“I do not understand the reasoning of any of this. You asked that we unite with the Caizene. Instead, we do a forcible takeover. Yet, here we are doing nothing. Nothing!” Cried, Bob.

According to the Envoy, the Binding Ritual was what mortals did to control demons. The magic worked when the caster obtained the heart of a higher demon and completed the ritual. Nulrok or Raine had never heard of it before. Bob was not the same after the ritual. He explained that it did not make him feel right. That it made him feel dirty. They were in the long, wide corridor where they defeated Red Fang. Nulrok was meditating on the throne of insect plates and bones. The rest of the group was in the vicinity and lounging around. Bob was pacing back and forth. He looked agitated.

“We have two advantages,” Gilreg began to explain to Bob. The warrior rose from the ground to walk over to stand in front of the Envoy.

“The first is that the adventurers do not know about us and that we are fighting alongside the Caizene. The second is that they want to conquer the Caizene and the Scorazan. I suspect their plan was to have complete control so they could easily take the Chalice from us when we arrived.”

“I don’t see an advantage,” snapped Bob. Gilreg rubbed his face with a calloused hand and took a deep breath.

The goblin warrior answered, “The advantage is that they will come to us.”

“And?”

“We are Guardians. Ambushing is what we do,” Shaymus responded. As usual, the pale-eyed goblin appeared as if out of nowhere. She grinned mischievously as she startled the Envoy.

“Exactly,” agreed Gilreg.

“So we just sit here?” Asked Bob.

“We have a few Caizene scouting for us,” said Gilreg.

“I should be out there,” hissed Shaymus.

“I know, but we can’t risk you being spotted. That will lose our main advantage,” explained Gilreg. Surprisingly to the warrior, Shaymus nodded in agreement. She didn’t argue.

Tassarion was bare-chested. His armor was arrayed before him. The dark elf was inscribing in detail runes and symbols along his armor. Raine sat next to him. She was using his alchemy kit to synthesize more poison.

“What are you doing?” asked Gilreg. The dark elf looked up with a scowl.

“I’m placing hexes on my armor. Anything that hits me will be cursed,” Tassarion answered.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” said Gilreg.

“You didn’t ask. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

“Can you do that for the rest of us?” The warrior asked.

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“No, I only have enough energy for me. If your mage learned this skill, he could have done it,” snapped Tassarion.

Shaymus had plopped down next to Booger. The orc prince was sharpening his weapon. He was meticulous and used oils to clean the spearhead. Without asking, Shaymus used his oils on her own blades. Booger nodded and patiently showed her how to apply the liquids correctly.

Gilreg looked over to Nulrok. The warrior had a question and hoped that his friend was finished. He waited patiently for a moment. The wizard was still meditating with their eyes closed. Gilreg cleared his throat, and Nulrok opened one eye.

“How are you feeling?” Asked Gilreg.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the wizard answered, “I feel more focused. What’s on your mind?”

The warrior smiled and walked closer to his friend and unslung his shield. He said,” I was thinking about what you told us about how we all have a natural resistance to magic. I also saw how you could enhance your spells by using the staff as a focus. I was thinking, could I also improve my resistance with a focus? Like my shield?”

Nulork opened both eyes. The mage crossed his arms and tapped his chin. After a moment, he answered, “I suppose that is possible. Did you want to try out your theory?”

Gilreg shrugged, and the mage stood up. The two stood in front of each other. The warrior nodded, and the mage cast a weak fire dart. Gilreg deflected it. It looked like the spell faded as it neared his shield. Nulrok grinned and shot more darts. One singed the warrior’s shoulder.

“Sorry!” Exclaimed Nulrok.

“No, don’t be. I think I am onto something. Do that again. Try to hit me. To really hit me,” the warrior said.

Nulrok shrugged and focused. The mage unleashed a series of spells on the warrior. Gilreg blocked a few, and the others seemed to have been deflected by an invisible force near the warrior’s body. Nulrok’s pupilless eyes went wide.

“That was impressive. Let me try a larger spell,” the mage said.

“No, no, no. That is enough. You need to save your energy,” Gilreg exclaimed.

“You think you will try that against the templar’s nova blast?” Asked Nulrok.

The warrior nodded and asked, “You think that will work?”

Nulrok shrugged and responded, “Holy magic is still magic. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. In either case, holding up your shield is better than taking it fully in your face like you normally do.”

The two laughed at the joke. The mage returned to meditating, and Gilreg joined Booger and Shaymus to oil and sharpen his weapons. Tassarion focused on his armor. It glowed a faint red. Nodding in approval, the dark elf donned his armor. Raine handed him a few vials. The dark elf sniffed them and then acknowledged with a nod to her that it was good. He applied a coat of poison carefully to his sword. He put the remaining vials in pouches that were set along his belt. Raine had finished coating all of her arrows.

Several Caizene demons flew into the Chamber. They had wounds. Some of the injuries were beginning to heal. Others were too serious, and the demons were weakened. They landed on the ground before Bob. They talked, and after a moment, the Envoy approached the group.

“Our enemy is advancing on us,” said Bob.

Gilreg nodded and looked at the crude map that Bob had drawn earlier for them. The map of the surrounding Dungeon corridors and tunnels. The warrior had marked off a spot perfect for their ambush. It was an enormous multi-leveled chamber with intersecting walkways that led to many tunnels.

“How long till they get here?” The warrior asked, pointing to the map at the Chamber he was hoping to use.

“30 minutes,” Bob answered.

“Hmm, I was hoping for more time. We need to set up. Have the Caizene go out and delay them. Remember to tell them to fall back to this agreed-upon Chamber. We will be there waiting,” Gilreg said.

“You think this will work?” Bob asked.

“It has to,” the warrior answered. With that, he rose and told the others to get ready.