Chapter 2- Attack Of The Drakes

James knew that he had to move fast if he were to effectively stop this threat. He activated his Haste and put on a burst of speed and drew two stars from a pouch on his belt. The stars shone in the sun and they were icicles. Deadly-and very fast. In a blur of speed, still in the air, a rush of fiery energy rushed up James’ arm and into the stars, infusing them with magic. It was a technique nearly all thieves knew, and was called Lucky Seven. The moment seemed to hang in the air, James with his hand up, icicles in hand as they glowed with magic, and Lachlan turning and drawing his sword with a look of horror on his face. Then James hurled his stars.

The icicles spun as they flew towards their intended target and then they hit home. The Drake reared up, enraged-hurt but not out of the game. It threw its head back and then flipped it forward, and a fireball erupted out of its mouth towards James. He evaded the attack, and settled his feet firm on the ground, throwing star after star at the Fire Drakes. He felt someone fly past him, hurling themselves at the Drakes and sounding a large battle cry. It was Lachlan

Lachlan flew at the Drakes, at the same time charging his sword with magic that rushed up his arms and into his weapon, enabling him to use the mighty blow Power Strike. He swung his sword down and made contact with the first drake, and then spun and hit again with the skill he loved-Final Attack. He hacked and slashed away, dodging with agility and skill, occasionally taking a scratch or getting singed and burnt, but never getting hit fatally.

Slowly but surely, the Drakes began to fall. James and Lachlan threw and hacked with increased vigour, their senses on alert, and finally, all the Fire Drakes were gone, except for one. Wads of cash lay on the ground, and this Drake guarded them fiercely. It had a scratched muzzle, and breathed balls of fire at every opportunity. Lachlan moved in, and cunningly, faked a blow to the left, then swung his blade in a circle to the right, slashing deep into the monster and finally felling it. Then, from its fallen body, flew up Steelys! Lachlan grabbed the legendary stars and gave them to his brother as he had no use for them himself. “Late birthday present” he grinned as he handed them to James. James smiled and brought the stars up close to his face for inspection.
Lachlan turned and moved his hands in circular motion and began to talk under his breath, whispering quietly. James looked up from examining his new-found stars and saw Lachlan talking. He guessed he must be conversing with his best friends Matty and Josh, and sure enough, the two erupted from the portal next to James in a matter of seconds. James groaned inwardly but Lachlan walked up to his two friends smiling, and greeted them happily.

Suddenly, a cacophony of coloured particles erupted from the portal and a boy collapsed onto the ground next to James. The boy, obviously a mage because of his long robes and large staff, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and without taking another breath continued to talk about what he must have been saying on the other side of the portal.

“Why are we going into this portal guys? Don’t you know there are drakes in there? I can’t kill Drakes!? Hello? Guys?”

He then looked up and blushed, as he realised why the boys had gone through the portal. Lachlan was standing there, looking at him with a pained look on his face, and the other two boys glanced away hurriedly.

“Did Ryan follow you here guys?” Lachlan said to the other two boys in an undertone.

“You guessed it,” said Josh, still looking pointedly away.

“Hey Lachlan!” Ryan said enthusiastically, walking over to the boy. “You haven’t been answering my chat invites or whispers, and i know you’ve been online,” he said.

“Must be a glitch or something,” said Lachlan, looking at his feet.

James glanced away. He knew how annoying Ryan could be, and he had better things to do than babysit the four boys before him. Along with Ryan the mage, Matty was an hunter, and Josh was a bandit. They were all in the 50’s…except for Ryan, who was a bit slower at levelling. He was only level 44.

It seemed Lachlan and his friends had come to a decision, and they began to walk away, disappearing into the portal one by one. Sighing, James followed, activating his haste, and moved into the portal with them.

The four appeared in another rocky landscape-that of the fire boars. As they moved forward, strange shadows were cast on the walls. Lachlan, Josh and Matty laughed up ahead, with Ryan trailing behind them, and they noticed nothing. But every so often James heard the pattering of footsteps, and glanced nervously up at the cliffs that rose up around him. Then there were several thuds up ahead, and the laughter of Lachlan and his friends abruptly stopped. James looked ahead. For the second time that day his eyes grew wide. The haste symbol above his head glowed and he sprinted forward. The others were in trouble. He had to save them.