Thornblade Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter 23

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When the Bronze Foxes arrived at the courtyard, civilians had already strung a rope between the trees with lights stretching across them. More picnic tables appeared with red and white cloths on them. Each table held a variety of foods on them. This banquet had everything from fruits to meat skewers to sandwiches to fish from the river.

Many of the townspeople had begun socializing. Eli and his friends placed their food on the tables and joined the conversations. Many of the discussions were geared toward the peoples' goals now that the king had fallen. When someone mentioned Ilkama, Eli could not help but feel his heart sink.

When people heard uneven footsteps coming from the castle's direction, the voices died down. Turning toward the sound, the citizens noticed Ilkama's guards walking toward them. No longer under Ilkama's control, each individual had their own stride, holding their helmet in their hands with a giant grin across their faces. As the citizens watched, the crowd scanned for any sign of their loved ones. One by one, small groups found those Ilkama had taken from them. Eli noticed one group, however, who never saw the person they wanted. Eli walked up to them.

"Excuse me. Can I help in some way?" he offered. "I can check for others in the castle if you need. Perhaps there are some people lost there."

"Please do," the woman cried. "My baby boy, Curtis, is my entire world," she broke down in her husband's arms. Eli looked at the man and noticed he had been trying to hold back tears as well. The resemblance between the boy and his father was uncanny.

Eli choked as he tried to speak. "My apologies. I know your son." The woman's eyes widened. "He was the only person in there not under Ilkama's control. Without him, I would have never known Ilkama to be bad. He saved me. In the end, he died saving me. Your son is more of a hero than I," Eli finished, wiping his tears.

The woman sobbed louder, crying to her husband, "I did not want him to be a hero. I wanted him to be my son." The man rubbed his wife's back as Eli walked away.

As the night went on, the people's celebrations got grander and more conversations revolved around Ilkama's passing, especially what life would be like after him. The people discussed who would be the next ruler and how much better life would be without him. Eli felt the weight of Ilkama's death grow to the point of being unbearable. The grief was overwhelming; he had to leave this place behind and never see it again. It was the only way he felt he could avoid his suffering. Eli hurriedly walked to the kingdom's entrance once more with nothing but his sword and a few potions Sarah had given him during their last adventure. As he approached the kingdom walls, he failed to notice his friends behind him.

"Eli!" Charles called just before Eli could escape. Eli turned to see his friends behind him. Charles smiled, asking, "Are you hoping to escape without saying goodbye?" Eli looked down.

"I cannot stay here," Eli said. "Everything will remind me of him," he pointed at Ilkama's grave. "If I am far away, it will be easier for me to move on." The guild looked at the grave, then back at Eli.

"You are wrong," Sarah answered, shaking her head. "It does not get any easier, no matter how far you are. If you do not face the emotions, they will burst. Please, do not leave," she pleaded.

Eli shook his head. "You may be right. I cannot forget the man who gave me life. Perhaps it is better that I do not forget," Eli walked to the grave and switched his sword for Ilkama's. "I will carry his burden with me until the day I die," Eli continued, staring at the sword in his hands. He sheathed it and walked back to his friends. "Thank you for caring for me. I am infinitely grateful for your support. I will never forget you. I suppose this is goodbye," Eli extended his hand. His friends looked at it, and Charles was the first to react.

Rather than shaking his hand, Charles hugged Eli. "We will all miss you. Please. When you find what you are looking for out there, come back to us." He pulled away and walked to the others.

"Thank you for freeing us," Sarah joined in, hugging Eli tightly. "Albert may be gone, but I know he is proud of all we accomplished. We will miss you dearly. You are family to us," she said, already crying again. When she pulled away, she gave one last smile before walking back to the others.

When Devon hugged Eli, the two men stood in silence. Eli did not know what to say, and Devon could not say everything he wanted. Devon pulled away slowly, tears silently streaming down his face. Eli gave a final wave goodbye before slowly walking away. Charles and Sarah began walking into the kingdom. The groups barely moved before Devon made a quiet sound. Everyone turned and saw Devon wailing in the same place he'd hugged his friend.

"What is it?" Charles asked.

"I—I am not done learning," Devon muttered under his breath, quiet enough for nobody to hear him.

"What was that?"

"I am not done learning!" Devon screamed, choking on his words. "You taught me so much, Eli, and I do not want to leave just yet. Please, let me learn from you more," Devon fell to his knees, crying. Eli considered his plea.

"When I first learned who I was, I knew my journey would take me home someday," Eli explained. "I cannot stay here. I must go back to Mienardos. If any of you wish to join me, I will welcome your presence. I care a lot about you all and will miss you all greatly. We will likely not stay in kingdoms for too long. Our lives will be full of adventure. I will not stop you from staying here, where you feel is home," he finished.

The Bronze Foxes looked at one another. They had not anticipated such a proposal. While his friends always dreamt of exploring the world after Ilkama's rule ended, they had expected death by his hands. They stood in silence for a moment.

Charles was the first to speak up, explaining, "I began my adventure in Drasagne. Kevras was never meant to be my home for long. I found myself stuck there when I saw how bad it was. I live for adventure, and freeing the kingdom was the latest one. I would love to join you."

"Charles found me in Spirrahl. We found an artifact together in an underwater temple. When he promised a life of adventure, I gladly joined. This is no different," Devon smiled excitedly.

"Albert and I joined when they found us in an underground temple. The only reason we succeeded was that we worked so well as a team. They quickly became family to me. And so did you, in our previous attempts. I could not imagine what life would be like without all of you. I will go wherever you go," Sarah nodded.

Eli began crying, excited to start a new adventure. "Alright then. Let us depart!"

"Does anybody know where the new Mienardos is?" Sarah asked, giggling as tears rolled down her face. Charles and Devon shrugged.

Eli heard Ilkama's voice in his mind, telling him, "Following the Great Revolt, our people fled far to the West, in a place called the Etoum Forest."

"It is to the West," Eli explained how he knew it.

Eli smiled, for he knew he was finally on his way home.