The door with a one-in-five chance.
Was it the prelude to the end of their bad luck, the beginning of a turn in their fortunes, or were there still a few interludes to come?
As the haze thickened, the Old Wizard's figure vanished within it again, and the tremors in the space stopped once more.
Ruger blinked. Rather than hastily using his mental power, he searched by feel among the jumble of objects, large and small, drifting around him.
A strange fluctuation suddenly erupted far in the distance.
His gaze shifted slightly. Looking through gaps in the layers of clutter, he saw those two figures.
The one-in-five door.
Two figures, one tall and one short, stood beside it.
Click!
A crisp sound rang out.
Both froze, whether it was the little bald woman touching the door handle or the tall male wizard standing farther back.
A strange radiance slowly flowed out of the open door. Seven-colored light streamed like water, spilling out from within. It was nowhere near as lively as its colors suggested, nor did it burst forth with the dazzling intensity of ordinary light.
It moved very, very slowly.
Ruger heard laughter.
It came from those two figures far away, their backs turned to him.
The world had not abandoned them completely.
With a one-in-five chance, they had succeeded.
The seven-colored light swirled, spreading out from within the door bit by bit. Its slowness was somewhat unsettling.
The bald female wizard looked back, her gaze passing through the drifting clutter of all sizes to meet Ruger's. Their eyes met for an instant.
They had really succeeded, finding that shabby little door whose purpose he did not even know.
Ruger thought that perhaps he should have a talk with the Old Wizard.
These two were being paid far too