CHAPTER 56: 56: DEALING WITH A TRAP PT 8

Drake led the way through the halls of the large castle, weaving through one corridor after another. They were staying as quiet as they could, not wanting to be heard.

He had the handle of his whip grasped tightly as he scanned the area. The length was draped loosely over his shoulder, so it wouldn’t drag on the stone floor and alert those inside the throne room.

Chad was next. He had his magic bow on his back and his healing sword on his side with its strap open, allowing it to be released from its sheath if he needed to. The bow he had brought with him from the ordinary world was in his hand with one arrow noticed, and several more were grasped in his hand to access them quickly. The remaining arrows rested in his quiver that hung on his belt. He knew he couldn’t miss. He had only nine arrows, and eleven gargoyles were remaining. He didn’t have enough to take them all out, so he had to make them count.

Best-case scenario, some of the gargoyles inside would exit the throne room once the one that was separated from the group was taken care of.

Mike was in the rear with Renn beside him. His sword was grasped tightly as he scanned the halls. Those in the throne room were staying in place; The one who was separated from the rest paced in agitation. Mike was ready to fight; they just had to leave the throne room so that he could.

Drake, who was in the lead, tensed. His face was white, drained of all color. "I just thought of something. Don’t go into the throne room, no matter what. If I’m right, the humans inside will die if we do."

"What do you mean?" Mike whispered.

"If the humans are the power source and it doesn’t activate unless we enter, then when it does, it will use the human’s life energy to activate the barrier once inside. It would kill them. The only way to prevent that is not to enter...Even if the gargoyles start to kill them.

Chad nodded slowly. "On our way, look for more arrows. I need at least one for each gargoyle. More, if possible, in case I miss."

As they made their way to the throne room, they found no arrows left with the armor, lined up in the halls. There were only swords and spears. Mike started pulling spears from the armor. In doing so, he found several daggers hidden near the back, hanging on the armor’s wide belts. He figured he could throw them, eliminating at least a couple of the gargoyles before Chad ran out of arrows. Technically, he only needed two, since there were eleven gargoyles and Chad had nine arrows, but he didn’t want to take chances.

When they reached the large arch of the throne room, he mentally told Renn past the arch so that if they ran out in that direction, Renn could take care of them. Drake and Mike would stand on the closed side of the arch, preventing them from exiting. Drake knew it didn’t really matter if they did, but he didn’t want to activate his trump card if he didn’t have to.

Chad stood with his back to the wall, taking in several breaths. He was preparing to rapid-fire his arrows. He had to be quick. It would be slower than his magic bow. He didn’t have to take the time to take arrows out of his quiver, notch, aim, and fire with his magic bow. With his regular one, he did, which would slow him down.

When he pulled the string taut, the squeak of the tension echoed. He quickly swung his body around the wall to face the entrance of the throne room, letting the arrow fly as he did, then, as fast as he could, he notched a second.

The first arrow slammed into the gargoyle’s head, who paced on the dais, his back turned, not even seeing his death coming. Quickly after, he burst into light particles, vanishing out of existence.

{Gargoyles defeated 257/267, 10 remain}

The next slammed into another that was keeping the humans in the center; A cloud of light particles formed in his place.

{Gargoyles defeated 258/267, 9 remain}

As Chad fired more arrows, Mike pulled the daggers he had collected. He rapid-fired two of them. Each one hit their mark with precision, killing them on the spot. The cloud of light particles grew thicker.

{Gargoyles defeated 262/267, 5 remain}

Between the two of them, they had taken out a total of four more gargoyles. Chad had five arrows left. Convenient since there are five gargoyles left as well.

The remaining five rushed the entrance arch, with their swords swinging with a powerful force. Drake and his cohort each took one while the last gargoyle rushed toward the entrance of the castle, trying to get free to notify his master that the plan had failed.

{Gargoyles defeated 266/267, 1 remain}

All for was taken out quickly. Drake ignored the escaping gargoyle and looked inside the throne room. "The three that were sent to trap us are in the dungeon," he notified them, before calmly following the gargoyle’s trail. He had a slight smirk on his lips.

***

Back in Drake’s room, their father watched in silent awe at how quickly and easily the gargoyles were taken out.

Drake’s father was impressed by the way Drake had figured out the issue with entering the throne room. It would have been a disaster if they had chosen to enter it.

"That wasn’t the king on the dais," Chad’s father noted. "That was a shaman. That means the king is still out there, able to cause trouble while they finish their quest."

Mike’s father frowned. "Why aren’t they going after the last one. If he gets away..."

***

The last gargoyle in the room ran toward the castle’s open door, only stopping briefly to note the mangled wood and iron. He gasped in shock at the sight.

Behind him, he could hear the soft footsteps of the young heirs. The king’s plan had failed. They had lost a lot of men that day. Too many. Their army was diminishing fast. He needed to warn the king. He had to get away.

He knew that all exits were blocked except for one. It was the one the men were supposed to use to allow the heirs to enter the city, seemingly undetected, if they found out there was a trap in place for them.

He rushed down the wide steps and looked behind him. The heirs were still coming. Their pace was steady, not even rushed. They didn’t seem to be worried about him escaping. The king told him not to fly, the archer couldn’t miss, and the dimension master heir can see through the darkness. He felt like he had no choice.

Before he could leap to the sky, the young heirs exited the castle. A massive beast with glowing green eyes followed. A soft growl could be heard as the sound vibrated through the courtyard.

The dimension master’s heir was in the lead; his glowing eyes gleamed as he smiled down at him. "You can’t get away." The young man stated, his smile not leaving his face. He watched as the young man looked up into the dark sky, a serene expression on his delicate face. His eyes were closed, only briefly. His smile grew, turning wicked. He lowered his gaze and then stared directly at him. "So what do you want to do? Find an exit? Fly away? It doesn’t matter what you do. There is no escape."

***

Back in Drake’s room, the three men watched the monitor. The gargoyle stood in the courtyard, panic in his eyes. He looked toward the exit, then at the sky.

Drake and his cohort, including the beast, remained on the castle’s wide steps.

"Either way, the gargoyle is screwed. He isn’t fast enough to outrun arrows or Drake’s glowing ethereal whip," Mike’s father laughed. "Or, Mike’s electric pulse. What do you think gargoyle is going to choose?"

Drake’s father shrugged. "He did that thing again. It’s almost like he’s communicating with the sky. It’s strange. The gargoyle might have a trick up his sleeve; you never know. In his position, I would probably fly." Then he thought about it. "No, I would run toward the exit. Something about Drake’s behavior tells me that something about the sky is his trump card."

The three men watched as the gargoyle made his choice. He extended his leathery wings and flew up into the darkness. Moments later, blood rained from the sky.

***

Drake smiled as the gargoyle chose to fly. He looked up and watched, not even trying to stop him. When blood started raining down into the courtyard, Drake’s smile widened. He quickly gazed up at the sky, his serene expression appearing. His smile grew. The sky suddenly cleared, revealing the stars.

The soft voice floated through his mind.

{Gargoyles defeated 267/267, 0 remain}

{Quest: Defeat the gargoyles has been completed}

{Instant Quest teleportation token has been received.}

{pre-set location: At the crossroads}

{Use teleportation token now?}

{ Yes: No}