Looking at the scared girl, Jake was distracted for a moment and what she had said barely registered.

Looking at her face, scared and angry at the same time, a thought shot through Jakes mind. The little girl's reactions had changed significantly from what he expected was reasonable for a human girl her age. But the thing was, it didn't seem to bother him at all, which in itself bothered him. Realizing what she had said, he shook himself.

"Where are they coming from?" Jake hissed, concentrating hard, but not hearing any voices.

A trembling finger pointed at the jungle, some distance from them and downstream from the river. Looking over, Jake saw jungle just like everywhere. The leaves were green purple and large, creating a wall so dense it was impossible to see inside for more than a few meters. Although Jake thought as he stood still while listening intently, the fact he could look inside at all meant it was less dense than the jungle they had crossed.

A soft moan next to him made it apparent that Mason had picked that moment to wake up. Before he could even react, Emma rushed to Mason's side, rubbing his shoulders, and whispering in his ear to be quiet.

Jake kept his gaze glued to the forest. If anything was about to jump out, he wanted to be able to respond.

"Do you still hear anything?" He whispered, trying to see any movement.

Emma was about to reply when a startling scream caused Mason to sit up, ramming his head into Emma's who was hovering above him. The girl gave a startled cry and backed up, rubbing her forehead until she was standing beside Jake.

Mason put a hand on his head and looked around blinking.

"..wa wass t,ath?" He asked with a thick tongue.

His eyes slowly regained their focus, and when he saw Jake stare at the jungle, he staggered to his feet, moving next to the other two.

"What's going on? Was I still sleeping or did someone scream?"

"Yes, and Emma heard voices a moment ago."

"Damnit! Can't I ever wake up to a normal situation again?" Mason hissed, still sounding weak.

Before the others could reply, a roar came from the jungle followed by angry shouting and panicking screams.

"There are people in trouble over there," Mason said matter of factly, but not showing any indication of rushing over to help them.

"Yes. And as far as I can hear, they seem to be bringing the trouble our way," Jake responded, as he heard the shouting and, what seemed like fighting noises move towards them.

"Of course they are," Mason said, his voice in mock desperation...

As the shouting got closer, individual words could be made out, garbled and guttural and utterly savage.

"That wasn't a human language, was it?" Jake asked.

"How about we don't stay here and find out? We have no idea what is happening." Not waiting for a response, Mason began backing up, away from the sounds.

"Do we go back into the jungle?" Emma asked, sounding scared.

"Not in a million years! Let's move along the river away from,"

A loud, high pitched female voice let out a litany of curses and orders that drowned out the other shouting.

Mason froze, and Jake looked at him.

"That sounded like military..? There are humans over there!!" Jake uttered, forgetting for a split second that there probably weren't any real humans left after the change.

A startled cry, followed by laughter came from close to the edge of the jungle.

"Shit! Let's see what happens. If we don't have any other choice, we make a run for it or hide back in the jungle." Mason grunted.

Just as he finished a ragged barely clothed figure emerged from the jungle, staggering when he stepped into an open space all of a sudden. Before they could get a good look, he turned around.

"Over here, fast! There is some open space here!"

With his back towards the group, Jake and the others could see a tail covered in green scales sticking out from under a ruined military tunic.

A shout came in response, and moments later, more figures emerged from the jungle.

"They are all like us?" Emma asked uncertain, looking at Jake for confirmation.

Without taking his eyes off the figures, Jake nodded. "I think so, except for that thin one. She looks a lot like David, don't you think?"

Mason grunted in acknowledgment. "One Fiend, and four Kobolds. Now let's see what they are running from."

He hadn't finished his sentence yet, when a group of shorter figures rushed out of the jungle, freezing in their tracks when they saw the facing them.

"Goblinsss" Mason hissed, drawing out the word while anger warped his face into a hideous mask. From the side, a high pitched growl came from Emma, and she made to move forward. Jake grabbed her shoulder, holding her back.

"Wait. We need to see if there are more of those little monsters." Jake, who was having a hard time controlling his own surging emotions, held Emma back. Then he looked at Mason to see if his friend wouldn't do anything stupid. Luckily it seemed Mason had managed to keep himself under control, if only barely.

In front of them, the Goblins had regrouped and were now walking menacingly towards the smaller group of Kobolds.

"There are twelve Goblins and only four Kobolds. They won't stand a chance." Mason said, seeming to ignore the existence of the Fiend.

With a determined look on his face, he turned to Jake. "We should help them."

"They are all military, what if we move over there and more show up?" Jake said, shaking his head in uncertainty.

"If we go there, with our help they can make short work of those Goblins. But if we stay here, the Goblins will kill the Kobolds and then what? They will see us, and we will be next!" Mason hissed before moving forward, ignoring anymore attempts to change his mind.

Seeing his Mason out of control, appearing to have given his anger free reign, Jake sighed and released his grip on Emma's shoulder. "Damnit, fine! Let's go and help that fool."

Running forward, Jake quickly overtook Mason. "You stay back a bit. You're still wounded!" he said, before speeding up.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a sudden movement, and looking over Jake saw Emma had already caught up with him. Half his size, her legs were moving in a blur, but from the look on her face, it was apparent it cost her little effort. Looking forward, Jake saw the Goblins had almost reached the Kobolds, and the fighting would start before they got there.

Angered at the thought, of what the Goblins might do if they beat the Kobolds, Jake tried to speed up. New instincts began to kick in, and he angled his upper body forward and down, his tail outstretched behind him, leaving him almost horizontally with the ground. With the change in balance came a sense of security and power, and he pushed of harder, feeling the muscles in his legs grow taut like cables. The immediate acceleration made it seem as if he had not been moving at all previously.

Behind him, a surprised shout from Emma was quickly drowned out in the rush of air, and within seconds, Jake cleared the remaining distance.

Their existence had not gone unnoticed, and both Goblins and Kobolds had stopped moving, looking at them as they ran towards them. The Kobolds regrouped quickly. Two turned to face the incoming Jake, while the rest met the Goblins. Raising broken off branches, the two green-scaled Kobolds seemed ready to attack.

In front of them, the Goblins had stopped moving, seeming confused and uncertain.

Seeing that the situation wasn't turning out as he had expected, Jake jumped to the side, gouging out long tracks in the muddy ground and sliding for a good three meters before finally standing still. Raising his head, he found he was now at an arm's distance from the Kobolds. From this distance, the minute details of their reptilian faces were clear to see, as was the fact that they were at least a head smaller than him. Going about it much more relaxed then he had, Emma came to a standstill next to him, looking at the other Kobolds wide-eyed and with obvious interest.

Taking a glance behind him, Jake saw that Mason was almost there as well, moving faster than Jake thought he could or should with his wounded back.

"Who the hell are you!?"

A commanding voice caused him to turn his attention back to the Kobolds.

A female Kobold stood in front of the other Kobolds, trying to divide her attention between the Goblins and Jake. Almost as tall as Jake and Mason, she had copper-colored scales that were broken and scratched in many places. Covering one leg and most of her torso was what remained of a military outfit. Large tears in the fabric showed parts of her athletic and muscular scaled body. A short crop of black hair lined her sharp face, and two intense golden eyes stared at Jake, demanding an answer.

Looking at her, Jake was stunned for a moment, and he noticed that a part of his body was showing a very inconvenient reaction. Luckily Mason's arrival saved him from any awkwardness that might follow.

"We are like you guys, and here to help."

Mason's voice came out in bursts as he stepped next to Jake, slightly stooped forward and trying hard to catch his breath. After a small coughing fit, he straightened and took a few deep breaths.

Jake noticed his friend seemed to look decidedly better than he should. He had just sprinted at top speed after being stabbed in the back only an hour earlier.

Looking at the Female Kobold, Mason's eyes widened slightly and then wandered across her body quickly. Scraping his throat, he grinned at Jake.

"Ok, I guess we can scratch that other problem we discussed."