[hr][center][h2][color=darkturquoise]A N T O N  L I N D Q U I S T[/color][/h2][i][h3]D A R K N E S S  O N  T H E  E D G E  O F  T O W N[/h3]
Kilbride Sawmill, Kilbride[/i][/center][hr]

As Anton looked up at the burning shell of the sawmill, he found that all he could think about was how much the smell reminded him of Christmas. It was a silly connection, he was aware, but Christmas was the only time of year that the cavernous fireplace at the Lindquist manor had ever done its job.

There was a resounding, splintering [i]crack[/i] from inside as, presumably, a beam splintered and fell. Anton wondered what, exactly, he was doing here. He'd stepped outside for a breath of fresh air that didn't smell like marijuana, let his feet carry him, and here he was. He'd been thinking so far outside of his own head that he had barely noticed the fire until he could feel the heat on his skin.

[color=darkturquoise][i]'There's something here,'[/i][/color] he thought to himself. [color=darkturquoise][i]'Besides the fire, I mean.'[/i][/color] Now that he was actively searching for it, he could feel the magnetic [i]pull[/i] of the Vis; it was probably responsible for his subconscious destination.

Anton sighed. [color=darkturquoise]"I'm going to have to go in there, aren't I?"[/color] he asked the world. There was no answer except for the drumming of the rain on his umbrella. He sighed again. [color=darkturquoise]"Of course I am, damn me."[/color]

He folded his umbrella, setting it against the corner of a nearby building, where it would probably be stolen by the time that Anton got back. He didn't doubt it, considering the current state of the city. What a [i]wonderful[/i] spot he'd chosen to hide out in. Truly wonderful. Anton fingered the first gold button on the left sleeve of his coat, feeling the enchantment tingling inside it. [color=darkturquoise]"I suppose this is a good time for a test run,"[/color] he said, walking towards the burning building. [color=darkturquoise]"A trial by fire, if you wo[i]OOF-[/i]"[/color]

The rest of his words were lost as he stepped into the fire, and the heat slammed into him like a physical force. The good news was, the protective enchantment on his coat was working. A shimmering shield covered him like a thin membrane, keeping the fire from burning him, but it almost didn't matter, because the bad news was that it wasn't working very [i]well.[/i] The shield kept the worst of the fire from affecting Anton, but what felt like most of the heat was making it through. It was like Anton had stepped inside of an enormous oven.

[color=darkturquoise][i]'This was a [b]terrible[/b] idea!'[/i][/color] Anton yelled at himself. In the interest of self-preservation, he abandoned his 'cool and aloof' walking pace and charged through the fire, holding his shirt over his mouth and nose to keep out the worst of the smoke.

Over the roar of the spreading fire and the sound of the collapsing building, Anton heard a yell. It was an old man's voice, hoarse from screaming because there was nothing else to do. Anton followed it, and was for a moment surprised beyond words by what he saw. Ice. In the middle of a blazing building. There was a sheet of it covering the middle of the floor, and a massive icicle spearing up towards the ceiling, with a man's limp body impaled along its length. There was a man on the ground at the base of the icicle, his feet frozen up to the ankle inside the obviously-magical stalagmite. His eyes locked onto Anton, and even through the smoke, Anton could see a faint-lived flicker of hope.

Anton hurried to the man's side, and grabbed him around the shoulders. [color=darkturquoise]"Hold still!"[/color] he shouted, although most of what came out was a gasp for air and a few heavy coughs. The ice wasn't melting, and Anton didn't want to bet on his ability to break it. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to. He hadn't wanted to risk teleporting into the building - he didn't know the layout, and it was too likely that he would have appeared in the middle of a blaze too powerful for his shield to protect him from - but teleporting [i]out[/i] was a different matter entirely.

He raised his cane - getting a confused look from the old man - and let the Vis flow through him. His enchanted shield flickered as the new spell was completed, lashing Anton with tongues of fire for a painful second before -

The two men vanished, without so much as a flickering of air.