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to put out the flames that had taken hold of their clothes and hair.
     
    Two of the men had hung back from the charge and were unscathed from his magical assault. Both men appeared to hold no fear. Their eyes looked as if they were promising Thad a slow and painful death. The closest one ran at him full force while the other, who carried a deadly looking sword, maneuvered to get in Thad’s blind spot.
    The first man barreled heavily into Thad’s shield in , what he guessed was an attempt to knock him to the ground, but the thug could find no hold on his shield. Thad slammed his staff down hard into the man’s head, shattering it like a cheap clay jar, splattering his shield with red and pink gore.
    The other man attacked as soon Thad’s staff descended. His body , conditioned from years of training, reached to the slight movement and he pivoted on his right foot moving the majority of his body outside the reach of the blade. The thugs attack still scored a small cut on Thad’s left side. It was not deep, but the fact the sword was able to get passed his shield was the bigger concern. Keeping his guard up, Thad reached out to the weapon with his magic, testing it. A small blue gem flared to life confirming Thad’s suspicions. The weapon was magic in nature, but with his current knowledge and skill, he was unable to judge what qualities it held.
    The two men circled one another , neither wanting to close with the other. Getting tired of the foreplay, Thad stretched out his hand and let loose a massive lightning bolt. The bright flash temporally blinded Thad, but he could hear a high-pitched hum coming from the direction of his opponent. As his eyes regained focus, he could see the thug, his sword held out defensively in front of him. The swords blade had gone a bright white and was shaking slightly. It appeared to be causing the noise that filled his ears.
    The thugs face had also turned pale white , but it seemed to be more out of fear than a reaction to the swords absorption of his spell. He was starting to get an understanding of how the magical weapon worked. If he was right, direct magic would be ineffective. Another spell popped into his mind, one that so far he had only used to help the masons who worked on his new workshop.
    Slamming the end of his staff hand into the ground , Thad send a massive amount of magical energy surging to the man in front of him. He had never tried the spell on such a level before and his head quickly began to ache and his vision began to blur. Knowing the price of failure, Thad held on by sheer will until his spell took effect. The ground below the man turned to a semi-solid state, and the man slowly sank down screaming as he tried to escape.
    Releasing the spell , the ground quickly became solid again, slightly sloping toward the man held fast in the middle of the alley. He was encased from the knees down. The man uselessly struck at his stone prison with his sword. Consumed with his own predicament the man paid little heed of Thad as he walked over and took the sword from the man’s limp grasp.
    The man pleaded with Thad to let him go . He was visibly shaking. He had killed before, and even in self-defense it left him feeling hollow. He had even killed men who were unable to move, but this was the first time he had to listen to a man plead for his life. The screams of the dying men would haunt him for some time.
    He could easily walk away and leave the man there to die a slow death, but the result would be the same. The only true difference in the two would be the amount of suffering the man would have to endure. His mind made up Thad took a deep breath to steady his nerves then turned and with one deft stroke removed the man’s head from his body.
    His shield down Thad was sprayed with more blood then he thought the human body could hold. His emotional, and magical reserves depleted he dropped to knees. The lifeless head of the man he had killed stared at him, condemning him for