It had been an hour since Mayor Ivan left the three boys. Suddenly, the sound of the warning bell rang. The man in the tower was ringing it as hard and as fast as he could. He yanked the rope frantically to get the citizens' attention, needing them to get to safety so he could stop and protect himself from the coming threat.
The man's partner held his sword tightly, ready to fight and defend his home. Looking at the ground below the tower, they could see the villagers scrambling to get to safety. The mayor had already given instructions to hide and lock themselves in their cellar.
Ivan looked up at the sky. "The young master was right. The sun is still out, and these monsters are not stone." He said aloud, as he scanned the village, seeing the citizens rushing into their homes, their doors slamming shut behind them.
Pulling the sword from his back, he readied himself for battle.
As the bell rang, a soft voice floated through Drake's mind.
{Quest detected: Save Draco Town from the gargoyle horde}
Drake and his friends look up to see Dark dots appear in the sky. Drake frowned. "That's one theory proven. Gargoyles don't turn to stone like these people believe. I bet the other things they believe are false also."
Mike and Chad nodded in agreement as they prepared to fight. Mike readied his sword, Drake and Chad their bows. Drake had his whip wrapped around his wrist, just in case he needed it.
The three boys rushed toward the sound of the bell. Stopping briefly, Chad and Drake pulled their bows, aiming for the descending gargoyles. There were two of them coming swiftly toward them. Their large wings spread wide, blotting out the sun.
Chad's arrow hit one of them in the head, exploding it. The body crashed to the ground, then burst into a cloud of light particles. Drake's glowing green arrow hit one of them in the chest. Blood burst from the wound. The monster was still alive. Aiming again, he shot, this time hitting it in the heart.
{A member of your cohort has slain a Gargoyle; your cohort grows stronger}
{You have received mana +1}
{You have slain a gargoyle}
{You have received mana +1}
After the two bodies fell from the sky, bursting into particles of light as they fell, the boys continued, rushing toward the location where the attack was taking place.
Taking only a few steps, a large figure landed behind them. His large wings spread as if ready to grab one of them and escape. Drake turned around, using the same techniques as he used on his arrows; he sent a whirlwind with a fireball, nestled in its center. Drake sent it flying toward the large gargoyle. The flaming whirlwind came crashing into the large monster, exploding on impact. The massive figure was thrown back, crashing against a large tree. Red blood burst through his chest. There were pieces of flesh missing. It wasn't dead.
Pulling itself up, the gargoyle extended its long, sharp claws. Its eyes narrowed with rage. Drake put his hand up, firing another, using the same spell, aiming for its face.
The flaming wind flew through the air so fast the gargoyle had no time to react.
The massive gargoyle's head exploded as the spell smashed into it, showering the area with blood and flesh. Light particles exploded around them. The gargoyle was dead.
A soft voice floated through Drake's mind.
{You have slain a gargoyle}
{You have received a reward}
{You have received a life token +1}
"What the hell is a life token?" he said aloud. Drake looked around where the gargoyle had been, looking for the token in question, but found none.
The boys ran forward, joining the battle. Town soldiers were fighting frantically, trying to survive. There were too many monsters.
Mike swung his sword, activating its power as he sliced through monster after monster.
Drake kept hearing messages float through his mind. He received three life tokens and multiple mana. Nothing else. The increased mana helped him throw spell after spell. Each time his spells grew too small to be beneficial, he was renewed with more mana.
There were bodies of monsters all around them. It would seem that if the soldiers killed them, they would not disperse into light particles.
Chad shot his arrows at a rapid pace. With each kill, his speed grew.
With Mike, with each kill, the powers of his sword grew sharper, larger. It would slay his foe more easily. In the throes of battle, the boys grew stronger.
With the boys back-to-back, they defended each other. It seemed the gargoyles were focusing on Drake. This made it easier for the soldiers of the small town to survive. Not so much for the three friends.
Drake shot spell after spell, and light particles floated as each kill was made. Suddenly, the voice floated through his mind.
{A member of your cohort is near death. Would you like to use a life token?}
{yes; no}
Drake's face paled, briefly looking behind him at his two friends. Chad was on the ground. Blood pooling around him. Mike was still fighting, slicing down one after the other.
"YES!" he screamed aloud. He was panicked, afraid for his friend. Drake now knew what the life tokens were used for and was thankful for receiving them.
Drake stayed close to Chad, trying to fight the gargoyles. Chad's body began to quiver, the pooling blood disappearing. He was healing. His smooth, pale face, regaining its color slowly. The large gash on his chest began to shrink. It slowly disappeared, out of existence. Once healed completely, Chad sat up slowly before looking up at Drake. There was shock in his eyes. "You saved me, how?"
"A life token," he said, in between spells. Drake was still fighting, throwing spells nonstop. He was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his face. He was exhausted and could barely speak. "I only have two more."
Chad slowly stood up, picking his bow off the ground, and reentered the fight. He felt renewed as if he hadn't fought at all. With a small smile, he lifted his bow and pulled.
As for Mike, his face was dripping sweat. His powerful swings slashed through the gargoyles with ease. Exhaustion was apparent in his features. It was adrenaline that was keeping him fighting.
Drake was doing his best, but was having difficulty. His exhaustion was overwhelming. With all the gargoyles on the ground, no longer in the air, he switched his bow for his whip. Throwing spells with one hand and his whip in the other, he cut through the monster easily.
The sound of fighting stopped. Those fighting the three boys backed off as well. Drake and his friends stood ready.
The gargoyles regrouped, and they walked toward Drake and his friends. The largest stood in the center with the rest flanking him. He was directly in front of Drake.
Drake's eyes glowed brightly with soft green light, narrowing at the large gargoyle. He had his whip ready to strike and a spell at the ready. He was getting good at throwing spells without needing their names.
With eyes locked, the large gargoyle grinned. His long fangs extended out of his wide mouth. A chuckle rumbled through the gargoyle's throat before his massive leathery wings extended, and he leaped into the air. The others followed their leader, disappearing into the afternoon sun.
{Quest: Save Draco Town from the Gargoyle Horde complete}
{You have received a reward}
{You have received Stat: Strength}
{Strength +1}
{You have received a System reward}
{Information system is now activated}
Drake turned to his friends. "We need to eat something and rest. I don't like the way that thing laughed. I think he will be back, and soon."
Mike and Chad nodded. Mike was leaning on Chad, trying to stay upright.
"Go to the inn and get Mary to prepare something. I'll be there soon. I need to see Ivan," Drake said, then walked past his friends and headed toward the mayor.
There were multiple bodies on the ground. Many of the bodies were townspeople, and men who had chosen to fight rather than hide. Mayor Ivan was hunched over, his bloody sword resting loosely in his hand. He looked up to see Drake. "You were right," Ivan breathed out. "They came during the day. They don't turn to stone."
Drake nodded. "They will be back. I know they will. We need to rest. You need to see if anyone is missing. That includes those who fought. You need to see if any of the people hiding were taken or their homes even entered. This will tell us if they can enter without permission. We didn't win this battle. They just left, and I have a hunch they left to get reinforcements."
Drake turned and headed for the inn where his friends were. He was exhausted. The fact that one of his friends nearly died scared him. Knowing how exhausted they were, he knew that two life tokens might not be enough if the gargoyles returned before they were rested enough to fight at their full strength.