But Hadjar was prepared. He swung and hurled the shard of armor at his foe. Instinctively, the mage defended himself in the only way he could at that moment. The wizard raised his staff to block the shard. He succeeded, but the fireball, now uncontrolled, splashed liquid fire back into the mage’s face.
Surprised and vulnerable, the mage had to fight against his own magic for a moment. He managed, but it cost him the precious seconds Hadjar needed.
As the last of the flames faded away, Hadjar lunged at the mage, raising his sword for a strike. Instead of striking flesh, his blade struck the staff in the wizard’s hand. The wizard had managed to block again, but unaccustomed to physical combat, he stumbled, panic flickering across his face.
Desperately, the wizard tried to gather up energy
