It was early afternoon in Draco Town. The twin suns shed a soft warmth over the town.

"We need to let Nana know we gave the letters to Bren, and he needed time to go through them before he can write anyone back," Mike said. "Since we don't know if there is a timer on the fourth quest, we should do our side stuff before going into the tavern."

Chad nodded in agreement.

As they walked near Nana's home, people on the streets waved and smiled. Out of courtesy, Drake and his friends smiled and waved in return. They didn't want to ignore them and look rude.

They weaved through buildings and alleyways, heading toward Nana's home. When they were about to reach their destination, a high-pitched squeal echoed through the area. Drake smiled, looking at the culprit. Nelly was running toward him with her hands held up to be caught. In one hand, she held the doll that he had gotten for her tightly.

She jumped up into his arms and wrapped her small arms around his neck. "Drake!" she squealed happily.

"Hello, Nelly," he said, smiling before kissing her forehead. "How are you?"

"Drake!!" she laughed, then hugged him tighter.

Mike chuckled. "It appears that our Drake is a ladies' man."

Drake rolled his eyes. "She is five."

Chad cut in. "And then there's Daisy and Gerda. You seem to be popular with all the ladies."

Drake gave his friends a scrupulous look. "Daisy is an infant, and Gerda is a troll."

Both boys shrugged, winking at Drake.

"Whatever." Drake looked down at Nelly. "Where's Nana?"

Nelly pointed her small finger at the house in front of them. It was Nana's house, of course.

As they walked up the steps, the door of the house opened, and Nana stood at the threshold, with Tod beside her.

Nana smiled, seeing Drake carrying Nelly. "Did you come to deliver letters?" She asked, smiling at the little girl in Drake's arms.

"No. We gave Bren all the letters. We wanted to give him time to read them. I'll collect letters from him when we get back. We wanted to let you know he received them and will most likely write everyone while we're here doing our next quest."

Nana smiled, nodding in understanding. They had given Drake a lot of letters. It would take some time for Bren to get through all of them and write everyone back.

"Is Mayor Ivan in the tavern?" Drake asked.

Nana nodded. "He should be. Ivan stays there most of the time unless it's time to eat. He goes to the inn for that. He either has a crush on Mary, or he can't get enough of her cooking."

Drake chuckled at Nana's words before his gaze went to Tod. "Hi, Tod," he said, smiling at the boy standing next to Nana.

Tod waved, smiling back.

After handing Nelly back to Nana, Drake and his friends headed toward the tavern where they could find Ivan.

"Is it just me, or does everyone seem… different?" Mike asked.

Mike nodded. "I noticed that. Everyone is friendlier."

Drake shrugged. "They're probably just used to us now. We come here a lot. It's better than the treatment we get when we go to Storm Town. It makes me worry about what we'll get when we can finally go to Chadwick Town."

As they walked through the street, those outside going about their business stopped and waved. Many gave greetings. Several of the people even bowed in respect. All Drake and his friends could do was wave back, or nod in acknowledgement of their respectful gestures.

Mike stepped ahead of Drake and opened the door to the tavern, waiting for Drake and Chad to enter the tavern before he stepped in behind them.

All eyes went to them. Before anyone could say anything, Drake spoke loud and clear. "I delivered your letters to Bren. He needs time to read them all before he can write back to all of you."

There were nods and mumbles before they went back to their drinks.

Drake went to Ivan, who was sitting at the long table with his men. Ivan bowed, then motioned for him to come closer.

"Is there an issue?" Drake asked before Ivan could speak. If there were an issue, he needed to know about it.

"No, nothing like that," Ivan said, smiling. "We're preparing for the festival."

"What festival?" Drake asked, not sure what Ivan was speaking about.

"We have an annual festival to commemorate Draco Town's founding," he explained. "It's next month."

"Sounds fun," Mike grinned.

Chad looked over at Drake to see what he would say. Part of him wanted to go to the festival, yet another part of him didn't.

"If there's no timer on our quest during the time of the festival, then we'll be here," he said, smiling. "If there is a timer attached to it, there's nothing we can do. Once it's started, there is no way to pause it… I think."

Ivan nodded in understanding. "We know that the quest's starting point is in the tavern," he said. "If you finish your current quest, then if you want to avoid starting the next one until after the festival, just don't enter the tavern."

"Sounds like a good plan," Chad put in.

Mike and Drake nodded. It was a good plan. As long as their quest didn't start, they didn't have to worry about it. They could enter the tavern after the festival… after a good night's sleep, of course.

Ivan pointed to another area. It was an area of land. "You can put your cabins here if you want… unless you want to stay at Mary's inn."

Drake scanned his friends before he answered. "We'll figure it out and let you know."

After Mayor Ivan nodded, Drake headed for the door. He wanted to get the quest started. The way to get it going was to exit the tavern. He turned and waved to Ivan before opening the door. As they stepped outside, the familiar soft voice floated through his mind.

{Hidden Quest: Find the Runestone of Power/ Obtain the Master Power.}

After receiving the quest, Drake brought up the quest map, then activated the quest thread. They had a long way to go.

It turned out that the Runestone of Power was on the far side of the continent. They would be gone for a long time. He was relieved that there wasn't a timer attached.

Drake looked at his friends. "This is going to take a long time. It's way past Dragon Head Mountain and ten times farther than Draco Town is to the beach. Since we have never been there, we have to walk. I can get us to the bridge where Gerda is, but after that, we have no choice but to go on foot."

This caused Mike and Chad to sigh heavily. "Then let's get started," they said in unison.

Drake slammed the staff onto the dirt. Bright emerald green light consumed them. When it vanished, they were standing again in front of Gerda's bridge.

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