The Smoke Brigade caught up with him less than an hour after he’d been caught by the members of Haven. Though he could no longer be considered a prisoner of the villagers, he was still impatient, pacing back and forth in front of the large stone building that Jel-Kenna inhabited. Max was hovering nearby as well, though to keep an eye on him or because he simply had nothing better to do, Jerik didn’t know.

Jerik was given quite a fright when, as he turned to trace his path back to the original starting point, a huge patch of shade was suddenly thrown over his head. This, combined with the sound of heavy wingbeats, made him duck, instinctively reaching for Paragon where it was strapped across his back. Half a second later, a gem-blue dragon landed heavily on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. It had landed directly beside Max, its silver eyes narrowed to slits as it let out a low growl, facing Jerik.

“Calm, now,” Max said quickly. He vaulted over a nearby stack of crates easily and got between Jerik and the blue dragon, whose mouth was large enough to swallow Max whole. But at once, the eyes went from slits to a more round shape, and the growling ceased. Max let out a quiet sigh. Relief? Jerik couldn’t be sure.

“That’s alright, Vernex,” the warrior said, reaching out with one hand to place it on the dragon’s snout. It closed its eyes at his touch and let out a snort of warm air which sent his sleeves billowing. He let out a chuckle. “Rough day for you, eh, friend?”

“You know the dragon?” Jerik asked, his hand pausing halfway to the rifle. “Well, I knew you did, of course. You just told me that. But you’re her friend?”

“I am,” Max said. He half-turned to look at him as he explained. “Dragons grow remarkably fast in Menora, but they’re also extremely vulnerable as children. They can’t fly until they’re nearly full-grown.”

“That’s… interesting information,” Jerik replied slowly. “But what does it have to do with-”

“I’m getting to that. Well, normally they’re protected by their mothers. But Vernex’s mother was killed by a hunting party and was left vulnerable. That’s when I found her. For some reason, I thought I could tame her and have a powerful companion. I was half-right. She can’t be tamed. But we did bond.”

At that moment, Vernex jutted her head forward, knocking Max over, and snorted again. Max let out a laugh. “She’s a little jealous if I don’t give her attention, though.”

The blue dragon lifted her head to stare at Jerik again, then stepped easily over Max. She made virtually no noise as she moved forward, despite her size. Inch by inch, she drew closer. Jerik’s hand jerked a little closer to her rifle, and she stopped, letting out a low growl. He got the message and raised his hands in surrender. After a few more seconds of quiet intimidation, she drew closer until she was within arm’s reach.

Max, who had rolled out from under her, now stood to the side, watching tensely. The stalemate seemed to last for minutes, with Jerik and the dragon staring intently at each other. He was tempted to lower his eyes, but something deep in his mind told him that would be a mistake. Instead, he lifted his head a little, tilting his chin up, and refused to blink. Finally, she let out a snort. A blast of very hot air struck him in the face, nearly knocking him over. It smelled strongly of mint.

This time he was sure that Max’s sigh was one of relief. He moved closer and put one hand on the dragon’s strong neck. “Seems she’s forgiven you.”

I can speak for myself, a voice said. It was deep and powerful, with a faint ethereal note. But it was definitely female, and Jerik was certain that it had come from Vernex herself. You nearly killed me, human. You and your friends.

“In my defense, You attacked first,” Jerik said. He didn’t regret the words, even after Vernex let out another low growl. He offered a shrug. “It’s true. But knowing what I know now, I’m glad we didn’t.”

He was saved from thinking of another reply by the sound of a commotion near the village entrance. Hurriedly stepping to the side and looking over, Jerik saw a small group of people standing at the entrance. Nicholas, Morgan, Jack, Benji, and Katrina were standing there, holding weapons level. Morgan’s eyes spotted him at once and they widened as they took in the dragon. The villagers, humans and monsters alike, were all holding weapons or preparing spells. A fight seemed imminent, he thought.

He stepped forward to try to smooth things over, but Nicholas acted first. Taking two steps forward to separate himself from the others, he raised his voice. “You’re holding our leader, and we’d like him back.”

“What makes you think we’ll do what you like?” One of the villagers challenged. Nick didn’t even turn to look at him, perhaps sensing that it wasn’t the leader of the village.

“I’d rather avoid bloodshed,” He said loudly, making sure that everyone could hear him. “I recognize the Menoran influence in this village. Who is your Guardian? I will face him in combat. If I am victorious, you will release Jerik Barr, and we will leave.”

“And what if I  win?” Max replied, stepping into view from around Vernex’s body. To Jerik’s surprise, he was grinning widely. Not in bloodthirst, but in genuine amusement. “I’d hate to give you another punishment, Nick.”

“Max!” Nick exclaimed, the point of his sword lowering. “What in the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in Craftsman City!”

“I found a new master,” Max said, “Much as you did, it seemed. Looks like you got to build that suit you daydreamed about.”

Nick abandoned his hostile stance at once, and the sword faded from view. Clipping it back to his belt, he took a few hurried steps forward, as did Max. The two embraced each other enthusiastically, both laughing and slapping each other’s backs. Vernex and Jerik both walked across the open ground to join them, the dragon stopping with her head beside Max, and Jerik moving to stand next to Nick. He put one hand on the young man’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring look.

“I thought you’d been taken prisoner,” Nick told him. “Well, Morgan assumed that, since you didn’t show up on the feeds.”

“Only for a short while,” Jerik corrected him. Nichola raised his eyebrows in a question, but he shook his head. “Don’t worry. They’re not dangerous. There’s a lot that still confuses me, but there’s no need to fight, at least.”

“So this is it, isn’t it?” Nick asked. Jerik didn’t know what he meant. “This is Haven?”

“You knew what this place was? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t know that it was here,” Nick replied, shrugging slightly. “And I also knew it was supposed to be a secret.”

“Yep, this is Haven,” Max said, leaning on Vernex’s head. “I’m the Guardian. Well, Arami and I are. Jel-Kenna is the Elder.”

“The Grand Matron?” Nicholas asked, his eyebrows shooting back up. Max nodded in confirmation. “Wow. I haven’t seen her in a while. Bet she’s still as intimidating as ever.”

“Only to my enemies, young Nicholas.”

Without anyone noticing, Jel-Kenna had appeared. She strolled swiftly to stand beside Max, her elaborate green robes rippling out behind her. The nearby villagers were quickly dropping onto a knees. Max and Jerik hastened to follow suit, and even Vernex lowered her head a few feet in close imitation of a bow. Only the other members of the Smoke Brigade were left standing.”

“Jel-Kenna,” Nick bowed reverentially in the woman’s direction. “It is an honor to see you again. I hope you are well.”

“Well as can be expected. Tell me, how fares my granddaughter?”

“Sel-Kenna is healthy and strong. She is growing more tired of Sel-Mannis by the day, but she continues to display excellent patience.”

The corner of Jel-Kenna’s mouth curled up in a smirk. It was obviously an old joke between the two. “That’s her fault for bonding with the most stubborn man in Craftsman City.”

Nicholas let out a laugh at that. “Too true, Grand Matron. Too true. I see that your plan for a new settlement is going well. I have to ask, how did you manage to tame the monster population? The last I’d heard, it was proving impossible to reverse Kan-Menora’s spell.”

“It was impossible through Magik means. So we asked for the aid of the Nocket clan, and they provided Monster’s Bane. It has proved quite effective.”

Nicholas looked impressed. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jerik, who was starting to feel left out, cut across him. “You knew that they were trying to find a way to stop the Monster Winds, Nick?”

The young man gave him half a shrug. “I’d heard rumors. It’s been impossible for nearly fifty years, so I assumed it still hadn’t happened. Sorry, Jerik. There are certain things I was ordered never to share, in case Kan-Menora’s minions found out.”

Looking back at The Elder, Nick added, “So stage one was successful. How likely is stage two?”

“Very,” Max answered this time. “In fact, we’re already having a great deal of success.”

“What’s stage two?” Jerik asked. His head was starting to spin from how often he was switching who he stared at. Rubbing his stiff neck, he asked a second question before the first could be answered. “You’re doing research here in the mountains? Why?”

“This is the farthest point from Kan-Menora’s center of influence,” Jel-Kenna said. She gave Jerik a quick, sharp glance that warned him not to ask another question. Not yet, at least. “We, and by that I mean the elders of Crafstman City, have been working on a four-stage plan to neutralize the Monster Winds and help the summoned humans take Kan-Menora down. Max, please explain.”

“Stage one was finding a way to cure the monsters affected by the Monster Winds,” the dark-skinned warrior said. “With Monster’s Bane, we achieved that. Stage two is to make monsters and humans immune to the effect.”

“Which you’ve done,” Jerik put in. “You said you’ve had great success?”

Max nodded and withdrew another syringe from his robe. This liquid was a bright yellow in color. “It’s very hard to make at the moment, but this makes a monster or human immune to the Monster Winds for up to a week. We’ve tested it on a wide variety of subjects, and it worked each time.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are the other two stages?”

There was a long pause as Max, Nicholas, and Jel-Kenna looked at each other, obviously wondering if it was safe to share. But then the Elder gave a small nod, and Max said, “Stage three is to make a monster that’s immune to the effects from birth through selective breeding. Unfortunately, only monsters of Legendary Class and higher are able to do that. Vernex is one. We’ve hatched two of her eggs, and both children are completely immune without needing the drug.”

“And stage four?” Jerik prompted when Max paused for several seconds. “What’s that?”

“Well,” the warrior said, drawing out the word. He glanced at Jel-Kenna again and received another nod of permission. “Stage four is where you come in, Jerik. It’s the end of Sel-Kenna’s part in the plan, at least. She wanted to make sure we found a human who could do it.”

“Do what?” He asked suspiciously, taking a half step back. He didn’t like the idea of being part of someone else’s plan, especially if he didn’t know what it was.

“Form a bond with a Legendary-Class monster. Stage four is about making the perfect combination of player and monster to kill Kan-Menora.”