The Journey for Paper (Cleansing the Earth)

[Soldier 75]

Fireball after fireball flew from the mage’s hands, flying down the course towards the two remaining ninjas. However, not a single fiery ball of death had managed to connect with a ninja, and Eric meant to keep it that way. A few of his fireballs came close, occasionally throwing them off balance. Every once in a while, he would target an obstacle, shattering it into pieces in order to slow the ninjas down, but he intended to keep his overall destruction to a minimum as well. Glancing behind him, Eric noticed Jams drawing ahead of him, on the verge of disappearing around the bend. Lobbing one last fireball at the nearest obstacle, Eric sprinted to the next as bits of charred wood flew past his head. Logs hidden within the walls bore down upon Eric, making the once open space a swinging deathtrap of wood. Without hesitation he flung himself onto the first log, and wasted no time as he leaped across each in rapid succession. Landing hard, he saw the two ninjas already drawing near, only one obstacle between them and the logs. Drat. These ninjas are becoming quite the nuisance. The tall mage straightened up and held out his hands. Wisps of fire gathered within his palms, quickly growing in size and intensity. Now holding a white-hot inferno, his hands pushed forward, sending the projectile hurtling towards the two figures farther down the course. Within moments it impacted, incinerating the wooden platform underneath. One of the two was thrown back by the blast, tumbling off into the mud below. The other, who had been close behind, leapt over the destroyed path, sparing no glance for his fallen comrade. I REALLY hope that I didn’t singe him too much. Speeding along the course, Eric dodged, dipped, ducked, dove, and dodged his way through the rest of the course, catching up to Jams at the end of the course. As he landed Jams wheeled around, clearly startled by his sudden approach, but calmed when he saw Eric. “Jeez, what took so long?” he joked. Eric replied, brushing off chips of wood. “One pursuer remains, and I intended to slow his progress. Unfortunately, he is not too far behind, so we must hurry.” The duo both turned to face the final obstacle separating them from the finish.