Chapter 90: 88
Running outside in winter, in good weather, cool air - what could be better? Well, this is provided that you are not running at night, not on the roofs of houses, there is not ice under your feet, and you are not being chased by the Death Knight - an incredibly dangerous individual, superior in strength to a dozen "intelligent" draugr. And yes, the weather is beautiful.
Our run had been going on for about ten minutes. Al maneuvered between the houses as best he could, trying to throw the dead man off his tail, but with truly deadly stubbornness he did not lag behind, sometimes even approaching an unacceptably close distance.
After these ten minutes of running, the knight got bored with the chase and decided to change tactics. Stopping in place, the knight began to sharply "absorb" the mana surrounding him.
- R-ah! - he roared and with a sharp wave of his hand sent a thick, green fog towards the werewolf.
- Al! Beware! - I shouted at the top of my lungs. This time I didn't use the artifact; you never know he'll switch to me once he feels the small fluctuations in mana.
The werewolf managed to react, jumping away from the blow. However, the fog was still able to slightly catch his back, left paw.
- Aw! - he howled in pain, but still continued to climb to the top. His claws helped him to cling to the unevenness of the icy surface, and he soon climbed to the top, otherwise he did not use the affected paw.
Is he really a werewolf? Maybe a giant cat? And you never know...
Not standing still, I jumped onto the nearest roof to Al and, using telekinesis, began to help him. I spent an unacceptable amount of psi on this action; after all, interacting with the living using telekinesis is a much more expensive action than with ordinary objects.
As soon as Al climbed onto the roof, we started running again. Somewhere behind us, an offended roar sounded again, only now its owner was not pursuing us so diligently. Only the poisonous green fog continued to follow inexorably in our footsteps.
*****
A jump, another jump, followed by the next one... And we still don't stop. The death knight is left behind, as are his spells, but we still run and run. After all, where there is one enemy, there may be a second one.
Finally, twenty minutes after our last encounter with the dead man, we finally decided to stop.
Having jumped over the next street, we cleared ourselves on the roof of one of the shops, sort of like a tailor's shop.
Al tiredly fell to the ground, beginning to breathe heavily. I first looked around and hurried towards him.
A quick examination of his wounds yielded a disappointing conclusion - poisoning plus the onset of rotting.
"Al," called the werewolf. "Your body was poisoned with magical poison, and the wound began to rot because of the same poison." It is necessary to get rid of it, plus heal the wound. This will take about half an hour.
"It's bad," the giant wolf answered me dully. "They may well catch up with us during this time. Are there any other options?
- Cut off the rotting raft, allowing your body to heal this wound on its own. Well, I'll do my best to rid your body of poison," he offered another option. - This will reduce the time spent. Somewhere from a third to a half.
"C-cut," growled the werewolf who had approached.
Nodding to him, I created a sharp dagger with a wave of my wand. Having intercepted him more comfortably, I cut off about one-seventh of Al's paw with one sharp but precise blow.
"Uh-oh," he still couldn't stand it and whined slightly.
Throwing away the piece of rotten meat, he began to treat himself. First, in a couple of seconds, I disinfected the wound and cast a couple of spells to speed up the healing of the limb.
Having finished with the paw, which had already begun to regenerate, I began the main task - getting rid of the poison.
Having scanned the patient's body with the help of a spell, the vision mage also cast several spells that block the spread of this poison. Thank Merlin he didn't have time to get to the organs.
Having stopped the further advance of the poison, he began to remove it. Everything here is simple, although it will require unrealistic control, despite the fact that I have already managed to restore it and slightly increase it. It is necessary not only to synchronize our mana, but also to create a kind of analogue of a magic sponge that will absorb magical poison.
Well, let's get started.
*****
"Phew," I exhaled, moving away from the werewolf. After some fifteen minutes, the patient was saved, although weakened. A lot of mana has been spent, but there is time to restore it.
Just another practice, what can I say. It took me hours to remove magical poison from a victim's body. It's not in vain that I went to Greenland, huh.
- How are you? — asked the werewolf, while analyzing the effect of the scanning spell. It seems like I didn't miss anything...
"All right, just tired," Al responded. This time his voice was calm, albeit tired. Great, that means everything is really good.
- Well then, get up. Your paw has healed, but we still need to somehow get out of here," I cheerfully (I hope...) told him and, setting an example, I got up from my favorite place. Having quickly updated the visa (and it keeps coming out better and better, faster and faster), I began to wait for Al.
He didn't disappoint. Without whining about fatigue or anything else (although he was really very tired. Magical poisons do not leave their mark on the body), he quickly stood up, assumed his "camouflage" image and headed towards the roof of the building.
"I think we should continue our journey across the rooftops." As much as we can," nodding his head, thereby showing that he heard me, Al jumped to another roof.
I didn't stand still, but went after him. Another run. Yes, I'll become a marathon runner, even among metamorphs.
*****
After another hour of our running, Al suddenly stopped and began to sniff. Looking at him with interest, I asked:
— Did you smell something interesting? - Without responding, Al nodded to me. Not bothering to distract him, I began to wait until he understood what exactly he smelled.
The wait wasn't long. After about ten seconds I finally realized what it was.
"The smell of Ed," he answered excitedly. ABOUT? This is already interesting. What has our brave vampire forgotten here? Although not so, why did the dragon-lich bring him here? - "Slightly weird, often subtly different, but still it's his smell."
- And what will we do? - I asked him a question. Still, a lot depends on his answer. And no matter what he answers, I will still follow him. Al is much stronger than me and can save me if anything happens. When will I become strong enough?
- "Like what? Let's go get him! — the werewolf answered confidently and, without waiting for my answer, ran in only one direction, known only to him. Shrugging his shoulders, he ran after him.
The werewolf disappointed me. And there were several reasons why. The first is that in normal times he is the leader of the squad, which means he must know that all its members are under his responsibility. What do we see now? Without cooperating with other members of the detachment, completely forgetting that I was with him, he headed off to an unknown place, unknown why. Moreover, it is not known how long the vampire has been here, maybe he is no longer here at all.
Second, I'm a child. He drags me along with him. For what? Why? What if something happens to me? It doesn't bother him at all.
Third, this whole situation could well be an ambush, but he didn't even think about it and simply flies there headlong.
Well, fourthly, if the vampire is still alive, then a couple of days will not make a difference. We could easily go back, unite with the rest of the squad and return here. Could the dead stop us? Pfft, remember the artifact they gave me? It would be a teleport. I think the gnome could easily make the same one, just to take us here.
Al may not be that bad, but in this situation he showed himself to be an irresponsible adult and also an incompetent leader of the squad that he didn't even think about the other members of the squad. So what if the vampire is his best friend? This is not a reason to be rude to other teammates...
Okay, enough of that. It is better to prepare for a future ambush, and it is also worth catching up with the werewolf. He's too playful.
*****
About twenty minutes later we arrived at the place where the smell of the vampire was felt most acutely. Oh surprise, this place turned out to be the central building of the city, the castle.
Looking sideways at the werewolf and listening to his emotions, I sighed tiredly. Eh, even this doesn't bother him. Can you tell?
"Al, this could very well be a trap," he tried to convey his words to the werewolf. - Judge for yourself. During all the time of our wandering you have not felt his scent, and then suddenly he turns out to be somewhere nearby. Further on, the source of the smell is in the central part of the city - the castle. Don't you think this is suspicious? — Doubt began to arise in the werewolf's emotions, but at that very moment it disappeared under a wave of determination.
"Perhaps, but I will not retreat," the werewolf answered with conviction. - "He's here, I know."
Having finished, he headed towards the castle. Shaking his head, he followed him.
What was the castle like? Well, it was built in a square, on each top there was a square tower. In one of the walls there was a gate with a lowering bridge, which at the moment, lo and behold, was lowered. And in the center of the peculiar square was the main building of the castle - a kind of pyramid, with branching "corridors" to each of the walls. At the top of the pyramid there was also something like a tower, just the thing for an observation post.
Getting inside the castle was not difficult. The bridge was not guarded by anyone, and the loopholes were empty. I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is a trap.
Behind the wall we were greeted by a well-groomed, "crystal" garden. Various tree species and colors were planted along the stone paths. We were now walking along our native one, surrounded by crystal... tulips?
Lo and behold, the road led us to the main entrance, which of course was open. I was hoping that at least this should alert the werewolf, but my hopes did not come true. The wolf, although more like a ram, walked forward.
- Al, this is definitely a trap. Well, it can't be that simple. How can you not understand this...
- "Shut your r-mouth!" — the voice of the werewolf growled angrily in my head. What...? - "Go silently!"
Marvelous. What happened to him? Very similar to brainwashing. But by whom? And why?
After wandering around the castle for a bit, we finally approached the main hall. The bulky wooden gates, which had become crystal, were, of course, slightly open. Because of them, one could discern a slight twilight that enveloped the entire hall.
Al flew into the room without even preparing. Stepping carefully, I followed him.
We found ourselves in a sort of throne room. Gigantic, twisted columns hung with tapestries. There were various statues along the walls. There were stained glass windows along the walls. All this made a rather impressive impression, as did the marble floor and mosaic on the ceiling. And all this was "crystal". (For those who don't understand, let me explain. "Crystal" is the same ice, only more fragile, not like the rest of the splendor created by the magician from the elven forest.)
There was a throne at the far wall, which was partially covered in twilight. A human figure sat on the throne. His face was hidden in the shadows, but the rest of his body was dressed in a sort of royal robe. I think I know who it is...
It was towards this figure that the werewolf headed. Without approaching the throne, he turned back into a man and whispered in disbelief:
- Ed? You are alive? — with every word his speech became stronger and louder. - Ha ha ha, you can't imagine how happy Sol will be with you. How did you end up here?
Without continuing to listen, I slowly began to retreat backwards, but my maneuver was not crowned with success. It turned out that the door leading to the throne room was already closed. It happened without a sound! Mordred. We should have stayed outside the room.
- ABOUT! Al! "It's good to see you, my friend," the vampire said cheerfully, rising from his throne. "I'm so glad you're here." Why are you alone? Where are the others?
- Oh, it's a long story. "They stayed in the camp," Al answered easily. - Listen, so much happened while we were walking to you. You will not believe…
- We? Was there anyone else with you? — the vampire interrupted the werewolf. Even at such a distance, I could hear his emotions: disdain, slight interest and pride.
- Well, yes. "Calder is also here," the werewolf answered Ed. And then turning to the door he shouted. - Kol! You can show yourself. "I told you it was Ed," there was no answer to his words. At this moment I tried to hide behind one of the columns. - Kol?
"And he's much smarter than you, Al," said the vampire, instantly appearing behind the werewolf's back. He knocked Al out with a blow to the neck. Even from this distance I can tell that the blow was monstrous.
The werewolf fell to the ground like a waterless doll.
- Well, why don't you show yourself, huh? "Little metamorph," the vampire said playfully. "I don't even feel you." Marvelous. What else can you do? - There was no answer to him. - Well, stop playing. You know you can't leave," silence again. Judging by his face, he is not very pleased with this. Look, he pursed his lips. - Well, you left me no choice.
With a wave of his hand, fog began to spread from the vampire in all directions. Slowly, but without begging, he covered the floor. In a slight panic, he climbed up the table, although he understood that this was a temporary solution.
Gradually, a bloody fog began to rise, engulfing this room.
"You know, I'm very interested to know why you began to suspect me," he sold his speech. "I understand that you won't answer now, but..." at that moment I felt danger from behind, but I didn't have time to do anything. - I already found you.
There was a flash of pain and darkness began to invite the world in. Only one thought was racing through my head.
I hate vampires and werewolves.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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