Perly knew this spell too. Renato remembered it clearly: the young mage had once cast the same Earth Grasp, trying to trap those fanatical Dakoul Cultists and buy him time to relocate.
But the young mage's spell had fallen short of this Drow Spider Mage's in speed, scale, and power alike.
After all, Perly was still too young. She needed a great deal more time to grow.
He wondered how the young mage was getting on at the Academy, whether she had learned the advanced spells she wanted, and whether that Archmage was taking her instruction seriously...
Renato planted his feet and stood motionless. He ignored the stone hands closing around him, simply pointing his longsword at the ground while making a gesture with his left hand.
The Gish Cloak stirred without a breeze, its short shoulder cape snapping in the air. White mist poured from its lining and coiled around his body.
But the great hands of rock were about to clench shut. It seemed there was no time left to activate Misty Step.
A short distance away, the male Drow smiled scornfully. To a mage, the magically ignorant were just that: ignorant. They understood neither how magic worked nor how long it took to take effect. No number of magical items could change that about a warrior.
A pity he hadn't reacted in time just now. Otherwise, he could even have tried countering the Misty Step his opponent was casting through his magical equipment...
Just as the mage prepared to enjoy the gruesome sight of this masked noble swordsman being crushed flat by Earth Grasp, the enormous hands of earth and stone inexplicably began to disintegrate.
Large chunks of rock peeled away from their bodies. With nothing to support them, the fingers collapsed into heaps of dirt.
The