Jasper backpedaled frantically as the angry Djinn charged straight toward him. The stone mage was still clad from head to toe in a solid coating of rock that, if anything, had seemed to grow thicker as the fight wore on. The ground shook beneath his weight as he swung his axe toward Jasper’s chest.

“DIE ALREADY!” Laḫāssu screamed.

Jasper blocked the blow with his glaive and immediately regretted it as the force of the blow shook him to his very core. With an angry growl, the Djinn pressed down harder and Jasper’s knee buckled, sending him to the ground. The Djinn lifted up the axe and slashed down at Jasper’s head. Somehow, he managed to raise the glaive in time to block the blow, groaning in pain as it crunched down further on his damaged knees. The S̆addu’â warrior leaned into the blow, and his axe’s blade inched closer to Jasper’s head as Jasper strained with every fiber of his being to keep him at bay.

I’ve got to distract him somehow. It was clear now that in a test of pure strength, Jasper was lacking. And he wasn’t too sure how he stacked up against the man magically either. The stone mage had thus far displayed no spells beyond the seemingly impenetrable sheath of stone he wore, but that was enough. And, with his hands currently occupied in a desperate struggle to prevent a new canyon from being carved in his skull, Jasper's options for casting spells were rather limited.

He bit the bullet. Pushing the essence to his mouth, a blast of flame washed over the S̆addu’â’s head and torso. Though the Djinn wasn’t harmed by the flames, it had the desired effect. Surprised by Jasper’s ability to cast a spell without using his hands, Laḫāssu hesitated, and his hands let up on the unrelenting pressure, Jasper flung himself to the side. The axe crashed down into the ground with a clang as he scurried out of reach. He darted into the sky, born aloft on spectral wings, and paused at a safe distance above the stone mage.

“Come back here, coward,” the S̆addu’â roared, with an angry shake of his axe.

Ignoring him, Jasper searched the area for something he could use to his advantage.

Their first strike had gone better than he’d expected. The S̆addu’â, never dreaming that the three of them could fly up and over their sturdy stone walls, had foolishly gathered in a cramped inner chamber. And while the explosive orbs of Shooting Stars weren’t that powerful, in a small room like that, their power had been used to devastating effect. A good half of their opponents had died in the first five seconds of the fight.

After that, he’d sort of lost track. Lahāssu had immediately focused on him and Jasper had found himself slowly but surely driven backward through the compound. Fire vs. stone just wasn’t a good matchup.

Where did Tsia go? His question was answered as a furious wind howled through the fort’s open courtyard, battering into the stone mage. But this time, he wasn’t sent flying. With a grunt, he crouched over and his stone armor melded to the ground, sealing him in place. A bolt of lightning followed the wind but, save for leaving a scorch mark on the Djinn’s shoulder, it did no harm. Damn it.

With a twist of his fingers, Jasper cast Flame Charge, and as the white flames spread across his body, he dove toward the S̆addu’â still kneeling in the courtyard. He struck before the man could unseal his armor from the ground, raining down a flurry of blows on the Djinn’s back. The glaive did little to damage the rock armor, but the white flames lingered with each blow, slowly spreading across the surface.

Lahāssu hands tore free from the ground, and he swung his axe in a wide arc, forcing Jasper to retreat. Gusts of wind washed over him again, spreading the white flames further, but the Djinn seemed unaware of the danger. He rampaged forward, the earth shaking as he charged, and Jasper darted up and over. He landed behind the Djinn and slammed his glaive into the man’s back. Again, it did little damage, but the flames spread.

For the next few minutes, they played tag, staying just out of reach of the S̆addu’â. It seemed at first that the white flames were doing nothing, but once he was fully enwreathed in the fire, his movements began to slow. The previously elastic rock began to crack as he lumbered around, and though the Djinn could fix it easily enough, that required essence. At that point, the battle became a race to see who would bottom out first and with two mages versus one - well, the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Lahāssu must have realized that too as he suddenly turned and fled to the far side of the courtyard, flames billowing in his wake. Pressing his back against the wall on the far side, he seemed to freeze into position. For a moment, Jasper waited for the Djinn to make his move, but the Djinn stood frozen like a statue. Did he die? He wasn’t sure how hot the flames had made it, but he figured the stone armor had to be practically an oven now. Of course, if he’s like me, the heat won’t bother him that much.

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After another minute with no sign of the movement, the two cautiously approached the S̆addu’â. Though he feared a trap, the armor didn’t budge and when Jasper got closer, he saw why - the back side of the armor was now fused to the fort’s sculpted walls. “Damn it. He escaped through the walls. You go left, I go right?”

“Wait! I surrender,” a voice said from behind. Spinning around, Jasper found the Djinn kneeling in the muddied snow. His formerly grey skin was mottled from angry red burns and one of his horns had been snapped clean off two inches from the base, but the man still possessed a certain dignity as he bowed.

“You surrender?” He asked skeptically. “Are you sure this isn’t just another trick?”

The S̆addu’â seemed unperturbed by the accusation. “I’m out of essence,” he replied simply, “and I’m not so foolish as to burn my soul.” His eyes seemed to light with fire. “With Bazā’u dead, I have much to live for.”

“Father, so good to see you lived.” Another S̆addu’â stepped out of the inner rooms of the fort, accompanied by Ihra. Her face was a mess of blood and bruises, but aside from that she seemed fine.

The S̆addu’â, on the other hand, seemed unscathed. His tossled hair was a good deal lighter than Lahāssu’s and his clothes were finer than his father and grandfather had worn; somehow, too, they remained completely free of blood. Indeed, there was no sign he’d engaged in the battle at all.

Lahāssu looked up at the newcomer and his eyes grew dark. “You’re no son of mine,” he spat. “I put up with you for Bazā’u’s sake, but I am no fool. You and your whore of a mother will never succeed me.”

An amused smile played across the man’s lips. “You’re certainly right about one thing - you’re not my father. But as for the other, I’m afraid you couldn’t be more wrong.” The man raised his hand, wagging his finger like he was scolding a disobedient toddler. And then his hand suddenly twisted, releasing a spell.

A narrow spike exploded from the ground, tearing through Lahassu’s body from bottom to top until the tip erupted from his mouth, splattering blood across the man’s immaculate robes.

“Ugh,” his face twisted in disgust. “You can’t keep anything clean out here.”

“Your robes?” Jasper stared at the man in disbelief. “You just murdered your father - my prisoner - and you’re worried about your clothes?”

The man shrugged. “Since you failed to kill him like you were supposed to, I had to step in. Besides, I was the rightful heir and he would never have let me become chief. Once he realized I wasn’t his son, the only reason he didn’t kill me was because he was afraid of my grandfather. With Bazā’u dead, only one of us was going to survive. I picked myself,” he said with a wink.

Jasper stared down at the impaled corpse of Lahāssu and felt a bit sick. God, I hate these S̆addu’â. But as the milk was already spilt, he reluctantly decided not to press the issue. “I take it you’re the one who wrote to Nekelmû’s company.”

“I am,” the man confirmed. “Tell them I will uphold the agreed-upon terms.”

Jasper looked around the small fort, now littered with a score of S̆addu’â dead. “Will you really,” he asked skeptically. “I’m not seeing much here to inspire confidence in your word. It’s hard to believe anyone will follow you after this.”

“Yes, you Sappannū always prattle on about honor and such things,” the man sighed. “But S̆addu’â are not so foolish; we honor pragmatism and cleverness. My kinsman will mourn their dead and then they will follow me.”

“And you’ll actually leave Nekelmû’s company alone,” he pressed.

“But of course. Unfortunately, my grandfather and ‘father,’” his lips curled at the word, “were prisoners of tradition. Though exiled from our lands, they were always so short-sighted. Our men are skilled warriors and we had several stone mages against us whose work would have been highly valued by the city, but rather than live in luxury they chose to squat in the wilderness and engage in petty banditry. They were unable to see how much better things could be.”

“For whom? Your men are dead,” Jasper argued.

“My father’s men,” the Djinn corrected him. “This is only a fraction of our clan’s people - there are several settlements like this scattered throughout the hills. And now, thanks to my plans, they will have profitable jobs in Kibrāti.”

Finally understanding the Djinn’s motives, Jasper felt strangely reassured. Trusting the young S̆addu’â chief was likely an exercise in foolishness, but as long as it was in his best interests to keep the peace, he could likely be counted on to follow the contract. But something else the man had said stuck out to me. “You said there a lot more of you? Why the hell weren’t they here tonight? Your grandfather clearly intended to double-cross us.”

The man shrugged. “As I said, they were shortsighted. They felt certain two stone mages with a score of men to back them up would be more than sufficient to capture one mage.”

“One? There’s two of us - he knew that.”

“Well,” the man smiled wryly, “yes, but you’re a fire mage, and generally speaking, they’re not much of a threat to a stone mage. But you’re right to judge them. If my grandfather had simply gathered the rest of his men, his plan might well have worked. But fortunately for you and me, he didn’t.”

“And now,” he said, doing his best to wipe the blood off his garment, “I really must go. I am the only eligible heir to our clan, but if I wait too long to press my claim, others might get the wrong impression. Tell Nekelmû my men will report for duty starting next week.” With that, the Djinn turned and picked his way through the messy courtyard, leaving the fort behind.

They didn’t stay much longer themselves. The three searched through the fort quickly, looking for any valuables and, with some reluctance, checked the ravaged bodies as well. Those were stacked carefully in the courtyard where Jasper, unable to dig into the frozen ground, burned them to ash. Then they headed back to the city.