was out of range.

Kseniya nodded then spread her arms wide. She splayed her fingers, each one reaching out, finding the magic that was part of her soul. The connections came to her swiftly, years of practice making the move as simple as picking up a book. As the dragon advanced, she closed her hands, summoning her little birds to her side.

The dragon ignored the arrival of the tiny metal birds. The small creatures were beneath its notice, and they flew as if they were real. Kseniya took the time to arrange the ten groups as she desired, her fingers twitching.

The dragon bellowed a challenge again, and this time Kseniya could feel the heat from its flame. It was time to act. She rose further, then with a flick of her fingers sent magic flowing into her constructs.

The birds turned towards the dragon, each spitting a bolt of energy. Missiles of fire, ice, and lightning seared through the air. The dragon screamed as dozens of the bolts hit home. But none of them had broken through the beast's hide. This fight would take a while.

She leaped forward as the dragon breathed fire again. The beast must have realize she was the source of the attacks, and it was determined to destroy her.

A blur of crimson flashed in her vision and Kseniya flipped to dodge the tail slap. Apparently this dragon was very aggressive. But its attack left it off balance. Kseniya sent her bird constructs to orbiting it, and unleashed another storm of bullets.

The dragon shrieked and began to push itself further into the sky. Kseniya allowed her constructs to orbit below while she attempted to keep the height advantage.

A massive gout of flame cut her off and forced her to drop down. The dragon roared in approval at its successful ploy, then reared back to begin a dive. Kseniya triggered another bullet storm but the beast pressed on.

Kseniya juked right then dashed left as the beast charged. She heard a massive crunch as the beast's teeth missed her by inches. Then pain tore through her back.

She was falling.

She shook her head and recovered her balance. She must have been hit by one of the beast's wings. Her back would be bruised for sure.

The dragon circled for a dive, but this time her constructs were properly placed. She moved the cluster together and fired another barrage, then another. The storm of magical energy washed over the beast's face, and it howled. It tried to force through, but a third barrage forced it to turn aside.

As the dragon broke off and began to circle, Kseniya took time to prepare. She summoned a magical platform in the air beneath her so she could plant herself properly, then began to focus on her protection from fire. She'd put up advanced wards this morning, but she'd need to use more power to survive the fires of a dragon.

The dragon finished its turn, and began another dive. Kseniya scattered her birds and waited. Flames seethed out of the dragon's mouth, and slammed into her defenses. The heat was like standing in a smithy, and she could feel her wards slowly fading.

Kseniya crouched down on her platform, focusing. The flames kept coming, melting her shields one by one. She felt her skin starting to burn, but she forced herself to keep gathering strength. She'd have one shot at this.

Her second to last shield broke. She had to act. With all the strength she could muster she leaped into the sky. Magic flowed through her body, amplifying its power far beyond its limits. To the poor dragon it must have seemed like she'd just appeared next to him.

With a sharp exhalation she channeled her power from her legs into her right glove and swung her fist right above the beast’s eye.

The dragon's head was flung backwards. It tumbled down through the air as Kseniya flexed her aching hand. Finally the beast recovered, hovered for a second as it regained its balance.

That was what she'd been waiting for. She pulled up one leg, then concentrated the strength into her foot and shoe as she dove down.

Kseniya's kick slammed into the dragon's wound. There was a crunch, and she felt the beast’s skull fracture. The mighty dragon's eyes rolled back, then shut. Its body dulled as it tumbled from the sky.

She took a slow deep breath as she watched the beast fall. That had been harder than she'd anticipated. She'd expected it to have some sort of elemental weakness, but apparently it had been strengthened against magic at the cost of its physical defenses. It was a good plan against other magicians, but Kseniya's talent allowed her to strengthen her body to almost Herculean levels. Literally, if Helena was to be believed.

Speaking of which, Kseniya needed to return to the mansion. Most likely Helena and Lyudmila would be done by the time she returned. But if not, they'd need her help.

Nedvarious pulled out his own angel stone. "Then we shall duel, child of Hecate. I am Nedvarious, Alchemist of Babylon. Rejoice for you shall see the mysteries of the ancients as you die."

Helena nodded grimly. Mages had long ago learned that using their full power tended to damage reality. Violent battles like this were still lawless affairs, but by accepting her challenge Nedvarious had agreed to avoid things like opening rifts to hell. This would be civilized murder.

Unfortunately a formal duel meant she had to let him alter the battlefield before the duel began. Helena felt space-time warp around around her as her foe used his power to expand the battlefield. An interesting choice, since it would keep Helena's friends from helping her, but also allow her to unleash her spells without destroying the whole building.

She relaxed a bit, then let her mind fall into the spell that was forming around her. She was forbidden from trying to fight her foes spell, but with the magical focus in her hand she could empower it.

As the room expanded outward, Helena released the limitations to allow it to expand upward as well. Soon the ballroom was a massive arena. Her stone shattered as space stopped expanding, and Helena hopped into the sky.

Nedvarious tossed his own spent focus away. "You really are a battle mage. But that won't save you or your friends." He pulled a handful of clay figurines from his pouch and threw them down. Where each landed a monster sprung up; winged lions with the heads of men, and warriors made of polished bronze.

Helena pulled out a card inlaid with silver and gold runes. "Scylla and Charybdis," she intoned.

She felt power rush out of her into the preconstructed spell, and pulled back. As the summoned creatures rushed forward, a whirlpool suddenly formed between them and Helena. The unnatural waters flowed out of thin air, and spun into a darkness beyond the floor. Nedvarious' creatures moved to avoid the obstacle, but tendrils of lightning lashed out suddenly at those who tried to pass, knocking them to the ground.

Helena pulled out a wand and let her magic recharge as her spell stymied the summoned army. Using that card was a great expense, but she'd seized the initiative.

She raised her hand and summoned an orb of fire. Now it was time to press her advantage.

Lyudmila cursed as Nedvarious started expanding the audience hall. It looked like Helena was going to get the private duel she wanted. Which meant Lyudmila would have to babysit everyone else instead of keeping an eye on her friend.

She forced that from her mind. The first person you had to look after in a fight was yourself. Dead people can't save lives.

With a series of alchemical equations and a Nordic rune, she summoned a wall of clay to seal the door they'd entered. No reason to start a fight on two fronts.

Alexis' brother, Philipp if she recalled right, stepped forwards towards the soldiers who were walking in. "Guards, please stay your hands. My father has been..." His face fell with grief.

As he faltered Alexis stepped forward. Her own eyes had tears, but she kept her voice steady. "Our father has been betrayed. Please let us stop the villain responsible."

The guards hesitated a moment, but a man wearing a rank insignia stepped forward. "I'm sorry my lady, but you are banished, and you broke in here with dangerous witches and what looks to be an assassin. We'll do our best to determine the truth, but right now we must ask you to surrender to us."

Lyudmila stepped between the guards and the rest of her group. "You idiots," she snarled, letting her voice carry. "Use your brains!"

She pointed her finger at Philipp. "What is more likely? We busted in here, somehow stole your lord's son away and then charmed him while your court wizard was present? Or that said mage is actually a huge asshole who stabbed you all in the back and Lord Philipp here isn't falling for the man's lies?"

Several men shook their heads. "That makes sense." "If they were that powerful Nedvarious would be retreating with our lord." "I never did trust the wizard..."

Unfortunately the leader didn't seem impressed. "We'll investigate after you put down your weapons."

"You mean after your wizard kills us all and wipes your memories?" Lyudmila asked sweetly. "Good job captain. Really thinking ahead there. Why not let the big girls handle this?"

"That's enough," the leader said. "Men! Get rid of that witch!"

Lyudmila smiled in satisfaction as the man next to him punched him in the face. "You idiot! We can't trust the truth to come out if the court wizard is against us! I won't let you condemn our lord with your stubbornness!"

The leader jumped up and backhanded the man with his shield. "You insubordinate fool! I'll-"

"For the Pfalzgraf!" another man cried as he tackled the boss from behind.

Lyudmila sighed and shook her head. "Remember not to use lethal force! The wizard might be enchanting them. Bruises and egos can heal!" As a melee broke out, she turned back to where the rest of her party was standing open mouthed. "Well, we don't need to worry about them."

"I'm not sure to be amazed or worried that you could convince so many of our soldiers with simple logic," Philipp said.

"What?" Lyudmila blinked. "Simple logic? I used the rusalka's voice I own to charm them. You always use enchantment spells." Everyone stared at her, even the kobolds so she shrugged and explained further. "No one listens to logic. Especially not in a fight."

Lyudmila turned back towards Helena's fight. It seemed she was doing well, but there were constructs running at their group. Men made of bronze and clay. Lyudmila frowned. "Looks like-"

A black streak moved through the air, slicing down the first bronze man. Grete hopped back from her kill, then raised a silver whistle to her lips and blew. Lyudmila didn't hear a sound, but a horse-sized dog and a wagon-sized dog appeared next to the woman.

The two canines bowled over the front ranks of the constructs. Meanwhile Grete dashed around the flanks, her silver blade slicing down any foes that dared move forward. Lyudmila was impressed.

However the next wave had archers among the ranks. Lyudmila raised her wand to strike one down. But before she could cast her spell a stream of rocks and small picks slammed into the creature. She looked over to see the kobolds had assumed their humanoid forms and were providing fire support.

"It looks like this situation is handled," Lyudmila said. She was impressed. No wonder the woman had given Helena fits.

"Can we go help Helena?" Alexis asked as the woman moved beside her.

Lyudmila grimaced. "Not without breaking the spell I have on your guards. Besides, if that bastard decides to send something other than fodder at us, Grete will be in a world of hurt. Her silver cloak doesn't offer much protection from shrapnel."

She turned to the two siblings and put her hand on Alexis' shoulder. Summoning a rune of protection to her mind was easy, and while the siblings' odd link made the surrounding calculations difficult, it was still easy to expand it. Soon a glowing shield appeared next to Philipp, floating between him and the melee.

"No offense Alexis, but your brother's better with the sword I would guess," Lyudmila said. "Philipp was it? You should join the fight against the constructs. With this shield you should be safe, and Nedvarious won't be able to use area-affecting spells there."

The young man nodded. "My thanks. My sword skills might not be up to your other companion's, but I will defend our family's honor." He drew his blade and carefully moved to enter the fight.

"What should I do?" Alexis asked.

"Stay near me and shoot anything that looks at us," Lyudmila replied. "That defensive spell is only strong because I have 'direct contact' with him."

"An ill wind that blows no one good, eh?" Alexis said as she drew a pistol. "Very well. Let us do our best."

Lyudmila nodded and glanced to where Helena was battling. "It's up to you now. Please don't do anything stupid, Helena."

Helena strafed around her foe, firing bullets from her wand and curses from her left hand. Nedvarious countered by deflecting the bolts while dispelling her curses. Occasionally he'd send one of his summons at her, but he had a hard time targeting.

They'd both drawn heavily on their reserves throwing out powerful spells at the start. This back and forth was the usual opening salvo between true mages. The ritual of attack and maneuver that weeded out the weak. And Helena held the advantage.

She didn't want the advantage though, she wanted to win. She stopped her curses and instead concentrated on a more standard attack spell. "Flames of the eternal forge, come to my call and seek out my foes." She traced Hephestus' rune.

The air exploded in fire as the rune exploded into sparks. The flames grew as they arced towards Nedvarious, like shooting stars caught by the pull of the earth. There was no way his wards could block that.

The wizard raised his staff to the air. "Frozen void beyond creation, come forth!" Cuneiform letters appeared around him, and the flames dimmed then vanished in the cold nothingness.

As the spells faded out Helena caught a glimpse of a complex Hebrew rune glowing on the ground. Nedvarious must have been tracing it with his foot during the fight. She needed to stop that.

She flung out a hand and unleashed raw magical power. Unfocused, but the strongest attack she could get out fast.

The hall resounded with cracks as the floorboards surged upwards in a wave. They formed into massive hand, catching the blast. Helena swore as she saw there was only a faint mark on the palm.

"Well. Things were just too easy, weren't they," Helena muttered to herself as the rest of the golem ripped free of the floor.

The golem advanced and Helena retreated away from the creature's reach. "Miserable piece of wood," she cursed and threw a dark bolt of slime at it. The creature raised its hand again, but this time her bullet-wrapped curse warped and rotted the wood beneath.

In a surprisingly human gesture the golem wrung its injured hand out. Splinters and slimy rot splattered on the floor, and Helena could see the creature was regenerating. Wonderful.

A flash of metal to her side drew her attention back to Nedvarious. Two quicksilver orbs were hovering next to him, and Helena immediately juked to her left. Streams of quintessence started spewing from the orbs like machine gun bullets.

Helena continued a steady side strafing action as she pondered her next move. Unlike machine guns these magical sentries were perfectly accurate, which meant so long as she kept moving at a steady pace they'd be no threat. Still she'd lost the advantage. How to regain it?

As Nedvarious started an alchemical mixture it came to her. She sped up to get a clear shot past the golem. "Let's see how you handle rotting away," she snarled at her foe before throwing another bolt of slime.

"I appreciate you telling me what your curse was going to do," he replied as he waved his staff to counter it. Helena smirked at his expression when absolutely nothing happened.

The curse hit the floor beneath the man, disintegrating the wood. Nedvarious cursed and dropped his potion as he stumbled away. Helena helped him along by catching the wind in her cupped hand and flinging it. The gust shattered his orbs and sent him flying.

Helena raised her wand to the sky to summon lightning. A flicker of the golem's giant fist caused her to duck, ending the spell early. Still motes of electricity surged forth at her whims.

Nedvarious moaned as the surge hit him, the crackling white energy chewing through the green of his wards. Helena doubted it did much damage, but she'd broken his defenses. She sneered at the treacherous alchemist and unleashed a curse bullet filled with her rage. The black orb seemed to glide through the air like a balloon, relentless and deadly.

Nedvarious didn't even try to get up. He fished out two clay figures and threw them down. Another set of lion-bodied lamassu popped into reality. One appeared right in front of Helena's curse, screaming in shock as the black orb sank into its body and ended its life.

That left one more lamassu. Helena switched to a less esoteric attack, pulling out a bottle of arsenic and shaping the poison into a dart. The human face contorted in pain as its leonine body collapsed.

Heavy steps told her the damned golem was approaching again. Instead of trying to get off another attack she simply zipped around it, letting herself run an extra dozen yards before looking for her real target.

Her foe had gained his feet. While his robes had a few singe marks he stood tall, staff raised to the sky. Letters in cuneiform surrounded him and he proclaimed, "Denizens of Irkallu, I command you by ancient contract! Rise up and drag down the one who opposes me!"

Helena's eyes narrowed. It seemed he was summoning the dead to take her. Foolish.

She set fire to a few grains of wheat in supplication. "Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and Hades, King of the Dead. I Helena, kin of Hecate, ask that you defend me from those my foe stole from you." A chill went through her body as the vengeful goddess answered her request.

Screams filled the air as pale white hands burst from the ground. Some looked untouched by death, while others were rotten, and several were simply skeletons of ethereal goo. The dead pulled themselves up, wailing in torment from being forced from their realm. They thrashed around the air, ripping at their incorporeal forms in despair and longing.

But none dared attack Helena. Those that looked in her direction cried out and turned away. She stood as an eye of calm in a storm of the damned, untouched.

Then a giant fist swept through the ghosts. She yelped and threw herself to the ground, than half crawled half flew away as the monster slammed its foot down.

"I'm getting real tired of you," she snarled at the golem. This was the third time the creature had turned the tide. She needed to eliminate it.

As the ghosts faded away Helena began forming a more complex spell. She pulled a locust, a mushroom and some dust from her pouch and began concentrating. This was something new. Fragments of knowledge and half formed ritual bound by will. As close to True Magic as she dared.

"As rock turns to sand and man turns to dust, you shall turn to soil," she intoned. She concentrated on what she wanted, banishing all doubt. This had to work, so she would MAKE it work. "A thousand lives shall consume you. The ravages of the ages take you. Nightmare Plague!"

Magic burnt through her body, leaving her sweating and sore. The pain sent her to her knees, but she forced herself to watch. Had it had worked?

The buzzing started. Low at first, then quickly rising to a deafening crescendo.

It was everything she envisioned. A massive white swarm of termites flew in, appearing from just out of sight, churning and roiling. The ball moved to engulf the wood golem, covering the creature from head to toe. And then they began to nest.

The golem kept ponderously moving forward, perhaps trusting in its regeneration, but these were no ordinary termites. These termites were larger, stronger, and most importantly, they bred millions of times faster. Tens of thousands becoming hundreds of thousands.

The first two steps were normal. The third let loose a creak loud enough to cut through the noise of the swarm. Then with the fourth step its leg splintered and collapsed. It reached out a hand, just in time for a finger to fall off. And then the swarm finished eating through the rune on its forehead and it fell still.

Helena gasped for air as the creature sank down dormant. She felt relief as her termite swarm vanished as well. The spell she'd created was dangerous, but a matter of necessity. Now to recover and-

Chains burst forth from the ground and latched on to Helena's arms and legs. "Wha-!" She tried to jump into the air, but more chains followed the first, wrapping around her and pulling her to the ground. She felt her connection to the magic outside her body grow distant, as the chains captured her spirit as well as her body.

"Damn it!" Helena tugged at the chains with all her might, but they wouldn't give. She tried a dispel charm but she didn't have enough magic left after her last spell.

"And so it ends." Nedvarious slowly approached her, his staff glowing blue as he maintained the bindings. "You did well for your age, but battle magic alone won't carry the day against a true master."

Helena glared at the man as she waited for her strength to return. She wasn't going to give up yet. "You only won because this was your domain."

"Perhaps. I personally feel that merely removed the attacker's advantage," he replied. He frowned as he looked around. "You've still done far too well. I doubt I can defeat both your accomplices. I'll have to retreat and retake this place later." He looked over at her. "But first I'll kill you for ruining this land. Why didn't you leave well enough alone?!"

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't let you rule as puppet king," Helena sneered. "Tell me, how long were you going to let the Pfalzgraf linger? Twenty years? Fifty? One hundred? Were you going to start offing people when they questioned the miracle?" She gathered her power to her left hand. She didn't know what she was going to do yet, but she knew she would only get one shot.

The mage's face twisted in rage. "Puppet king! You still spout that lie? I did all this for him! So that he could rule! Not for myself. For him and his people!"

"Which is why you destroyed one of his villages," Helena said. "And of course why you're going to wipe his memories of this little event. Tell me, why didn't you tell him about your little undead lord plan? Did you ask him when you set up that link between his kids too? Or was that just a choice you made for his own good?"

Helena's rage boiled over as she glared at the mage. "You can dress it up in altruism and friendship all you want! But the truth is you haven't taken over because he's already doing what you want! You cry about how he's the best lord around and how he makes great decisions, but you seem to be perfectly happy to rule in secret when you disagree!"

Nedvarious flinched back as she screamed, "You're a pathetic wretch of a wizard, and I swear you'll watch all your painfully crafted lies and plots vanish today!" As her anger rushed forth she concentrated it all into her left hand. Reality wept miasma as she summoned her curse to life.

The oozing hatred dripped to the floor and gathered as a black snake, slithering its way towards her foe. Nedvarious glanced at it, then shook his head. "Impressive that you could cast, but with that binding your curse will never gather the ill fortune it needs to succeed. A fitting end I suppose." He raised his foot and crushed the snake underfoot, the mystical bullet evaporating into smoke. "And now for you 'Curse Gunner'-"

The smoke swirled up his leg and he gasped. The air twisted as the snake reformed, now twice the length of a man. It stared into the magician's eyes, hissing in victory as it tightened around him. Then with a pop the spell vanished.

There was a ripple through reality. And then everything returned to normal. The chains, her wards, and the twisted space they'd been fighting in had vanished as if they were never there. The only remnants of the battle were some pools of liquid and a head sized hole where the golem had burst free.

Then a pistol cracked. And another. Nedvarious stumbled forward, slowly sinking to his knees as blood flowed out the bullet holes. "Im... possible." Helena looked up to see Alexis and Grete both lowering their guns. It seemed everyone had gained their vengeance.

Helena looked at where the fallen wizard was still staring at his wounds in shock. "I told you to curse your bad fortune." She closed her eyes for one final spell.

"Wait."

Everyone turned to the desk. Pfalzgraf Holdst Von Strausfen, the lord who had been secretly kept animated all these years, slowly stood. The man's frame seemed to be shrinking, and his hair was turning from silver grey to stringy white. It was apparent that he didn't have long on this earth.

"My old friend," Holdst said weakly. "I understand you must have been mad with grief. And after you've committed yourself to a path it is hard to break from it. But you know this was wrong. My son is still young, yes. But every ruler is a young ruler once."

Nedvarious' face fell, then his eyes seemed to clear. "You... are right. I'm sorry. Forgive me... Lord."

The court mage of Strausfen slowly sank to the ground and breathed his last.

Pfalzgraf Holdst fell back into his chair, becoming ever paler. His cheeks sank as the grip of death grew tighter. "My children..."

"Father!" The two cried out as one, then rushed to the desk. Philipp reached for his father's hand, while Alexis seemed to check for his pulse. The noblewoman looked over to Helena. "Can you-?"

"Keep him alive as undead?" Helena asked sharply. "Yes, but I won't. Do anything else? No, that's beyond even my power." She shook her head and looked away. "You've got a chance to say your goodbyes. Take it."

Hardening her heart, Helena focused on rebuilding the wards her own curse had dispelled. She hated intruding on others' sorrow. Especially when she could do little to help. This gave her something to do.

Two sets of footsteps announced the arrival of her friends. "That was damn close Helena," Lyudmila muttered. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"That golem was tougher than I expected," Helena admitted. "I should have thought of a better way to handle it."

"It ended well at least," Kseniya said. "As well as could be expected that is."

Lyudmila looked over to where Alexis and her brother were saying their goodbyes. "I'm not pleased with that either. You just cast two ridiculously chancy spells. Taking over that wizard's undeath charm right after your fight was dangerous."

Helena sighed and sat down. "I'm good with necromancy. Besides, this was enough of a tragedy." She stared at the ceiling. "All that work and I didn't even stop the damn curse."

The slow drain of magic from her undeath spell became stronger and stronger as the call of Hades echoed louder. She begged the death gods a few seconds more for Alexis' sake. An apology for her failure.

She felt her friends' hands fall on her shoulders, and she grudgingly nodded. "Yeah." She closed her eyes, then released the spell that held Pfalzgraf Holdst Von Strausfen to this world.

As Alexis began to wail Helena stood. "Well I'll clean up here. You go loot the lab or something."

"Nonsense. I'm not going to leave you to care for the bereaved. It would be a nightmare for everyone," Lyudmila muttered.

"She means to say we're with you until the end," Kseniya said with a smile.

Helena managed a weak grin. "Thanks."