Phandebrass picked up Chopstick absently as Faalken leaned against the rail beside Tarrin. "I say, your idea to use the Faerie's decaying attack is a good idea, but it may not work," the mage announced. "When the Doomwalker stands on the earth, its magical powers are amplified by a huge degree. It may have the power to resist the magic."
"So, you have an idea," Tarrin noted.
"If you're facing a strong opponent, you weaken him before you go for the kill," Faalken said simply. "Simply put, we wear Jegojah out. When he's tired, then Sarraya attacks him with that spell."
"You're talking about engaging a Doomwalker in a protracted battle, Knight," Camara Tal said bluntly. "How many of us does it have to kill before it gets tired?"
"That is a good point," Dolanna sighed. "This Doomwalker is a powerful foe. Even together, it is still a very deadly opponent for us to face."
"What do you suggest, Amazon?" Faalken retorted. "If Sarraya gets whacked, then it's all out the window. We have one chance, so we have to make sure it works."
"I don't whack easily, Faalken," Sarraya objected. "I may be small, but I'm tough."
"He's not saying you're incapable of it, he's saying that the caliber of the opponent makes such an attack a very risky proposition," Phandebrass said thoughtfully, all hints of the fuddled confusion gone from his voice. "We have to weaken the Doomwalker, but in such a way that it minimizes our own danger." Phandebrass rubbed his chin, looking down at the deck. "What we have to do is figure out how to go about this."
"That seems pretty straightforward, mage," Camara Tal said. "Even if it can draw energy from the earth, it can't do it forever. Especially if we're giving it something else to think about."
"Yes yes yes, but we must decide how we are going to weaken him," Phandebrass said.
"The most effective way would be to deny it the earth," Dolanna said. "A large patch of sand would block its powers, and we could conceivably lure it to one of them."
"You think we can lure it that far from the city?" Camara Tal asked. "From what I remember, Saranam is on grassland, not desert."
"Yes, but there is more to the city than the grass on which it stands," Dolanna said.
"Not quite, Dolanna," Phandebrass mused. "Camara Tal raises a valid point. There isn't any sand to use to do that, so we must ask ourselves what the best alternative is."
"What do you mean?" Dolanna asked.
"What is it about stone that makes the Doomwalker incapable of drawing energy through it?" he asked. "Dar, my boy, you should know the answer to this."
"Me? Why do you think that?"
"Remember when we talked about trees? Trees don't live just on sunshine and water, my boy. Why do they need soil?"
"Oh, I remember!" he said. "There's organic material in soil that the trees use as food!"
"Exactly. Doomwalkers draw energy from the earth because they're tapping into the life energy of the land. They are literally draining the land of its life energy. They can even drain living beings of their energy, if they can hold onto them long enough. They need that organic spark in the earth to provide them with a conduit to that energy source. That's why they can't draw through stone. It lacks that organic catalyst."
"That's why the Goddess told me it had to be on stone," Tarrin said, mainly to himself. "She specifically told me that it couldn't be wood, and now I understand why."
"Wood is organic, even if it is dead," Phandebrass answered for him. "So, if we can't lure it onto stone, we bring the stone to it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Sarraya, my dear, you're a Druid. Do you think you can completely leech all the organic material out of a patch of clear ground?"
Sarraya laughed. "Phandebrass, you're not half as zany as I thought you were!" she complemented. "Of course I can! We have spells to make barren ground fertile. I can just reverse that. It should suck all the life-giving qualities out of the soil. It'll be as barren as dust."
"So, we lure it into an open area. Tarrin, my boy, you make the perfect bait for that. It's after you, so it will come after you first. If we discover it to be in the area, Tarrin finds a good place away from the city, a place where we can hide nearby but the Doomwalker can't detect us. Tarrin draws it to him, then we allow them to start a fight."
"What?" Camara Tal said hotly. "I forbid it! You're not risking Tarrin's neck over this, mage!"
"You didn't let me finish," he said indignantly. "I said we allow them to start a fight. The Doomwalker's already been beaten twice, so it's not going to commit unless it thinks that it's got an overwhelming advantage."
"That's a good tactic," Faalken agreed reluctantly. "If it thinks it has the advantage, it's going to fight. We make it commit, then Sarraya destroys the soil and bars it from drawing energy. Since it will be committed, it should be a little disorganized over losing its advantage, and Tarrin can keep it pinned until we can have it surrounded. Then it'll be a matter of wearing it down to where Sarraya can decay it."
"Carefully. Even without a link to the earth, a Doomwalker is a very dangerous foe," Dolanna said. "Just ask Tarrin."
Tarrin nodded emphatically.
"It won't be easy, but it'll be better than just laying waste to half of Saranam trying to destroy it," Faalken said. "Can anyone think of anything else?"
"My brother will not face it alone," Allia said adamantly. "I will stand with him."
"Sister-"
"Enough!" she said. "You have dishonored me by denying my place at your side one time too many, brother," she said with steel in her voice. "We are brother and sister in all but blood. You are of the Clan, and one of the Clan does not face danger alone. We are one. You will not go alone."
"Maybe they don't need us after all," Camara Tal snorted with a slight smile.
"Why do you say that?" Faalken asked.
"I've seen them fight seperately. I wouldn't fight them together for all the money in the world." She tossed her raven tail of hair back over her shoulder. "They may have the Doomwalker down before the Faerie can get over there to destroy it."
"Not quite," Dolanna said. "Doomwalkers can only be harmed by magical weapons. Faalken is the only one of us fortunate to own one."
"That's no problem, Dolanna," Phandebrass said with a smile. "I know a spell that places a temporary enchantment into a weapon. It'll make it just as good as a magical weapon, but the effect only lasts about fifteen minutes."
"I know a spell that will extend the effect of another spell," Camara Tal added. "I can stretch that fifteen minutes into nearly an hour."
"It'll work on a wizard spell?" Phandebrass asked.
"If it didn't, I wouldn't have mentioned it," she replied.
"That'll give us real weapons against it," Faalken said approvingly.
"Then that is what we will do," Dolanna said. "If we find the Doomwalker is indeed there, we will withdraw to an appropriate area. Phandebrass and Camara Tal will prepare the weapons, and we will wait for it. Once it arrives, Tarrin and Allia will commit it to battle. When they do, Sarraya cuts it off, we surround it, then we weaken it to the point where Sarraya can destroy it. She must do this on the first try. If she fails, the Doomwalker will certainly flee, and attempt to ambush us later."