Page 167 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
[I’m calling everyone in. Now. John, go get Tully.]
Not three seconds later, John’s shadow deposited Tully in the doorway. The paladin stumbled from the teleport. “Hey! I canread,you know!”
Gerda, who’d otherwise remained passive to the party banter, asked innocently, “But will you? It remains to be seen.”
“Not you too, Miss Gerda!” Tully lamented, pushing aside one of the slumped tent flaps to join them.
“Look what I found!” Pram wandered in with a chunk of burning yule log. It was giving off a pleasant heat. He put it down in the middle of the tent.
Gerda pulled out her enchanted blanket and put it down beside the fire. The ice and snow from her boots and cloak muddied the edge, but she looked comfortable.
Pram sat on the ice directly, Jeffry summoned a three-pronged leather stool, and Visha stood beside Julian. Tully leaned on his war hammer.
[John, report.]
[My shadows are following a clear path of destruction around the lake, and I’ve found no signs of monsters. I would bet money they’ve already moved to the next floor.]
[Three gold they’re still here!]
That last one was Tully.
[That’swhat you reply to?]
Visha added. Aloud, she sighed. “I’m not even surprised anymore.”
“Change of plans.” Julian told the group. “Since someone cleared the floor before us, the monster spawn time has been moved forward. If we stay here, we might not get a proper resting period, but if we push ahead, we might not get one at all. We’ve no idea if the other adventurers are friendly. We also don’t know how familiar they are with this dungeon.
“Evenifthey haven’t previously conquered the dungeon core, they could’ve been grinding levels here for any number of days, months, or years. Which means we should assume they could be hostileandhave the advantage.”
“The storm doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up anytime soon.” Jeffry reached for the two tent flaps, dropping one but leaving the other open. There were small, tasseled ropes hanging on each flap, and he tied them together. Doing so activated an enchanted barrier against the elements; rain, snow, wind, and heat were repelled, allowing everyone to see outside without worry.
“I say we push ahead,” Sir Tully stated.
“John will find out if they’re still here even if we don’t.” Visha eyed the human with exasperation.
“What’s the loss of one rest period?” he said. “A few mana potions, and we’ll all be good to go.”
Pram mused, “I like sleep, but I’m happy to continue on without.”
Julian asked,
[John, how is the storm?]
[It’s bad, but it doesn’t look like it’ll let up anytime soon, and I could shadow jump everyone when I find the next platform.]
That would leave John without mana and his ability on cooldown when they crossed into the next floor. He only had so many shadow jumps per hour.
[Then we’ll move ahead.]
Julian made the decision. To everyone in the tent, he said, “We’ll stay here until John finds the entry to level seven. Enjoy the warmth while you can.”
CHAPTER 91
There’s Someone Else Here
Gerda
“I’ve never actually used [Dimension Rift] on another person before,” I told my party members. “But the ability allows it.”
