"What's the meaning of this, Lawrence! All four?! Have you gone mad! I secured this artifact from these three buffoons!" Elfie waved the artifact around wildly.
"We've been through this, Miss Lindoriel-"
"THAT'S SYLVATHORIE TO YOU!"
Lawrence gritted his teeth. Letting out a breath to calm himself, he continued, "We've been through this, Miss Sylvathorie. You've yet to give me enough proof that you aren't working together."
"Huh? What about that arrow in that guy's arm?" Elfie pointed at Alric.
Lawrence scoffed, "And the arrows in the royal gallery? You've desecrated many of the king's treasures."
Elfie scoffed back, "Pfft, this is the royal gallery? These treasures you speak of don't even hold a candle to basic elven artwork."
"Enough! Guards, detain them all—now!" Lawrence shouted, voice cutting through the chaos.
The four were now on guard. Alric made a break for it towards one of the exit ways, but was stopped by a guard pointing a spear at him. He had no way to break through, not without a weapon and with an unusable arm. Eiselin slowly backed away, a worried expression on her face as she drew her arrows. She doesn't want to kill any guards, as that would completely implicate her, even though this crowd is nothing to her.
The only two that showed any calm were Cherry and the assassin. Cherry was tinkering with the device again, crouching and hiding behind the assassin and Alric while the assassin scanned their surroundings.
The two set their eyes on the least-guarded hallway facing north. It seemed Cherry already had a plan in mind with the next spell he's going to use, and with a click, his device started whirring. Cherry and the assassin shared a look, with Cherry showing him one item from his cloak, and the assassin nodded back like he understood what needed to be done.
The guards charged them at Lawrence's command, from all directions, and they were surrounded when suddenly-
"WAIT!" Cherry yelled at the top of his lungs, holding his hands up.
"We'll give you the REAL artifact, the one she's holding was supposed to be a decoy, but this fool blew it."
"What are you talking about-"
"I knew it. Sylvathorie, it seems you are implicated in this," Lawrence said in an accusatory tone.
Cherry slowly moved his back down to reach for the 'real' artifact. The guards were on guard, and even more so, Lawrence. He took out what seemed to be a sphere-shaped object and dropped it.
"What is-"
BOOM
A burst of smoke quickly filled the room, and chaos erupted. The sound of coughing and clanging metal can be heard throughout the halls as the guards scramble to reposition themselves.
"Stay still and wait for the smoke to clear!" Lawrence commanded.
Eiselin and Alric, being close to Cherry, were less affected. Cherry threw his Aether Converter into the air to the north exit. The assassin jumped out from the smoke and caught the converter mid-air. He channeled his still abundant Aether and aimed at the guards posted on the northern exit. He shot, and a burst of wind was let out, blowing the guards away from the exit, clearing a way.
The assassin threw the converter back to Cherry as the two made a run for the exit, "Alric! Grab the artifact. You can beat me up later, now we need to get out of here!"
Alric was next to Eiselin, and he was about to snatch the artifact from her before she took it away, tucking it in her cloak. Out of options, he opted for a different way to move the artifact. He took Eiselin by her waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder, and he made a run for it.
"WHAT THE FUCK- LET ME DOWN," Eiselin yelled and struggled, but Alric's strengths and hers were too different. No matter how much she struggled, Alric wouldn't even budge. With Aether Energy on all four of his limbs, he moved quickly and caught up with the assassin and Cherry.
The four were running around, trying to move around while also avoiding the guards. Eventually, they found what seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel, literally. They ran faster only to find out they're in the center courtyard of the castle. They were about to run back inside the halls, only to find knights and guards behind them.
"West Side!" The assassin pointed.
They ran towards the west exit, only to see that all the exits already had guards and knights posted. The four of them were pushed back until the very center of the courtyard, where a massive ornamental greatsword was planted in the ground.
"Enough! Surrender—now! You're surrounded!" Lawrence strode in from the north, eyes blazing.
The four were now in a pinch, and they realized it. The assassin took out his two daggers. Cherry was already thinking of a way to talk his way out of this mess. Alric let down Eiselin. With an indignant huff, she fixed her robe and gave Alric a quick kick to the shins before unsheathing her weapons.
"You're actually with us now?" Cherry asked the elf.
"Like I have a choice? I'm already implicated; I might as well make my stand. I'm not one to go down quietly," She indignantly said.
Cherry finally took out his crossbow and loaded it with a bolt, "Fine by me. Good to have you, Elfie."
"ELFIE!?"
Alric pulled the arrow from his arm, wincing as blood oozed from the wound. To slow the bleeding, he flexed his muscles. With no weapon and desperate, he noticed the greatsword stabbed into the rock nearby.
It was a double-sided great sword, and it had a majestic aura. The blades were sleek, adorned with gold along the center. It felt very war-torn. What made it stand out was the handle. The handle featured a fully round guard with four golden piercing protrusions, giving it the appearance of a sun. The pommel also had a golden spike at the end of the handle.
Moving closer, he grasped the handle with his good hand; the metal felt cold against his skin. Without effort, he drew the sword from the rock—the blade felt almost weightless, an effect that wasn't just due to his strength.
He felt a shift in the air. As if the moment he took out the sword, time itself had stopped. The knights had looked at him in awe as he stood in confusion. The other three also looked at him with a different look, like he had done something completely impossible.
Lawrence, with lips shaking, let out an incredulous whisper.
"Sunbringer."
"Sunbringer has met its chosen!" A soldier yelled through the crowd. All the knights cheered as they all charged them.
"Bring them to the king!"
"Do not harm our hero! Detain the other three!" Lawrence tried to command the knights!
Chaos erupted. No orders went in any of the soldiers' ears; it was as if they had gone berserk. The four readied themselves. Suddenly, a force of Aether pushed everyone present to their knees. Cherry was brought down until he was laid down. Eiselin desperately tried to stand tall. Eventually, she fell to her knees.
"Cease this foolishness," A voice boomed. It was the voice of an old man; it echoed inside everyone's mind.
"Your Highness!" The knights yelled as they continued to kneel, pushed down by the force of Aether.
"Bring all four to me. Alive." The voice commanded, gaining the knights' acknowledgement.
The knights were free of the pressure. Two knights put handcuffs on all four of them, and a special ornate-looking one for Elfie. The four were presented to Lawrence, he declared.
"Capture of the Legendary Hero and his party has been completed. We will now grant you an audience with the king!"