Thornblade Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter 22

The Bronze Foxes sprinted toward the bridge into the kingdom, determined to free those under Ilkama's rule. As they ran, Eli recommended, "We cannot let Ilkama know of our glyphs yet. For all he knows, our mission to retrieve the Dragon Heart was a failure. He does not even know what the artifact does. Until he is preoccupied with Albert and me, only I should use glyphs."

Devon nodded, adding, "Charles and I already agreed only to use Bursor when necessary and possibly Repe-whatever it is called if we are surrounded." Eli looked at Charles, who nodded.

"My summons will help us, along with the other citizens," Sarah continued. Eli nodded, and they crossed the bridge. The group gasped as they noticed guards monitoring the courtyard. They stared at those in windows until the inhabitants closed their blinds. Other guards walked around, watching every corridor for anybody walking around.

"Remember, they are human too," Charles ordered. "Let us free these people!" The others cheered as they began attacking the guards. When they cleared the first home, Sarah pounded at the door.

"It is time to fight! Help us free your kingdom!" she pleaded. The footsteps on the other side of the door quieted before getting louder. A lady in her mid-30s opened the door and joined the group, carrying a weakly-bound sword. Sarah threw a potion on the ground and a blue squid-shaped creature seemingly made of dense water and golden eyes. "Help us defeat the guards, but do not kill them!" Sarah ordered, pointing at one of the adversaries. The beast followed her finger and lunged itself at the guard. The guard tried slashing through it, but the beast was unaffected by the attack. It wrapped itself around the guard's wrist and squeezed, forcing him to drop his sword.

While Sarah summoned more creatures to fight alongside her, Albert and Eli sprinted toward the castle. Looking in, they saw Ilkama sitting atop his throne. He smirked as the duo entered the stronghold. Standing up from his throne, he unsheathed his sword and slowly walked down the steps. When the two reached the halfway point, they stopped.

"Welcome home, Master Sholam," said Ilkama. "I have been awaiting your return. When I heard from my guards that you had reached the Craglands, I was sure you would not return empty-handed. I am disappointed."

Eli and Albert looked at one another. Eli wished to speak up but knew he was a lousy liar. Turning back to Ilkama, the two stayed silent. "Of course, I am surprised to see you here, Albert. I would think a martial artist would be the last one to challenge me."

"Why is that?"

"You cannot ignore the glaring issue with fighting with no weapon. My sword will connect before your fist does. You will lose in every scenario. Surely, you understand the folly of your actions. Even Sarah, the worthless member, has a better chance at defeating me than you. At least she can throw something at me, as pointless as that may be."

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Albert spat. "You will pay for your arrogance!" he continued.

"What will you do? Punch me to death? Those gauntlets of yours are too weak to do anything to me," Ilkama laughed.

Albert growled while Eli tried to calm him down. "Stick to the plan," the swordsman said. Ignoring Eli's wishes, Albert charged at Ilkama. Eli knew the plan had gone wrong and joined in the assault. Overconfident, Ilkama allowed Albert to get a free hit, only to show how pointless any attack may be. When he got close, Albert chained Bursor and Profecti. Eli screamed, "No!" but was too late.

Just as Ilkama saw Albert's gauntlets glow, the Dark Lord was knocked back by an uppercut. While in the air, Ilkama did a backflip. Landing on his feet, Ilkama could not help but smile, saying, "The artifact gave you enchantments like ours. But try as you might, you will still fall before me." Ilkama drew Vertila, slashing it at Albert, who rolled out of the way.