Little update: A big thanks to those who are following this story so far! In case you are wondering, this is a self-written story (an amateur attempt I know) during the days when I was fascinated by the stuff about knights, castles, kingdoms and sorcery, you get what I mean. For those who wish to check out the previous chapters, here's the link! With that let the adventure continue!
Chapter 44
"Over there! Quick, Moya, do something!"
Recognising the voice from far, Edward, who was still standing at the top of the north wall, saw Rak, Moya and Malcolm running towards Doria.
"Electro destructo!"
Lightning flashed across the sky and charges plummeted, hitting firmly on the skeletal warriors' armour plates. The ones that were hit experienced a brief second of shock, before collapsing onto the ground. The creatures malfunctioned as the pieces of metal on their body were charred due to the electrocution. That was not the end. Some of the remaining skeletal warriors inadvertently came into contact with the highly-charged ones and one by one, they got electrocuted as well. While some became spoilt, others who received milder shocks pressed on.
Just as Wayne rushed out to fight the first one, Moya shouted, "Don't touch him!"
Wayne backed off, but soon, the five of them found that they were about to be enclosed by the wall and the skeletal warriors. Rak, who was behind, threw a crystal in an attempt to create some distraction. It caused a minor explosion, but within a span of two to three seconds, the five of them rushed out in time and ran in an anti-clockwise direction around the wall.
"Inferno destructo!"
Moya regained his inner energies and casted the Inferno spell. Once again, the sky brightened and the rocks of fire fell in great intensity at the skeletal warriors. This gave Wayne and his friends more time to escape.
Rak, who just noticed Edward at the top, shouted to him, "Is the west gate open?"
Edward shouted back, "I don't know. I will go there and open it for them."
"Okay, we will try to extend the distance between the skeletal warriors and the five of them."
"What about the three of you?"
Moya added, "I guess we have to outrun these creatures by the time we reach the west gate as well."
Malcolm, who had been quiet all this while, interrupted, "I knew an entry into the city without going all the way to the west gate!"
The three of them looked at him, and he told them about the small opening in the wall that he went through months ago. Making it through to the city was not a problem now, but the question was how they were going to prevent the skeletal warriors from coming through the opening.
As they frantically searched for solutions, Rak was thinking of Maltov and the Perisher. Maltov had helped him tremendously in leading Moya and Malcolm to this place. Without him, they would not have known about the Perisher's whereabouts and they would probably be stuck at the demolished crystal tower. However, the last time Maltov showed his presence was the moment he snatched the skeletal sabre. He scanned the fields and there was no sight of the 'floating' sabre. Even the Perisher, who was ten feet tall, was nowhere to be found either. Deep in his heart, he prayed for Maltov's safety.
Maltov ran away from the city and it did not take long before the woods came into view. With the Perisher hot on his heels, he dashed into the woods.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of familiarity - the trees, the bushes, the undergrowth, and even the smell of the air. He had definitely been here before. But the question was: When?
He shoved the question out of his mind and continued to carry the skeletal sabre forward as he raced through the environment, which he knew so well. As the trees and vegetation were densely clustered, the Perisher, who was of a much bigger size, was slowly losing ground on Maltov. Maltov was darting in and out of the trees when he accidentally tripped over a tree root.
He scanned the surroundings intently and to his relief, he had lost the Perisher. He tried to stand up but he felt a short pang of pain in his ankle. Assuming a sitting position, he pulled up his pants and found his ankle swollen. For once, the independent and invisible Maltov realised he needed someone's help to get him out of the woods.
Peering through the thick canopy, he figured that the sun was setting and darkness would soon engulf the woods. Determined to overcome this setback, he decided he would not give up. Clutching the skeletal sabre close to his chest, he began his painful crawl out of the woods.