Dmitri turned and came face to face with a hulk of a man. Standing head and shoulders above Wayte, he wore only pants, leaving his scarred chest bare and was wielding an enormous double bladed battle axe.

“But they’d ne’er seen battle! These scars are the mark of many a man I’ve slain,” said the giant. “And you’re next!”

The bear of a man swept forward with surprising agility, swinging his battle axe as if it was half its weight. Still linked, Dmitri and Wayte started weaving around the big man, diving in for a strike and then dancing back to avoid the deadly weapon. The scarred man deflected or dodged every attack that Wayte and Dmitri threw at him.

“Get clear of him!” cried Claudia.

“You stay out of this, lass,” roared the big man.

Dmitri and Wayte took this moment of distraction and attacked simultaneously. In a move that stunned them all, the man leapt into the air and spun, both avoiding the attacks and lashing out with his limbs. A foot caught Dmitri and sent him reeling. Wayte evaded and danced back, “Now!” he called out to Claudia.

Claudia lobbed both a green and a yellow potion at the giant and they shattered on his chest. The man stopped and looked down at the liquid running down his chest, “I don’t need a bath lass,” he said and then roared with laughter.

The escapees looked on in horror as Claudia’s potions, which had been so effective on everyone else so far, did absolutely nothing to stop the big man. He took three steps and with his free hand, picked up Dmitri and hurled him into a wall. The spirit link that he was holding open with Wayte broke as Dmitri hit the wall, and Wayte dropped his sword in shock. The big man saw this and laughed, “What’s wrong lad? You scared?” He started towards Wayte, his great axe spinning in front of him.

“Hey!” called Claudia.

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“Not now lass, we can play later,” said the big man.

But Claudia’s distraction was enough for Wayte to escape the giant’s reach. With Wayte out of range of any of Claudia’s potions, she hurled one towards the giant, but instead of aiming at him, she had aimed it at the wall behind him. This time, the potion was effective, it impacted the wall with a great explosion and it ripped into the wall and brought a large section down upon the big man. Reacting too slow, the man was buried beneath the rubble.

Wayte retrieved his fallen sword and looked through the new hole in the wall, “This way,” he called to Claudia and Dmitri, who was picking himself up off the floor.

“Are you alright?” asked Claudia tenderly.

Dmitri nodded and ducked down to retrieve his sword, “Just a bit dizzy.”

“I’m sorry,” said Wayte interrupting. “But we have to keep moving. Are you alright to link again?” he asked as Dmitri and Claudia started towards the hole in the wall.

Dmitri responded by reaching out for his magic and linking with Wayte.

“Ok,” said Wayte as he felt the link connect, “let’s go, there is not much further now. And that is thanks to you and your explosions Claudia.”

She smiled and they all ducked through the hole.

As they headed down this new corridor, Claudia turned to Wayte, “Should we have left him there like that?” she asked, referring to the big man.

“It was either that or kill him,” replied Wayte quietly as they reached a doorway.

Claudia grimly nodded in acceptance and then asked, “How far?”

Wayte held up a hand to stop them moving forward, “We are very close; this next room is the entry hall. Beyond that is another courtyard and it contains the gates leading out of the castle. Now, the gates will more than likely be closed so we’ll have to get to the gatehouse to open them and then escape. The biggest problem will be archers, I daresay that Draycott will have some patrolling the walls, so Dmitri or Claudia, can either of you shield us all when we get out there?”

“If Claudia and I link we will be able to,” answered Dmitri. “But I cannot link with both of you at once.”

Wayte thought about this for a moment, “Alright, here is what we do,” he started. “You stay linked with me Dmitri, and when I deem it safe, I’ll call out and I want you to link with Claudia instead, together you can both shield me and I’ll make a dash for the gatehouse. As soon as the gates are open, run out. Do not under any circumstances wait for me.”

Claudia’s eyes widened at the implication and she went over to Wayte and embraced him, “Thank you, for everything.”