Thor hadn't taken the stairs. He jumped straight out of the Tower's window, using his Mental Power to pinpoint Wizard Ole in the Tower opposite, lest Ole vanish without a trace again while Thor wasn't paying attention.
"Crash!" Thor burst through the opposite window and entered the room where Wizard Ole was.
Ole hadn't sensed Thor's approach at all. Only when Thor came crashing through the window did he realize someone was there.
"Who's there?" His headless neck turned toward the window, and his first reaction was to release the Thorn in his hand.
Several Black Sharp Blades flashed past. The Thorn attacking Thor was instantly sliced into several pieces and fell uselessly to the floor.
"You?" Ole recognized Thor. Though clearly displeased that he'd barged in, Ole made no further attack. "Weren't you going to find Keri? What are you doing here?"
"Obviously, I'm here to catch up." Thor closed in, both hands turning into gray tentacles. "It's been a while. Let's shake hands."
The Red Worm on Ole's neck twisted twice, turning the mouth at its tip toward Thor. It had no eyes, only a mouth that opened and closed, as though judging the threat Thor posed.
Wizard Ole immediately transformed both hands into Thorn and entangled them with Thor's tentacles.
He seemed to think that if they fought at close quarters like this, Thor wouldn't be able to use his Black Sharp Blades to strike by surprise.
But he hadn't expected the moment the gray tentacles touched his arms, they would spit out several drops of thick, black liquid. As soon as the drops landed on his branch-like arms, the bark turned yellow and withered.
The branches, once supple and nimble, seemed to lose all their moisture and vitality in an instant. Then the tentacles twisted, and