The plan worked, for the most part. As the trio of students distracted the elemental, Thomas made it to the center of the clearing. Placing his hands on either side of a large crack that seemed to have split the foundation of the hill, he began spreading his magical energies through the stone. Deep beneath the surface, he found the lay-line. As the books he had studied suggested, the line had been severed. Probably by the same event that had split the stone core of the hill.

Recognizing that his own power would not be enough to repair the line, he began to search for a path that he could reconnect the ends. As he worked, he felt numerous earth spirits beginning to gather. Silently he begged them to help find a pathway for the energy to flow through. It was slow meticulous work that required extended exacting concentration. So much concentration that Thomas was unaware of what was happening on the mortal layer. Hours later, as Thomas was nearing the end of his magical endurance, the final portion of the new path slotted into the convoluted maze that was the elemental lay-lines in this area.

Finally having a plan, the problem now became one of power. Thomas had just about exhausted his own energies trying to map out a new path. He could not build it himself. As a last-ditch effort, he tried to draw out the severed lines like a blacksmith stretched an ingot. With the numerous spirits help, the lines lengthened until the ends met. With a final surge of effort, they managed to fuse the two ends together, completing the repair.

Returning his attention to the mortal layer, he saw a scene of carnage. Frost and ice covered several patches of the stone. Broken weapons and shields were scattered around as well. Alex, with several new dents in her armor, was kneeling next to a man whose leg did not look whole. The glow of a spell had just faded from the still form. The elemental construct lay in pieces, now nothing more than a pile of stone without the energies leaking from the damaged lay-line.

At the edge of the clearing, Thomas recognized Lenard as he was being tended to by Sara. He did not look good. His silver washed steel breast plate was laying against a tree. It looked as if a battering ram had hit Lenard from the side. The front and back looked like a giant had squished them between its fingers, edgewise. Both were buckled away from the chest, breaking the numerous straps and buckles. Sara was hurriedly casting as many healing spells as she could over Lenard's battered body. Even from halfway across the clearing, Thomas could easily see that Lenard's arm and shoulder were badly injured.

Two other students that Thomas recognized from the Warrior course and one who may have been from the scouts were also present. Alex now seemed to be trying to heal the one who had a leg that was no longer straight. Elidin had returned to his normal form, and was speaking with the remaining two fighters. Karen, it seemed, had taken up a security watch, while attempting to rig a sling for her right arm. The scout was heavily limping as he searched along the fence line. Everyone else seemed banged up to some degree, but was still fully functional.

Deciding not to interrupt the healers, Thomas approached Elidin and the fighters he was speaking with. "Elidin, what the in the hells happened?"

Elidin turned toward Thomas. "Didn't you see?"

"No. my attention was on the elemental layer. I had to tune out what was happening here, but I did fix the problem."

"Is that why that stone monster crumbled?" asked Durin Understone, a Dwarf student who had received great praise from Mr. Ericson on his skill with the great ax.

"Basically, yes. When the broken lay-line was repaired, the elemental lost its source of power."

"So then, you were repairing that lay-line thing? That's why you were kneeling there? I thought you were just praying before death," Mark Farmer asked with his usual boyish wonder. Coming from a secluded farm, he was still awed by the magic he had seen over the last term. Armed with a basic sword and a large round shield (which was currently in splinters at his feet) and wearing one of the schools sets of armor, in this case a steel breast and backplate over a scale hauberk, he had earned a reputation as an honest, if somewhat naive, defender.

Elidin shook his head. "You know that Thomas is a Shaman. Did you really think fighting with magic was all he was good for?"

"Lenard says his use of magic while he fights is an insult to the whole Warrior course."

"And what do you think?" asked Thomas in an iron tone.

"Until today, I accepted his judgement," replied Mark. "He is the son of the Lord who rules my hometown, after all. And, magic is still new, and to be honest a bit frightening to me. I just don't understand it. But after seeing Lenard's actions today, it seems I've been deceived. I don't know how Lenard is going to try to spin the story, but attacking someone while they're at prayer is well beyond my moral code. I don't know how I didn't see that Lenard is a selfish ass who is jealous of your skill and success. But he clearly is." Mark looked Thomas in the eye. "I'm sorry for how I've acted toward you so far, and I hope you will forgive me."

"That goes for me as well," rumbled Durin. "I didn't believe it when Manfred told me what happened during the exam, but it looks like he was right. And I refuse to be anyone's pawn."

"I accept your apologies. But, I'm curious about what you said regarding pawns?"

"Oh! Haven't you heard? During the term exam, we were both part of Lenard's party. However, Lenard used us as disposable minions. As we progressed deeper, it became more obvious that Lenard was deliberately holding back. By allowing us to lead the charge and take the hits, he kept his hit points and stamina full. Mark was the first to fall, and if I'm remembering it correctly, Lenard was in a position to help. But he did nothing. I'm pretty sure that the same thing happened to me, but I can't be sure. Anyway, according to Manfred, that left Lenard in a position to take a hit from the boss without dying. The centaur then switched targets to Manfred and killed him. Manfred swears he saw Lenard reach the end rune before he died, but that Lenard waited until he was dead to activate it. After that Manfred and Ryan left the party, and haven't spoken with Lenard or us since."

"Somehow that tale doesn't surprise me." Thomas said, accompanied by Elidin's nod of agreement. "For as much as he likes to blame others for his failings, he does seem to put anyone he can in a position that he can blame them for when it drops in the pot. Anyway, on a different topic, what brought you out here in the first place?"

"Oh, that," said Mark. "We were just out hunting bears. Apparently, there have been a lot of attacks by predatory animals recently, so were just doing our part to help."

At this, Elidin's face went stone hard. "Mark, you have been fooled again," he said in a flat tone. "While it is true that the wolves have become strangely aggressive, the bears have remained normal. So normal in fact, that the bounties office has stopped issuing bear permits to preserve their numbers as the wolf population drops because of all the hunting necessary to keep people safe. Right now, bear hunting is prohibited."

This news left both Mark and Durin fuming at Lenard. It was well known that poaching carried severe fines and penalties. Not something any student was likely to look forward to.

Thomas left the pair to commiserate and rant with Elidin, and went over to where Alex was attempting to help Lief Poleax, whose right leg was bent at the knee half-way to the letter 'L'. Despite his name, Lief had been armed with a bastard sword and a kite shaped shield, both of which were shattered. Alex looked up at his approach.

"Are you alright? Is everything taken care of?" asked Alex.

"I'm fine, just magically exhausted." Thomas replied, taking a knee next to Alex. "How is he?"

"I've put him to sleep. I don't know how to set his leg. I think we will need a litter to carry him back."

"Dammit. I hope Elidin's messages got to the school alright. We're going to need help to get the wounded back. What happened anyway. Mark said something about Lenard attacking me?"

"That about sums it up. Things were going well until you dropped to your knees in the clearing. Whatever you were doing attracted the Elemental's attention immediately. It turned and charged toward you. We tried to intercept, but it was surprisingly fast for a pile of rocks. But just as I cast a shield over you, it stopped. I don't know why, but the Elemental then became very … protective of you. At least that's how it seemed to me. It kept positioning itself between you and us, and became aggressive if we approached. So, we backed off a little and waited. At least until Lenard came charging out of the tree line shouting 'I've got you now, monster!'. I don't know what the rest of his party saw, but I saw Lenard aiming directly at you, not the elemental. Fortunately, the barrier I had cast was still active. It deflected Lenard's blow. Then the elemental smashed Lenard into that tree, where he fell. After that it was a bit of a brawl until we managed to get everyone out of the clearing. Except Leif who was screaming his head off. The elemental might have been going to finish Lief off, I'm not sure, but then it suddenly stiffened up and collapsed. When that happened, I came to help Leif."

"And I missed all of it. Lesson learned, do not try to mend Lay-Lines alone. Always have an escort." Thomas rueful response put a small grin on Alex's face. Standing, he called to Elidin, "Hey, Elidin! Can the three of you gather up some strong straight limbs for stretchers? We're going to need them."

As Elidin raised a hand in acknowledgement, Thomas left Alex to speak with Sara. "Will he make it?" he asked the young priestess.

Sara's sweat streaked face looked up at him. "I don't know. He's not breathing well. I think most of his left-side ribs are broken. His shoulder is mangled, all the bones in his arm are shattered, and I'm pretty sure he's concussed. I can't magically fix these types of injuries yet. I might do something about the concussion, but if I wake him, it will be into a world of pain. I think he's better off unconscious."

"You've had more training in giving aid than anyone here, so I'll back your call. Elidin is getting some limbs for litters, so we'll be ready when it's time to go." Thomas looked at the bright sky, gaging the remaining daylight. "We've got a couple of hours of light left, but I think we'll wait for morning to head out. Everyone's pretty tired and hurt. A night's rest will let us make better time tomorrow."

"Can we wait? Lenard's pretty bad."

"I know, but being jostled around on a stretcher might do worse damage. Giving him a night to heal up some might make it easier on him. What do you think?"

"I see your point." Sara thought for a moment. "I think you're right. A night's rest won't hurt him, and likely will help him."

As Elidin, Mark, and Durin brought over a selection of branches to be used for litters, Thomas called everyone together for a quick meeting.

"Okay, here's the situation. Sara and I both agree that a night's sleep will let Lenard heal some of his internal injuries enough that they won't get worse when we start carrying him. So, we'll be spending the night here. Elidin, have you sent off any messages since all this started?"

"Not yet. I wanted to know what our plans are before sending a message that might be contradicted."

"Good call. Next, does anyone have a Hearthstone?"

"Lenard has one," offered Everit, the Gnome Scout, "it should be in his pouch." Sara carefully checked the pouch on Lenard's belt. All she found was the cracked remains of the stone, on which the various runes could still be seen.

"So much for that idea. Okay then. We'll all stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, we start making our way back to the road, with Leif and Lenard on stretchers. Once we make the road, Elidin and Everit will head down to get help. Does that sound okay to everyone?"

"Can't you or Karen use magic to get us back or call for help?" asked Mark.

"If we could, we wouldn't be standing here. Teleportation magic is very complicated, and only taught in the third year. Elidin's message birds are the best we have."

"Me da always says any plan is better than no plan," said Durin, lapsing back into his dwarvish accent. "So, I'm with you." The rest of the students agreed. The party then turned their attention to making camp for the night.