Ruth closed her eyes briefly and raised her hands at either side of her head. The others observed a swirling ‘nothingness’ forming between her hands. She focused on the weapons and with a wave of her hands the weapons were wrenched out of the hands of the Atrebates and scattered on the floor. The pursuers hesitated but continued moving towards them, now much more cautiously. This time Ruth focused on the roof of the tunnel between them with all her mental energy and ‘threw’ the nothingness at the rock ceiling just before them. There was a loud crack and the rock above the spot she’d focused on came crashing down between the two groups, and so much material fell that the entire passage was blocked by debris and dust.    “Did I do that?” she asked. Dust from the fall had rushed towards them, making them cough and rub their eyes, but they quickly resumed their progress in the direction they had been going.

    The council chamber was barred by iron-studded wooden doors, but Ruth, now fully confident in her power brushed the doors aside with a sweep of her arms, and the heavy panels were torn off their hinges and lay in pieces on the floor. Ruth had scanned the layout earlier and they had been able to time their entry into Romaer to coincide with a council session. Weylin the council leader and Aleena, both in colourful robes to accentuate their status, were seated on a dais at the far end of the room with a dozen council leaders seated in two rows before them. Armed guards stood at attention on either side of them and another was posted at a side entrance. The light from the crystalline rock from which the chamber had been hewn cast hazy shadows beneath the gathering.
“What is the meaning of this?” asked Aleena, bravely trying to compose herself. “How dare you burst in upon Weylin the protector and his council. Guards, seize them.”
“Your weapons are useless.” Said Bardon. “Put them away.”
The guards hesitated and looked at their leaders but didn’t comply with Bardon’s request. Ruth without hesitation waved commandingly at them and their weapons were strewn across the floor. A woman appeared from the other side entrance, the ingress to the room that the fluence emanated from. Ruth brushed her aside with a gesture and entered the room while Bardon in a confident voice informed the council, “The fluence will serve you no longer.”