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“We can’t take them all on at once,” you say. “Let’s take out the leader first, then worry about the rest of them.”

Mae and Tarquin nod their agreement (thank goodness; you don’t know what you’d have done if they’d wanted to try and take the whole room on at once), so you signal back to Ashur to focus on the mage who seems to be leading the crowd. He’s a lot closer than you are. With surprise still on your side, you’re hoping you can make this as painless as possible.

Ashur nods his understanding, then draws back, summons his magic, and knocks the man you’ve indicated unconscious with a single bolt. It’s clever—practically invisible as it travels straight to its target, then explodes outward on impact, enveloping several rows of mages around him.

Before the bolt has even hit, Ashur has melted back into the shadows. Try as you might, you can’t see him—but you can see the smaller arcs of magic he’s throwing, sniping mages as he waits for you to join in with the attack.

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