It was morning. The sky was blue, with fluffy clouds floating across its vast expanse. The twin suns shone brightly, warming the clearing with a soft, warm light.

Drake had woken up first, which woke Nelly at the same time. He yawned, then stretched as he carefully got out of bed, pulling the awake Nelly with him. He allowed her to bathe herself while he prepared something for her to eat. When she was clean, he dressed her in her now dry, clean clothes and gently carried her to the table.

Her new doll was clutched tightly in her hand as she sucked her thumb. The fear in her eyes had left them, with only a spark of unease. She wasn't home safe and sound. Not yet anyway. She trusted Drake, connected by the bond they formed when he had first rescued her. With him showing up again, that bond strengthened. Her young mind already knew he would come to save her if she was in trouble.

Drake and Nelly waited in silence, eating their breakfast as they waited for Chad and Mike to wake up so they could head back to Draco Town. It was already light outside, and they had a lot of work to do to make sure that Nelly would be safe at home. Dealing with her kidnappers was one of those ways. Drake had been thinking about ways to do that. To make sure she was safe when they left her there, they had to remove all the dangers that seemed to hover around her.

He had a plan, and he knew it would work, but it would take a lot of time. It was time they didn't really have.

He and his cohort had chosen to save Nelly instead of doing their timed quest. They knew what the consequences were going to be if they couldn't do both. They were ready for it. Making sure Nelly was safe in Draco Town took priority.

If they took her with them on the quest and she died because they themselves died from not finishing the quest in time, it would be bad. Drake didn't want that for her. He wanted to make sure that no matter what happened to them, she would be safe. It is what they all chose.

That didn't mean that they wouldn't try to complete the quest once she was safe in Draco Town. They would use every second they had trying to complete it so they could survive. Regardless of what they chose, they still didn't want to die.

As they ate quietly, Drake checked in with Ruby. She had rested all night, having the rest of her horde keep watch of the thirty-man camp. Ruby had reported that there were five men on watch, surrounding all sides of the cabin, worried that they could leave through one of the windows. She also let them know that men were surrounding the camp, watching for danger as well.

Currently, all the windows are shuttered and locked. Bells hung from the locks to alert them if someone attempted to get in. The men's watchful gaze was useless.

Even those inside couldn't get through the windows without moving the bells, which would alert the men watching outside. Even the act of unlocking and removing the shutters would give the men watching time to prevent anyone inside the cabin from escaping.

Drake thanked his new familiar for making sure they were safe while they slept. He was still unaware of the horde that was with her. He had no idea that by making Ruby his familiar, he gained hundreds of new allies along with her.

Just then, Chad and Mike stumbled out of the bedroom, yawning dramatically. Seeing the food already spread out on the table woke them completely. They were teenage boys after all, and had what some would describe as a bottomless pit for a stomach.

Mike ruffled Nelly's hair before he sat down and began eating the food that Drake had left for him.

Chad kissed the top of her head, then sat down to eat his own.

They ate quickly, knowing they had to be as quick as possible. They had a lot to do before trying to start their quest again. Try… was a relative term. They kept trying, yet obstacles kept getting in the way. That was the problem with the first quest. Now it was happening with this one. The problem with this one was that there wasn't enough time to deal with things getting in the way of it.

It was fortunate that they were able to follow the green quest thread along with Nelly's red one. They had to return to Draco Town, deal with the kidnapper or kidnappers, and then get back to the clearing to finish their quest. They had very little time to do it.

"What's the time on the quest counter?" Chad asked in a whisper, shoving some eggs in his mouth. They were whispering, not wanting to be heard by those outside.

Drake looked at the system.

{3:22:34:12 Time remaining}

Drake read off the numbers quietly. "We have 4 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes, and 12 seconds and counting."

"Yeah, we need to hurry," Chad grumbled, nearly to himself.

Drake conversed again with Ruby, letting her know they would be leaving any minute and that he would contact her periodically to ask for information about what the men were doing surrounding his cabin. She had agreed. She showed him what was happening with the men at that moment, but as she was showing him, her gaze had swept past others like her; all their eyes were glowing brightly in a soft green hue.

In disbelief, Drake asked her about it. She had informed him that she and the others were a hive, all connected through a mind link. They thought as one in most cases, but could think for themselves as well. Drake smiled widely, catching the attention of Chad and Mike.

"What's going on? Why are you smiling like that?" Mike asked in a whisper, suspicious. "It's kind of creepy."

Drake ignored Mike's jab. "It's Ruby. Her beast is from a hive. In making her my familiar, the entire hive is an ally. She has hundreds of beasts surrounding the clearing, so those men can't get away." Drake beamed with pride. Unknowingly, he had obtained hundreds of scorpion allies.

"What are the men doing?" Chad asked. He was eating the last of his meal.

"They're eating breakfast, just like us. Men are watching all sides of the cabin, and they seem to be taking turns, not wanting us to leave." Drake chuckled. He knew that pretty soon, they would be watching an empty cabin.

Drake then looked over at Nelly, altering his tone to be as gentle as possible. "Do you know who took you?" he asked quietly, not wanting anyone outside to hear.

Nelly shook her head. Sudden tears flowed down her face. She didn't want to talk about it.

Drake knew that he had to get to the bottom of it or it would happen again. "If you see him, can you point him out to me?" He asked gently.

Nelly appeared to think about it for a while before nodding slowly.

"We're going back to Draco Town. We're taking you home, but I need you to point out who took you, okay?" Drake continued. "I don't want them to get to you again."

Nelly nodded again, not saying anything.

Chad bent down, looking Nelly in her eyes. He had a gentleness about him that calmed her down. It wasn't from the dimension; it was something that he naturally had. "Was there more than one?"

Nelly nodded. She sucked on her thumb faster, upset about the line of questioning.

"Then we need to know all of them so they can't get you again… okay, sweety?" Chad told her quietly.

Nelly nodded again. She still didn't speak. Chad kissed the top of her head before going to the bedroom to dress for their journey. Drake was the only one already dressed.

When they finished eating breakfast, Drake cleaned up the breakfast dishes, then went to the bedroom. He needed to make all the beds and make sure that everything was tidy. He even cleaned the bathroom, so they didn't have to do it when they got back. When everything was cleaned up and ready, Drake picked Nelly up as Chad, and Mike filled the cracks, hiding the green flash from the master staff.

Nelly held her new doll tightly, her small arms wrapped around Drake's neck. Tears still flowed down her cheeks. It was clear she was afraid to return. Renn was on the same shoulder as Nelly, trying to snuggle with her to comfort her, to make her feel better.

Drake quickly told the system to keep the lie detection active. He wanted to interrogate everyone. He only needed to ask a couple of questions, and the system would do the rest.

Drake held Nelly tightly, then looked around at his friends. "Ready?"

They all nodded before Drake slammed the staff onto the floor. The bright green flash consumed them, then faded. They were now standing at the sign, welcoming them to Draco Town.

Before entering, Drake checked in with Ruby. He wanted to know if any of the men had noticed that they had left. What she had informed him of made him smile. They had no idea there was no one in the cabin anymore.

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