Mason stared at Sandra, a cold look on his face. "You could have been a bit easier on him."

"No, I couldn't. At the moment, Jake is dangerous and unpredictable, and the only one who can find that plant."

Growling softly in the back of his throat, Mason turned around and started swimming along the side of the cavern. He had examined every inch of the place twice when Emma's head popped up out of the water.

"Something is moving in the tunnel!"

"Get ready for anything," Sandra said, hanging on the ridge and staring into the dark water.

In the middle of the water, a blurry shape shot up, and Jake's head appeared, a worried look on his face. He waved a bundle of green goo around. "I have it, but we are in deep trouble. There are dozens of Vestr's goons in the water, and some are searching the tunnels close to us."

"Then we've gotta go now." Mason urged, swimming towards Jake and gripping his arm. "You ok?" He whispered, staring into his friend's eyes.

"Not really. We need to get back to that island and find a safe hiding spot before I change completely." He handed Mason most of the stuff before giving some to Sandra. She said nothing when she saw she got only a portion.

"Eat it and put the others back in the water. Even if you guys can breathe now, you are slow. So give Tergin and Willson to me. Emma will take O'Reilly, and you two try and keep up."

Sandra nodded expressionlessly before dragging Willson to the edge, followed by the others. A few moments later, they were all in the water, Emma handling O'Reilly's bulk with ease.

"Ok, give them to us for a moment, and scout the entrance," Sandra said, pointing at the two unmoving bodies Jake was carrying.

Jake nodded, and moments later, he was swimming through the tunnel, stopping just before the exit. His eyes widened when he heard crying and shouting. Outside, a battlefield was raging. Kobolds were swirling through the water, like ballet dancers, cutting and slicing at each other while blood tinged the dark water. Dumbstruck, Jake looked around if he could see anyone familiar, to no avail.

As he watched, entranced to the point of forgetting why he even came here, he saw many Kobolds motionlessly drift to the sea bed. He lost track of time and was startled when someone touched his shoulder. Looking behind him in fright, he saw Sandra's furious face inches from his own. Shaking his head, he pointed outside and moved out of the way so she could see. She took a single peek before turning back, looking at Jake with resignation before motioning him to stay put.

"Do you want me to stay here while you tell the others?" He whispered as soft as he could.

Sandra flinched and hushed him to be quiet, after which she nodded before disappearing inside the tunnel again. Jake turned back to the battle and tried to find out what was which side and who was winning. After a short while, he recognized a scarred Kobold minion of Vestr, missing an entire ear, whom he had seen at the party. The battle escalated, and more than a few Kobolds drifted motionless in the water. He got the feeling that Vestr's minions were on the winning hand, although barely.

The entire battle lasted only a few more minutes, although, to Jake, it seemed like much longer. It ended when the remaining part of one of the groups began fleeing back to the island, and the others chased after them. Realizing this was their chance, he turned around to see the others staring at him. When did they get back here?

"We can leave now if we hurry. The two groups are chasing each other." Sandra shoved him out of the way and looked outside before nodding. She signaled Jake to take two of the bodies, while Emma pulled O'Reilly around. The soldier was awake again but looked fatigued.

With Sandra and Mason in front, the group swam out of the hole, and straight to the reef. They were too large to hide inside, and Sandra kept looking around if she saw any straggling Kobolds. Luckily they made it deeper into the sea without any trouble, and soon the pillars of plants and growths were taller than they were, hiding them from view.

Sandra kept her position at the front of the group, purposefully moving through the maze. Jake hoped she knew where she was going because he had no idea.

--

Hours later, the light of the sun began filtering down towards the seafloor, and many fishes disappeared to sleep the day away. The small exhausted group was sitting beneath an enormous overhanging piece of algae. Mason was glaring into the depths, still not used to his inability to voice his opinion. Sandra was close by, trying to converse with O'Reilly through hand gestures, while Emma lay curled up next to Willson.

Jake sat at the edge of the group, looking outside, a lot less tired than the others. He felt as if the water sucked away all his stress and physical discomfort, leaving him always at the peak of his abilities. He felt like he could continue swimming without rest, that was if he didn't change into some murderous monster all of a sudden.

They rested until noon when the sun stood straight above the water, creating weird shadows when things floated on the surface. Sandra led them again, while Mason took the rear position. Jake, in the middle with Emma, took another look at Tergin. The small Kobold barely breathed, and he looked worse than when they were split from the rest a few days before. As memories of that period flashed through Jake's mind, he froze all of a sudden, causing Mason to bump into him and glare.

If we can find one of those dragon blooded things, we can heal all of them! Swimming forward, he explained what he knew to Sandra and Mason, who looked at him in wonder.

Mason stared at him, and Jake could read what he wanted to say from his face. 'So, you killed and ate a Hydra and forgot to tell me about it?' Shrugging, Jake explained the significance of it, and how it was forbidden and why. Sandra squinted her eyes before she began searching around. After a while, she signaled them to keep going.

Around an hour later, they found a piece of dead coral with holes they could hide in, and Sandra beckoned Jake over. Raising an eyebrow, Jake wondered what she wanted. She pointed at her mouth and made chewing motions. Jake, most of the time, quick on the uptake, nodded.

"You want dragon meat to eat so that we can heal the others," he said, and she nodded before pointing at him and then waving around. Resigned, Jake looked out at the brightly lit, horribly dangerous coral reef and sighed. "And you want me to go find it." He was about to consent when someone grabbed his shoulder, jerking him back.

Mason's face was inches from his own, angry and scared. He shook his head before glaring at Sandra. What followed was a horrible effort at communication, that would have been funny had it not been so severe. After a few minutes, Jake sighed, feeling the inevitability of it all.

"It is fine, Mason. I know you don't think I should go, but she is right. If we have to fight in our current condition, we will lose. Only me and Emma can fight in the water, but if we can get the other three up, they can help. You, and Sandra..." Jake grinned, "suck horribly at this swimming thing."

"Jake, I can come with you!" Emma said, staring at him, a look of reluctance on her face. To the side, Sandra was shaking her head, and Jake copied her while forcing a grin. "No, you are the only one here beside me that can speak underwater. You need to keep these two in line!"

Emma seemed relieved at his reply, nodding quickly before checking on the wounded Kobolds, and Jake looked back at Mason. Seeing his friend struggle with his emotions, Jake grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it. "Don't worry. I was down here on my own before, and I had to drag Tergin around all by myself. I survived!"

He swam backward a little, looking at Sandra. "Take care of them while I am gone!" Then he turned around to make sure they wouldn't see the look on his face. Shooting forward, he created some distance between them to make sure Mason wouldn't follow him, disappearing from their view in the labyrinth.

Mason kept his gaze unwavering on Jake as he disappeared around a corner, one of his hands raised as if to grab him back. Then he blinked and scowled at Sandra, who was giving him a look of pity. Damn her, he thought before moving beside Emma.