MAGICKA: THE NINTH ELEMENT
3: THE DANGEROUS ROOM Every surface of the room sprouted threats. There were knives and spikes and spinning razors! Automated arrows and spears ready to launch! Poison fumes billowing from vents high and low! Strangely glowing crystals in the ceiling! The Wizards crowded together back-to-back, clutching their staves. Each held the basic wooden Wizard staff issued by the Order of Magick to its members – nothing fancy, just an inch-thick length of spruce or pine, sanded smooth. The Order bought its staves in bulk from master carver Máni One-Thumb, who topped each staff with his trademark half-moon “catcher”, hand-carved and soundly fitted to the shaft. The catcher is the focus for a Wizard’s channeling of elements into spells. In the crook of each wooden halfmoon flickered a ball of blue-white elemental light indicating an active staff, ready for spellcasting. Unfortunately, the basic staff does not come loaded with innate defenses as do many high-end models and custom jobs. If a Wizard is in a state of confused panic and neglects to actually cast a spell of protection the staff will not do it for him. Such was the case for most 12