I couldn't stop the shivers from coursing down my spine, I still felt the evil that had struck us from above. It was still here, although broken into smaller pieces it was still in our midst trying to take over.
I still couldn't find Draugh. Although no one else seemed to be worried, I was. I started walking reluctantly back toward the invisible wall fearing that he had become trapped there somehow. The closer I got to the barrier the more reluctant I became to actually go back to where the lightning had struck.
I was there ... I closed my eyes and pushed my way through, opening them again as soon as I felt the resistance fade. Glancing around I saw Draugh lying unconcious on the blighted ground. Moving as swiftly as I could, I ran over and grabbed him under his arms and started dragging him back toward the barrier.
When I was almost to the barrier I noticed something shiny winking at me from amidst the charred stump of a tree. I felt an almost overwhelming urge to reach out and pick it up. I let Draugh fall back to the ground and leaned over and started brushing the ashes away from the gleaming jewel. It was a beautiful necklace! My hand reached out to pick it up, something inside me chanting that it was mine. My hand had almost reached it when Draugh groaned.
"What?" I jerked my hand back, confused. "How could I just let him drop to the ground like that?" I looked back at what had gleamed so enticingly just moments before and saw an amulet. It was still beautiful, just as many evil things are beautiful. It now emanated a malevolent glow that moments before had not been visible.
I hefted my axe and brought it down sharply, shattering the heart of the amulet in one swift blow. A miniature version of the lightning blast that BeeGee had managed to deflect/absorb burst out of its heart just when the blade of my axe struck, flinging me on top of poor unconcious Draugh.
I rose a trifle unsteadily to my feet, thanking whatever gods had made Draugh groan and rouse me from the thrall of evil. I grimly grabbed his shoulders and started pulling him the rest of the way through the barrier to the camp.
"I wonder if anyone else picked anything up after the blast? I hope not."
