Page 29 of I Ran Away to Evil #3
The Western Star Needs to Crest the Tree Line
Julian
Julian followed Barry and Lomen into the alley. There were five doors: four on the left and one on the building they’d just jumped down from.
“I’ll check if any are guarded.” Lomen raised his staff and covered the tip with a black cloth before casting his spell. “By Shade and Light Revealed that Which is Concealed [Inspect].”
The fabric hid the burst of red light from the spell.
“This door is unlocked, and I don’t detect any protection spells,” the mage whispered, pointing at the door on the right. “Let me check the other doors.”
The shadows on the wall beside Julian rippled. John had returned.
The human rogue wouldn’t reveal himself until ordered to; they’d been on enough missions together where stealth was life and death. Once he had merged with Julian’s shadow, he sent a [Shadow Chat].
[The bridge troll escaped my shadow.]
“What?” The word slipped out before he could hold it back.
[The bridge troll escaped my shadow.]
Julian furrowed his brow, replying in the chat.
[When?]
[A few minutes after you left the palace.]
[Why are you only telling me this now?]
[She used some sort of portal skill, so I’d assumed she didn’t go far …]
John’s shadow sounded sheepish. The city restricted portal use within small areas, and the rogues tracking skills were powerful enough he should’ve found Gerda easily.
[I was wrong. And your mother had a task for my palace shadow, so I was unable to leave from there to chase you. This is the shadow that was originally with the bridge troll.]
[What did my mother want?]
[She had me retrieve the Arc Warden from the treasury and bring it to her in the palace observatory.]
Julian cursed.
Barry raised an eyebrow at the duke, but Lomen flinched, saying, “I-I’m done.”
“Good, because we just ran out of time.”
He eyed the pair.
Lomen seemed like the anxious type who followed through with his orders, but Barry was in it for the amusement and the challenge. The latter wasn’t a safe bet, but he was the more likely to get the job done well .
“Barry, I need you out of the port gates. Now ,” Julian instructed. “I’ll give you a bag of gold and a shiny treasure from my personal stash if you inspect the docks and rescue my sister should you find her.”
“Why now?” the human asked, but his eyes gleamed at the request.
“Because the entire city is about to get magically sealed.”
“Alright. Later, Lomen.” Barry smiled, waved at the elf, and then he was gone . Julian’s twenty-five Perception wasn’t enough to catch what happened, but he did note the scuff in the dust of the alley floor.
“Wait!” Lomen’s voice was high pitched, and he turned on Julian. “You aren’t expecting us to actually find and rescue your sister on this side without Barry?”
“Did you learn anything from your spell earlier?” Julian gestured at the doors.
“Of course.” Lomen pointed his staff at the second door on the left. “That door is the only one magically guarded.”
Julian nodded. “Can you get through its defense?”
The elf scoffed. “Who am I?” He raised his free hand. “By Gates between and Sight Unseen, Threads Unwind and Pass through Clean, [Undetected Interference].”
The spell took, and he picked the lock without setting off any alarms, opening the door into a long hallway that spanned the side of the building. Before Lomen could go in, Julian held him back and activated his [Barrier].
[You have attempted to use the Perk: Multi-Target Shield . You have succeeded …]
As long as Lomen had a shield on him, Julian could activate further abilities to protect the mage. “ Now you can go.”
There were no doors on the inside where he could clearly see them on the outside. It looked promising, but he wanted eyes everywhere.
[John, go check the next building and meet me in the loading bay area in ten minutes.]
The shadow slipped out before Julian closed the door behind him. Lomen had a finger pressed to his own lips while waving to catch Julian’s attention. There were voices coming from one end of the hall.
The pair moved closer.
“… and you promised we’d be out of here before dinner!” a man’s voice grumbled. He had a slight accent that softened his O ’s into A ’s. It was a dialect common to seafarers on the southwest coast. “ Now you’re saying it’s too soon? What’s too soon?”
Another voice replied, this one deep and somber. “The western star needs to crest the tree line.”
“We wait that long, and we might not make it out to sea!” the first voice countered, frustration clear. “I’m calling it—we ride out now .”
“It is too late to leave now,” the deep voice said sadly. “Wait until the star tomorrow.”
“ Tomorrow?! The depths with your nonsense, Wayfaring Vashid. If you aren’t on the carriage in five minutes, then we’re leaving you behind.”
“My friend—” the deeper voice called out as a door opened and then loudly closed. There was a sigh, and the man spoke into the silence. “There is no use if the way is already barred.”