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“Your tea, as requested, sir.” A servant politely handed a large glass of hot tea to the captain of the knights, the pleasant smell of the tea gently wafting upwards, calming the captain before even taking his first sip. After drinking some of the tea, he gently set it down on his table. “You may leave.”
He muttered to the servant as he stared at the several pieces of parchment in front of him, his mind wandering to the brief conversation he had with Elara as soon as she had entered the city. “I’m doing the right thing.” He whispered to himself before grabbing the cup and gulping down the rest. “Everything will be just fine as long as she’s taken care of…” He whispered before leaning back and staring up at the stone ceiling. “I hope your loyalty overrides your sense of morality, Alfe. I’d hate to lose a knight with as much talent as you…”
Shaking his head, the captain stood back up and threw several pieces of parchment into a fireplace before calmly starting the fire, watching the incriminating evidence burn. “I’m curious to see which route you take, Alfe. I’m certain you’ll choose correctly…but I’ll need to implement some countermeasures just in case…” With that, the captain grabbed his sword and beckoned the two knights guarding the entrance to his office to follow him.
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Alfe desperately parried two consecutive blows from the knights before ducking under the swing of the third. Before he could steady himself, another thrust from a sword needed to be parried, which knocked him off his feet. Rolling to his left, Alfe avoided a stab as the sound of metal clanged against the stone. Scrambling to his feet, Alfe parried yet another coordinated strike from three of the knights, stumbling backwards before the cold stone walls of the dungeon blocked him from retreating any further.
Gasping for much needed air, Alfe stuck his sword out, preparing himself for what seemed like an inevitable death. As the five knights simultaneously closed in, preparing for one final coordinated strike, the sound of an elderly man could be heard. “-is quite late. I’m not confident that we’d be allowed to visit the dungeons ourselves other than to turn Maxim in.”
The voice of a young man responded. “We must try. Otherwise we’d be wasting–” Drystan and the others, having walked up the winding path, now had a clear view of the dungeon.
Drystan was the first to spot the knights surrounding Alfe, stopping in his tracks before instinctively grabbing at his sword. Father Vonder appeared next to him, his eyes widening at the sight before him. “Goddess above…what is going on here?!” He shouted, his voice firm. “I demand to know what is happening that knights of the order are attacking–”
Before he could finish, two of the knights charged at Father Vonder, but were intercepted by Drystan, unsheathing his sword and blocking the strike before kicking the knight into the other, causing them both to stumble. Taking advantage of the situation, Alfe lunged at the three other knights, surprising them as he thrust his sword forward, causing the leftmost knight to dodge the attack, creating just enough room for Alfe to sprint towards his unexpected saviors. Gasping for breath, he was shocked to see Father Vonder amongst the group.
“Father Vonder! I’ve…never been…so grateful…to see you…as I am now…” He panted out as he turned to face his assailants, glancing at Drystan. “I…don’t know who…you are…but you have…my thanks.”
“Save your strength. We need to focus on the enemy for now.” Drystan stated dryly as he stared ahead at the knights, observing their movements as the five began to change their positions to account for the new threat.
This isn’t good. I was gifted this sword to help prevent me from using my blessing out in the open…but I don’t have the skills necessary to take on this many opponents without it. Drystan thought, his glances stopping the knights in their tracks. Whoever the knight next to me is, he’s exhausted from holding off all five…do I really need to–”
Two of the knights charged in, one at Alfe and the other at Drystan. After having their attacks parried, the three others charged in immediately afterwards, striking as as quickly as possible. This process repeated several times, hoping to break through Drystan’s and Alfe’s defenses. Finally, one of the knights managed to forcefully insert himself between Alfe and Drystan, separating the two. Two knights immediately charged at Drystan, trying to keep him occupied long enough for the other three to finish Alfe off.
Alfe desperately parried and dodged each attack, though with every blow, his speed decreased and his strength waned. Just as he parried another blow, the thrust of a sword caught him off guard. Desperately jumping to his right, he landed awkwardly on his side as a knight rushed up to him, his intentions clear.
Drystan parried a strike from a knight and watched as Alfe struggled to get up in time as the knight approached. Dodging under another swing of the sword, Drystan desperately took off sprinting towards Alfe. I won’t be able to make it in time!
Just as the knight lifted up his sword to stab Alfe through, a verse he had read earlier in the week flashed through his mind. “And lo, Seraphina did speak unto Caius, ‘The swiftness of the breeze I shall give unto thee. Call upon me, and I shall guide thy feet to overcome any beast of the field.’”
Instantly, his body briefly glowed as, in the blink of an eye, he had covered the distance between himself and Alfe, tackling the knight, the knight’s head slamming into the ground. Drystan immediately stood back up and looked down at the unconscious knight before quickly looking back. The four other knights were motionless, staring at Drystan with wide eyes. Using their shock to his advantage, Drystan charged forward, using his hilt to knock the foremost knight on the back of the head, causing the knight to collapse onto the ground. Each dash of speed used, his body glowed, briefly illuminating the area as each knight was effortlessly overcome, collapsing onto the ground. However, as the last knight fell into a slumber, Drystan’s legs gave way under him as he collapsed onto the ground himself, gasping for breath and grimacing as he clutched at his calves.
Father Vonder and Maxim rushed up to Drystan, watching as Drystan’s calf muscles spasmed and tightened uncontrollably for several moments before finally relaxing. Drystan’s body visibly became limp as he lay there, flopping onto his back as he quickly breathed in and out. Father Vonder’s eyes were wide in astonishment. “W-what did I just…”
Maxim knelt down next to Drystan, worry on his face. “Are you injured?”
Drystan shook his head. “No…I’m…not…Just…exhausted…”
Alfe had cautiously stepped towards Drystan, his mouth agape as he looked down at Drystan. “H-How did you…I mean…What just…”
Drystan closed his eyes as he focused on his breathing. After several moments, his breathing eventually normalized. Sitting up, Drystan glanced over at Father Vonder. “There’s…plenty that you need to know that would explain everything…but first…” He glanced at the entrance to the dungeon. “We need to check on Maxim’s mother.”
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