"Oh, by the way, what did you do with the Red Demon we left knocked out in your forge?"
However, while Rothwind was making some big decisions internally, Alex blurted this question out of nowhere.
"What demo— Oh! You mean that red fella from a week back? I just killed him since it seemed the two of you were done with him. He was there to try and trash up my smithy anyway, so he deserved what he got."
'...'
Alex was surprised, but in a good way.
He was half expecting Rothwind to have released the poor guy since Alex and Mira had totally forgotten about him, but it seemed Rothwind wasn't that merciful.
It didn't really matter to him anyways, as Alex was already certain the guy wouldn't have talked, and even if he did, it was probably just going to be nonsense information he was already aware of anyway.
With that very minor detour out of the way, the two of them got back to the very important task at hand.
Deciding whether they should teleport to Mira's position or not.
"Hold on lad."
But it seemed like Rothwind had already made that decision for Alex, as before he could even react he was grabbed by the shoulder by Rothwind, and before he knew it...
Poof!
They were gone from the streets, barely even any evidence that they were there in the first place.
"Hey, you didn't even ask me where Mira was!"
The moment they reappeared, Alex had to let Rothwind get a piece of his mind.
"..."
Rothwind was speechless at first.
"Hahah!"
But then he let out a low and deep chuckle that reverberated in the still air of the clearing they now occupied.
He turned to Alex, a wry smile now on his lips.
"Did you really think I needed your help to find her, lad?"
"Stay put for a moment, lad."
Rothwind murmured quietly.
"I need to check something."
Alex bit back his questions and nodded, watching as Rothwind raised his hand in front of him.
A faint blue glow enveloped the dwarf's fingers, spreading out in thin tendrils of light that swirled around in the air like smoke.
For a moment, Alex's eyes widened in surprise and he seemed to have momentarily forgotten about all of his worries as he watched with fascination — he'd never seen Rothwind use any sort of abilities before, and this particular ability was quite visually stunning to watch.
Rothwind's eyes fluttered shut, and he remained utterly still for several long moments.
Then, slowly, he exhaled.
The glow around his hand faded away.
When he opened his eyes again, there was a flash of something there — a glint of humour that caught Alex off guard.
"She's fine."
Rothwind announced casually, as if he hadn't just been holding Alex in unbearable suspense.
"Hiding just up ahead. Nothing to worry about."
The words took a few seconds to register.
Alex blinked, tilting his head in confusion, his brain took some time to catch up with the sudden shift in mood.
"Wait... what?"
He stammered, mouth hanging open.
"You knew she was alright this entire time!?"
Rothwind's grin was downright devious now.
"Of course I did, lad. Did you think I'd drag you all the way out here to see her corpse without being certain of it first?"
Alex's fury returned.
This time directed at Rothwind...