I Built This City Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Read chapter 57 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Village Ellen Ellen wasn’t surprised when she woke up in the night. The urge to rush out the door was strong, at least for a few moments. She’d suspected that would happen ever since her hand had healed suddenly. The clues were just too obvious to ignore, and she was very glad she had guessed correctly. It had been more of a risk than she would have liked, but she had left a note in case it didn’t work out. NOTICE Your Steady Mind Perk has activated. She didn’t have to move. She could just go back to sleep. Ellen knew that… but she also wanted to do her part to make sure someone who couldn’t handle it wasn’t attacked next time. She needed to get up and at least go through the motions, even if she wasn’t compelled to do so. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out what had happened. Ellen paused and squeezed the striker to light a bedside candle, shivering briefly as she slid from under the covers. Her Sanctuary Ability was still in effect, so the inn was much warmer than it would have been… but the effect was minor, and the winter cold still settled into the building over time. She held the candle up and rose from her bed, letting the flickering flame warm her fingers even as her bare feet immediately screamed in protest at the cold. Ignoring the chill, Ellen quietly eased the door open, wincing slightly at the faint creak. Since winter had started, she’d been allowed to sleep in one of the spare rooms, instead of the dangerous cold of the attic. She’d always heard heat would rise, but apparently the attic draft was bad enough that this didn’t help at all. Her hand was held up to cup over the flame of the candle, minimizing the light cast over the hallway. She only needed enough to navigate the now-familiar floor and stairs, and anything more risked an awkward conversation with Tobias and Lauren. They were probably deep asleep anyway, but Ellen saw no need to press her luck. Even with the Perk negating it, Ellen could feel what the influence wanted her to do. She felt no burning desire to follow that advice of slipping out into the night as fast as possible, but she could feel that was the intent. She had other plans, and made her way to the rear door. Once in position, Ellen carefully set the candle aside and stripped out of her nightclothes. Folding the loose, warm robe neatly, she set it aside on the shelf next to the candle, followed by the pointless bandage on her hand. The winter cold forced another shiver out of her now naked body, but she suppressed the urge for her teeth to chatter. Just a little longer… One puff of breath blew out the candle, and Ellen opened the door to slip out into the crisp, brutally cold night, completely naked. She got ten experience for sneaking out of the house the first time. Ellen would have laughed if not for the freezing cold now washing over her bare skin. Now, her teeth did chatter, and she hugged herself tightly. If she’d been mistaken… NOTICE Your Steady Mind Perk has activated. FIRST TIME AWARD: Thwarted Lycanthropic Regression For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 40,000 Experience. Three things registered in Ellen’s mind right after that message appeared. One: That was a lot of experience just for picking the right Perk a few Levels ago. Two: It was a first time bonus… not a progenitor award. At some point, someone else had retained their sanity. Three: The change to wolf was much faster than she’d anticipated. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it was still less than a second before Ellen felt her weight drop to all fours, her fingers curled in to be replaced by heavy paws. She shook herself, dismissing the urge she had to spring into motion right away. Her breath steamed in the air, and while she still felt the sensation that it was “cold” outside, she was largely comfortable now. Her paw pads and nose were a little chilly, but she could warm them easily enough. Ellen huffed and took a few steps forward, her paws sinking into the snow with a faint crunch that s