Drake turned to Gavin. "I need to talk to you when we get back. Our quest is timed, and we're running out of it. We need to leave right now, so I don't have the time."

Gavin shrugged, but said nothing. The hidden gleam in his eyes was still there. Drake wanted to know what it meant, but had too little time to investigate it.

Drake stood in the center of the room with his staff in his grip. Mike and Chad came closer, surrounding Drake, ready to be taken back to the cabin. Renn, in her rat form, jumped up on Drake's shoulder, holding on with her tiny claws. She knew that she didn't fit in the cabin in her wolf form, so she changed into her rat form. Drake, with one last scan of the tavern, slammed the staff into the floor. A blinding green light flashed. When it disappeared, they were gone from the tavern and back in the cabin. Since the time reset, teleporting them back to the cabin cut off a large amount of time.

The first thing Drake did was look at his timer. He wanted to be sure of how much time they had left, thankful that it had been reset for them.

{Timed Quest: 04:23:49:17 remaining}

Smiling at the time, Drake moved his attention to communicate with Ruby. She reported that the men surrounding the cabin hadn't moved. Nor did they suspect that they had even left and that Nelly had been taken back home. Their plan had worked perfectly. Drake thanked his familiar before turning his attention back to his cohort, inside the cabin.

Drake was relieved that he didn't have to worry about Nelly anymore. They could do what they needed to do while they escaped the cabin and finished their quest. She was no longer a distraction for them and could no longer be used against him during his current ascension quest.

After activating his quest map, Drake studied the green quest line on the map and where it led. He was pleased at what he saw. The quest hadn't changed. Nor did the location. They were in the clearing where they needed to be. They needed to find the Chamber of Knowledge, find the book, and return to Draco Town. He could only hope that nothing else tried to stop them before they completed their quest.

Drake had a feeling that where the green line on the map had ended in the clearing, it would continue in either a tunnel or a cave system. He wasn't sure. It couldn't be so easy as to only get to where it stopped in the clearing and be done with it. There had to be more to it than that.

They still had a major problem. Their cabin was still surrounded, blocking them from going the short distance to where they needed to be. Essentially, they were back where they started. They just had more time to figure it out. They didn't want to waste it, though. They had no idea where the green line would lead once they reached the spot in the clearing where it ended.

Drake sat on the sofa, thinking about how to proceed. He had an idea, but he knew it would be difficult. He figured he'd explain it and see what his friends thought about his idea.

"I think we should just leave the cabin, store it, and proceed. If they stand in our way, we can just blast them to the side with energy and keep walking."

"At least we don't have to worry anymore about Nelly getting hurt. We can do that. Keep in mind that we can't kill them unless they attack us first. Standing in our way is NOT attacking," Mike reminded them.

Chad nodded in agreement, but didn't respond. He was thinking of scenarios in his mind and what to do about them.

Drake communicated with Ruby, letting her know what he was planning to do. He gave her the option to follow them if she wanted to, but added that she needed to be careful, telling her that he didn't want her to get hurt. There were a lot of men surrounding the cabin, and he didn't want her or her hive to get hurt.

Preparing the cabin from the inside, they grabbed what they needed. With Renn in her rat form on his shoulder, he walked casually out of the cabin with his cohort behind him. Once outside, Renn immediately leaped off Drake's shoulder and transformed into her beast form, and surveyed the area.

All the men surrounding their cabin watched, preparing themselves to stop them from continuing on their quest. Drake could see them tensing and pulling out their weapons, ready to fight.

Ignoring the men, Drake immediately stored the cabin, then began following the quest thread. It was a bright green line, glistening, unseen by all but Drake and his cohort.

As they began to walk, Ruby flashed Drake an image, one that was an idea she was willing to do, to get them past the men. Drake agreed, but told her and her hive to be careful. He didn't want them hurt on his account.

As soon as the image faded, Drake and his cohort had already taken several steps, and the men slowly closed in, trying to prevent them from going any further.

Drake smiled, then shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not helping you survive," he said casually. "This clearing is surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of scorpion beasts. I'm not staying to get involved. If they kill and eat you, that's all on you."

Just as Drake finished his words, all around the clearing, in the tree line, clicking sounds vibrated, then the high-pitched shrieks of the hive echoed all around them. By sheer number of beasts, the echo of their cries vibrated the clearing, making the ground rumble. It was clear to the men that Drake wasn't bluffing.

Panic washed through the men's camp as the clatter of weapons being brandished could be heard. Drake smiled and continued following the line, ignoring their panic.

"You're not going to save us!" one man shouted in panic. Afraid of the horde of beasts.

Drake shrugged as his friends watched the conversation calmly, saying nothing. "First off, you're the ones who are trying to keep me in one place. The only thing that's kept you alive is the fact that you haven't attacked us. Second, the beasts are mine. If you attack them, I can kill all of you. Third, they may all have green eyes, but only one of them is bound to me. The rest are allies. You harm an ally of mine, and it's game over for all of you. Next, all but one can kill you no matter what you do, and it won't affect me. Think about that for a moment before you do anything to them. They will only attack you if you try to keep me and my cohort here."

The man who spoke gulped, fear washing over them. Their own lives were in their hands. What they did now would determine whether they would live or die. As he thought, the sound of clicking and high-pitched shrieking grew louder, then the hive of scorpions emerged from the trees. It was all the way around them.

The men looked around them, their weapons raised. As they stared at the masses of scorpion beasts, fear seeped into their pores. There were scorpions as far as their eyes could see. All of them had eyes that were glowing a bright green.

One of the scorpion beasts broke away from their formation and headed toward Drake. It was Ruby; she wanted to go with them on their quest. Drake didn't want her to have to leave her hive if she didn't want to. She had indicated that she would still be connected to the hive and wanted to go with him so that she could protect her master.

Ruby, with a quick burst of her natural speed, reached them in seconds. She clicked and shrieked at the men as she passed. Drake had spoken loud enough that all the men could hear. They all knew the situation.

Ruby stopped at Drake and lowered her head. Drake stroked the smooth shell, then smiled, looking at the men in question. He raised one brow slightly. It was a challenge.

After a few more minutes of thought, the men stepped aside, letting Drake and his cohort pass. Renn and Ruby followed as the rest of the hive contained the men in the camp, allowing Drake to continue on his quest. The tables had turned, and the men did not like it.

Drake turned to the men and spoke loud and clear. "Remember from this day forward that all beasts with green eyes are either my familiars or my allies. Harming them will be attacking me. It's best if you remember that… oh… they will let you leave in a while. Don't agitate them, it won't be good for your health," he advised smugly, then continued following the glowing green quest thread with his cohort beside him.

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