Eli hurried to the castle's entrance, hoping to escape without resistance from more guards. The stronghold felt somewhat empty; he had knocked many unconscious on his way to saving Curtis. His heart sank as he thought about the boy, his friend. Fully believing it was his fault the boy had ever been placed in that position pushed Eli to make amends as soon as possible.

When Eli approached the castle's entrance, he found a line of guards blocking the gateway with shields. Looking around, he wondered if there was another method of exiting. When he could not think of any viable solution, Eli considered how to circumvent the guards. As he got closer, the swordsman unsheathed his sword and chained Bursor before and after Profecti, aiming the blade behind him and slightly downward. A large burst of air came out of the sword, and Eli launched into the air and over the other guards, landing safely on the other side.

After crossing the bridge over the castle's moat, Eli chained Bursor with Vertila, slashing at the cobblestone path, destroying it to keep guards away from the rest of the kingdom. Though he knew it would not be a permanent solution, he understood that this bought him some time.

Eli froze momentarily, wondering how he would find the inn. Having been there only a few times—led there by the Bronze Foxes—he was lost. Since he could see the courtyard where he found Sarah from his chambers, Eli felt that would be as good a start as any to find the inn.

On his journey to reach the courtyard, many people cowered in fear from the Mienard, running back into their homes. He watched as they locked their doors and blocked their windows. He could not blame them. Not only had Ilkama taken away their loved ones and put them under his spell, but he had also likely killed those, like Curtis, who tried to be heroes. Meanwhile, Eli had been by his side for several weeks, doing nothing to actually help the citizens. Wondering if he was worthy of the Bronze Foxes' trust, Eli pushed forward; he would atone for his mistakes alone if needed.

Once he reached the now-empty Courtyard, Eli's gaze snapped around, trying to find a path. Recognizing the bridge leading into the kingdom, the castle in the distance, and the point Sarah found him lying in the grass, he looked to the left of the palace. Noticing a familiar corridor, he smiled, confirming, "That must be where the inn is."

Hurriedly, Eli sprinted through the maze of corridors, confident in his assessment. Recognizing the area, he began following the path he had once taken with Sarah. Eventually discovering the maze's exit, he found ten guards standing outside the inn. "Get him!" one yelled. The team began their assault against Eli. One after another, the guards slashed at Eli before forming a ring around him. Eli hesitated, not knowing how to knock them out separately; giving one any attention would give an opportunity to the other nine to attack him.

The guards charged simultaneously, giving the Mienard no opportunity to block them all. Ducking under the blades, Eli drew Repeiletus before plunging the sword into the ground below him. Protective stones spiked up from the floor, disarming the soldiers and knocking them back. Quickly, Eli climbed over his barrier and jumped over his adversaries' heads. When he ran into the inn, he saw the innkeeper had a shocked expression. Not giving her time to ask questions, Eli sprinted up the stairs and began slamming his fist against the Bronze Foxes' door.

"Sarah!" he exclaimed. In a panic, he began using both fists. "Please, open the door! It is urgent!" His nervous voice caused others nearby to check on the noise. "Sarah!"

"Coming! My apologies!" Sarah called, scrambling towards the door. When she opened it, she scanned Eli's body.

"Eli?" she gasped, "You are here? I knew you would come back!" she cheered, grabbing his arms and dragging him into the room and closing the door behind them. Murmurs could be heard from the crowd they attracted, but they quickly dispersed.

"Did you retrieve the artifact?" Eli asked.

Sarah shook her head, "No. Devon finally solved the puzzle several days ago. But the boys are scared we may not be prepared, even with our skills. They believed they could rely on you if we were to face a challenge great enough. Since you disappeared, Devon has been worried, and Charles had to strategize. They are in the forest right now," she answered.

"Perfect, we must go now!" Eli reached for her hand and began pulling her towards the door.

"What? We should wait for them. I am brewing a few potions in preparation. They will come here."

"There is no time to argue! Ilkama may be coming after me soon. I have slowed him down considerably, but he is too powerful for me, and we must retrieve the artifact before he can retaliate! Please," he begged.

"I need a minute to brew this last set, at least," she offered. Eli sighed and smiled, nodding. Leaning against the door, he watched as Sarah continued mixing ingredients in the small vials. Impatiently tapping his foot, he watched as she closed and shook the vials. "Finally, come on!" She placed the items in her pouch and ran past Eli.

The duo sprinted outside, only to find the guards fully armed again. Sarah tugged at Eli's arm and whispered, "Hold your breath." When he complied, Sarah threw a smokescreen potion at the floor. In a puff of deep-grey smoke, the duo ran past the guards and towards the kingdom entrance.

Upon their arrival, Eli and Sarah noticed nobody was standing guard at the archway. Sarah quizzically looked back at Eli. He inferred, "Ilkama must have called on all the guards to stop me. We should be safe for now." Sarah simply accepted the answer with a nod before speeding up; she knew precisely where the others would be. Eli followed suit.

As they traveled deeper into the forest, they heard the distant thumps getting louder. "Those boys always train in the same area," she began, "it is an open area, far enough away that they cannot be heard or seen from the kingdom."

Sarah squinted to try and figure out who was making the thumping sound, but Charles' voice eventually clarified what she heard, "Albert, you have been punching that poor tree for fifteen minutes. Are you not tired?"

"We are no closer to freeing the kingdom. 'He who is worthy may take the Dragon Heart? What does 'worthy' even mean?'" Albert punched the tree in frustration. "And Eli," he spat, "that traitor! We trusted him with the plan, and he sided with Ilkama instead. He has no doubt told the Dark Lord of our plan."

"We do not know that!" Devon replied, hopeful. "Perhaps he has not shared that information!"

"Will you bet your life on that? Because that is on the line if we find nothing there. How are we supposed to win against two Mienards who have been training together? You can see their strength at the top of the castle. The kingdom is doomed. We should escape before we get summoned to the castle," Albert retaliated. Eli's heart sank. Though he anticipated Albert to be hostile, he could not have prepared himself for what was to come.

"Albert!" Sarah exclaimed, reaching the clearing. Eli shuddered but joined her. "Everything will be okay. He is not with Ilkama," Sarah glanced back at Eli.

"How do you—" Albert turned around and locked eyes with the Mienard. "Traitor!" he yelled, charging at Eli. Eli did not unsheathe his sword. Rather, he raised his arms in a defensive cross; the swordsman felt Albert's lack of weaponry stopped him from being too big a threat. Albert's fist collided with Eli's arms, slightly pushing him back. Though surprised by his opponent's strength, Eli felt that fighting him would be useless. Instead, he would try to reason with Albert.

"Albert, please!" he called.

"You betrayed us!" Albert punched the Mienard again.

"You heard what Ilkama had said to me!" Eli endured another punch. "It made sense. He tricked me, and I admit to that!"

"How could you believe him?" Albert swept his foot under Eli's knocking him to the ground before kicking him.

"Everything he said agreed with what you said!" Eli stood up, bracing himself for what would come. Albert charged again, sending a flurry of punches at Eli's defenses.

"And when you ruled with him, you told him of our plot!"

"I did not! He knows nothing of our plot. Yes, he mentioned you all, but never the artifact!"

"Stop lying to us!"

Albert went in for another punch, but Charles caught his fist instead, saying, "Albert, stop. You are acting like a child."

"He deserves it!" Albert huffed.

"Perhaps he does. But we cannot be the judge of that quite yet. Eli, what exactly happened?" Charles questioned, sitting down on a nearby rock.

"Can we please discuss this on the road?" Eli pleaded, unable to hold still. "Ilkama is still coming after me. If we do not leave now, he may find us soon. He knows how to counter all of you."

Charles responded, "Eli, slow down. What exactly happened?" Eli began explaining everything that had happened since Ilkama kicked his friends out of the castle. He started with the Mienards' history together and how they had a rivalry. He continued to the feast and elixir Ilkama gave Eli. Next, the Mienard mentioned the fight. From chaining glyphs to Ilkama's analysis of the Bronze Foxes.

Albert jumped off the rock and yelled, "He does not know the first thing about me!" His burst of energy resulted in him punching a thin tree, causing it to fall. Everyone watched in silence as Albert sat on the log he knocked down.

"Albert..." Sarah said, walking over to him. Sitting beside him, she rubbed his back. When Albert seemed to calm down, Eli continued to explain what had happened. He explained how he met Curtis and how the boy had warned him of Ilkama.

"Without his warning, I would have likely told Ilkama of the artifact," Eli explained. "I had complete trust in him before the warning; I thought he was truthful from the start. He—" Eli choked on his words. The vivid image of Curtis bleeding out became engraved in his mind. "Curtis went against Ilkama's direct orders. He saved me, but I still let him down," Eli broke down in front of his friends. "I could not save him from Ilkama's torture. He is a hero."

Though the team sat in silence while listening to Eli crying, Albert had been the first to speak up, saying, "How do we know you are not lying to us? You claim Curtis helped you soon after you left us, yet you did not return immediately. You could be making up this story to lure us into a trap."

"I needed to find the truth. I did not know who to trust. I kept information from Ilkama but also did not fully trust Curtis's word."

Devon finally chimed in, "Remember, Ilkama did say he likes watching us struggle. I do not believe he would lure us into a trap just to kill us."

"But Eli already said Ilkama wishes he had tougher adversaries than us. Perhaps he is bored of us?" Albert replied.

"That could very well be the case."

"I trust in Eli," Sarah said firmly.

"How can you be so sure of that faith?" Albert asked, pulling his hand away from her. "After everything that happened?" When Sarah stayed quiet, Albert continued. "We trusted him, and he chose Ilkama."

Sarah finally snapped, saying, "No, he did not! He says he kept that secret from Ilkama, and I believe him."

"How can we be sure?" asked Devon, who grew more anxious by the minute.

Albert snapped his fingers before revealing his plan, "We use Sarah's potion on Eli and ask him questions. If Sarah did everything right, Eli should be submissive and will tell us everything we desire. That works for me!"

Eli's head spun towards the martial artist. "Wait, what?" His gaze turned to Sarah, a worried expression forming on his face. "What about Sarah's potion?"

"Do you still have it?" asked Devon, hopeful.

Sarah smiled weakly, but it quickly faded. She shook her head. "I do not believe this is a good idea," she took a potion out of her pocket. "We only have one of these." Its eerie, deep red color was too familiar to Eli. It looked like the same potion Ilkama used to control his army.

Eli panicked, backing up. "W-Why do you have that?" he asked, trying to distance himself from the others. "You wish to control me?"

Sarah was shocked, "You know what this is?"

"Yes! Ilkama uses those to control his guards," he explained. "Why do you have that?"

The Bronze Foxes traded glances with one another before Charles looked back at Eli and elaborated, "Sarah discovered this while you were gone. The guards have been slightly more active recently, and we believed you were gone. We had hoped to use this on one of the guards so we could understand more of Ilkama's plan."

"Ilkama is not planning anything. He is aware you may try to plan another revolution but knows he is too strong for you to face. Unless he has not mentioned it to me, Ilkama has forgotten about the temple we visited. We should be safe from his wrath, at least until we retrieve the artifact."

"We?" Albert spat. "No, you are not coming with us. You forfeited your right to come with us when you sided with Ilkama."

"Albert!" Charles yelled. "We are a team. You do not speak for all of us. We will take a vote on this."

"There are only four of us, not including that traitor," Albert explained. "There will be a draw." Eli watched in silence as the two grown men argued like children. Where Albert tried to argue against him going and for using the potion, Charles would counter it. Their argument went on for several minutes while the remaining members just watched.

However, Sarah's blood began boiling. Frustrated that someone so close to her was not on her side, Sarah took matters into her own hands. Rather than letting the others decide, Sarah firmly gripped the potion before hurling it at the floor, screaming, "Here is your answer!"

Stunned, the group just stared at Sarah. "We are at just as much fault as Eli in his leave," she reasoned. "Eli came to us for help. We tried to help him, but Ilkama was able to give him the information we could not. And he was... intimidating," Sarah gulped. "We did not try hard enough to stop him from tricking Eli."

Albert looked at the ground. He knew she was likely right. He understood Eli had gained a lot of knowledge they could not otherwise give him. He sighed in defeat, muttering, "My apologies, Eli."

Eli shook his head. "You have every right to be upset with me. I have broken your trust. But I hope to regain it, one way or another."

"Well, you can start by helping us retrieve the artifact," Charles extended his arm to Eli, who accepted it.

"Time is of the essence. Come on."