"You are sure he is ok?" Mason asked, standing amid a group of sad-looking Kobolds. They were all looking at the rapidly decomposing remains of Willson.

It was a ghastly sight, the flesh rapidly wasting away, becoming black and tar-like and leaking into the ground. But even so, nobody had left.

Jake stood next to the corpse, wondering if this was what had happened to his body. Most likely, it had. Sighing, he turned to Mason. "He made it through in time, so he should be in his new body now. Let's hope he got my message and can find this place. But no matter how well it went, he won't be back soon. It might take months."

The surrounding Kobolds began muttering together, and Jake took his first good look at them. From what he had been able to piece together, they were all saved by Mason and the others from the Goblins. The little green devils were actively searching the jungle for anything they could eat or kill and had captured them. All of them, besides Samantha, that was. The resourceful green Kobold with striking golden scales across the back of her arms, legs, and back, was found wandering the jungle by Tergin.

In the group, she was one of the few people he had seen before, she and Henry, the scrawny green Kobold that stood next to her. They were surrounded by a group that was made up almost entirely of green and blue Kobolds, most of whom were fidgeting about, staring at him and the corpse. None of them seemed remarkable to him, neither in coloring or stature. The most interesting thing that could be said was that they appeared very alike in coloring.

Off to the side, away from the group, was the odd dark-purple Kobold that he and Bolyr had saved, Melissa. From the way she stood apart, he figured she didn't feel like she belonged with the others. He could understand that feeling.

A loud throat-scraping sound caused him to turn his attention to Sandra, who stepped forward to address the crowd. Her natural commanding presence immediately silenced the surrounding group, and she stood looking at them casually.

"Right. Now that you are all awake anyway, we can get the next part out of the way too. You have all heard from us that Kobolds can turn into Dragons, and the living proof is standing behind me." She was talking as if she was telling them about a nearby coffee shop, even pointing across her shoulder without looking. "Meet Jake, the guy Mason was sobbing about for the last few weeks. He is the first human turned Kobold that we know of who took the change even further and turned into a Dragon." She was about to continue when one of the unfamiliar Kobolds interrupted her in a loud antagonizing voice.

"Who the bloody hell cares about any of that! What the fuck just happened to Willson?" The completely green Kobold stared at her with eyes the color of lemons, and Jake could have sworn he was about to spit on the ground.

Sandra stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her back, staring him down. "Stand down, Gary! If you shut up and listen for once, you would have heard me explain that!"

Gary's displeased face didn't change from her overbearing presence, and he just snorted. "So? Tell us!"

There was a little movement behind the group, barely audible, and focusing on it, Jake saw Bolyr stride towards the Kobold, an angry snarl on his face. He was about to pounce forward when Sandra snapped her fingers and shook her head at him. Bolyr stopped, and stared at her for a second before taking a few steps back.

Gary was looking at him, a small frown on his face, but without any evident fear.

"If nobody else feels like interrupting me? No? Good! Willson just took the same step Jake here took, and he should now be all snug and cozy in his own tiny Dragon body."

Jake almost choked as he stared at Sandra. Seriously, what do you mean tiny?

The copper Kobold didn't stop, although Jake's noise was loud enough for her to hear, and she raised her scaly eyebrows while looking around. "That means that any of us might end up just like that!"

A confused and frightened murmur came from the group, but there wasn't any panic or screaming. Jake wondered if a group of humans would have taken the news this calmly, but he doubted it. Another evidence of the change everyone had gone through.

Gary tssked and shook his head before staring at Sandra. "What the hell do you mean? Are you saying we will all die and wake up as Dragons?"

Sandra nodded with a relaxed smile on her face. "Some of us. To turn, you have to awaken your heritage, and that depends on your blood. So far, a few of us have awoken, but only Jake and Wilson have turned."

"When will Willson be back?" A small, blue-green female Kobold interrupted Sandra, causing her to frown and shake her head.

"We don't know. It depends on where Willson's new body is. It took Jake weeks to find his way back to us. But don't worry, he is a soldier. He can take care of himself."

Jake sighed when more variations of the same questions were asked, and wondered how Sandra could keep answering them so calmly. He zoned out until he heard his name. Blinking with all of his eyelids, he saw Sandra stand in front of him. Behind her, the Kobolds were walking back, softly whispering amongst themselves.

"We need to discuss things, plan for what is to come," Sandra whispered, waving Mason, Tergin and Bolyr closer. Together they looked at the grey-black smudge on the ground for a moment. It was all that was left of Willson's body, a smelly wet spot of mud.

Sandra was the one to break the silence. "Let's head back to the tree. We have no idea when the next one of us turns." She turned back to the tree, and the rest followed her.

When they were all sitting under the canopy of the immense heart tree, close to its trunk, Mason sighed. "Yesterday, I had a dream while in the jungle where I was fighting some enormous rattlesnake in a desert area."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sandra was scowling at him, but even Jake could see the suppressed worry in her eyes.

Mason just shrugged, absently staring in the direction Willson had been. "Didn't get the chance yet."

A heavy silence fell for a few moments, and then Jake snapped with his tail like a whip. Everyone shot up, startled before looking at him.

"Stop being such pansies. We can't stop it! The change will happen to you at some point, so we need to prepare. " They were all gawking at Jake, until Mason sniffed, grinned and began laughing.

"Ah, fine! So how do you suppose we prepare for liquifying and turning into a puddle of muck?"

Jake grinned back, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over him. It was good to be back with Mason, even if he had no idea for how long. "Let's decide for now that you will all survive the change! That leaves us with two problems. First is that you will be lost after the change. All of you have to learn how to get back here. Look at the stars, try and memorize as much from the sky as you can."

Jake pointed with the tip of his tail at the innumerable stars in the night's sky. The others looked at him in confusion, but it didn't take that long before Mason's eyes widened, and Sandra nodded resolutely before staring at him. "How did you manage to get back?"

Jake shivered when he recalled the time he set out into the unknown, flying blindly forward in the hope of finding the others. "I'll tell you about that another time. For now, make sure you find a way to remember the stars. It is the only way I-"

As Jake spoke, he saw Sandra's eyes zone out while her face became slack. He was about to ask what was wrong when her eyes rolled up and she fell from the trunk. She crashed into the ground and began twitching.

"Sandra!" Mason jumped down, and lifted her up. As soon as his arm wrapped around her shoulders, Sandra began struggling frantically. Her face became filled with rage, and she swiped around with her fingers curved.

In a flash, Jake's tail wrapped around her upper body, pinning her arms to her side. Mason took a step back, staring at her. He had a long gash on his cheek. Thick blood oozed out of it, running down the side of his head, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he turned to Jake, a worried look on his face. "This is the first time she did this. So far, all she had was dreams."

Jake had no time to reply. He was clenching his rows of sharp teeth together, flexing his tail as much as he could. The pressure from Sandra's arms was increasing at a startling rate, and from up close, he could see a soft glow emanating from her scales. With a tremendous effort, he managed to snarl out a request for help. "I'm not sure I can hold her much longer! Get over here and help!"

Mason and Bolyr were the first to respond and rush towards him. In an uncomfortable pose, they wrapped their arms around the areas of Sandra not blocked by Jake’s tail.

"Christ, how strong is she?!" Mason began groaning as he felt Jake's tail give, the full power of Sandra's arms hitting him and Bolyr.

Bolyr responded in a strained voice. "That glow! She has Ore Dragon blood in her veins! Let's pray she wakes up soon, or we won't be able to restrain her for much longer."

Seconds stretched to minutes as sweat began streaming down Mason and Bolyr's faces. Just when Bolyr seemed on the verge of collapse, did Sandra's body go slack. The two Kobolds stumbled from the sudden disappearing pressure, and Bolyr sat down, his head drooping.

With obvious effort, Mason put Sandra down before sitting next to her, keeping his eyes glued to her face. A few seconds later, she shuddered, and her eyes flew open. She blinked when she saw Mason hovering over her and frowned. "What happened?"