CHAPTER 36: 36: BACK ON THE ROAD

Chad slowly took in his surroundings, seeing the dirt, grass, and bushes filling the clearing. A gentle breeze blew through the trees in front of them, rustling their leaves. The trees were only twelve feet away. There wasn’t even a drop of water that could be seen. "How?" he choked. "How is it possible?"

Drake bent down to speak to his friend at eye level. He knew how Chad’s phobia affected him. He couldn’t even go to the river. Even swimming pools were out of the question. "It’s an illusion. My lantern apparently allows you to see through illusions."

Chad looked around them at everything. Remembering the suffocating fear that consumed him from seeing them surrounded by water made him grit his teeth. "I hate this place. I hate it. I want to go home." Tears fell from his eyes. He wasn’t normally a crier, but the experience was too much for him to handle.

Mike sat next to him, breathing in a long breath. "We can go home if we can finish this quest. I don’t know how, but I know for a fact that completing it will send us home."

"I know that too. It’s like the information is instinctual." Drake added. "It’s like how I knew that the hidden quest is a quest of ascension. I don’t know how I know it, I just do."

With the little lantern glowing softly, the boys could see their surroundings as they truly were. It didn’t seem to matter who held it; it worked on everyone within a short range.

The boys sat on the porch as they waited for Chad to compose himself. He was sitting in silence, looking at the trees, tears falling freely. After a while, he wiped the tears away and stood up. Drake and Mike saw that Chad was ready, so they stood up too.

Drake attached the lantern to his belt and looked over at his two friends. "Are you two ready to head back to the road so we can finish this damn quest and go home?" He was angry that his friends had to go through all these life-or-death situations. Because of Chad’s phobia, he had to add fear and anguish to that list as well.

Nodding, the boys reentered the cabin to prepare to leave. They had to clean up their mess, extinguish the fire, and collect what they needed to carry on the road to the mountain.

***

In Drake’s Room

The Dimension Master and his companion watched the boys deal with the illusion outside of the cabin. Drake had figured it out quickly. It took him only a matter of minutes, which made them smile. The illusion wasn’t an easy thing to figure out.

"We stayed in that same clearing when we did the ascension quest. Didn’t it take us three days to figure that out?" The blond archer asked. "We only figured it out by a stroke of luck. It was an accident."

The Dimension Master chuckled, nodding. He was smiling proudly. He watched the boys with a pleased expression, his green eyes glistening like expensive gems. "Drake is smart. He knows how to use his brain. He used what he learned in Draco Town to figure out the situation they are in."

The blond man chuckled loudly, watching as the boys tidied the cabin. His eyes were mainly focused on Chad, who was staring at his cup in disgust before gulping it down. He even winced as he swallowed. "We should have provided coffee for them. Chad likes his coffee."

This made the green-eyed man laugh. "I put some in the storage book, but Drake hasn’t exactly gone through everything to find it yet. I can imagine Chad’s face when he finds out they had coffee with them the entire time."

The three men laughed at the thought of what the boys would do when this information was discovered.

After a while, the boys left the cabin. Drake quickly stored it as they exited the clearing and passed through the thick woods. There was no danger around them. All three boys knew how fast danger could arrive. Sometimes it felt like it came out of nowhere.

***

On the Road

Drake stood on the road with Chad and Mike next to him. They had just reached the road after leaving the clearing. They stood still with weary expressions on their faces, looking toward the large mountain that resembled a giant dragon’s head. The massive mountain cast a shadow that stretched across the wooded land.

They wanted to get the hidden quest over with, but all that had happened to them so far made them apprehensive about moving forward.

The road was lined with thick trees as they procrastinated, not wanting to walk toward the mountain. It was a breezy morning. The twin suns shone down, bringing warmth and light to the dimension. They could hear the sound of birds singing their morning song. It felt magical. That was, of course, if you didn’t understand magic.

Those in the ordinary world would think it was a fairy tale. However, reality was that magic was terrifying and dangerous. The dimension was riddled with terrible monsters, beasts, and bandits. This place was no fairy tale. It was a nightmare that threatened to kill you at any second. Every step, every shadow, and movement promised an excruciating death.

Drake sighed heavily, then took his first step. His friends followed immediately after. As they walked, they kept their weapons ready. They knew that something could jump out at them any time. Sometimes there was a warning, like a growl, or they could hear it moving through the trees. Other times, there was no warning at all, only silence before being attacked. It could be beasts, bandits, or assassins. There were also the unknown enemies that kept hindering their progress to the mountain.

Drake thought back to the good times he had experienced in this realm. He realized that there really wasn’t any. He had to watch his friend nearly die in a battle, rescue a young girl from the gargoyles, and deal with the enchantments and barrier in the town.

He suddenly smiled. He had grown somewhat attached to the little five-year-old, Nelly. She had become attached to him, too. If he ever returned home and could come back to Draco Town, he would remember to bring her a better doll.

’Wait, why am I thinking about coming back here? Am I an idiot?’ Drake chastised himself.

The long road made his mind wander, thinking about all sorts of things. Most likely out of boredom. He smiled again, thinking about Nelly. Then there was Mayor Ivan. He liked the man. At first, one would think the man was just the mayor, but the short, fat man was surprisingly good with a sword. He had noticed during the gargoyle battle that he was well-trained. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him. You had to see him in action to know the truth.

They had traveled for several hours before there was a sudden movement in the trees, breaking Drake out of his thoughts. Drake tensed. He could tell that his friends were doing the same. He slowly uncoiled his whip, letting it fall to the ground as he filled it with the soft green glow. He kept one hand free, ready to cast a spell.

Chad held his bow out, notching an energy arrow. The arrow glowed with a soft white light that grew brighter the longer he held it in place. His sword was in its scabbard, but the strap was unlatched, making it ready to use.

Mike had his gauntlets already on, his glowing white sword in his hand. Over the soft white glow, lightning formed, pulsing up and down the elegant blade. It crackled with an eerie sound.

Drake and his friends stood, watching the direction from which the sound of the beast had come. Drake let his eyes glow with a bright green light, then looked around at their surroundings to make sure there was only one threat. There was nothing around them, nor above. There was only the beast in the trees. With his magical vision, he could see that the beast appeared double the size of the level 2 beast they had fought on the previous night.

Drake winced at the sight of the towering creature, his face turning pale. The beast had glowing red eyes. It was the same wolf-type beast as they had been encountering. He had started to wonder if there was only one type of beast.

"I think it’s a level 3 beast," Drake warned. His voice was a little shaky. Fear radiated from him as he stared at the beast hiding in the trees. If they could barely defeat the level 2, how would they even survive the level 3?

Mike and Chad looked over at their friend, whose face was as white as a sheet of paper. "How do you know? We still can’t see it."

Drake gulped, clearly afraid. Even his hand was shaking as he held his whip; its green glow grew brighter every second. "It has red eyes." That was all he said before the massive beast stepped out of the trees.