A man with emerald green eyes stared at the game green in Drake's room. He was watching the three boys on the screen rescue a little girl. The child was wrapped around Drake's back, sucking on her thumb. Her doll was grasped in her hand.
The man smiled. He was pleased that Drake chose not to leave his friends and scout the gargoyle's lair. His priority was the child. A Dimension Master must know his priorities, and Drake chose correctly.
The Dimension Master waved a hand at the screen. A soft green glow formed, then smoothly moved into the screen. He was clearing the road of beasts for the young heir. Although Drake would have gained loot fighting beasts, he wanted to reward Drake for his choices.
The three boys kept a close watch on their surroundings far more than they had been doing. The man knew that it was due to the child on Drake's back. This made the Dimension Master smile.
He had been watching the three boys ever since they had crashed into the portal. He was even the one who had removed the car from the dimension. The modern vehicle wasn't supposed to be there.
The man smiled before shutting off the screen. "Complete the hidden quest, young one, we have much to discuss."
***
Drake walked with his two friends down the dirt road toward Draco Town. The little girl was fast asleep. Her doll held loosely, threatening to fall from her grasp. Drake suddenly stopped, then turned to his friends, his features puzzled. "I don't feel like we're being watched anymore. Do you?"
The boys looked around. They still could see no threats. There was no evidence of beast lingering. No bandits either. There was nothing. The tingle in the back of their neck from being watched had vanished.
A soft breeze fluttered leaves across the packed dirt road.
"I don't feel it either," Chad admitted. "It was like flipping a switch. At one moment it was there and the next it was gone."
Turning their attention to the road, they continued. They still had another hour to go before they would reach the town.
"I think we need to stay another night in the town. We can try to leave early in the morning," Drake noted. "I want to check out that gargoyle lair, but I also know I need to finish the hidden quest. It might get us back home. Part of me wants to take care of the gargoyle lair first. If they do turn into stone, then I can destroy the statues. It won't allow them to turn back. It would eliminate a danger to the residents of Draco. I don't particularly care about the bandits, but I like the villagers."
Mike looked over at Drake, his features perplexed. "Bandits? Why bring them up?"
Turning to Mike, Drake gave him a sideways smirk. "Nelly wasn't the only prisoner they had. There was a man. It was a level one bandit. After I freed him, he attempted to kill me. I killed him first." Drake shook his head. "Who does that? Who kills their savior? Really? I save his sorry ass, and he tries to end mine! Anyway, the structure they were in looked like a horror movie. It was where they cut up the humans they captured. It was a slaughterhouse for their prisoners."
Chad shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I think those gargoyles need to be wiped out. It would at least make Draco Town a little safer."
Mike frowned; he was debating on saying something. Finally, he sucked in a breath before speaking. "I know this isn't the same, but we have to think about it, though. We eat cows. Would that give the cows the right to slaughter all of us? To us, some animals are our food. To some animals, we are food. I'm thinking it might be hypocritical to wipe out an entire race for something we do ourselves."
Drake turned and looked at his friend. "Then what do you think we should do?"
Mike shrugged. "I didn't think that far."
As they walked, Drake thought about it. It was a tough decision. He could make everyone's life easier and eradicate the threat, or he could find a way to protect the innocent.
"I think I know what I need to do. Everything we saw in the gargoyles' lair didn't add up. What Ivan said and what we saw contradicted each other. We need to find the truth. After we find the truth, we need to find the best way to keep Draco town safe."
Mike and Chad nodded in agreement.
Twenty minutes from Draco town, a rustling of leaves on both sides of the road caused Drake and his friends to turn. A small band of bandits stood on either side of the boys. There were four men, all dressed in rags.
One of them eyed the girl on Drake's back. "It appears we hit the Jackpot," one of them said.
The man's voice woke Nelly up; her grip tightened on Drake. "Close your eyes, Nelly," Drake whispered. "Hold on real tight, okay?"
Drake's attention went to the bandits surrounding them.
Chad pulled his bow string, forming a white energy arrow, and aimed it at one of the bandits.
Mike pulled his sword, its blade shining brightly as he glared at his enemy.
With one hand, Drake pulled the small sheath off his metallic whip and let the coils fall to the dirt. With the other, he held his hand up, a sinister grin on his face. "Fireball!" A ball of fire formed on his hand and shot toward the man's face. Hitting the man, he screamed as the fire spread to his oily hair. With the other hand, Drake lashed his whip, his intention to slice through the second man's neck.
The whip flew out, glowing a soft green. The small, razor-sharp point grew longer, its edges sharpening even further. It gracefully flew through the air as it lashed out. The green energy lashed first, slicing cleanly, and the metal whip followed. The man's head separated from the body. As it fell, it burst into light particles and vanished.
A soft voice floated through his head.
{You have slain a level one bandit}
{You have received a reward}
{You have received gold}
Turning to a second bandit, who was screaming in pain, his head in flames. Drake shot out his whip, not even using his skills. It lashed out the same as before. It flowed gracefully as it flew through the air, then sliced cleanly through the man.
{You have slain a level one bandit}
{You have received mana +1)
{A member of your cohort has slain a level one bandit; your cohort grows stronger}
{You have received mana +1}
{A member of your cohort has slain a level one bandit; Your cohort grows stronger}
{You have received mana +1}
Drake walked over and picked up the small bag of gold, then tied it on his belt. On his back, Nelly was still crying, her grip tight and her eyes still shut.
"You can open your eyes now. It's safe," Drake told her gently.
The little girl opened her eyes and looked around. "No bad men?" she asked. Her sweet voice was questioning.
Drake smiled at the little girl. "The bad men are gone," he assured her.
The little girl whipped her face with her free hand before stuffing her thumb in her mouth. The other still held tightly to her doll.
Chad looked around on the ground surrounding where the man had vanished in particles of light. He frowned. "No loot."
Mike was doing the same, just as disappointed.
Drake smiled. "I killed two. I did get a bag of gold for one of them." Scratching his chin, he looked between his two friends. "Is it just me, or are these guys getting easier to kill?"
Both boys nodded. Chad still had his bow held tightly in his hand, ready to use it if he needed to. Mike had one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Neither of the boys spoke. They looked like they were in deep thought, as if thinking about something important.
Drake continued. "Every time you two kill a beast or a bandit, I get a message that says what you killed and ends with 'your cohort grows stronger.' I think you two are gaining some kind of stat points, too. So far, my system only says mana for me. Although it doesn't give me a balance, it just says that I received a mana point. It doesn't tell me I'm getting any other stat, even though I feel physically stronger. My system seems to be the bare minimum."
Drake replaced the small sheath onto the tip of his bladed whip, then coiled it around his wrist. He decided that he really liked his new whip.
Looking down the road, they could see in the distance through the trees, the small town of Draco. With one last look at their surroundings, they continue their journey.