A few questions kneepads related

[destructopunch]

So the other night some friends and I were playing. I was kind of low on the level front and wanted to use my kneepads of allure to draw a friend into combat with the monster that I was facing.
We were about two points short of beating it, I think he may have been holding back some cards that could help but am unsure of that, I could also have used berserk (I was using both a Warrior and Wizard class) discarded some cards and won. Before any of that could be done though, he played the "Instant wall" card and used it on himself leaving me behind. So I am wondering if that is a legal move? The card says that it allows one or two people to escape, so can he choose to use it only on himself in combat that he was forced into with the kneepads? Can he use it at all if I haven't decided that we are running yet? I was able to charm the monster by discarding my hand, but I am pretty sure that we would have won had he not done that and ditched me.

Also, is it legal to use the kneepads as a wizard to draw someone into combat, then escape either through discarding my hand, or rolling to run and forcing them to try and run also in hopes that bad stuff happens to them? Also, are you able to run from a monster (for the same reason) that your combined strength could beat in order to try and force "bad stuff" onto some one? Or if you are capable of beating it without using any extra cards from your hand are you forced to fight?

If any of this seems unclear please say so and I will clarify.