The communication crystal rang when Ludwig was halfway back to the citadel. He withdrew it from his pocket, and Celine's familiar face appeared above its surface.
"Hey."
"Hello. Where are you?"
"Outside the citadel, testing some new spells."
"Anything interesting?"
Ludwig looked over his shoulder toward the canyon. Dust still lingered above one section of the distant cliffs.
"One creates a massive cloud of darkness that eats flesh. Another shoots black lightning, and the last makes giant bone spikes erupt from the ground."
Celine raised an eyebrow, looking about as impressed as he had expected.
"Those sound pleasant."
"They're surprisingly effective. Especially the first one. Kaiser calls it an excellent crowd-control spell."
"Of course he does."
"He seemed more excited about how efficiently it consumes organic material than anything else."
"That also sounds like Kaiser."
