Page 181 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
I was particularly drawn to the floating vase suspended midair, surrounded by a Void Dimension bubble a mere inch off the ground. Whoever the blonde mage working for Duke Lector was, she was a fan of historical arts. A few more pieces were encased in the pink with black spotted bubbles as I went deeper and deeper into the palace.
At some point I had to backtrack to a tower entry, but I found a scorch mark on one wall. From one of the crescent-moon windows, I saw a contingent of elves gathering up fifteen or so Blackfog spies and hauling them out into the courtyard in front of the palace doors.
“You won’t stop me!” Duke Lector’s voice shouted ahead, echoing down the tower stairs.
Lady Amy yelled back, “Lithnilheim will never accept you! Servalt has called youtraitor; give up now or else—”
“Or else what?”
The voices were louder. I’d reached the top of the spire.
“Or else this,” Knolith answered quietly. I would barely have heard it if not for my [Keen Senses].
“Argh!”
I came into the room in time to see Duke Lector standing there, missing a few parts. They would grow back eventually, or quickly with a potion, but I realized that was Knolith’s plan all along.
“You cannot use portal scrolls now,” Knolith said. There was a brutality to his work. Then again, I wasn’t the type to lop off limbs.
I wasn’t a very bloodthirsty commander general. I was amediator.
I ignored my notification tab letting me know that my predictive analysis for the duke had risen to forty-three percent. I still only had attack trajectory and perk activation warnings available.
Really, I was most interested in the woman standing on the far end of the room, on a balcony with waist-high railings. Her hood had fallen off, blonde hair blowing in the wind. The rain was still falling, but in a hazy drizzle light enough that it didn’t obscure anything.
The woman looked human of middling height, with shoulder-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her Charisma score must have been in the forties atleast, but she couldn’t have been older than eighteen herself. She was glaring at Knolith with what would have been an adorable pout that would have made me want to please her somehow—to turn that frown into a smile—if not for the fact I was already in love with Brownie, and the feeling of her passive perk was shallow and easily ignored.
“Teleport us!” Duke Lector screamed at the woman. She flinched once, raising her arms to do as she was bid.
I, of course, wouldn’t allow it. “[Secure].”
[You have attempted to use the Skill:Secure. You have succeeded. Target under the observation ofExamine. Target is restrained and cannot activate or be affected by movement abilities. Time remaining: Strength 28 x Level 54 = 00:25:20]
Knolith and Lady Amy acted in tandem, and it was too late for the duke.
The void mage, sadly, was either the same level as me or higher and not effected. She vanished in a burst of pink magic.
CHAPTER 110
Lithnilheim Is Here
Brownie
Brownie was very wet and tired, and all she wanted to do was cuddle up to a fluffy Rufus in front of a warm fire while they relaxed for the evening.
Instead, she was standing outside with the others in the light misty rain while the Hollow elves found and restrained Blackfog spies.
Everyone was on edge because no one could be sure that all of the invading force had been captured. No one was allowed to leave while Lady Hazelglade and her knights thoroughly investigated the people who had escaped the palace.
At least the Green Oak Dungeon Gate was nearby, glowing with magical green light that made the otherwise miserable gray courtyard ethereally beautiful.
“Until Duke Lector is apprehended, I want everyone on branch to guard the city. Anyone off duty should head to the wall. We want to make sure no one slips away.” Lady Hazelglade stood, ordering the knights. She was calm and collected, and everyone jumped to do her bidding. “Take Arcos Andres to lead the archers to the east—” She paused, and Brownie felt it; the world suddenlyshifted.
The rain itself felt like it paused for a single strange instant. Brownie looked up to see the overhead canopy of the Green Oak Treemoving. The minstrel reached out and grabbed her horse just as settled rainwater from a tree bigger than a literal palace fell down on them like a lake.
It soaked everything and everyone with so much water that Brownie barely remained standing with [Sturdy]. Donna neighed in discomfort, and many of the palace staff were forced to the ground under the weight of the water.
“The Forest!” Lady Hazelglade shouted. “Lithnilheim is here!”
