Thornblade Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter 6

 The guild members slowly trudged up the side of the hill. Having traveled far enough, the kingdom was small on the horizon. Eli was able to differentiate between the buildings from this distance, but each was minuscule in size. As they approached the top of the hill, the guild members had an expansive view of the land. Sarah tugged at Eli's arm, pointing at the structure embedded in a mountain by the kingdom.

"Is that where you woke up?" she asked. The group looked into the distance, and Eli noticed the familiar obsidian-looking bricks that once held him. He had not observed just how large the prison was; he had been too concerned with escaping to notice.

"Yes. As I said, I know not how I got there, but I was indeed there," he explained.

"Meanwhile, there is our objective," Charles said, pointing in the opposite end of the canyon. Eli's eyes followed the canyon from the prison to the artifact's temple. It was a large, pyramid-shaped structure. Eli froze, realizing that he could have arrived at the dangerous temple had he not chosen to scale the hill the previous day. He was aware it would have taken him too long to reach the temple, but it would have still been possible.

"Can we please catch our breath first?" Devon gasped, digging his sword into the mountain to lean on it.

"Here, take this," Sarah offered a vile of green liquid. "It will bring you back your strength," she explained. Devon looked at the strange liquid and furrowed his eyebrows in hesitation. "It tastes better than it looks," she promised, placing a hand on his shoulder. He sighed, taking the drink from her and downing it. He shook his head in disgust but still could not deny its efficiency.

"You deceived me," he grunted, trying to hold in the fluids. "But thank you, it worked," he lifted his sword from the ground and sheathed it. "Come on," he finished. The group began their descent from the mountain and into the forest. Albert was the most enthusiastic about the journey, running ahead and leaping from one rock to the next. The rest of the guild mimicked his path. Though he was reckless, Albert was quick to identify the fastest route down.

Within a few minutes, the guild members had reached the thick forest below. Weary of getting noticed by the sentinels, the group carefully peeked through the trees as they approached the temple. They maintained the element of surprise as they came to the clearing. Charles raised his hand, and the group hid behind the nearby trees. They watched as the three sentinels scouted the clearing.

"Wait until they spread out," Charles ordered.

"What will the plan be? Take them out one at a time?" asked Eli, hoping his leader would have a definitive plan. Charles stayed quiet, staring at the sentinels ahead.

"Charles!" Sarah whined in a hushed tone, breaking the minute-long silence.

"It would not be wise to attack one at a time; we would risk letting our guards down around the others and getting in each others' ways. Devon and I will target the one on the left. Sarah and Albert will take the one on the right. Eli, you will attack the one in the center," Charles recommended. Eli stared at the sentinels in silence. He did not wish to underestimate them.

"Sarah, could you summon something to help me fight?" he requested. Sarah reached into her pouch and took out a blue vial, handing it to Eli.

"Use that if you need it. But having seen your sword skills, you may not need it. And remember everyone, each of you has a consumable potion to weaken their fire axes' effects. You may drink it now if you wish. It looks like this may be our best chance of attacking," Sarah explained. The guards faced different directions, making it easier to attack separately.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Charles. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Go!" he ran at the left sentinel. Each guild member ran to fight the appropriate guard.