CHAPTER 29: 29: AMBUSH PT 1

The twin suns were lowering into the horizon, turning the sky a crimson red as Drake and his friends followed the dirt-packed road. It was getting late, and they needed to find a safe place to sleep for the night.

"We need to find a place to sleep for the night. I have the cabin in my storage book, in my cuff, but we need to find a good place to set it." Drake stated as he scanned the area, watching for beasts.

He could easily place it directly on the road, although he wasn’t sure if there was enough room. The trees were too close to the road.

They had traveled for several hours down the dirt road, but hadn’t encountered even one beast. That was strange. There weren’t even any bandits along the dirt road. They had expected to come across something, even if it were a level one wolf beast, the usual one they seemed to encounter. There was nothing. Frowning, Drake realized that he didn’t even hear insects or other animals that wandered the night.

His posture stiffened as he scanned the area around them.

Unaware of his friend’s change in behavior, Chad looked around the flat area; the only space he saw was the trail that led to the clearing near the gargoyle’s lair. The narrow trail weaved into the thick trees like a snake. "I don’t think we should stop in that clearing. Something about it feels wrong."

Mike nodded in agreement, shivering at just the thought of camping in that particular clearing.

Drake sighed; his posture remained stiff as he scanned the area. "We need to find someplace, it’s getting dark. Our only other option is to keep walking, regardless of how dark it is." He frowned. "I’m not sure we have a choice. Either we take a chance on the clearing or continue down the road, traveling at night. Which do you want to do?"

"Travel at night!" Chad and Mike stated at once. The clearing gave them the creeps. Something about it felt sinister; it was as if the clearing itself was alive and wanted to eat them.

Drake gulped, his ears twitching, taking in the silence. It was baffling that complete silence could be so loud. Pulling out his new sword, Drake held it in his hand, preparing to fight. He could feel the silence closing in on him. He knew something was wrong, but wasn’t sure what it was. The darker the night sky grew, the greater the chance of being attacked. His feeling of unease grew. The elegant runes lining the thin blade glowed faintly as they continued down the road.

The trio didn’t get far. When the crimson light faded, the dimension’s darkness consumed them. The darkness was thick with a suffocating pressure. The pitch blackness stretched around them as if they were in a dome of shadows and darkness. The only thing that penetrated the dark was the faintly growing runes on the Emerald Sword.

Drake stiffened; his posture grew so rigid it was like a steel rod. First, the nauseating silence, now the impenetrable darkness. His fear grew, threatening to consume him. Looking around wearily, he tried to listen, but there was only the strange silence.

"I don’t think traveling at night is going to be possible at this point. This area is too dark. We don’t even have a torch or lantern to light our path," Mike grumbled, still unaware of Drake’s change in mood. He turned his head, facing the sinister clearing even though he could no longer see the path that led to it. "Yet something about that clearing is really menacing. I don’t want to go there either."

Chad had taken his bow off his back, pulled the string, creating a glowing white energy arrow, then pointed it out into the darkness. The faint glow gave them a little more light in their immediate area, but they couldn’t see past their own group. "Is it just me, or is the darkness around us supernatural of some kind?" Chad stated wearily. "It doesn’t feel natural."

Unconsciously, Drake and his friends moved with their backs facing each other. They held their weapons out, ready to defend themselves. Mike’s storm sword glowed brightly, an ethereal blade at the ready. Chad’s arrow grew brighter the longer he had it materialized. Drake had his sword out, pointing it toward the darkness in front of him. They waited for something to happen.

They could feel the tension around them was thick with a sinister air. The silence was deafening. The pressure was rapidly closing in on the trio. It slammed against them, making it difficult to breathe. They stiffened as the pressure grew, readying their weapons. The darkness wrapped around them like a noose.

Something was out there. They couldn’t see it. Somehow, they knew that they were not alone. The darkness was too thick. The only light was the glow of their weapons. Drake moved his sword to his sheath, keeping it loose and ready. Letting his whip fall to the packed dirt, he filled its length with energy. The length of the metallic whip shone with a glowing green light.

As Drake peered into the darkness, his own eyes began to glow. Shining forms materialized in his vision. There were five. Each form stood facing them, their massive wings extended, their eyes glowed a sinister red.

"We are about to be attacked," Drake whispered as his eyes grew brighter. "There are five gargoyles surrounding us."

Chad and Mike paled, quickly glancing at Drake. When they noticed his glowing eyes, they understood. The power of being the Dimension Master’s heir was working in his favor. He could use a magical vision to see through the thick layer of darkness.

"Is there room to place your cabin...you never know, they might not be able to enter it," Mike suggested.

Drake shook his head, "No, they’re too close." The grave tone of Drake’s voice made the other boys flinch.

"What do we do?" Chad choked out. He couldn’t shoot something that he couldn’t see.

"We try not to die or be taken," was all he said as he slashed his whip toward the largest gargoyle who had been standing in front of him, watching, waiting.

The ethereal copy flew first, followed by its metallic counterpart; it sliced the massive being in half as it attempted to fly higher. The gargoyle wasn’t fast enough, taking the twin blows with full force. "One down," Drake called as the soft voice floated through his mind.

{You have slain a Gargoyle Soldier.}

{Strength +1}

Drake’s whip had returned to him before he turned to his next target. He could feel his strength growing from the attribute point. He knew it wasn’t much, but it could help them. Drake let the energy flow through the whip, making its entire length glow. He watched for one of the other gargoyles to attack his friends. They seemed reluctant to do so. "There’s one directly in front of each of you," Drake warned. He scanned the sky above them quickly to make sure that there weren’t other dangers hiding. There was.

As Chad shot an arrow through the darkness and quickly pulled his bow, creating a new arrow, Drake looked up at the lone figure above the. There was a hunched figure, hiding in the trees. From what he could tell, the smaller gargoyle was controlling the darkness. There was no glow to the little one’s eyes.

’his eyes must be closed,’ Drake thought. Using his whip, he lashed upwards, aiming for the small, hunched figure. The ethereal whip collided with the small gargoyle, making him lose his concentration. The creature screamed in pain as his eyes opened. A soft red glow shone as he stared down at Drake. Its beady red eyes narrowed in anger.

The creature was missing an arm. It had been severed from the shoulder, and half of his wing was missing as well. The only thing that had saved him was the thick branch he was sitting on.

The darkness surrounding them began to slowly melt like wax, revealing the gargoyles that had surrounded them.

With practiced speed, Chad immediately began to fire. With his targets in sight, he couldn’t miss. "The one in the tree," Drake hissed as he slashed his whip at another. The gargoyles on the ground had all attacked at once.

Drake realized the gargoyles were too close for his whip. Shift it to his other hand, he pulled the Emerald Sword. The elegant runes glowed brightly, and the beautiful blade filled with a soft green glow. Drake slashed the gargoyle in front of him, then quickly shot the energy at the smaller one in the trees.

{You have slain a Gargoyle shaman}

{Mana +1}

After shooting the shaman, he slashed down, hitting his opponent. A large gash appeared on the gargoyle’s chest, and blood seeped from the wound like tears. The monster grinned, its red eyes gleaming with hatred.

{A member of your cohort has killed a gargoyle; your cohort grows stronger}

{Wind Sword has been received}

{Strength +1}

{A member of your cohort has killed a gargoyle: your cohort grows stronger}

{Gold has been received}

{mana +1}