Chapter 29

“It turns out that the ruins were actually some sort of armory, not a laboratory. There were dozens of golems in various states of assembly that we encountered as we pushed deeper into the complex.” Said Choerteris.

“Were they turned?” asked Cesbron.

“No, unfortunately not. The whole factory was sealed like a vault; almost untouched by mamono mana.” Said Choerteris.

“What a shame.” Said Cesbron.

“Yes, but most of them were incomplete. I only had to deal with one that had a head. The rest were just torsos and limbs. The real trouble began when a mana revenant showed up.”

“Ghosts don’t sound like the kind of thing that would give you trouble. What was so special about this one?”

“This particular revenant had been leeching mana from the reserve tanks used to fuel the golems. It was the size of a house and had a temper to match. Smart too. Usually they have a one-track mind after being isolated for so long, but this one was clever enough to throw things and even activate more golems in the room.” Said Choerteris.

“How did you kill it?” asked Cesbron.

“One stab at a time. After I had drained enough spirit energy from it, I had a mage help me trap it in one of the mana tanks when it went back to feed.”

“Clever. Did the rest of the expedition go well?”

“I suppose. It was embarrassing to have been so wrong about the nature of the ruins, but I did manage to catalogue some interesting specimens and loot. I opted for an early leave to make sure that everyone was safe. If the revenant broke out of the container, it would put the team in danger. So we cracked the place wide open to let mamono mana in. I contacted a dark matter and she said that she and her husband would ensure any remaining golems or ghosts in the ruins were converted.” Said Choerteris.

“Well, that sounds like quite an adventure!” said Cesbron.

Petropa stared up at the ceiling. Her head hung over the back of the chair as she listened to her daughter drone on and on about her adventures. She knew that in a few weeks she would hear about all those adventures again when Cesbron showed her the article about her in the archaeological magazine that he subscribed to specifically for the pieces on Choerteris. She let out a sort groan.

“Are you feeling alright mother?” asked Choerteris.

Petropa straightened her neck and looked at her. “I’m fine. Are you finished with that?” she said pointing to the empty platter of food in front of Choerteris. “It looks like you are. I’ll have someone come and pick that up for you. It was wonderful to see you, have a safe trip back to whatever dusty hole you climbed out of this time.”

“You and I both know this trip is more than just a friendly visit.” Said Choerteris. She folded her hands on the table. “Where is the human?”

“That is none of your concern.” Said Petropa.

“This is too far, even for you. I can’t believe you kidnapped someone from a different dimension!” shouted Choerteris.

“You understand nothing!” retorted Petropa. “It was a summoning. He is infinitely blessed that beings ever his greater so much as laid eyes on him.”

“Hah! Is that what you are? ‘Ever his greater?’ That’s big talk coming from an old leech!”

“ENOUGH! Both of you! Why can’t you two just behave like a family for once?” said Cesbron.

“I tried that. We both know what happened.” Said Choerteris.

“All you had to do to redeem yourself was drink the blood. A pity you couldn’t see past your spite to realize your potential.” Said Petropa.

“I will NEVER drink blood.” Said Choerteris. “I don’t need to drink to fulfil my potential, and I certainly don’t need to drink to ‘redeem’ myself. If you wanted a full-blooded daughter you shouldn’t have fucked dad before you turned him.”

Petropa screamed and covered her face. “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! DON’T TALK ABOUT IT!”

“I’LL TALK ABOUT WHAT I WANT, HUMAN FUCKER!” shouted Choerteris.

Cesbron caught Petropa as she lunged across the table at Choerteris. With practiced grace, he swung Petropa away and kicked Choerteris’ hand away from her sword in one movement.

“Choerteris, go to your room.” Said Cesbron over his shoulder as he grappled his hysteric wife.

“She started it!” said Choerteris.

“I don’t care! Go!”

Choerteris muttered a string of gripes as she stormed out of the dining room. Petropa regained her composure and buried her head into Cesbron’s chest.

“Now make her leave.” She said.

“No. You said you would behave yourself!” said Cesbron.

“She was being mean!”

“Since when did you care if anyone said anything mean to you?”

“I’m her mother! She’s obligated to listen to me! All I want is for her to live up to her birthright and stop acting like some mud-spackled plebian.” Said Petropa.

“You have to give up on the notion that she’ll be the woman you want her to be. Just let her live her life and support her choices.” Said Cesbron.

“Her choices always end up in me being stabbed with that sword of hers!” shouted Petropa. “And this time there is more at stake than her societal status. Anon is Emballandae’s property; we cannot just let Choerteris abscond with our daughters beloved fiancé!”

“I’m not really sure about the whole beloved part…” whispered Cesbron under his breath.

“Not to mention that Lussazan still needs him for her experiments. It is imperative that he remain here.” Said Petropa.

“Don’t worry. There are hundreds of guards in the castle. Anon isn’t going anywhere.” Said Cesbron.

Petropa pulled away from Cesbron and began pacing. “He isn’t without help. But that savage is too obstinate to remain in our care without a fight. No matter what we do, he still sees our benevolence as ‘keeping him hostage.’ I fear that he is more clever than he appears. If he has been cozening us into a sense of complacency, he will no doubt use the arrival of Choerteris to free himself.”

“I don’t think Anon can fight hundreds of highly trained soldiers…” said Cesbron.

“No? He’s done it before. Made a fool out of my army in front of that backwater hamlet. You’ve seen how much mana he’s carrying, yes? Alone, he isn’t much of a threat. But if Choerteris were to assist him they would be able to compensate for the other’s weakness.” Said Petropa.

She held her hands behind her back and looked out one of the massive windows. Lights flickered in the windows of the castle. One of those light’s was Anon’s room.

“He could be plotting his escape this moment…”

~~~~~

You inhaled another cheese cracker from the snack tray and stifled a burp. Coughing, you took a long sip of water to quench your dry mouth.

“These things are great.” You mused as you continued to burn through the platter.

“So glad you enjoy them, sir.” Said Lapan with a forced grin.

Man, he was really killing the mood.

Emballandae shifted uncomfortably on her chair. The three of you had sat in awkward silence for the better part of an hour as you stuffed your face as a reprieve from conversation with either of them. Your agreement with Petropa stipulated that you had to be around her daughter, but you’d be damned if that meant you were going to go above and beyond to make small talk with her.

It was actually kind of fun to watch Emballandae and Lapan glance at each other and look away. It did make you feel like a dick though. No doubt they would be enjoying each other’s company much more with you out of the picture.

“So, what’s with all the ruckus? I haven’t been shuffled around like that since I got to Admaz.” you said.

“Lady Petropa has made it clear that information about current affairs is to be disseminated on a need to know basis.” Said Lapan.

“If it concerns my life or my pelvis, I’d say I need to know.” You said.

Emballandae rolled her eyes and Lapan remained silent.

“Whatever. I’m sure I’ll find out when it blasts through the doors and kills me.” You said.

“Momma wouldn’t let any harm come to you. You’re perfectly safe.” Said Emballandae.

“What about you?” you asked. “Would YOU come to my rescue, darling?” you said batting your eyelashes at her.

Emballandae’s face turned crimson and she huffed out a string of half completed expletives. The muscles in Lapan’s jaw were clenched so tightly that you were worried for the safety of his teeth. And yours for that matter…

“You! I-! How dare yo-! I would NEVER bother to save YOU. In fact, I would go out of my way to get RID of you.” Seethed Emballandae.

“What a coincidence! Now’s your chance.” You said.

“Hah! Maybe I will! I’m sure she’s here for you anyways.” Huffed Emballandae.

“Who’s this ‘she’ you’re talking about?”

Emballandae looked at you, and then over to Lapan. He gave her a concerned look and a small shrug. Emballandae gulped wrung her hands.

“Uhh… I can’t say.”

“Why not?” you asked.

“Momma would be mad.” Said Emballandae.

“Do you know who ‘she’ is?” you asked Lapan.

“Yes.”

“…And would you be so inclined as to tell me whom that may be?”

“No.”

Of course not.

“Well, whatever. I’m sure I’ll find out what it is when it comes for me.” You said grabbing another slice of cheese.

You walked over to the window and looked out into the courtyard. What could be out there? Initially your mind jumped to dragon zombie. The poor thing probably smelled you and was about to break the castle open trying to find you. But that didn’t make sense. Getting hit with dragon breath would be a death sentence. There was no way that Petropa would let you anywhere near a window. Whatever it was, whoever it was, Petropa was confident that she could keep it out with guards. But if guards could stop her, why weren’t there more of them? Normally a mamono would make a beeline for a man on instinct. For all you knew it may not even be an undead. Whatever you were being hunted by had enough intelligence and willpower to restrain itself.

Hunted.

You ate another cracker. This was the first time you had actually been stalked by something. Moralla’s attempt to bind you was similar, but this felt different. The juxtaposition of physical danger and magical danger. Only one was instinctually ingrained in you.
Emballandae showed something to Lapan and they quietly began talking.

A low rumble reverberated between the walls of the castle. It looked like it was going to rain.

~~~~~

It would seem that Petropa expected nothing but the best from you, even when your life was in danger. The next day you were ushered back to the library under guard to continue your studies. Learning subjects that didn’t exist on Earth was hard enough. Trying to learn with a pack of restless guards surrounding you was impossible.

“Why do the guards have to be in here?” said Emballandae. She was as frustrated as you were with the constant clanking and shifting.

“Apologies milady, but your mother gave us strict orders to be near the human at all times.” Said a zombie. She looked tired. You weren’t sure if that was because she was sleepy or undead. It was probably rude to ask…

You finished the last of your half-assed scribbles and handed them to the ghostly librarian for appraisal.

“Do you know how long… “she” will be here?” asked Emballandae glancing at you as she emphasized the word.

“No, milady. Your mother is working to resolve the situation as we speak.” Said the zombie.

Emballandae scoffed. “Figures. That nosey bitch can’t mind her own business.”

“Excuse me ma’am, but I think I would be safer knowing who and what you were talking about.” You said courteously. One of the things you had picked up on at Admaz was how weak mamono were to charm. Even the married ones couldn’t help themselves when you asked nicely.
“I’m sorry, but Lady Petropa has made it clear that information about current affairs is to be disseminated on a need to know basis.” Said the zombie.

You rolled your eyes. Sounds like they all read from the same script. Whatever.

You dipped your quill in and out of an inkwell while you waited for your work to be graded. From the hallway, there was a brief bout of shouting. The guards drew their weapons and formed a semicircle around you. Emballandae gulped and scooted her chair a bit further away from you. Traitor.

The noise in the hall subsided and there were three loud pounds on the door. The guards around you sighed in relief and relaxed. A ghoul from outside burst into the room and hurried over to the pack of armor-clad undead. Whispering something in the ear of their leader, the zombie in charge ordered several of her troops to close the curtains.

“What was that about?” you asked.

The zombie ignored you and continued to face the doorway.

“Anon, come now. You know more than this. Do you need another course on basic symbols?” asked the ghost librarian handing back your paper.

“No, sorry. I’m just a bit distracted today.” You said.

Try as you may, you just couldn’t focus on your work as she tried to explain her corrections to you.

~~~~~

Choerteris leaned back from the telescope she had set up in her room. Clasping a hand over her mouth, she stroked her cheekbones as she tried to process what she had seen.

“Is that what mother has been hiding? An albino?” she asked one of the stoic guards blocking the exit of her room.

No. It wasn’t quite an albino. If Petropa wanted her daughter to have an albino she would have bought one years ago.

“I have to admit, I am impressed. The guard wasn’t nearly as competent last time I was here. But closing the curtains won’t hid the truth from ME.” Said Choerteris. She opened the door and stepped into the hall.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Choerteris ran her hand over the pommel of her estoc. “Just getting some fresh air, Goeth. Is that a problem? Has mother restricted my breathing as well as my movement?”

“You’re lucky Lady Petropa even lets you stay here after all the fights you two have had. I think a couple of chaperones are more than fair considering the circumstances. And you still have access to plenty of places; just not the ones that we restrict.” Said Goeth.

“Places like the one with that human in it?”

Goeth narrowed her eyes. “So you saw him.”

“Hard not to notice him.” Shrugged Choerteris.

“Choerteris, I don’t want to fight you. I’ll say that upfront. I’ve never had a problem with you. But I cannot disobey an order form your mother. Whatever you’re thinking, please just forget about it.” Said Goeth.

“You act like I’m about to do something rash.”

“Aren’t you?”

“It certainly sounds like the stakes call for it.”

Goeth sighed. “I suppose you won’t listen to me when I say that everything is under control…”

“That’s the problem Goeth, things are under HER control. I don’t want to fight you either. And in all honesty, I don’t know if I’ll need to. Just tell me about the human. If he’s happy, and things are just as well and good as you and mother say they are, then I’ll be off.” Said Choerteris.

“You know I’m forbidden from telling you anything.” Grumbled Goeth.

“And is that edict out of spite, or is it because mother know that if I find out I’ll skewer her?” asked Choerteris.

Goeth chuckled. “Probably both. But you’d stick her for just about anything, wouldn’t you?”

Choerteris snorted and sighed. “No matter. I haven’t met a secret I couldn’t crack yet. Is my training equipment still around?”

“Third floor. Just like you left it.” Said Goeth.

Choerteris nodded and headed for the stairs. Goeth followed her, along with a dozen other guards assigned to watch over the prodigal daughter.

~~~~~

Dinner was unbearably tense. You never thought you would say it, but even Petropa’s backhanded compliments would be better than this. You watched as Emballandae pushed some of her food around her plate as Petropa looked at the doors for the hundredth time. Cesbron watched her as he ate his meal.

“How much longer is this going to go on?” you asked.

Petropa jumped and pounded a fist on the table. “Don’t startle me like that!” She took a deep breath. “The situation is being resolved as we speak. I assure you that a state of normalcy will be restored within a week.”

“A week? Is it more than one monster? How has an entire castle full of guards not found her yet?” you asked.

Cesbron chuckled. Petropa glared at him. “Everything is under control, human.” She said to you.

“Yeah, that’s what you said yesterday too. And the day before that. But I haven’t slept in the same room for more than one night in a few days. So I’m sure that you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical that everything is ‘under control.’” You said.

“You dare speak to me in such a manner?” she unfurled her wings and stood up.

"I damn well dare if you're going to keep a potentially life threatening situation hidden from me out of pride! Just tell me what and where the damn thing is and I'll blast it myself if you're too chicken, you fucking bat!"

 A vein bulged to the verge of bursting in Petropa's forehead. She clenched and unclenched her fists as her eyes bulged. "It is long past due that you suffer for your impudence.”

Raising one of her hands, you felt yourself rise out of your chair. Flailing to keep your balance, Petropa lifted you higher.

“Suffer.”

Your arms and legs shot out as she splayed you midair. You groaned as Petropa began to accost your body with some type of magic. It felt like your limbs were asleep. The tingling sensation flooded your body. Your thinking became distorted as lust clouded your mind. Suddenly, you felt unbearably aroused. Your body was on fire. All you could think about was sex.

“Dear, put him down!” said Cesbron.

Petropa unceremoniously dumped you onto the floor in a heap. With shaking hands, you tried to undo your clothes and free your raging erection. Emballandae was right there. All you had to do was reach her.

“I don’t think so.” Said Petropa. She lifted you up with her magic, binding your hands above your head. You kicked and shouted as your half-undone pants sagged around your waist.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Said Cesbron.

“Please. I’ve waited too long to do this already. It was past time that he learned to respect his superiors.”

“And what if someone takes advantage of him like that? He’s still too weak to handle that much demonic energy.” Said Cesbron.

Petropa snorted. “I’ll send him to Lussazan after dinner to let him cool off. For now, let’s just enjoy the show. It’s been far too long since we’ve been to a dinner theater.”

Petropa sat back down and resumed her meal as you struggled against your magical restraints. The pain in your crotch was unbearable, but you were unable to release. Cesbron and Emballandae watched in fear as you thrashed.

“Lady Petropa?”

The vampire blenched as a guard appeared behind her.

“What is it?!” shouted Petropa. “Can’t you see I’m busy?!”

“We have a bit of a situation…”

~~~~~~~

“Husband, I’m ready for you.” Said Lussazan. She softly panted as she shed her cloak in front of Datoll.

“Ready for me?” asked Datoll. He was always happy to please his wife, but she had never asked for sex like that before.

“The drink you made for me… You must tell me what herbs you used later. I feel…” she let out a soft hum and embraced her husband.

“Drink? I didn’t make an-“

Datoll was silenced as Lussazan pulled him into a deep kiss. Using her magic, she levitated them away, leaving a trail of Datoll’s clothes leading towards their bedroom.

Choerteris watched as the couple floated past her hiding place, already beginning to thrust against each other. Slipping past, she hurried into the laboratory.

Her mother may hate humans, but she certainly wouldn’t let one die on her watch. If there was a human here who wasn’t a butler, then Lussazan must have performed at least a cursory assessment of his health. Sifting through stacks of papers on Lussazan’s desk, Choerteris scanned the documents for anything that looked like a medical record. The lich had the uncanny capability of keeping her notes perfectly organized, but having no method of organizing those clusters of data. Folders and files pertaining to a project would all be piled on top of each other in a random place. Checking the last drawer, Choerteris was surprised to find it locked. Lussazan would never bother with something that interrupted her work like that, unless it was mandated.

Pulling out one of her lockpicking implements, Choerteris quickly opened the drawer.

Pulling out the first hanging folder, she read the name on the tab.

“Project Canyon Spring…” she muttered.

Opening the folder, she pulled out the first few pages of notes. It was nothing but mathematical equations and theoretical magic. Teltomancy and summoning on a massive scale. The rest of the folder was equally unimportant to her search.

Putting it back, she pulled out the next folder.

“Project Snow Cairn… What were you working on, you crazy corpse? You wouldn’t just lock things away like this…”

 Flipping past the first few pages of initial data, Choerteris wrenched a page out of the stack. There he was. A portrait of the man she had seen in the library was attached to a thick stack of data about his magical abilities and health.

“Let’s see… Anon? What kind of name is that?”

She squinted as she read more. “Body cannot tolerate large doses of mamono mana? …Unknown if all humans from other world share same vulnerability?!”

The rest of the folder contained progress reports detailing his heath and wellness. Most of the notes in the file mentioned that the data had been provided to Lussazan by someone in Admaz named Hicera. What was he doing in Admaz? A human his age should have been taken if he had been living in a mamono city before he was taken by Emballandae. And Admaz didn’t have the slave markets to sell a rare human specimen.

Choerteris flipped to the back of the folder. The first page in the file was a report by Lussazan.

“Subject one has been confirmed to be alive. Lilith be praised. Allegedly recovered from south-eastern jungles by scholar Magnara (succubus). Lady Petropa has been monitoring the situation through intermediaries in Admaz. As of this report, he is unharmed and has not been claimed. Tomb Haven forces will not be able to recover the subject for some time; most individuals in the city are still unconscious after emergency measures taken during Project Canyon Spring.”

Choerteris pulled out the first folder and began to read the notes again. “No. No, no, no! Please tell me you didn’t…”

She reached the last page of Project Canyon Spring.

“Summoning has failed. Subject was not able to be transported to the laboratory as planned. Subject one is suspected to have entered this world at an unknown location. As there is no indication to where the subject may have been, and in consideration that the subject was traveling at speeds that would have resulted in an unsustainable impact to the human body, the subject is deemed unrecoverable. There will be no further experimentation into the summoning of extradimensional humans.”

The date was much later than the previous entry, only a few months ago. Just before the first report on Project Snow Cairn.
Choerteris slumped back into a nearby chair as she began to read more the notes. Someone was DEFINITELY getting stabbed for this…

~~~~~

“YOU LOST HER?!” shrieked Petropa.

You gasped as she released you and you collapsed onto the ground. Your hips moved in small involuntary spasms as the lingering sex magic dissipated out of your body. Finding a new pair of pants was probably a good idea…

“How could you lose her?!” asked Petropa shaking the guard.

“I-I… uh… She slid out a window.” Stammered the zombie.

“Why didn’t you stop her?!”

“The window was fifteen feet off the ground. And on the eight floor…”

“What do we do, momma?! She’s coming for Anon, right?” asked Emballandae.

Petropa released the guard and began to pace. “Yes, she’s already figured out about him. But she doesn’t know that much about him or his situation yet. Chances are that she’ll need more information before she’s ready to make her move…”

“I suppose talking to her is out of the question…” said Cesbron.

“There is too much at stake for talking! Anon is our daughter’s property; that is nonnegotiable!” said Petropa.

“Well… I’m sure that if Anon was taken that we could find another suitor for her.” Said Cesbron.

Petropa stared at him. “Absolutely not! I haven’t invested decades of mana and enough money to build a new city to just let that worm slip through my fingers!”

“Yes, you’re clearly very attached to him…” muttered Cesbron.

“Damn that girl. She’s forced my hand.” Petropa pinched the bridge of her nose as she contemplated what to do next.

“You, guard. Get me Lussazan. And tell every guard in the castle to be on high alert. If they see Choerteris, report it to me
IMMEDIATELY.”

“Should we engage her, Lady Petropa?” asked the zombie.

“Yes, you can slow her down if you can, but make sure that one of you passes the information along. Your top priority is keeping me informed about her whereabouts.”

The zombie frowned at the implication of "slow her down," but hurried off to relay the orders.

Anon groaned and began to lift himself up with trembling arms. His pants were adorned with a dark ring around his crotch from the moisture in his pants. For a moment, Petropa briefly considered if it was worth all the effort to marry this specimen into her bloodline. Is this really the best she could find for her daughter?

“Goddamn... winged cock lamprey…” muttered Anon as he stood up.

Petropa swatted him back to the ground with her magic.

Fuck it. She would keep him around just to torture the brat at this point. Having Emballandae drain him and ride his exsanguinated body through the mattress would be a fitting punishment. In no time, he would be another groveling incubus begging to please his mistress.

“Piece of shit mosquito…”

Petropa slammed him back into the carpet. Worst case scenario she could sell Anon to a slave market and make a mint. If she got an auction going between some wealthier dragons, she could recoup all the money spent financing the project.

“Eurgh…”

Petropa blasted Anon again while daydreaming about all the nice places she could vacation if she sold him. She had the finances to travel wherever she pleased, but it had been almost a year since she’d had a break from trying to control the situation.

“Momma, please! You’re going to hurt him!” Pleaded Emballandae.

“Hmm?” said Petropa.

Anon lay face down on the carpet. His clothes were dirtied and singed, and there was a faint trail of smoke rising from his back. Petropa’s nose curled as she became aware of the scent of burnt hair filling the room.

“Whoops…”

“Oh, Choerteris is going to LOVE this.” Said Cesbron.

Petropa hurried over to him and picked him up. Using one hand to hold the back of his shirt collar, she used the other to brush some of the dirt off of him.

“He’s fine. This is just a bit of histrionics.” Said Petropa.  “I’m sure Choerteris will see that, right?”

Emballandae squirmed and Cesbron shook his head.

Petropa’s hands tightened around Anon’s shirt.

“Bah! No matter. I’ll deal with her myself if she tries to get in the way. She may have my blood, but only half of it! I’ll show her the REAL power of a full-blooded vampire. Now where is Lussazan? That reticent floozy is never around when I need her…”

~~~~~

A ghost levitated through Lussazan’s door without a word of warning. Being able to pass through walls had a way of making someone forget to knock.

“Lussazan! Lady Petropa requests your presence at once! I-“

The ghost was cut short as Lussazan moaned. She was riding Datoll in a way that didn’t seem possible for someone with no pulse.
“Uhh… yeah. So, that’s the situation so you need to finish up and-“

Lussazan clenched Datoll’s hands in her own and arched her back as she came again. Even though she shivered and slowed, she never stopped thrusting against her husband.

“Well, that seems like a good stopping point. Let’s go find Lady Petropa now.”

Lussazan leaned forwards to kiss Datoll as she began grinding her hips against him in slower more deliberate circles.

“Alright, look. If you don’t stop, I’m going to have to drag you off of him.” Said the ghost.

Lussazan sighed and swung her legs off of her husband. She floated over to her cloak trailing a glistening streak from the bed. Slipping it on, she adjusted the front and looked at the ghost.

“Let’s get this over with…”

~~~~~~

Choerteris watched a patrol of guards hurry past her. Getting to Anon would be much harder than she anticipated. Petropa had done some extensive remodeling of the castle in her absence. The secret passages and hiding places she had used last time had been sealed or blocked. Most of the equipment and potions she had stored in her room had been taken. Not only were there more guards, the current garrison was also better equipped and more disciplined than the last batch of morons her mother had hired.

The guards had forced her back into the cellars of the castle. Down here, amidst the forgotten wine casks and cobwebs there was hardly any foot traffic. The attic was equally safe, but getting there would be impossible. Anon would be somewhere in the middle; wherever the most guards were stationed. Reaching him would take every ounce of her skill. But escape…

Choerteris felt her pocket to ensure the limiter rings were still in her pocket.

Escape should be a bit easier.