Akisane and Shank walked with purpose, hoping to barge in on the soloknight, make the demand, and avoid too much abrasion. They were about to confront a man who put their party down in a moment.
But this time, he had Darksun. He wouldn’t go down so easily.
Upon visiting the guests' apartments, the biggest surprise was finding Ema out of the tower. Messy red hair framed her face, and she looked up in shock—not terror, for she showed remarkable bravery for a commoner. She wasn't any of his concern now. They had the boy, and Masahide had some kind of guardianship.
Akisane did all he could do, which was walk right to the midst of them. “Whitebeard, you are under the custody of the Duke. Come with me.”
Kichi put herself between them. “For what?”
Akisane wanted to laugh. “You don't want to know.”
“That’s not good enough. You’re not taking him.”
Masahide made to reach for his weapon but then just joined the blackade. “That’s not going to happen.”
Shank wore his broadest smile and showed empty hands–well, one empty and the other sheathed. “Aren’t you knights? Don’t you have to obey authority?”
Anger boiled just beneath the surface of Masahide’s calmness. “The oaths are not in isolation to one another.”
Shank rocked on his heels and tucked his thumbs in his belt. He looked as though he won some sort of victory. “So they mean nothing. You can just interpret them how you wish.”
Whitebeard's head appeared above his two protectors. “That’s not how it works. Now, I have a story to tell, so where in Crann’s shade do you intend to hold me?”
Kichi twisted her head to look back and up. “You don’t intend to go along with this charade, do you?”
The soloknight’s mouth formed a crooked smile. “Perhaps there’s evidence the Duke intends to provide.”
Akisane handed over the scroll and whatched Whitebeard break the seal and read. “I don’t know the evidence, but you’re under the Duke’s roof, so I would advise you to comply.”
Eyes under bushy eyebrows scanned the scroll. Whitebeard chuckled and handed it over. “I’m going to be chained in the great hall. That’s acceptable.”
Darksun pulled, making his belt heavy. Kill him while he’s separated from his sword. It is the blade forged by music and held by Crann for a thousand years.
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It seemed straightforward: just draw a red line through the tall man. There would be one less thing to worry about. Akisane’s ears felt stuffed with cotton, and Darksun’s energy roiled through every fiber of his being. But not yet. He needed to take on lesser opponents and learn what he could do first. The tournament would be a perfect playground.
Nudging his friends out of the way and muttering encouraging words to them, Whitebeard came very close. “You have Thailoc’s steel. In the Age of Heros, a Northman who was the greatest adventurer of his time took Darksun and ran as fast and as far as he could. The giant skeleton chased him for three years, devastating cities and wildlands until it culminated in the death of a great spirit and the Northman at the Sea of Slugs. You might want to put that back where you found it.”
Shank looked between the soloknight and Akisane and said, “The elemental druids chained the creature.”
All mirth in Whitebeard's face was gone. “It’s always chained until it needs to reunite with its creation, where the forces of good can chain again. That is the true bondage it faces; it will forever hunger to possess its masterwork.”
Akisane feared that what Whitebeard said was true. At least, the myths were as the soloknight knew them. But he could not simply put Darksun back. It had given him a new path. Why hadn’t the ancient hero turned Darksun against Thailoc? That seemed like the reasonable thing to do. Then, the blade would be free of its curse.
The blade became light at his hip. You must become powerful quickly.
When they reached the great hall, Akisane and Shank were to each side of Whitebeard. The soloknight had put up no resistance or argument.
Duke Akitomo stood before the black marble. A few workers finished fastening an iron sheet and chains to the floor. “Put him here.”
Whitebeard let them clamp the iron down on his wrists. There wasn’t enough slack in the chain for him to stand. He rattled the irons. “What is this, Akitomo?”
The Duke paced. “Before the Liogasts there was the Empire, which you should know well, as you’re old enough to have grown up in the remnants that kept fighting before your city was swallowed. Before the Empire, there were the Lifweards, and I shouldn’t have to tell you anything about them, Sada Lifweard. But you took your mother’s name as you were a bastard of Edmund Liogast. Is it pure coincidence that the only prince of an ailing king is assassinated when a long-lost Lifweard returns?”
“Even if I wanted the Crown, which I don’t, I was forced to choose between knighthood and death.”
“Because of your foresight, the Dragon Order left the realm. As a soloknight, nothing is keeping you from the throne. You came to me so that I would spare you the draining ritual and maybe even talk me into rebellion. Is that not right?”
Whitebeard raised his voice. “Nonsense. Accuse me of what you will. I have come only for the purposes I declared when I arrived. I’m not interested in conspiracies.”
“You know why you are here, and that’s enough.” The Duke turned to Akisane. “Get a good night’s rest. You’re to fight an archknight for your first match tomorrow.”
Henry (Akisane)
Level: 10
Focus: Telekinesis
Secondary focus: Shadow walker, fire walker
Weapons: Darksun Sword - 85% corrupt, decay+12