Hope and I had our backs arched against a stone wall. The pits of molten metal have off fumes that would kill us before the dragon did.

I always thought the moment I saw a dragon I would be excited. I mean it's a fucking dragon. Then you forget through all the dragon excitement that they are in reality 30 feet tall at least and breath fire.

And sure this dragon wasn't any Ancalagon the Black, but it was still a big dragon. He loomed over us, tall enough to almost hit the top of the cavern. Through the darkness I could see his glowing yellow ideas. His tail was layered in feathers, and his skin resembled more of what my teachers told me late dinosaurs looked like. Still I knew a dragon when I saw one, and he was a dragon.

His tail slowly creeped over closer an closer to where me and hope were pinned. I could see that the texture of his skin was more like a snakes than a lizard. He was the colors of fire red, orange, and yellow. Even the strongest color of fire ever, blue, sat on his stomach.

The dragon sat on his hind legs, growing taller and taller in height. His yellow eyes blinked at us, shining down like torches. I could hear more soft growling coming from his nose and mouth.

He blew in the fumes of the gold like it was freshly baked cookies, and his tail whipped back grabbing some of the gold from his side and hugging it beside him. His eyes glared at us, squinting down. His eyelids were so big that they could have crushed us. Then the dragon let out another big breath, and took in another big gulp of the fumes of metal.

I could see embers light from his nostrils. I knew the moment he opened his mouth we were going to be BBQ, and I was certain Mianite wasn't that desperately hungry. Really as the few seconds ticked by, as the dragon preheated the oven for his meal, I thought about a way to save Hope. If pushing her out of the way would be enough-.

"Do not be scared. I do not greet peaceful strangers with harm," a warm voice greeted. It was a gritty and firm voice, but strong and surprisingly welcoming.

Even more surprising when I realized it was the Dragon.

Instead of the Dragon opening his mouth and having flames come out, he had words. Nice and safe words.

Hope was the first one to loosen up, and she moved forward. She started to cross her arms, greeting the Dragon with a suspicious grin as she peered at him.

The Dragon plopped off of his hind legs. He didn't have claws or talons, but he had paws that were furry with bright yellow and orange feathers. The folded his front legs under his bright blue stomach and laid down like a cat.

"I could sense that you were curious," The Dragon motioned his vision to Hope. His eyes blinked lazily, and he looked ready to fall asleep. "And youthful, but full of experience."

Hope still looked suspicious, but her smile grew wider. "Thanks." Unlike me who was completely horrified, she walked herself closer and close to the Dragon.

"I am Sonder, the last living Dragon of Ruxomar." Sonder had no hint of emotion in his tone, even though he just admitted he was alone. He only waited for our response, making a low growling noise as air whistled through his nose.

"I'm Hope and this is Jordan," She motioned to me, but I was still pasted to the wall. "We came here looking for a crypt." Hope sighed, her eyes grew tired. "We need them to get home."

She spoke a white lie, but a think a little part in her believed it was true. She was trying to get Sonder to pity us, so maybe if he was guarding the crypt he would give it to us.

"Do you know?" Sonder wasn't buying the lie.

Hope swallowed her fear and continued on with the story. Lying to a dragon, only Hope would do it. "Yep. We have a plan, and then the elements won't be collected in one area. It will be safer," she persisted.

Sonder still had a glimmer of questioning in his eye, but he decided to not to argue. The dragon must have been wise because it usually takes people longer to realize not arguing is the only way you win with Hope.

"You are probably right," Sonder stood again on all fours. He untucked his fury paws from under himself. "It wouldn't surprise me that Mianite is so selfish as to take someone's pathway to their home." Finally Sonder's eyes grew dark and weary. "He's done it before."

I decided to speak up. I inched closer to Sonder, who didn't seem that threatening anymore for being a dragon. "Why?" I decided it was my turn to ask a question.

Sonder moved his neck down to the side, peering straight at me. His eyes immediately brightened up, and his figure grew defensive and strong. "Because all gods are selfish bastards."

Hope looked unfazed, but I was taken back. Ianite was the last thing from selfish. She was the goddess of equality and justice. She made nature and everything that could lead to beauty and change. She gave so much. How was that selfish?

Also her hair smells really good.

Sonder moved to one of the puddles of molten gold. His purring became louder and I could see the embers in his nostrils starry to glow. "Not that all selfish bastards are bad. Just because you humans see selfish as a bad thing doesn't change the definition of it." Sonder turned a complete 180 degrees, and his tail almost knocked me and Hope to the ground. "Dianite was always quiet nice," Sonder finished.

Sonder sucked in a big smell of the fumes, and he breathed out onto the puddle of gold. The room was filled with more sticky air, and the smell from the gold was getting crazy.

The embers and glow from whatever Sonder was doing reflected in his eyes and cheeks. He looked like what a fire would look like if it got wings.

Then Sonder backed up, showing us what he had left us.

"I may look like fire, but I am a creature of air," And I swear I could have seen a smirk on Sonder's face.

In the now small empty canyon, which used to house a puddle of melted gold, had something gleaming in it. At the bottom of the pit, only two feet away from my grasp, laid the crypt of air. A golden sword, the blade a yellow silver and the handle a rose gold. The blade was adorned with white gems the exact same color and shades as clouds.

It was the most gorgeous sword I had ever seen.

I turned to thank Sonder or ask how we could repay him, but he was gone. The cavern was now empty. It was almost like I had dreamt him up, except Hope had seen Sonder.

But I mean I had seen a fucking dragon. HOW COOL IS THAT!!

Hope have me a devious smile. She had been as intrigued with the sword as I had. She smirked. "Race you for it-"

"Hold on their!"

My skin grew cold. Hope's face filled with rage. We both recognized the voice. I remembered it as the douche that wouldn't tell us where Hope was. She remembered the voice as her kidnapper.

Deviser Matthew Gaines. The DMG.

As much as I would have loved to ask Deviser Gaines how he managed to make the Wizards be his little puppets during the adventure with the T.V setup, I was held at gunpoint. I was also told that any words I spoke would be punished by death. So you see I wasn't in much of a position to be a sarcastic twat.

Of course that seemed to be the only thing everyone else was doing because - other than Sonja - that's the only thing they're good at during a crisis.

I will say though that Jordan is a very good adventure because that watch came in very handy. I had used it to get the location of their - in the cavern - so I could teleport them all on their next little adventure. Of course I had no idea what a cavern out of all places would do with the crypt of air, but I wasn't here to complain.

Matthew Gaines held the sword in his hand. I didn't have to look twice to know it was the crypt of air. I could feel the magic pulsing off of it, and Gaines was clutching onto the sword like it was his life. The sword might as well have been his life too because if he lost that sword Mianite would have probably made sure he lost his life.

"How did you find it?" He asked, and he sounded curiouser than curious itself. I saw under a man that had been trapped by a God under a deceitful power, a boy that just wanted to explore in the name of science. It would have been more pitiful if I cared.

Jordan didn't say anything. He only stood stiffly with his hands up in the air. His weapons lying on the ground, glaring up at Gaines.

Hope on the other hand got her kicks out of making guilty people feel more guilty. She spoke softly and said two words. "Fuzzy Dragon."

Those two simple words flew Gaines of the edge. Or if I could even say it was Gaines. He was posed by an anger that only a God could rile up, and I truly and strongly felt at that moment that Gaines was under Mianite's full spell. You couldn't even tell if it was Gaines or Mianite using him as a telephone to talk through.

"Damn you all!" Gaines screamed, and he looked like he was ready to throw the crypt on the ground in anger. He then pressed his face close to Hope's, composing himself. "You have made me look like a fool in front of my God for the last time."

God, sure, that's what I'd call him.

Gaines forced his face to go back to calm and collected, thinking more on logic than passion. "We've tried to watch you with your freedom, but you've made it too difficult." Gaines cleared his through and straightened his bow tie. "Were putting you all under house arrest, and I will be watching you personally."

Sonja finally found her voice, right on cue. "You may have a God right now to pull us back, but we have you outweighed at home!"

Gaines just gave her a tired look. "You have the spirit of a once great God, and a dying Goddess." He rolled his eyes, and suddenly twelve undead guards came out of nowhere to take us. "It's quiet sad actually."

Jordan sat up. Hearing the word Goddess peaked his interest and, being the child with a crush he is, he got extremely defensive. "What did you say about Ianite!"

Gaines just groaned and started to walk away. The soldier, who had incredibly clammy hands, grabbed me and my teams hands, folding them behind our backs.

"Hey!" The more Jordan shouted and squirmed the tighter the solders hands became. "Tell me what you mean! Why is she sick?!"

And he got no answer. No answers. A good representation of what Mianite's house arrest was.