It only took a few seconds for everyone to decide that it was likely safer to stay with the insane mage than to try to take a rowboat on a journey of hundreds of kilometres through overland flooding.
They didn’t know what way the current would push them, but all rivers flowed to the ocean, and that was not where they wanted to be in such a small vessel, especially when it was pletely loaded with staff.
"Sir, we will begin clearing the house. Is there a particular title that you would prefer that we address you by?" One of the maids asked.
"I am the Duke of Wistover, so you may address me as such. Or you may simply call me Lord Dominic. Both are fine, given the situation."
"Of course, Your Grace. Wait, Wistover? You’re... The Duke of Wistover? Dominic Wavemates, the Butcher of Wistover?"
"It’s hardly necessary to bring up my war merits in this situation. After all, it will be a minor miracle if the house doesn’t flood entirely. How about everyone just sticks with Lord Dominic?"
The maid nodded numbly as she tried to take in the fact that the most feared urban legend in existence was standing in front of her.
No, he wasn’t just standing here, if he were to be believed, he had just murdered an entire platoon of mages, on top of the Nobles she had seen him kill.
"Your Grace, if I might be so bold... How did you get here?"
"I sensed Dagos Nobles using magic to stir trouble, and a came through a portal."
"Then, you can leave through one, right?"
"I can’t use portal magic."
The servants stared at him, processing the cognitive disconnect.
"I was standing next to a portal that they opened. I didn’t do it myself."
"So, you just came through a portal to do what? Kill every Dagos aligned Mage and Noble you found?"
Dominic nodded happily and patted the girl on the shoulder. "I knew that you were a quick learner. Now, I would stay out of the basement. It’s a bit messy. Let the floodwaters take care of it.
Just take the valuables and foodstuffs from the storage areas and get them all onto the top floor. Not the attic, in case the storm causes the roof to leak.
But on the top floor of the Manor."
All the servants rushed to get things moved, but one older woman stopped. "You didn’t do anything in the pantry, did you?"
Dominic shrugged. "I don’t recall being in there at all. It should be safe to go to that part of the basement, and perhaps the dungeon. But the area by that window, don’t go in there.
It rather looks like someone painted the area red."
The woman looked a bit sick. "Understood, Your Grace. I will send someone to check the upstairs bedrooms as well."
A scream from the second floor balcony told Dominic that their warning would e too late.
"Were you in there?" The older woman asked.
Dominic shrugged. "Probably? It smells like blood, so it might have been me. I tend to forget the small details."
"You’re a dragon, aren’t you? Like the legends say."
Dominic lifted his hood so she could see his horns. "Dragon enough. And I have been known to go a bit feral in bat."
The woman nodded. "I suspected when I saw the eyes, but that’s pretty damning."
Dominic smiled, and the woman flinched. "Oh, right. The teeth. I should likely be the one to check the bedrooms. Just in case. You all knew those people, and frankly, I am the only one here who won’t care if there are bodies everywhere."
She nodded. "Just, please don’t let the others see the children if they’re..."
"Got it. I’ll go in now."
Dominic walked to the edge of the balcony and jumped, relying on the buffs from the [Strength] spell gem to get him up.
At level fifteen, as his spell book was now, he had no issues grabbing the second floor balcony railing and tossing himself onto the ledge.
Inside the room was one terrified maid, and about two thirds of a man’s body.
Yeah, he had been here.
"Kindly go back downstairs for a moment. I will clear the bedrooms." Dominic informed her quietly, but the woman shook her head.
"No, I need to see. There was only one more room occupied in the house. Everyone else left already."
Dominic followed her to the third floor, stopping to check inside the other bedrooms, which were all open, and blessedly empty.
The sound of crying alerted him to the situation faster than his eyes did, and Dominic stepped in front of the maid as they approached a room at the end of the hallway.
The door was open, like all the others, and Dominic wondered when he had time to e up here, and how he had ended up back in the basement. Had he thought that there might still be a portal open for him to go home through?
That seemed likely. There were bloody footprints on the floor that matched his boots.
Dominic found himself whistling a nursery rhyme as he walked toward the sound of a crying baby, and the maid behind him froze in terror.
But the child was crying, so it was not dead.
Dominic stepped inside and found the bedroom of what should be three infants, as the room was segmented blue on each side with pink in the middle with three cribs.
He could see that he entered, by the footprints, but nothing was damaged.
So, he was shocked to see that there was a bloody handprint on each of the children, blood on their blankets, but two of the three were sleeping soundly, while one was awake and crying.
"What’s wrong, little one? I have a nanny here. I’m sure that she will be happy to help you if you need a diaper change. You don’t smell like it. Perhaps you’re hungry? Yes. It must be hungry."
Dominic used the same soft cooing tone that everyone did with babies, and the crying turned to a happy burble as the little one reached for him. The maid rushed past him and picked up the little one, checking her for injuries, and carefully unwrapping her when she saw blood on the blankets.
"I don’t think that they were in this room to start with. I put them here. See, handprints on the blankets.
I will go check the other rooms."
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