Chapter 3: The Quest Begins…

"Us?" exclaimed Cassie, "You want us to go on this quest?!"

"I'm afraid so," confirmed Quetzal, shamefully.

Everyone looked at the schoolmaster dragon as if he'd just done something unspeakable. A group of young children on a quest to stop an evil sorceress? They all had mixed feelings about this, and more than one person in the room was reluctant. "But why us?" asked Max, "We're not heroes, we're just kids!"

"Definitely!" agreed Emmy.

Ord began to turn invisible with mild fright, "What if that witch sends big, scary monsters to stop us? What would we do, then?!"

"Yeah! And what if we fail?" said Zak, "What if she gets the scepter before we do?"

"Niños, please let me explain," responded Quetzal, who sprinkled more magic dust upon the storybook.

"When Prince Griffin and his friends locked away the scepter fragments in the three shrines, they built a series of trials at each location as a failsafe to prevent anyone nasty from obtaining the power within. A prophecy explains that to reassemble the Scepter of Chivalry, only a special group with the same magic that the original wielders had would be able to pass these trials and prove worthy of the wand's might.

"You see, aside from the dragon prince himself, the classic group consisted of a dragon girl that was his true love, and there was also a two-headed dragon quite like Zak & Wheezie in personality. And finally, as I said before, they were aided by a young brother and sister from the world that Max and Emmy came from.

"My point, niños, is that you fit the original group's description down to the last character, and that is why you must be the ones to take on this adventure," explained the schoolmaster, "Over the last two years I've seen each of you grow, overcoming challenges and solving many a problem that has befallen you. I know it's much to ask, amigos, but you are the only ones I know of, that WE know of, that can save our beloved realm."

Hearing these words left the kids in deep thought. It certainly was a lot to ask a group of children to do, but they contemplated his words carefully. Yes, they had conquered many challenges they'd faced (and they always did it together), but they were usually all related to growing up. You know, friendship problems, social skills, resolving arguments, and the like.

Still, if Quetzal says they fit into a prophecy's readings, it must be for a good reason. He always has a good reason for most things, after all.

The children huddled for a moment, trying to decide on whether this quest was going to be worth it. After a moment of whispering to each other, they turned back towards the Schoolmaster.

"Okay, Quetzal," said Emmy, speaking first, "If you really believe that we can do this, then we'll do it."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Emmy's right," agreed Cassie, "This isn't only about us, it's about all of Dragonland."

"And what if Maligna tries to take over OUR world, too?" asked Max, "We gotta do something!"

"No matter how scary things may get," chimed in Ord, "we'll do this together."

"LOOOOVE it! Everyone, join hands!" cheered Wheezie.

The group grabbed each other's hands and stood in a circle. They counted to three, and then all cheered,

"Saviors of Dragonland!"

Raising their linked hands high on the last word, they were ready.

"Excellent. Now then, here's what you must do," said Quetzal, laying out a map of Dragonland with red circles drawn in marker around certain areas.

"Ord and Max, you shall travel to Snowy Summit, where the scepter's 'icy grip' is hidden within the icicle caverns below the mountain,

"Cassie and Emmy, you shall travel to Rainbow Canyon, where the scepter's 'rainbow cross-guard' is located at the end of a hidden passage within the canyon's walls,

"And Zak and Wheezie, you shall travel to the Dandelion Forest, where the scepter's 'golden mouth' is sealed in an underground temple whose door is located at the very center of the forest itself."

He gave each duo a mini map to the three locations while laying them out. Then, he gave them all identical maps to Crystal Cave.

"Once you've obtained these pieces, gather at Crystal Cave," finished Quetzal, "Here is where Max and Emmy shall take the last test to completely assemble the scepter. After that, Maligna awaits."

The dragons rolled up the maps they were given and stuffed them in their pouches. They all spoke words of agreement with each other, ready to save the realm. But one question remained...

"Wait, what should we tell our parents?" asked Zak.

Everyone went silent for a moment...

"I believe, niños, that you should tell them together," suggested Quetzal after a moment, "Don't worry, I'll be with you if you have trouble convincing them to let you go."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" said Emmy, "Let's go!"

Cyrus had been listening to the conversation from start to finish. He had overheard everything, from Quetzal's encounter with Maligna in the Forest of Darkness all the way up to the details of the impending adventure. The slinky serpent was grinning ear to ear at this point.

As Maligna instructed him, Cyrus had followed the children to the School in the Sky to eavesdrop on their meeting with Quetzal. He had hidden in the bushes so no one could notice him, but apparently the Schoolmaster wasn't taking any chances. What with him bolting the doors & windows and all.

Eventually, though, he could hear some muffled words coming from a section of the building. Creeping up to it, Cyrus found exactly what he was looking for: a ventilation panel! The one thing they couldn't seal closed all the way!

Taking a seat next to the vent, Cyrus listened intently to the entire conversation that took place inside the schoolhouse. Now I know everything that THEY know, he deviously thought…

Just then, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the front door opening wide. Cyrus (who's position was just ten feet from the doorway) dove into the bushes as fast as he could. Peeking out, he could see the gang exit the building with Quetzal in the lead.

"After we tell each of your families," said the schoolmaster, "I shall see you off at mushroom meadow. It's the best place to take off from, after all. And remember..."

Quetzal had the children huddle close to his mouth. Had Cyrus possessed keener hearing, he would've heard him mutter a whisper to the whole group,

"The rhyme is the answer."

With that, the human kids leaped upon the backs of their respective dragons, and they all flew off into the horizon.

After a few seconds, Cyrus was certain the coast was clear for the time. "I must tell Maligna at once," he said to himself. He stepped into the woods next to the school building and pulled out a special locket that the sorceress had given him. He opened it.

A green mist arose from the item, which began to sparkle with magic dust. Then a deathly pale face appeared within the mist...the face of Maligna herself.

"This better be good," she said.

"Indeed, it is," confirmed Cyrus, "I have discovered how exactly the dragons plan to bring you down!"

"Excellent! Tell me everything and leave nothing out."

And that's exactly what he did. He relayed everything he had heard, from the scepter fragments' locations to the fact that the kids were to retrieve them. Maligna chuckled evilly when Cyrus finished his story.

"How much more simple-minded can those fools be?" she said, "sending mere children on such a grand adventure. No matter: we shall take the fragments before they do."

"Yes, and... wait, what?"

"Your heard me, slinky serpent," commanded Maligna, "Follow those fools to the scepter fragments, then swipe them from under their noses and bring them to me. If we can obtain one piece of the Scepter of Chivalry, those brats shall not stand a chance against us."

"Prevail, and I shall help you get back at them for all the times they've foiled you."

"Yes mistress. You have my word as a serpent." Cyrus said.

"You better serpent." Maligna then gave Cyrus a cold glare "let me make something clear with you. Only I have the power to give you everything you want, and I have absolutely zero tolerance for failure. You obey my orders and get me the scepter fragments and you shall have your reward.

"But if you fail..." She grinned widely and evilly, showing off abnormally sharp teeth. "The eggs you eat for supper will not be the only things that will be broken."

Cyrus shuddered, "Gulp, never fear, your vileness. I won't fail," he said.

"Good. Now go after them and help me claim my prize NOW!" she screeched, her magical projection dissipating with a thunderclap.

Cyrus took off like a rocket in the direction of mushroom meadow. What did he get himself into?

It was indeed hard on the parents when they found out about the adventure their kids were going on. Ord's mom especially attempted to forbid her son from getting into this kind of danger.

But after hearing about the prophecy and some heavy reassurance on the young ones' part, they all tearfully agreed to let them go on the condition that Max and Emmy were responsible for their fates. "Please don't let anything happen to my daughter," Cassie's mother sternly told Emmy, "Or you will be in trouble with myself and all 72 of my other kids!"

Thus, we come to mushroom meadow, where everyone was getting into their groups as planned. Emmy was paired with Cassie, Ord was with Max, and Zak & Wheezie were...paired with each other, of course (not like they had much of a choice, since they shared the same body). Quetzal was also there to bid them good luck and farewell, like he said he would.

First up was Max and Ord. They were bundled up in winter clothes that Ord pulled from his pouch (he mixed up the hats at one point, though). "Okay, little buddy," said Ord, "Let's go to Snowy Summit!"

"Yeah! Hey, maybe we'll see Chilly and Nippy while we're there," said Max.

With that, the big, blue dragon took off to the north with the little boy on his back.

Next to take off was Zak & Wheezie. "Next stop, Dandelion Forest!" exclaimed Wheezie, who rocketed them both into the sky at record speed.

"WHOA!" moaned Zak in discomfort, "Take it easy, Wheezie!"

The two-headed dragon disappeared from view in no time.

Finally, there was Cassie and Emmy. "Are you ready, Cassie," asked Emmy, who was trying to comfort her nervous friend.

"Um...I guess so," said Cassie, "I've never had to help save the world before, so I'm a little...scared."

"I know," assured Emmy, "But I did promise your mom that I'll bring you home safely, and I'm going to keep that promise no matter what."

"Thanks, Emmy," Cassie said, hugging her best friend, "Now let's go."

With that, the little girl got on the pink dragon's back, and they took off towards rainbow canyon.

"Adios, amigos," called Quetzal, "Please be careful out there." And with that, he flew back to the School in the Sky after everyone else had taken off.

Thus, the kids' greatest adventure has begun...

Cyrus, meanwhile, was hidden among the mushrooms waiting for the last group to leave. He had followed them to Mushroom Meadow as instructed and watched from the shadows for the group to leave.

He particularly glared at Emmy and Cassie as they set out to their destination. It was these two that Cyrus decided to follow, since they were the ones that had the biggest part in ruining his egg-hunts. So, he started off on his own path to rainbow canyon.