Chapter 32 - Together Again

Frosthold Castle was in turmoil. The tribe was blamed for the calamity that would be unleashed if they didn't leave. Some wanted to help and were willing to fight, having already grown fond of them.

George quelled their voices and united the Frostholds by reminding them that the Inquisition could paint anyone as their enemy, like what happened to them forty years ago. Whether they believed him or not, the Inquisition could sway the public trust, and their only hope of surviving the night was to prepare.

Ingrid's grandmother joined George and ordered her hunters to listen. "They will kill Ingrid when we step out of the gate." She spoke with pain in her voice and told the tribe she was willing to let Ingrid die if it meant saving the many. An answer no one wanted to hear, but it was the reason she was their leader. She will do everything to keep the majority alive.

"Frosthold has stood countless invasions for centuries. We have fought many battles since and more after this," George said, then he shifted his gaze to the tribe members, who were worried about whether they would be turned away. "I promised to help you since you set foot here. Till my death, I will honor it." The Frosthold flag waved defiantly against the Inquisition.

Ingrid's grandmother steeled her spirit and asked the hunters to focus and work with the Frosthold. "Hunters! Tonight, the earth shall drink the blood of our enemies!"

"Ready the defenses!" George yelled as the soldiers began to rush to their stations and prepare for an attack. George turned to Ingrid's grandmother and saw tears falling off her face. He quickly assisted her back to her quarters. He silently hoped and asked God to send a miracle.

The sunny afternoon faded as the clouds began to cover the sky. Tension was building on both sides, dreading what dusk would bring. In the shadow of the day, William, John, and Berg sneaked into the enemy camp.

"Do you think the hunters will stay put?" Berg asked, eyeing the forest anxiously.

"They will wait," John said, keeping his head low.

"And that's what worries me," William said for all he wanted to prevent bloodshed between the citizens and the tribe.

The three found themselves in the armory and reminded themselves of their plan again before they split up: John to the kitchen, Berg to their alchemy station, and William to Blades' tents. They didn't see Ingrid when they sneaked into the camp earlier. They believed she was being held somewhere other than the stable, entrance, and armory.

Berg wrapped a scarf around his face, pulled a hat low, and wore an alchemist's outfit. With his outfit, carrying that huge bag wouldn't be suspicious anymore. John donned a chef's outfit and brought a spare uniform in his bag, and William wore an engineer's outfit. But before they left the armory, Berg gave each of them a firework to signal when Ingrid was rescued and out of the camp.

They left the armory and began their search.

William made his way to the top of the hill where the Inquisitor's and the Blades' tents were found. Surprisingly, only one Blade guarded the tents. The Blade promptly told William to leave. The Inquisitor and the Blades were in the war room, planning the attack. William, wanting to investigate the tents, lied to the man and said that he had been sent there to repair their tents.

The Blade bought into his lie and led William to his tent, asking him to repair a hole in his chest where the man kept his clothes. William quickly lifted the man's faceplate and struck him with the hammer, knocking him out. William helped the man into his bedroll and went to the Inquisitor's tent.

William expected to find Ingrid, but instead, piles of drafted laws the Inquisition would impose once they returned to the Capital greeted him. William used his powers to carefully search the tent. He found a beautiful piece of paper filled with symbols in red ink stuffed inside the Inquisitor's pillow.

The symbols came to life with William's powers to bear a message only Zonians could see. It is a list of names the Inquisition needs to remove to reach its goal. Frosthold is at the top of the list, followed by the village of Tarwood. The last name on the list is the King's.

But before William continued his search, footsteps approaching the tent alerted him. William quickly hid inside a massive chest containing the Inquisitor's weapons.

The Blade soldiers entered the camp and collected some papers for the Inquisitor, including his weapon cache, which William was hiding in. William immediately regretted the decision but had to remain hidden and wait for the right moment to slip out.

While William was unlucky, John was effective at his task. While John didn't see Ingrid, he pretended to be the Inquisitor's cook. He ordered the camp's cooks to prepare hot stew for the soldiers before dusk.

"Let them have a taste of home before the storm" John's confidence and bossy attitude fooled the cooks, and they didn't question his orders.

Just before the stew left the kitchen, John slipped in mushrooms he'd picked from the nearby forest. The cooks assumed it was a truffle. In truth, it was a black cap mushroom, a deadly toxin if applied in significant amounts. John, wanting to incapacitate anyone who ate it, added the right amount to cause a nasty stomach ache. After their preparations, the soldiers gladly feasted on the stew.

"Give it just a little bit of time," John whispered as he exited the kitchen before his mayhem began. He hid in the tall bushes nearby, changed into soldiers' attire, and tied a scarf over his face to hide from the cooks.

John continued his search and still didn't find or hear Ingrid's whereabouts. His search led him to the alchemist station, where Berg brewed potent concoctions. Berg posed as the camp's alchemist and created oils to help soldiers sharpen their weapons before the battle. Unbeknownst to them, Berg created corrosive oils that dissolved iron and steel, making weapons prone to shattering during a fight.

Berg kept his head down, listening while he worked, but he heard nothing that could lead to Ingrid.

Since they had surveyed nearly all of the camp, the one place unchecked was the war room.

John was thinking about infiltrating the war room when two Blades came upon them and ordered Berg to bring a batch of his oil to the war room. John pretended to be Berg's assistant and helped them carry the oil.

They followed instructions and arrived at the war room, where all the Blades and the Inquisitor were in the middle of their discussion. In the middle of the long table where the villains planned and strategized the upcoming battle, the Inquisitor can be seen wearing armor akin to his Blades and a mask of anger and anguish to spread fear to his enemies on the battlefield. Besides him is his weapon cache.

Behind the weapon cache was the center pillar holding the room together. And beside the structure was a weakened Ingrid bound to it.

Berg and John were shocked at the sight of her but must contain their emotions and make a plan for Ingrid's rescue and escape.

Upon seeing them, the Inquisitor directed Berg and John to the side of the war room to sharpen their weapons while they discussed their attack on the castle. They are lucky the Inquisitor didn't perceive their disguises while they worked diligently.

While sharpening the weapons, Berg realized Morgan was not among their ranks and worried something was missing. The Blades are here to attack Frosthold. Why is the Inquisitor's right-hand man not part of the attack?

John collected the freshly sharpened weapons and returned them to their owners. As he went around the room, he intentionally slipped beside the central pillar and slid a small sharp shard beneath Ingrid's feet.

The Blades angrily yelled at John for inadequate weapons handling and demanded to be careful. After the minor fiasco, they returned to their meeting.

Ingrid recognized John beneath his disguise. Seeing her loved one gave her a surge of strength. When nobody was paying attention to her, she immediately grabbed the metal and slowly cut the rope on her wrists.

John returned to Berg and whispered what he had done. He asked Berg if there were any smoke bombs he could use in his bag, and Berg said he had lots. John was pleased and said they would move after sharpening the last batch of weapons.

But the Inquisitor kept a close eye on John after his theatrics. He recognized the unique weapon hanging on his belt was Abigail's. He recalled seeing John wielding her sword when he went to Tarwood.

The Inquisitor ordered the Blades to arrest the two alchemists. The Inquisitor then removed their scarves, and the room gasped in surprise, seeing Berg before them.

During the ensuing arrest, Ingrid began to slice her bound faster. Still, the Inquisitor heard the ropes slowly snapping with his Sense. He grabbed the metal and threw it away from Ingrid.

"All this effort… just for her?" the Inquisitor laughed at Ingrid's saviors.

"Tarwood and Frosthold, conspiring together. And the audacity to infiltrate my camp with this." The Inquisitor pulled Abigail's sword from John and said, "Assassins!"

The Inquisitor asked the Blades to shackle the two. John and Berg elbowed their captors and escaped their grasp. But before they could do anything, the Inquisitor pointed Abigail's sword at Ingrid's face. The two paused and didn't move to prevent harm from coming to Ingrid.

Suddenly, the weapon cache behind the Inquisitor opened, and William emerged, who heard everything. Using his Sense, William saw the weakness in the Inquisitor's armor. William pointed Bane to the Inquisitor's nape and asked his Blades to back off.

The Inquisitor was shocked by William's sudden appearance. With all the people coming into the room, he wasn't able to detect him. He is proud that William was able to sneak upon him. Not many of his enemies were able to do that, yet the Inquisition remained stubborn and pinned the edge of the sword closer to Ingrid.

"Ah, I wonder when you will show up, William," the Inquisitor smirked at William and demanded he lower his weapon.

"I dare you. Just ask the Chief, the Doctor, and Abigail who defeated them." William twisted Bane, and the Inquisitor felt the cold Bane slowly inching into his skin.

The Inquisitor recalled Abigail's tale of William and how he moved like them yet trained and honed better with experience. Not wanting to incur William's wrath, the Inquisitor lowers the sword.

John wrestled his sword from the Inquisitor. Alongside Berg, both rushed to Ingrid's side and helped her back on her feet.

The Inquisitor laughs and taunts William once more. "You are surrounded. A camp full of the Inquisition and this tent surrounded by my Blades."

The Blades, weapons drawn, slowly moved toward them.

"They are one thousand men strong. Even if you killed me, they would overpower you," the Inquisitor said, asking them to surrender, for this struggle is futile.

William looked at his friends, their fireworks, and finally towards the window overlooking the mountain towering over the hill they were on. With just a glance, they understood and waited for William's signal.

William locked eyes with the slope again. One shot. One shot to bury a thousand men beneath snow and silence.

William shoved the Inquisitor to the Blades. The Blades caught the Inquisitor but struggled to steady him. Their struggle gave William, John, and Berg enough time to launch fireworks towards the mountain, hitting the snow. The explosion created a small shake in the frozen waste, but it was enough force to send ripples across the mountain, causing an avalanche to fall from the mountain and into the camp.

The Blades and the Inquisitor panicked as they scrambled to escape the war room.

William didn't linger and led his friends to the other side of the hill, escaping the deadly crush that nearly trapped them.

The Inquisitor and his Blades quickly recovered from the avalanche. They crawled safely, only to behold their camp buried in snow. The stew and the avalanche crippled the Inquisition agents, volunteers, and soldiers.

In the distance, they could see hunters from the forest riding towards them while an army was pouring out of the Frosthold castle, making their way towards them.

Humiliated and disgraced, the Inquisitor blew his horn and summoned the remaining Blades to battle.