Chapter 11: Chapter 8 Home Sweet Home

Lyzander leapt from his position in the alcove, unguided by his innate ability to calculate optimal outcomes. Flying through the darkness, he strained his ears to the maximum to listen for sounds in the wind. 

I hope this wasn’t a bad idea… I’m flying blind.

Suddenly, the sound of taunt rope bouncing could be heard through the darkness and a faint guideline reappears, weakly fluttering in and out of existence. Through the cacophony of noise, he was alerted he had severely misjudged his jump by the subtle rattle of loose tiles at the roof’s ledge.

Fuck, I need to do something fast!

With the reappearance of the flickering guideline, Lyzander could now determine the unavoidable danger right in front of him. He was about to collide with the roof edge, hard. In an effort to salvage the situation, Lyzander threw his weight forward into a headfirst dive.

His head narrowly missed the ledge, but his torso wasn’t as fortunate. He inhaled a sharp gasp at the hard impact but his momentum was now too great to be stopped. Instead, he bounced and scattered tiles in all directions as he repositioned his body with a twist of his shoulders. 

Plummeting over the edge amid a cascade of tiles, Lyzander sucked in his gut and contorted himself into a ball. Under the direction of the faint guideline, he hastily spun himself into an upright position and snapped his legs straight under him, unexpectedly making contact. He threw his arms out wide and began to sprint forward.

Tethering unsteadily for balance on the taut rope, he could calculate each of his steps from the feedback from the previous one. His already pale face turned even whiter with fear. Erratic equations inside his mind made it much more difficult to maintain his guide. The reassuring sound of the rope in the wind was drowned out by thunderous noise as the precarious tiles of the dwelling behind him began to avalanche.

Without hesitation, Lyzander abandoned all calculations and used the taut rope as a trampoline and launched himself forward in the darkness. His heart became frantic as he felt himself start to fall below the level of the washing line. But his blind faith was rewarded with the collision of his balcony rails in the darkness knocking the air from his lungs. He fought rising panic as he failed to inhale air into his starved lungs.

Ignoring all else, Lyzander struggled to haul his winded body over the railing. He landed on the rotting floorboards safely. For those with the knowledge, the rotting was cosmetic only, Lyzander had cast a spell similar to the one used on the watchman that suspended them in time for a limited duration. Obviously much less complex on an inanimate object than a person so it would last for exponentially longer. 

Lyzander finally managed to draw in a sharp breath. His relief was palpable as he savoured the sweet feeling of air once again filling his lungs. He tentatively sat up and peered through the gaps in his balcony for a short amount of time, purple dawn was starting to light the area. The torrent of tiles had slowed to a halt, the roof was almost entirely bare. Only a few tiles remained teetering out of place on the exposed lath.

Lyzander cackled quietly in amusement as he saw a familiar figure imitating him scale the building undetected. He kept the rising dawn from revealing his identity to stand on display above the rafters of the bare rooftop.

You are reading story Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] at novel35.com

“Up there, the fugitive is on the rooftops! Ooof!” the shout of a guardsman was interrupted by the impact of a rock finding its mark. “Ugh, forget this lot, we have a job to do. Men, get onto that roof right now!”

“Yes, sergeant!” a single voice responded to the command.

“Corporal, did you hear me? Don’t tell me you’re out here sleeping on the job. If that’s the case, I’ll have your hide back at base. Quick after him, before he gets away!” the sergeant shouted from the muck-filled street.

He pulled the brass whistle from around his neck and began urgently blowing into it with a coded signal to summon reinforcements to his position. He followed the obscured decoy figure of Eryndor effortlessly leaping and scaling over the roof obstacles. Lyzander could see the disbelief on the man’s face as he looked back at his subordinate stranded on the other side of the row of buildings. 

“For fuck’s sake, man. Just get down from there on the other street. We can at least ensure he can’t get down,” The sergeant ordered his man back down with a curse. 

He resumed blowing the whistle while maintaining the chase as answering whistles from other areas of the city closed in on his position. Lyzander watched the remaining guardsman clamber out of sight down the house back-to-back with the exposed dwelling. Lyzander turned his back against the reassuring hardness of the railing, letting out a sigh of relief. 

They’re gone now, it should be clear to go inside. I could use some sleep but it’s still not safe here. I just need to pack my things and leave as quickly as possible.

Lyzander popped his head up and urgently reeled in his washing from the line. He pried off his filthy ceremonial marriage attire and carelessly dumped it on the balcony. He stood naked and held the antique pipe in his hand, channelling on his depleted mana pool to draw a series of symbols. 

A wave of light washed over the surface of his skin, clearing every inch of filth from his body, and leaving him feeling clean and rejuvenated. He went to retrieve his laundry from the line to dress in. A click from the door behind him caused Lyzander to freeze, the lock he had installed himself had unlocked from the inside.

He slowly turned to investigate, his body completely exposed in the dawn twilight. Unexpectedly standing in the doorway was Rook, eyeing his athletic body with an appraising look. She had removed her headscarf to reveal lustrous blonde hair. The Gnomish girl had taken obvious care to wash herself and her clothes in the basin before his arrival. He had never clearly seen her face before, it was a surprise that he ever mistook her for anything other than a woman. Without saying a word, she silently grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside and carefully closed the door behind him.

You can find story with these keywords: Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series], Read Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series], Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] novel, Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] book, Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] story, Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] full, Lyzänder: Tales of a Halfling Mage [A House of Worldly Delight Series] Latest Chapter