Drake and his cohort entered the entrance that the glowing green thread led them to. It turned out to be a large cavern with smooth walls. Stalagmites and stalactites formed beautiful patterns in the large cave. There was a large platform in the center, carved flat to create a smooth surface that wasn't very large. In the center, there was a hole as if something should have been placed inside it.

There were no other cave entrances, just the one they had entered from. The bright green thread ended in that room, but did not give any other clues as to where inside the cavern the staff would be. Drake didn't care. Without it, they would still be searching cave systems to find the cave they needed.

"I guess this is the 'Cave of Valor," Drake guessed aloud. "But I don't see the staff. I think we have to figure out how to access it before it presents itself to us. I can see that it's supposed to come from the center platform, but it's not there. I don't think anyone but the dimension master heir can access it, so we just have to figure out how to do that."

"Didn't you receive a key?" Chad asked, remembering the emerald key he had seen Drake store away inside his storage book.

"Yeah, I did…look for a keyhole hidden somewhere," Drake stated as he began looking through the cave for a hidden keyhole.

Renn sniffed around the cavern, looking for clues. She appeared to understand exactly what her master was looking for and had gone to search for it.

Mike, with his eyes glowing an electric blue, scanned the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Chad did the same, his eyes glowing with a pure white light, but paid close attention to the protrusions coming from the floor. There was nothing that suggested a hidden keyhole. All the surfaces were completely smooth, with no indentations indicating a keyhole.

Drake walked around the cavern trying to find a hint of what he needed to find. His gut told him he didn't need the key…not yet anyway. He wasn't even sure if the key was for the quest. It felt like it was for something important, but not for a quest. He would have to figure that out later.

He started to pace, thinking of what to do as his cohort searched.

'This quest…it's not just for me, it's for my cohort as well,' he thought, then looked over at Renn. 'I think it's only for the human portion of my cohort…. What do I do?' Drake continued to pace, wondering what he was missing. He had to figure it out, or they would never receive the Master Staff.

As he paced, Drake's eyes lingered on the platform. It was small, but large enough for him and his friends to stand on it. 'I wonder…?' he thought before walking up to the platform and bending low, trying to see where it attached to the floor of the cavern.

When he studied the base of the platform, running his elegant fingers down the crease where the floor began and the platform ended. In doing so, he found that the platform was not part of the floor at all, but went inside the floor as if it were a long cylinder dropped into a hole of the same diameter. Drake stepped onto the platform and looked inside the hole in the center. He could see the top of an emerald crystal that was nearly two feet below the surface of the platform. He could see nothing below the top of the crystal…it was too dark.

"I found the staff," Drake called to his friends. He still spoke in a normal tone, not wanting to have to fight any of the cave bats or anything else that might be hiding in the cave.

Hearing Drake's words, Mike, Chad, and Renn walked toward him and looked down at the hole in the platform where Drake was pointing. "It's the top of the staff," Drake explained. "We just need to figure out how to get it to come up out of there."

Drake was standing on the platform when he spoke. Mike, Drake, and Renn stepped on the platform to look inside the hole Drake was pointing at. With Renn stepping on the platform, the four of them barely fit.

One by one, they each peered down into the hole at the top of the crystal. As they did, the platform trembled, then began to lower.

"Don't move…I think we all needed to stand on the platform to get the staff to rise," Drake said, excited that the staff was finally near their grasp. He was wondering how to get it to surface, but couldn't figure it out. At least not until his entire cohort stood on the platform. "Don't get off the platform until I tell you," Drake added. He didn't want to take the chance that the staff would return to the depths of the narrow hole in the platform.

The cohort stood still, allowing the staff to rise. When it finally did, the staff stood proudly, with the emerald crystal at the top. Intricate designs ran through the polished wood down the length of the staff. Runes mixed in with the elegant designs, that glowed faintly with a beautiful, soft green light.

Drake and his cohort stared at the staff for a few seconds when, suddenly, the Emerald crystal glowed brightly. A pulse of green energy shot out, consuming the cohort, including Renn, before it faded.

Drake reached out and grasped the staff. It pulled freely without resistance. Energy flowed from the staff into him, boosting every aspect of his powers. The soft voice of the system seemed never to stop listing rewards. It listed rewards, naming everyone who bound themselves to him. Everyone…even the beasts he had become allies with.

{Quest Complete: Find the Cave of Valor/Obtain the Master staff}

{You have received 'Master Staff'}

{All power attributes have leveled up by 1 level}

{Fire Skills are now level 3}

{Wind Skills are now Level 3}

{Plasma skills are now Level 2}

{Emerald Energy is now Level 2}

{Your cohort has grown stronger}

{Your familiar has grown stronger}

{All allies have grown stronger}

The Master staff flashed brightly, shooting a bright light around them, lighting the entire cavern. When they looked at the walls, there were glowing green runes that twinkled like stars. The runes shimmered, then moved around the walls, forming into a new position. The system was silent as the runes moved around the cavern. When it had stopped, the runes faded, becoming invisible once more. The soft voice of their system spoke once more.

{Quest 1 of 7 Complete}

{You may now return to Draco Town, to return to Earth}

The system remained quiet after that. Drake stepped off the platform, his friends following. He turned to his friends. "Do you want to know about all the rewards?" There was a grin on Drake's face as he looked at his friends. His eyes glowed a faint green, and his hand grasped the beautiful staff.

Mike and Chad nodded. Renn just sat there, watching Drake intently. She appeared to want to hear too.

Drake's grin grew. "We completed one of seven quests. I have the staff…" he said, holding up the staff. My fire and wind skills leveled up to level 3. My plasma and emerald energy is now level 2, and you guys, including Renn and even the beasts I formed allies with, all got stronger. You should already feel the power rising.

"I can feel it," Mike smiled. "I'm a lot stronger than before. My energy is fully restored, but I have even more energy." He squeezed his gauntleted hand. "I'm a lot stronger, too. I bet I can run faster if I try out my speed." He looked around the cavern. "Not in here, though."

Chad nodded. "I can feel it too. It's as if everything I can do has doubled. My strength, energy, magical powers, stamina…everything."

"Even Renn should be feeling all that you're feeling, you guys," Drake said, smiling widely. They had completed their quest and were now ready to return home. Their fathers had a lot of explaining to do. Drake knew they needed to go back to Drako town first, but he didn't care. He wanted to see Nelly again. He had grown attached to the child when he had to go to the gargoyle's treehouse lair to save her.

Drake watched his friends as they experimented with their new powers. He gave them nearly ten minutes before he headed toward the entrance of the cave. He stopped at the exit and turned to his friends. "Let's go. We have a long way to go to get back to Draco Town."

With Drake still grinning, his friends followed. Renn moved her massive body to the front with Drake as they headed out of the cave and towards Draco Town.

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