Kayla held up her fist, motioning her crew to stop. She peered through the last remains of the undergrowth out to a small clearing. Sector 2 consisted of a dense red jungle, usually one of the more dangerous sectors, but every now and then, a small oasis could be found.

“Why are we stopped?” Troy whispered. “There’s no one-“

Kayla reached back and covered his mouth. She pointed to her ears and nodded back towards the clearing. Esther, Aidan, and Arianna glanced over a brown lake, gurgling with slime and ooze. Occasionally, a bubble wafted to the surface, but the only sounds came from the lake.

Troy furrowed his brow. What could possibly be here? Are we not here first?

Kayla glanced up into the trees and shrunk further back into the shadows. She signaled a pincer maneuver to her crew. They nodded and slowly dispersed into the jungle.

Troy spared a glance upwards as he followed Kayla around the clearing. Twenty or so Onkrons perched in the branches, arrows nocked on their bows, eyes furtively glancing the jungle. One of them had an electric staff.

I’ll get one of those one day. Troy crouched down at the western side of the lake. From his stance, he could barely make out Aidan and Arianna on the eastern side. Esther had remained behind on the southern, and Kayla continued onward to the northern side.

Now to wait until those agents show up. As he settled into his lookout, his eyes landed on a rounded stone, partially sunk into the ground next to the lake on the eastern side. His stone-making guild instincts kicked into gear, and he scrutinized that rock. Why did it look so off?

Two feet high, perfectly round, no signs of weather….Troy’s eyes widened. It’s too clean for the jungle. Someone is using that stone and placed it there, but for what purpose? To hide something? To protect something.

The Onkrons in the trees above shifted slightly, but remained ever vigilant. Troy continued to study the boulder. The stone is sunk in the ground, almost like it’s covering a hole. He really wished his fellow stonemaker, Artemis, were here right now to confirm it. He never had had the resources to gamble in the casinos, but if he had, he would bet everything their next clue lay under that stone. That’s why so many Onkrons were guarding a lake with nothing in it.

Troy glanced to the north, looking for Kayla. She caught his eye and shook her head. He understood the unspoken order. Stick to the plan. Wait until the agents show up. As if on cue, footsteps sounded on the eastern side, and three burly men appeared into the clearing. Troy glanced over to the south, and Esther nodded. Those were agents alright.

A few bubbles rapidly appeared on the surface of the lake.

One of the agents skulked over towards the stone. “C’mon, let’s get the artifact and get out of this creepy place.”

The other two agents held their bows up, covering their partner. “We can’t come back unless we have the artifact and the clue. Gusteau’s orders.”

The first agent grunted as he shoved the heavy boulder aside. “Why can’t he just tell us what we’re looking for? It would be so much easier.”

He shoved the boulder aside and gazed into the hole. “It’s just a chest with some writing on it.”

“What does it say?”

The first agent picked up the small chest. “Dump me in the water.”

What? That doesn’t make any sense. Troy’s brain went a million miles a second, trying to reason why such a lame box was hidden here in the jungle.

A few more bubbles rapidly popped on the surface.

The other agents shifted closer to the forest. “You can dump it in that repulsive lake.”

The first agent glared at them. “Cowards.” He opened the chest. “It’s just a bunch of spices. Cinnamon, cardamom, and more from the southern sectors.” He stomped over to the shoreline and flung the entire contents of the box into the lake. Troy caught a glimpse of a shiny key as the spices dissolved into the lake.

“No wonder the lake is brown,” the first agent joked.

“But where’s the artifact?” the other agents asked. “The next clue?”

“I don’t know and don’t care!”

One Onkron swiftly dove noiselessly into the water after the key. Before Troy could budge, a geyser of water burst from the lake, blinding everyone momentarily. A wave of murky water soaked him to the bone.

Wiping the drops out of his face, he gazed into the clearing. Where once stood a lake now stood an enormous dragon. So ugly and evil it sent shivers of dread down his spine. Troy drew his sword, glancing at Kayla again, pleading with her to fight. She shook her head vehemently. He got the message. Being outnumbered was not a wise tactical move. They were here for reconnaissance, not for battle.

The Onkrons danced in the trees, whooping and cheering. Their hero had just been awakened. The dragon let out a deafening roar and snatched up the three frightened agents in his wicked talons.

Then he spoke. A deep rumbling voice. “Because you have loosened my chains, I will not eat you yet. But you will remain in my possession until I do.”

He stomped off to the north, carrying the three agents with him. The Onkrons followed and soon they were left in a bout of silence. After ten minutes, Kayla whispered a Fire Swallowtail call, and they all gathered near the lake.

“We’re too late!” Aidan murmured, his face ashen. “He’s already been awakened.”

“We have the Jewel permanently,” Esther reminded him. “The worst that dragon can do to us is end our lives on Rarogan.”

“But what about all who don’t have the Jewel?” Arianna said, tears forming in her voice. “Once they’re devoured, they’re dead. They will never return to Nev.”

“None of us realized how deceived we were,” Kayla said. “We all believed there was a wild goose chase to find the map to the dragon.” She looked at her crew with grim determination. “But now we have a new mission.”

Troy nodded, understanding where she was coming from. “We’re going after them.”

“What?!” Aidan fumed. “They’re working for our enemy. The enemy that wants to kill us.”

“Working for,” Arianna said, “not our enemy. They need the Jewel just as much as we do.”

Kayla drew her two swords. “Shall we?”