[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230929/a2080ed81b155b32bcbc521c05f55866.png[/img][/center]
James watched with peeled eyes as Zell approached the new figures, he had been about to offer aid to the one who seemed hurt but Zell's actions gave him pause, he had known the man for a couple days now and he felt confident the man was far from stupid, even less so when dealing with social matters. So he just watched as he did his thing, trusting in his instincts the same way he trusted the other members of the party in their own ways.

[quote=Zell]
"No source crystal!  He's fucking lying.  All these bastards around here are fucking compromised."
[/quote]
[color=df73ff][i]"FUCK!"[/i][/color]

He reacted at the same time as Adam but where the former took aggressive measures he focused on protection. He had a shiny new spell for defense but they were too separated to use it effectively so instead he used the familiar blessing.

[color=6ecff6][b][i]"I call to you Lord Undaya, Ruler of the seas and King of the ocean, bestow upon us your blessing, to be as cold and unwavering as you are in the deep below"[/i][/b][/color]

Guided mostly by instinct he took his anchor and with a small flourish [i]slammed[/i] it against the ground, the moment it made contact with the ground he could feel the familiar shield enveloping his party. A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind but he let them go, focusing on the battlefield.

"Shields up! Take care of the archers, don't let them interfere, the rest focus on the mage! Don't let him cast!"

He had counterspell but its uses were limited and this was just the beginning, he had to manage his resources if he wanted to keep everyone alive.

Nobody was going to die, not again.