He woke up the next morning wondering if the storm had just been a dream. He looked around to find himself in an unfamiliar forest. Did it actually happen? He wondered.

Then, before he knew it, the tree began to shake. Then, there was a flash of red and a girl standing next to the tree. She was tall and had long golden blonde hair with strands in beads, along with sparkling blue eyes. Under a red hooded cape she wore an elegant blue-green sleeveless top with straps from front to back, once again, with beads on them. Her legs were covered with a long fuchsia skirt that went down to the middle of her shins. She wore long black boots that went up to a little higher then her skirt. She wasn't frail at all—Jasper guessed she could easily take him down in a fight. That is, unless it was a magical battle.

She looked him over, then asked, "So, what brings you here to Kolyma? The outlaws?" She ended by pulling out a wanted poster.

"Kolyma?" He decided not to tell her about how he had gotten there, at least not right now. She might think he was crazy. "Umm… yes, I'm here to capture them."

"Have you even read about each one?" she asked. Then, she read of the names of the wanted.

"Number one. Evil hag, Hagatha. Lives in cave by the shore. Makes potions and performs dark magic. Also skillful in iconomancy."

"Number two. Evil enchanter. Terrorizes near chasm and antique shop. Most victims turned into frogs. Also uses dark magic."

"Number three. The Big Bad Wolf. Roams near shore. Known to attack old people."

"Number four. Mischievous dwarf. Lives in house in tree. Original stealer of the Sapphire Jewels."

"Number five. Count Dracula. Vampire. Killed by King Graham of Daventry a few years ago."

"So, do you think you can handle these monsters?" she finally asked.

"Yes," said Jasper, as confidently as he could.

"Well then," replied the girl. Oh no! Was she working for them? How could he be so stupid! "Maybe you could help me."

Jasper was surprised, but he wanted to know more before he made another decision. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl held out her hand and replied, "People in west Kolyma know me as Little Red Riding Hood. Of course I'm not little anymore... so you can call me Roxy. My real name is Roxana. And what may I call you?"

He shook her hand, saying, "My name is Jasper."

"Where did you come from?"

"Daventry, across the sea. It's a long story."

"You can tell me. Come with me."

"Where?"

"To Grandmother's house."

He followed along quietly. They headed down shore, and then turned away from the sea. They came to a white fence. They hurried as they went toward the blue front door of the cozy, little, white house. But when they entered, they found a shock.

"Ugh! It's the Big Bad Wolf again. Jasper, run!"

He ran out the open door with Roxy. Then, she called out, "Oh Hunt!"

A hunter came running. The wolf, hearing this from inside, ran out and away.

Roxy ran back in the house, commenting, "Now, what has he done with Grandma this time?"

"I'm under here!" exclaimed a voice from under the bed.

Roxy picked up the bed and let Grandma crawl out from under. Jasper hurried to help her up.

"Well who's this young man?" asked Grandma. "One of Hunt's friends?"

"No Grandma," said Roxy. "I'll explain it to you."

So, throughout the afternoon Jasper stayed at Grandma's house. They talked about why they were so intent on capturing the thieves… and how they got there (an interesting and unexplainable story for Jasper)… among other things.

Later, as the sun was about to set, Roxy stood up.

"You'll have to leave now Jasper. The Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury is straight east. The monks will let you stay there for protection. There are plenty of dangers here in west Kolyma. Come here at dawn, and be ready to capture some villains."

He quickly ran out, calling, "Bye!" as he went.

The monastery wasn't hard to find. As he passed, he thought he heard a noise behind him. A pouch dropped to the ground. A note next to it written in tiny handwriting read:

"Dear Jasper,

This is Opali'onia's cousin. She told me to leave some pixie dust for you. I'm out running errands right now. Hope this is enough!

Sincerely,

The west Kolyman Fairy"

He picked it up and entered the monastery. He went to the head monk, who was bowing at the altar, and went to pray himself. The monk looked up and said, "Welcome, traveler, to the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury. Do you need shelter for the night?"

"Yes," replied Jasper.

The monk walked silently to a door and opened it. Jasper entered to find a small room with one bed and a small table. Better than at my cabin,he thought.

He set his pack, now including a pouch of pixie dust, on the small table, then lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

His dreams were full of the creatures he was now to capture. Black magic... attacking old people... vampire? At least that one was dead...

Even though his dreams were full of these monsters, he slept throughout the night. Before he knew it, pale pre-dawn light was shining through his window. He woke up, gathered up his stuff, and left. He nodded to the head monk as he walked out, and ran to Grandma's house. He was about to knock on the door when Roxy came out, "Wow. I'm impressed. I was just about to go get you. Come in for breakfast.

The breakfast was incredible—it was better than anything he'd ever tasted. When they had finished, they went out of the door.

"Today," said Roxy, "let's find out about that Big Bad Wolf. He seems the least dangerous and the mission is the least risky. First, let's find an old person or somewhere a wolf might hide..."

The search was on.