The Portal
With sweat on her brow and fear in her eyes, Althea yells: "They have Ellie!" as she points at the silk-spun sac of the gargoyle that just entered the portal.
Terrick without any regard for his safety runs into the chaos of battle that was between him and the portal.
Without missing a beat, both Fan and Kuart try to open a path to reach the portal. Kuart pummels through the numerous monsters like they were wet paper while trying to shield the young magicians. Within seconds, the group reaches the portal but it was about to close.
Sensing Dark element in the portal itself, Bryce tries to manipulate the doorway to remain open. It felt like trying to carry a weight that was just beyond your strength.
"Portals are powered by Dark element. You should be able to stabilize it long enough for you guys to enter. But that's it. You would have to find your own way of coming back and we don't know where they when or if you can even return from such as place. The five of them share a look and nodded with intent. They knew not what waited for them on the other side of the portal, but they were going.
Meanwhile, Fan was furiously writing a small magic circle that grew to the size of the portal's opening. "There isn't much time. This is the only magic circle I know that draws on ambient Dark mana. I will try to keep the doorway stable from this side, if you want to follow and rescue Ellie." Fan explains while clearly struggling.
"I can buy you a minute tops. You will have to provide the dark energy from inside the portal." She finishes with a straining smile.
With a firm resolve and a quiet nod, Bryce enters first followed by Terrick. Althea came last as she was in the middle of Healing both Vane and Lest from behind. Bryce tries to maintain the Dark energy needed to maintain the portal but it was depleting his reservoir at an astronomical rate.
From inside, the portal looks like the center of a tornado with energies and forces threatening to rip and tear the young magicians. Gale force winds was also rushing through the corridor which made crossing it slower and more dangerous. Their run slowed to a crawl and every step became a feat of strength and determination.
The only force keeping the torrent of energies at bay was the Dark mana being supplied to it. In one end, Fan is keeping the doorway open with Kuart visibly trying to keep the other monsters from entering. The other end is still too far way. The corridor itself seems to be at least 300 feet long.
"We have to hurry. I don't know how long I can keep feeding this portal Dark energy and we have a ways to go yet."
Bryce could tell that their enemies having cleared the portal and no longer feeding it mana. Thus, it fell on him to keep the corridor's end point open and intact. They began running using the last of their powers but about a third of the way to the end, the corridor from Fan and Kuart's side begins to collapse. Bryce falters in his run from the mana depletion. In one fell swoop, Terrick takes him to up to his shoulders.
Realizing what happened, Althea diverts from Healing Lest and Vane who seemed to have recovered enough. She casts one of her newer Light spells, Invigorate. This spell allows one to recover mana and from physical damage. However, Bryce was expending mana faster than he was recovering and the passage way caves in further. This time, the twins are engulfed by the collapse. They fall through and disappear.
Only 30 or so feet left to go and Althea is laying her hands on Bryce basically transferring the last of her mana to maintain the Invigoration spell. The walls have now warped giving way to the release of energies around them is so potent that Terrick had to put Bryce down on what would otherwise be called the floor. Another powerful current rend the huddling three apart. Terrick is sucked into a maelstrom of swirling energies and also disappears. Althea hung on as best as she could to Bryce who was losing consciousness. Then the portal completely tears apart. The two friends are forced apart into different directions within the void.