"Wait! What?" Mike blurted. Drake had just told them that he had received a quest to save the little girl, Nelly, and that the monsters that took her were actually gargoyles. "Gargoyles! Really?!"
Drake nodded. "I received the quest when Ivan told us what had happened. I didn't want to say anything. I'm pretty sure that none of those people have a system, so I figured that I needed to keep my mouth shut until we got out of town."
Chad came up beside them, a large grin on his face. "That means we get loot." He patted his bow, then held up his dimensional storage ring. "I'm really liking the loot."
Drake pulled out the map from his robes, then looked at his friends. "If nothing stops us, we should be there in a couple of hours. I want to get in there, get Nelly, and get the hell out of there. If it takes us too long, we're going to end up fighting a bunch of those things, and I'm sorry to say, but I doubt we're strong enough to survive something like that. Level one beasts and bandits are one thing, but gargoyles are an entirely different monster altogether. No pun intended."
"Too bad your car didn't stay here; we could have just driven it there," Mike blurted. "Hell, we'd already be at the base of the mountain and on our way to completing the quest if we had your car."
Drake shook his head. "First of all. There is no gas in this place; at least I don't think there is. Second, this road is too rough; my tires would be destroyed by the time we got there, and lastly, there aren't any modern technologies in this dimension. We may be able to pass wearing our regular clothes, but there is no way we can explain a car."
After walking for about twenty minutes, Drake checked the map, making sure they were still following it. Once he verified that they were, he replaced the map in his robes. A sudden thought popped into his head, making him pause, causing his two friends to nearly bump into him.
"Everything okay, Drake?" Mike asked. Chad was watching him closely, but didn't say anything.
Ignoring them, Drake pulled the book out of his cuff and opened it to one of the pages. Sweeping his hand, a set of beautiful armor came out. It had Arrows and vines decorating the breastplate. Drake handed it to Chad, then, sweeping his hand again, pulled out a second set.
Chad looked at the armor before putting it on. He studied the design for a moment. "The design fits me perfectly. This armor is awesome," he said, then noticing that Drake handed a set to Mike as well, who was putting his on. Mike's had lightning, swirling patterns, and claw marks." Chad suddenly frowned. "Where is your armor, Drake? Don't you have a set also?"
Drake tapped his chest. "I'm already wearing mine. It's under my robes. I put it on before coming down to breakfast."
Just as the boys had their armor situated, a growl came from the trees near the road. Turning to the direction of the sound, it was another wolf beast with the tail of a rat.
"You're up, Mike!" Drake said, preparing himself to defend his friend. "This one looks the same as the others. That means it's a level one beast. See if you can figure out what your sword does. Chad and I will back you up."
The beast roared, its focus on Drake. They knew that was going to be the issue. Mike jumped in front of Drake, holding his sword in one hand and pointing the tip of it at the beast. The blade shone brightly with a white light. It was the same color as Chad's arrows.
Without thinking, when he pointed the sword at the beast with the thought of stabbing it, the white light left the blade and crashed point-first into the wolf. The wolf yelped in pain, then growled.
Mike grinned. He held the sword up, ready to swing. The wolf leaped up. Mike sliced forward, the sharp point grazing the wolf's thick hide. A trickle of blood fell to the dirt.
The wolf landed inches from Mike. Its short claws, razor sharp, sliced toward Mike. It grazed the armor, sliding off easily. The leather was sturdier than they had thought.
Punching the tip of the sword toward the wolf, the blade lit up, crackling electricity wrapped around the blade as he punched it forward. The electric energy shot toward the wolf, hitting it at point-blank range. The wolf flew backwards, its back hitting a tree, making a cracking sound.
Mike prepared his sword again. Holding it upright, he prepared to slash. The blade began to shine with a white light. There was no electricity this time. He waited for the wolf to attack, his blade held high. There was a large smirk on his face. "Come, you bastard, attack. I dare you!"
The wolf charged, this time aiming for Mike. Mike slashed the sword. The energy from the blade sharpened as he sliced down in a wide arch. The energy sliced through the wolf, then the blade followed. Two halves of the wolf fell to the ground in different directions, then vanished into particles of light.
{A member of your cohort has slain a Level 1 beast; your cohort grows stronger}
{Gold has been received}
{You have received mana +1}
Mike picked up the little bag of gold that dropped from the beast. Looking inside, he smiled. "I think I know how we get gold coins," he said, handing the bag to Drake.
Drake peeked inside the bag. It was the same type of gold coins that he had in his pouch, making him smile. He handed it back to Mike. "First, the wolf beast you killed was a level one beast. I guessed correctly. Second, you killed it; the gold is yours."
Mike took the pouch and attached it to his belt. His smile grew. Looking at his two friends, Mike stroked his storm sword. "Yeah, I'm liking the loot too."
The boys followed the map, only stopping to relieve themselves. They didn't even stop to eat. They wanted to get to the gargoyle's lair as soon as possible. The road wound through the trees. Around a bend of trees was a clearing. They had to move off the road and cross the clearing to the other side.
They kept scanning the area for beasts but found none.
"It's been nearly two hours. We only saw one beast. Something about that makes me nervous," Mike stated.
Chad nodded in agreement, not saying anything. He held his bow tightly, ready to use it at any moment.
Drake took the map out, scanning it and comparing it to the surrounding area. Everything matched. The gargoyles' lair was just ahead. They were almost there.
When they reached the other side of the clearing, there was a rock covered in blood. Drake bent down, assessing the blood. It looked to have been there for several hours. Because it was fairly fresh, it appeared to have been there for only a few hours. It was dry, but not completely. Because of how early it was, Drake guessed it was from last night's hunt. "I sure hope that's not little Nellie's blood," he whispered solemnly.
Drake turned to his friends. "I wonder if more than one of the villagers was taken last night."
Drake's friends shrugged, their eyes focused in the direction they were meant to go.
Listening intently, Drake tried to hear sounds that didn't seem to belong. There was nothing. Only the sounds of rustling leaves and wind whistling through the trees.
Stepping forward, Drake looked at his friends. His expression was grim. "Let's get this over with. Whatever you do, don't die."
Stepping into the trees, they scanned the area, praying they didn't run into anything. Their prayers paid off. Nothing leaped at them through the trees. They moved slowly, silently toward the gargoyles' lair.
In the distance, they could see homes tucked in the trees. It was silent as if everyone was gone.
Moving closer, Drake focused on the homes. Through one of the windows, he saw movement. He pointed at the window. "There. I see movement."
The boys nodded as they headed toward the window.
Stopping at the base of the tree that held the structure, Drake directed Mike and Chad to stay on the ground and cover him if need be. After they both agreed, he started to climb up the tree. They hadn't found a ladder or other easier access to the structures above. He knew the creatures could fly. They didn't need anything but their wings.
Reaching the top, he pulled himself onto the platform that served as a walkway. Drake made his way to the window. He briefly looked down at his friends, who were keeping an eye on their surroundings. Chad, with his bow ready to shoot, and Mike held his sword, ready to cut whatever attacked them down. Reaching the window, Drake peered through. His eyes widened as he took in what he saw. He gasped in shock.