Chapter 209: The Owner of Tecas (3)
The air was thick with heat, smoke, and flames. Acrid fumes soon consumed the fog and spread like a black cloud. Amidst the rising infernos, panicked citizens burst out onto the streets.
"Fi-fire!"
A city of Harthol's size naturally had some level of fire response measures in place. Moreover, with numerous merchant guilds gathering there for trade, the city housed plenty of seasoned warriors and mages.
"Cover your mouths with damp cloths!"
"Fetch water, quickly!"
The scrambling townsfolk rushed toward the wells. Meanwhile, warriors desperately hacked apart burning buildings to stop the fire from spreading.
"Bring it down! We can't let it reach the other blocks!"
The mages, too, lent their strength through destructive spells. Their initial plan was to use water magic to snuff out the fires, but the dry air made it impossible.
One of the townsfolk shouted, "Can't you make it rain, mage?!"
The exasperated mage snapped back, "If I could do that, do you think I'd still be living here?!"
A large-scale climate manipulation spell required an eighth circle mage or higher, and such an overwhelmingly powerful spell was far beyond their capabilities. Most of the mages present were third or fourth circle, nowhere strong near enough to pull off such a feat. Despite their frantic efforts, the fire was spreading faster than they could control it.
A merchant scowled. Damn it. There's no way this fire started by accident.