CHAPTER 51: 51: DEALING WITH A TRAP PT 3

The tunnels to the dungeons were long and dark. The soft flicker in recesses in the walls casts dark shadows in the already dark tunnels. Drake, letting his green eyes glow softly, watched the gargoyles and humans inside the throne room.

"We need a plan," he whispered. "My gut says, we can’t kill the residents, even though they betrayed us. I would just leave, but we can’t. My system gave us a quest to defeat the gargoyles. So far, we took out ten of two hundred and sixty-seven. The quest is preventing us from walking away from this."

"Damit," Mike cursed under his breath. "I would have said for us to just leave and finish our quest."

Chad only nodded in agreement as he attempted to see through the dark. Renn still walked behind them as if watching for ambushes from the back.

"Walking into the throne room where everyone is would be a bad idea," Drake continued. His voice was so low that his friends could barely hear. "I think that’s what they want us to do. I think this is like some sort of mouse trap...only for us. I think the throne room is the cage at the end of the trap."

Mike growled low to himself in frustration. "We have a lot of gargoyles to defeat. How are we going to do it with just the three of us...four of us?" Mike asked, looking at Renn, who was the fourth member of their cohort.

Chad smiled weakly. "Didn’t you say...slow and steady?" he asked. "Maybe we need to just wait for them to exit the throne room and take them out as they exit. Then again, it would still be easy to use the citizens against us, knowing our duty. We should lock up all exits of the castle except the front door and wait for them to leave."

"That is a stellar idea." Drake praised. An excited grin crossed his face. "Let’s work on barring their exits. I’ll keep watch for any leaving the throne room. We also have to remember that those assholes can fly."

***

"So they received a quest preventing them from leaving," Drake’s father pondered as the three men watched the boys on the screen secure all the exits of the castle. "That means the dimension has an agenda."

The blond archer stoked his bow. Like his son, he carried it like a security blanket. He stared at the screen for a moment before speaking. "What kind of agenda? If the dimension wants the boys to finish the quest, wouldn’t it be better if they left, now that they know it’s a trap?"

"I don’t know what kind of agenda. I agree, you would think that they should leave, but since they received a quest to defeat them, there has to be a reason. I just don’t know what it could be," Drake’s father stated out loud. His eyes did not waver from the screen.

Mike’s father leaned back in his chair, pulling on her long brown hair. He was in deep thought as he stared at the boys. They were moving around the castle, locking everything they could find that led to a room with a window. With efficiency, they methodically traveled through the castle, locking one door at a time. Drake used his own power to melt the locks, preventing them from being picked.

As the boys exited the castle, done with the inside, they started on the exits. The Renn was used to pull heavy boulders and large items to help block the doors. Those that could be locked, Drake melted, making it impossible to unlock. When they were done, there was only one exit: The front doors of the castle. This would funnel them out of one opening.

Mike’s father suddenly leaned over, his eyes still on the screen as he spoke. "What if it’s the only opportunity to alleviate a threat that would otherwise prevent the boys from completing the quest? What if..." he added. "If they leave, and that is what causes the quest from not being completed."

***

Drake and his cohort stayed hidden in a spot with a perfect view of the castle’s front door. Drake, using his magic vision, his eyes glowed softly as he watched the castle, periodically looking around the area for movement. There was none.

He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. His pale face was serene before he opened his eyes and smiled, then continued watching the castle.

Mike and Chad looked at each other, wondering why Drake kept doing that. He had been doing it periodically throughout the night.

"Four are coming," Drake observed aloud. "Slow and steady," he said, raising his bow. "I’ll take the two at the right, you take the left. If we miss, our goal is to prevent them from alerting the others."

They all nodded and focused on the door, waiting for the four gargoyles to exit the castle. Renn growled softly in anticipation.

They watched as the doors opened and the four gargoyles stepped out, first looking around them, then heading toward the wall.

The gargoyles hadn’t even discovered that their people were locked inside. They hadn’t tried any doors, only the one that allowed them to exit the throne room and the front castle door.

Once the winged monsters were far enough away, Mike held his hand up, counting down. As soon as the countdown ended, Drake and Chad shot arrow after arrow in a rapid succession. Drake missed one of his, but his arrows were fast enough to hit on his second attempt before the gargoyles even noticed they had been attacked.

The four turned to light particles, vanishing out of existence.

{Gargoyles defeated 14/267}

The system was only giving a countdown. There had been no rewards, no indication of the cohort getting stronger, no notifications of mana or any other attribute. Drake hoped that meant that whatever the reward was, it was something that was insanely powerful.

Mike stared at the area where the gargoyles had vanished. "Why do you guys get all the fun?" he frowned.

Drake chuckled softly, trying not to be heard. Every sound seemed to bounce off the shadows and darkness. "You’ll get your chance. We only killed fourteen. There was a total of two hundred and sixty-seven. That leaves us with two hundred and fifty-three left. That’s plenty to share."

Mike nodded in satisfaction. "Good, because this is my town. I’ve been thinking about it. There has to be a reason the citizens agreed to help them. I bet they weren’t given a choice. Maybe some sort of blackmail. Whatever they have here anyway. I’m not giving up on them until I know for sure."

Chad nodded silently, still watching the door.

Drake smiled, nodding in agreement. "We’ve already learned that in this dimension, things are not always what they seem." His eyes glowed softly as he kept watch on the gargoyles inside.

Chad tightened his grip on his bow. "This is the calm before the storm, isn’t it?" he asked. "The battle is going to be brutal. I can feel it."

Drake nodded. "We can only pick them off one at a time until they realize something is wrong. Once they figure it out, we’re pretty well screwed. I have a trump card, though."

The sky suddenly darkened, making Drake smile. "Now the battle can begin at any time. We still can’t go inside. I know the throne room is a trap. We need to bring the battle outside."

Drake closed his eyes once more; his face pointed toward the sky. Serenity washed over his features for several moments before he focused again on the castle’s front door. He smirked as he watched.

"Are more gargoyles coming?" Mike asked. He and Chad exchanged a glance. Drake was acting strange.

"Not yet." That was all he said. The small smirk never left his lips.

After several moments, Drake sucked in a breath. His eyes shifted from the door to the sky, then back to the door. "We have incoming, there are ten. Remember, they can’t be allowed to alert the others. Renn, go with Mike to the shadow of the castle, closest to the wall. Take out those we can’t."

Renn led Mike toward their hiding spot, anticipation washing through them, their adrenaline peaking. This was a larger battle; they would need all of them. Just as they disappeared into the shadows, the door to the castle opened, and ten gargoyles exited. They held their weapons, ready to fight. Clearly, they knew something was going on.

The gargoyles scanned the arrow, their red eyes shining as they peered into the darkness, then began walking toward the wall.

The sky darkened further, making Drake’s smile widen. It was going to be a long night. "But not too long," Drake whispered, smiling wider.

Drake smiled, counting down. His voice was barely a whisper that only Chad could hear. As the countdown ended, their arrows flew.