[December]

The street outside Trisk's mansion was deserted, as were most of the other streets of Bephal. Unlike Montfort, Bephal had no night life to speak of, at least none that required the residents to be outside. The years-long war between December and Jerimiah Trisk had taught them that *inside* was the safest place to be after dark.

A solitary figure emerged from a small set of wooden doors which led into the basement of the Trisk house. He walked into the street and stood in the middle of it, waiting expectantly. December assumed that Trisk's magic had notified him when J'Hasp picked the look on the basement door. The old man would appear shortly to recapture him. December wondered if Trisk would bother to check the basement first... especially the cell next to the one that December had occupied.

December was not kept waiting for long. He stood for less than a minute before the front door was thrown open with a sound akin to thunder. Standing on the threshold was Jerimiah Trisk. December turned to face his foe, and nodded politely.

"I see you didn't get far." said Trisk as he walked out onto the street.

"It was not my intention to go far."

Trisk took up a position directly across from December, at a distance of several yards. December recognized the arrangement. Two men facing each other at a distance. A duel. Trisk intended to fight December, magic for magic, until one was defeated.

"I don't know how you escaped, but it will do you no good."

"Perhaps you should have investigated for yourself. My powers may be more formidable than you think."

"HA! Without your little gems, you are no threat to me. Your magic operates by touch and proximity. As you can see, I am at a safe distance. My magic, however..." Jerimiah raised a bony hand and flung a fireball hurtling down the street toward December.

December stood his ground, his head tilted slightly to the side, as if curious. He watched as the deadly sphere of flames approached, heading straight for his head. The spell extinguished itself mere inches from his face. December smiled as the heat and smoke washed harmlessly over him.

"As I said earlier, Jerimiah, you are a prisoner of your own design. You cannot kill me. You need me alive. What good is your power if you cannot use it against me?"

"True, but I can inflict as much pain upon you as I see fit." A wide sweep of Jerimiah's arm sent a wide arc of flame toward his foe. As it approached, the arc closed in upon itself, and separated into three fiery loops that encircled December at the knees, waist and chest.

"Now, I shall escort you to the altar myself; the ceremony will be completed."

"Nicely done," said December. He eyed the flaming circlets for a moment, then looked up at Trisk. December's eyes glowed brightly as his power flowed outward and concentrated in the air around him. He took two steps forward, straight through the fiery rings. They sputtered and died as December passed through them unharmed. "Did you honestly expect that to work, Jerimiah?"

"No. I cannot waste vital power on you. I only meant to delay you until my golem arrived."

December turned and saw the huge form that lumbered down the dark street toward him.

"Ah.... "

"Golem!" shouted Trisk, "Return this freak to the basement!"

Again, December stood his ground. The air around him grew cold...

"Planning to run? They are much faster than they seem."

December's eyes glowed brighter and brighter as the thing approached.

"And of course I have already recalled my three golems from Montfort. They are entering the city as I speak. Even if you run now, you cannot escape." The golem trudged forward, arms outstretched.

December's hands clenched into tight fists as he concentrated...

"Surely you don't think your magic can affect a creature of ice! You are beaten!"

December dug deep within himself, tapping the raw elemental fury within him...

"You cannot freeze ICE!"

His body radiated power in all directions.

"HA!" Jerimiah stepped backwards as he laughed. He could feel the cold even at a considerable distance.

December frowned, and pushed himself further. The creature was almost upon him. Five more steps and it would have him in it's crushing embrace.

The ground beneath December's feet froze solid; the air grew heavy, bitter cold flowed off of his skin in caustic waves.

Four steps.

December focused his blazing eyes upon the golem, and raised his fist...

Three.

Power arced from him, invisible, yet deadly. It slammed into the golem, almost liquefying the air around it...

Jerimiah cackled in the background.

Two...

Blue blood dripped from December's clenched fist. The tiny drops turned red and froze well before they hit the ground...

One.

The golem stopped, straining against a force it could not understand. It thrust its mighty bulk forward, but it could not move.

"WHAT! GET HIM!!" screamed Trisk

The golem struggled to obey, but it could not. It simply lacked the strength to move it limbs any further toward its target.

"GET HIM NOW!!!"

It felt itself growing weaker and weaker. Its eyesight, the only sense Jerimiah had given it, began to fail. Darkness closed in around it. Yet it still did not understand... It could not...

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!"

...for how could a thing that was never alive comprehend the fact that it was dying...

"NO!"

The creature fell to the ground. Its immobile limbs snapped off as it crashed into the hard, frozen earth. December slowly turned to face Jerimiah.

"When do you think the other golems will be arriving? I would like to dispose of them all at once."

"You...You killed it! You froze it!"

"Suffocated it, actually."

"HOW!!"

"Golems must be sustained by some source of power. I knew that you could not use your own energies to sustain so many powerful creatures, so they must have been drawing power from somewhere else. Ice golems must remain frozen, so they must draw the heat from the air around them and use it to sustain themselves. This is also how they were able to mimic my abilities. They take in heat like a living being breathes air... I simply lowered the air temperature to the point where it could no longer extract heat from it. It could not breathe, so it died."

"AAARRRGH!!" Forgetting the need to conserve his power, Jerimiah let unleashed a torrent of white-hot flame. Decmeber braced himself and thrust both hands forward. He had not dissipated his power after the golem fell, but had held it in anticipation of this move. His energies ballooned around his outstretched hands, extinguishing the flame as it drew near, snuffing it out as if it were a candle. No fire could ever touch December unless he willed it.

"Jerimiah," said December. "Fireballs. Flaming rings. The ice golem. I do believe it is my turn, now."

December made slight motion with his hand, and the wooden doors to the basement flew open once more. A shape climbed up out of the darkness. It was carrying a large sword, and its motions were smooth and fluid, like that of a thief. As it moved along the side of the house, more of its form was revealed.

Trisk drew back, horrified.

"Allow me to introduce my latest plaything. You may already be acquainted... her name is Julia Trisk."