Hours later they were still trudging along what seemed like an old game trail. Sandy and with some large tracks, it looked like something left behind by the creatures of the jungle.

After the battle, they had to take some time to bind their wounds, although Jake, Mason, Emma, and Sandra seemed to have almost none left. Bolyr wasn't at all surprised at that. Tess and one of the soldiers had some more extensive wounds, and they had become groggy. According to Bolyr, they should be fine in a day or so.

When they were going to continue, Bolyr had wanted them to climb up through the dense canopy and travel along the branches, but besides Emma with her small stature, none of the others had been able to climb up. The two archers had found it hilarious, and eventually, even Bolyr had to accept the fact it wouldn't work, and they had continued traveling on the ground.

They were walking in a double-file line. Jake and Mason were walking side by side, second in line. Behind them where Sarah and the Fiend, then the three Soldiers and Tess, and at the end the two archers. Jake was sure that there was a good reason for the two archers to be at the back.

In front of Jake and Mason were Bolyr and Emma. The little girl seemed even more interested in what the burly Kobold had to tell, and she kept pestering him with a seemingly unending stream of questions. Jake wondered why, although Bolyr seemed annoyed by the little girls constant jabbering, he let her walk next to her. Even more curious was that he answered almost all of her questions.

"We are almost here. I am going to look ahead on my own to see if the camp is secure. Stay here." Bolyr said before rushing off, almost as if he was fleeing from someone.

Jake and Mason shared a grin before they beckoned Emma over.

"So what did you two talk about so long? Are you ready to adopt him yet?" Mason said, the corners of his mouth twitching.

A loud slap followed, and he yelped before rubbing his leg. In front of him, Emma seemed very pleased with herself. Her tail drifted back up, and she very adeptly used it to scratch between her shoulder blades.

"Stop playing around you two. Did that guy tell you anything useful?" Jake said while looking pointedly at the little Kobold while hearing the others behind him move close so they could listen in.

Emma became serious. "He told me what those things in the water were, and the names and uses of some of the plants we moved passed, but for the rest, he kept asking questions."

"What kind of questions?" Sandra asked as she stepped next to Mason, who gave her an annoyed glance.

"He asked why we are all unbound, what the name of our…" A confused look crossed Emma's face before she continued, "progenitor is."

"What the hell is a progenitor?" One of the soldiers whispered.

"I have a feeling he is talking about the Dragon whose blood we carry, which is going to be trouble seeing as none of us have any idea about that. "Jake replied while looking at the spot, Bolyr had disappeared moments before.

Something moved the branches, and then the large Kobold stepped out from the jungle and beckoned them.

"Let's talk about this later," Sandra said, in a way that made it sound more like an order than a request.

Seeing her move towards Bolyr together with her soldiers, Jake shrugged before following them.

Minutes later they arrived at a small open spot entirely round and lined with hanging branches that gave Jake the creeps. Before he could even say anything, both Emma and Mason jumped back on the path.

"This is one of those killer trees!" Mason hissed looking around as if he expected an ambush.

Behind them, the archers looked startled for a moment before laughing uproariously, and Jake gave them an annoyed look. One of the Kobold archers, the one with a massive scare in place of an ear, walked forward.

"You worry for nothing. We have cleansed the sickness from this heart tree. There are no more Brachir here. It is now again safe to hide below." As if wanting to prove it, he walked inside the open space and patted one of the hanging branches before moving through the triangular opening.

Jake quickly translated for Mason who looked ready to pounce.

"I need a vacation from this crap." Mason hissed, before straightening and walking inside.

Pushing Emma, who was still reluctantly eyeing the entrance, Jake followed him trying to remember how long it had been since the summer break. When he realized that wasn't even two weeks ago, he sighed.

When the entire group, except for the archers, was sitting in front of the center tree, Bolyr looked around. Above him, the two archers were following everything with sharp eyes.

"I think it is about time you tell me who you are and from whence you come. It is obvious you don't belong here, and I have never seen an adult Kobold that was unbound. That leaves only one option. Are you from one of the undiscovered continents?" Bolyr fixed them with his eyes one at a time, and it was evident he wasn't interested in any more small talk.

From up in the tree came the sound of bowstrings drawn. Jake looked up startled and saw that the two archers were pointing arrows at the group again. One of the archers was eyeing Sandra while the other was targeting Mason.

"Shit, they tricked us…" One of the soldiers cursed.

Sandra was the first to recover, and she looked at Jake. "That can't be good. What did he say?"

"They want to know if we come from one of the other, undiscovered continents. And the big guy seems upset that we aren't bound, whatever that means." Jake replied.

"Great, that is just fucking great. So what are we supposed to say? That we are from another fake world that is now merging with this one? I wouldn't believe that if I was him, no, scratch that, I still can't believe it. "Mason banged his hand on the ground.

"I don't know, but..." Jake was about to tell him to cool down when another voice interrupted him, startling everyone.

"Another world?"

Everyone looked up at the tree where one of the two archers was looking at them in shock his bow lowered. Before anybody realized what had just happened, he began talking to Bolyr.

"What is he telling them, and how the hell did he understand us?" Sandra asked while glaring at Jake and seeming about to lose her cool.

"I don't know. They are talking in one of those languages I didn't understand." Jake replied in a slightly panicky tone.

"How can he speak our language?" Mason hissed.

Before anyone could respond, Bolyr finished listening to the archer and looked at Jake again.

"So you are from a shadow world. How did you come to this one?" His voice was harsh and somewhat uncertain, and he growled when Jake translated his question.

One of the soldiers swore when Jake translated. "How the hell are we going to answer that, if we don't even know the answer…"

The group had a mixture of confusion and panic on their faces, all but the Fiend that was.

"Tell him the truth. Our shadow world, as he called it, is collapsing, and for some reason, we ended up here." While speaking, the Fiend kept her eyes stuck to the archer that seemed to understand them.

A hesitant look came across the archer's face before he turned to Bolyr and translated what the Fiend had said.

Eyeing the Fiend for a moment, Bolyr stared at Jack with a confused look on his face.

"Why do you let your slave speak? You should punish her, harshly, before she gets the wrong idea."

Shocked, Jake looked at the Kobold for a moment. Then he swallowed and looked uncomfortably at the others who were looking at him for a translation.

"They think she is our slave." He said, pointing at the Fiend who's eyebrows raised when she heard it.

There was a moment of silence as everyone let the information sink in.

"And..." Jake began, falling silent for a moment, looking at his feet for a moment.

He glanced at Tess. "He said I should punish her for speaking."