“They used magic. When they were captured, the surviving bandits said that they’d used a [Sleep] spell on the road. Apparently they took him unawares, before he knew they were there. It’s rare that a Courier doesn’t have magical items to ward against such spells, but—”
Ryoka’s hand had gone over her mouth when the woman mentioned the [Sleep] spell. When the [Receptionist] got to the part about magical items Ryoka threw up.
“Not [Sleep]. A higher-Tier variation on the spell that involves a living vector. [Mites of Slumber]. A fine spell to use on the unwary. Even Gold-rank adventurers are not unsusceptible to its effects. Although I imagine Halrac might have noticed even in his sleep.”
“—thick-headed idiots! How did you not resist a [Sleep] spell? How did you miss the [Mage] who cast it? I should tie rocks to all of your tails and toss you into the lake for the Rock Crabs to eat! Give me one reason why I shouldn’t stab you all to death for failing to guard—”
“Only in chess, Yerra. But you’re right. In this game, as you know, I’ve set only one rule: no one gets hurt. And by hurt, I mean, no one dies or suffers permanent injury. You can knock someone out, put them under a [Sleep] spell, use confusion magic, illusions—I draw the line at shooting someone in the legs with arrows because accidents happen, and blood’s so damned hard to wash away—but everything short of that is fine. So cheat away. You’ll need to.”
No one had heard her screams. Her rooms were warded. Montressa knew to cast the spell each night in case she dreamed of the past. She was too afraid to sleep again. So she just sat there, too afraid to cast a [Sleep] spell.
“Valceif was killed by some no-name [Bandits] with a [Sleep] spell. He’s dead. My son. All that time…he would have eclipsed me. He would have been a great Courier. He already was, at his age! What am I supposed to do with this fury? It’s not for you. It’s wasted on you.”
Chaldion, [Grand Strategist] of Pallass, was monitoring the events as they unfolded in real-time. They had [Scrying] spells, after all, and unlike most modern enemies, their foes were magically deficient. It should have been ridiculously easy to win against a foe that couldn’t resist a basic [Sleep] spell.
Someone tumbled out of her room and clashed down the stairs. A Gnoll, who’d fallen asleep with the help of a [Sleep] spell, woke, and raced after Erin.
