"I see you've brought more friends…"
Talaro stood at the center of the circle, his sharp gaze sweeping over the figures that had emerged from the shadows.
A flicker of anxiety crossed his face, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by his usual arrogant smile. "I'd be in real trouble if we were outside... but here, in this place?" His lips curled further. "Especially now that I have this power."
He raised his right hand, and from his palm erupted a surge of searing flame—intense, ethereal, and vibrant beyond normal fire. It pulsed like a living thing.
Kaelyin's face twisted in alarm. "That's… Cosmic Flame. Galalel?" Her voice cracked as he turned to Emery.
Emery's face was grim. "Yes. He's gone... that dark elf killed him."
Soltz stepped forward. "Not fond of the guy... but he was one of us..." The elderly grand magus' body slowly cloaked in a thick shell of rock as he turned to Emery. "So... are we fighting, or not?"
