Hiss—
Scalding flames met icy seawater, and steam billowed continuously in front of Leonard, holding back the heat that followed and giving the Soul Assurer behind him a chance to catch his breath.
He swung Word of the Sea, sending a gale through the steam rushing toward his face and driving it, along with the waves of heat, up through the sewer exit. He immediately turned his gaze toward the cloak that had exploded.
The cloak had already burned to ashes. Beside it, apart from the ladder glowing red from the heat, only a few shards of glass remained, slowly fading away.
Another substitution? But how did she break free of the dream? It happened the first time, too... Questions surfaced in Leonard's mind, but he had no time to dwell on them. He immediately communicated with the surrounding nature spirits, searching for the direction in which she had fled.
He knew that a Witch's Mirror Substitution could only carry her twenty or thirty meters away, and required a mirror capable of reflecting her image or a Magic Mirror prepared in advance as a medium. But neither the house above nor the dark sewer had a full-length mirror she could use.
One more time, and you should be out of Magic Mirrors... He frowned, confirmed her position once again with the help of the spirit bodies, and lightly swung his cane, letting it drag him toward one side of the sewer.
Huff, huff...
Shermane panted heavily as she ran forward on unsteady feet, using Dark Vision to duck into one sewer branch after another. From time to time, she stopped to listen for sounds behind her.
The howling wind was drawing ever closer.
*I can only use Mirror Substitution to leave the sewer and get aboveground, then lose that