I\'m sorry this one\'s taking so long. Once again my inspiration has left me and I\'m having great difficulty finding the patience and words to continue writing. This is what I have of chapter 6 so far- unedited, unchecked, unaltered, in all it\'s poor-quality unglory. I don\'t like it. =/
6.
Draklar and his leiutenants rode with haste along the dusty, worn path. The sunlight tried in vain to penetrate the thick canopy of trees above their heads. Small rays of light delicately touched the floor in mottled patterns as the branches danced and shifted the shape of the shadows. As they sped along, alert to the eery sounds of the haunted woods around them, the Defenders chose their route with well-founded caution. This forest was older than any Yliakum inhabitant knew, and many stories and rumours of ferocious monsters attacking and eating travellers had been proven true in the past. And yet, even knowing this, they valiantly pressed on. Sometimes the path beneath their steeds\' feet would disappear completely, but Draklar did not need it to know where he was going. He had passed through this area many times before; it was within ten miles of the city of Hydlaa and the quickest route to and from that city and Freugel\'s Hill.
Even Draklar had almost been an unlucky victim to the forest-dwelling monsters here many years ago. Before he had ever joined the ranks of the army, the young Enkidukai had strayed from Hydlaa City with a few of his friends in search of fun and adventure. A few of them brought iron swords, and they practiced their untrained swordsmanship as the others laughed and cheered them on. There was also a mage who had brought along some cheap spell scrolls to use, and before long he was igniting small piles of leaves that the others had gathered for him to burn, and propelling soundburst waves towards the trees, watching the bark shatter on impact. Needless to say, Draklar and his friends were mightily impressed and applauded his magicks.
The friends played noisily in this manner with their combat skills for little more than an hour before their sharp ears picked up the sounds of steadily approaching footsteps; they were heavily, and moving fast. Infact, whatever it was, it was coming straight for them. They barely had time to start running as a mighty scaled beast crashed through the trees and roared hungrily after them. Draklar ran as fast as he could, as did the others, but the mage had grown weary from his spellcasting and could hardly keep up with the warriors\' pace. The poor feline screeched and cried in pain as a heavy pair of jaws clamped around his middle, effortlessly lifting him into the air and crunching his bones in one horrific bite. Draklar skidded to a halt and turned, his eyes diluted with shock and disbelief as the sound of his friend\'s death still vibrated madly in his ears. Lost to anger and grief, Draklar acted without thought and charged towards the creature, who had stopped persuing the others to ruthlessly thrash the Enkidukai\'s body around in the air.
Suddenly its eyes shot open and it let out a long wail of agony as Draklar\'s sharp sword buried itself deep into its exposed underside and neck, spilling gushes of blood over the crazed feline attacker below and the monster\'s own cold skin. Draklar exerted all of his strength and energy and thrust the weapon as deep into the beast as he could, before it finally toppled over and lay kicking and struggling for breath on its side, the hilt of the iron sword still sticking out of its neck. Draklar\'s friend\'s body lay a few feet away, having been dropped several moments ago when the blow had first been struck.
Draklar\'s wandering mind was suddenly brought back to the present by a peculiar sound. It was that of a flock of birds taking flight in suprise, as if spooked by something. He raised a hand to halt his guildmates as he slowed, and listened intently to the world around them. With the thundering sound of their horses\' galloping hoofs gone, they could hear the birds dispersing somewhere to the south, their caws and cries fading into the distance as they flew away from the disturbance. Draklar turned to the others with a questioning expression. They in turn returned the look, equally as puzzled.
A distant roar drained the group\'s faces of colour, especially Draklar\'s. He recognised it from that terrible encounter years ago, and this time the beast sounded twice as large. He did not hesitate.
\"Let\'s move on.\" Draklar commanded, kicking his mount to get moving again. They continued their journey back to Hydlaa City, their pace quickened to put as much distance between them and whatever was lurking in the forest to the south. However, they hadn\'t moved far before another roar reverberated almost directly infront of them.
[Edit: Additional: I don\'t think I can write any more. So many things are changing and this story hasn\'t travelled half as far as I hoped it would by now. Non of my intended story seems to be coming through and it\'s all just taking so long. I wish I could write... I really wish I could! ;( But it\'s just not working out how I hoped it would. Sorry... I guess this is where I lay down my pen.]
