Page 179 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
[You have been poisoned byDandyvine. You have taken 40 points ofBleeddamage to all senses.]
In preparation for the ambush, Alice had poisoned some of the ice spears, so the debris and snow and dust that had kicked up from the impact had poison effects.
Julian cursed, but since he was protected under the pile of ice braced overhead by his shield, he took a moment to pop an antidote and a health potion. He’d barely opened the top of a mana potion when he heard the muffled sounds of talking.
“A little earlier than planned, but it’ll do.”
“Julian!” Gerda’s voice was laced with panic, and Julian dropped the empty mana bottle to thrust aside the ice spear that had been trapping him.
Alice was downing a potion, unharmed, with the rest of her party members, standing where the wyvern had been. The boss monster was gone, and in its place was a blue spire pedestal with a glowing orb on top. The dungeon core.
He turned to see the wreckage that was his party.
Jeffry was nowhere to be seen, trapped somewhere under the rubble. Tully cursed as he downed an antidote, but otherwise looked unscathed. Pram was standing with Gerda under an ice wall that wrapped around them for protection … and John was at their feet, semicrushed by a pile of large ice spears. The man was unconscious.
Julian immediately cast [Multi-Target Shield] again and sunk his newly refilled mana into healing his party members with [Divine Heal].
If Alice reached out to touch the dungeon core, she would open the exit. She could escape, having claimed her prize. But then Gerda might escape as well, and Julian didn’t think the celestial would allow that.
It was two steps with [Light Foot] to land on the platform beside his panicked troll.
“It’ll be alright,” he told her.
“No, it won’t. You need to focus on fighting and not defending me,” Gerda argued.
Julian lifted the ice off John as Pram pulled the human free.
Gerda suddenly pulled Julian’s shirt, bending him forward toward her shoulder. A blast of [Void Arrow] whizzed where his head had been.
“Thanks,” he said, straightening. “John.”
The newly healed rogue groaned. “One second.” He was still lying at their feet, with Pram crouched beside him checking his recovery.
“One,” Julian said.
“Alright, alright.” The rogue sank into a pool of shadow that disappeared into the field of ice spears and slunk into the stalactite graveyard.
Alice lifted a hand in some unknown signal and ordered, “Defend the dungeon core but don’t touch it.”
Tully, who was closest to Alice’s party, pulled out a small hand ax and hurled it at the beastfolk. The leopard ducked, and the ax hit the lizardkin blunt side to the nose.
She toppled over.
“Ah, ah, ah.” Alice pointed at Tully. “Wrapped in Empty Embrace, [Void Cage].”
Tully tried to leap out of the way, but since he was hemmed in by ice, Alice guessed his next move perfectly. A pink Void bubble trapped the paladin.
“By Battle Movement Be Undone, [Prisoner Exchange].” Tully activated one of his rarer paladin abilities. Tully and the giant traded places, bringing Tully within range of the dungeon core … but before he could touch it, Alice’s hand grabbed his wrist.
And Tully was suddenly portaled away, dropping from the ceiling upside down toward a particularly jagged collection of ice and stone.
He barely managed to catch himself.
Alice waved a hand at the Void bubble and it popped, releasing the giant … just in time for John to reach out of the shadows and lock a familiar set of manacles around the giant’s wrists.
“Notyouagain,” Alice cursed, attempting to throw a poison dagger at John, but he’d slipped back into the shadows.
“Alice!” Gerda shouted. “Why are you even here? You’re the Keeper of Fate. Youknowit was Julian’s fate to conquer this dungeon, and yet here you are, standing in the way of his destiny.”
