As the sun dipped below the horizon, the Goblins herded the tired group of Kobolds back to the town. Heads hanging down, dragging their feet, they couldn't even muster the energy to complain. Only one person was cheerful; Whipper. Whistling to himself, he walked at the head of the group, chewing on a hand-sized frog leg.

Hiding in the middle of the group, Emma felt her mouth water as she looked at the meat. She was so hungry that she felt like rushing forward and snatching the slimy meat. A sharp intake of breath started her, and she looked at a ragged Kobold walking beside her. Like everyone in this group, he was blue scaled, and Emma thought he was called Burt. He had been in the group already when she was added and didn't talk a lot.

The Kobold's eyes were swirling in their sockets, and his tongue began lolling out. He is dreaming! Emma panicked. Somehow, the Goblins had found out that the Kobolds could evolve into Dragons, and Peltmans had ordered any that acted funny be decapitated immediately.

As covert, as she could, she grabbed Rita's hand, tugging it until the older woman looked at her. Emma pointed her nose towards Burt, and as soon as Rita saw him, her eyes widened. The same panic Emma felt appeared on her face, and she looked around at the others. Nobody had noticed yet, but that wouldn't take much longer. Burt was starting to breath erratic, and he might fall over any moment.

Before Rita and Emma could think of anything, Burt tripped, falling flat on his face. The other Kobolds continued a few steps before they stopped, looking at the falling Kobold. One of the Goblins at the back shouted, and Whipper swirled around, his whip raised and a hungry look in his eyes. He whooped and ran forward when he saw Burt twitching like a fish on dry land.

"Another one! We are going to have fun tonight! Drag him to the pit, Peltmans will want to see this!" He cackled like an old hag before cracking his whip above the Kobolds heads, who began moving again immediately.

Taking a last look at Burt, Emma felt tears well up in her eyes. Was this what would happen to her? Dragged away to the pit, and made to scream for hours until the Goblins tired of their games? She clenched Rita's hand, holding it until they were back in town and shoved into the smelly shack.

The Kobolds crashed onto the muddy floor, dumbly looking at each other in the dark. Without windows, there was only some red light filtering in through the cracks of their prison, but they could still see a little.

"They are going to kill all of us…" One of the Kobolds muttered, lowering his head, and staring at the ground. Nobody said anything, and they silently waited for what was to come. It didn't take too long, perhaps half an hour.

A piercing scream echoed through the entire village, and Emma shuddered. She huddled closer to Rita, who wrapped an arm around her. More screams came, and two of the Kobolds began sobbing in a corner as the piercing voice seemed to get louder and louder. It lasted well into the night, keeping everyone awake as they listened to the tortures screams and the uproariously laughing Goblins.

When it stopped, Emma felt relieved and ashamed. Relieved that the screaming had stopped, and ashamed that she was mainly glad for herself, so she didn't have to listen to it anymore. She felt warm when Rita hugged her, before letting her go and lying down. "It is over, let's sleep. It will be a busy day tomorrow."

A soft shuffling came from inside the shack as the Kobolds tried to get comfortable when a low moan vibrated through the small room. Everyone froze, and it took two seconds for Emma to realize it was Rita. Scrambling up, she moved her on her back and saw Rita's eyes were wide open, staring at something only she could see. A small film of water was starting to cover her scales.

"No, Rita!" It felt like she got a hit in the gut, and Emma flopped down.

One of the others slowly crawled to Rita and poked her side, when he got no response, he sighed. "What do we do now?"

"We call Whipper…" A soft voice came from the back, and a slender Kobold stared at the others when they gaped at him. "Don't look at me like that! If she goes mental, she might hurt us. And if she doesn't, what do we tell Whipper tomorrow? I don't want to be made an example!" His whispered tirade ended loud enough for Emma to worry someone might have heard.

Panicking, she looked around. The other Kobolds didn't meet her gaze but looked at each other with worry. No! They can't be serious! She had to do something, but what? If they did this to Rita, what would they do to her if she began her change? Wait, that's it!

"We can't!" she whispered in a rush, feeling her throat squeeze tight when everyone stared at her. "All of us will change, do you want to kill us all?"

The other Kobolds stared at her in wonder, but one shook his head. "You lie! There are Kobolds in the other groups that didn't have a single dragon dream yet!"

Emma cringed when she saw the others begin to stare at her angrily. "No! It's because they aren't blue like us. The blue energy, in the sea? Those are what make us change, you have seen them right? The little specs in the water that float to you and tickle?"

"I have seen them…" Said one of the Kobolds, a sturdy man who missed two fingers of his left hand. Frowning, he moved a bit closer to Emma. "How do you know all this?"

Emma felt her fear fade a little, and she was about to explain what she knew when Rita began banging the ground with her hands and heels. There was a haze of water surrounding her, similar to what had happened to Jake, though much smaller.

Sitting next to Rita, Emma tried to press the flailing hands to the ground, but she wasn't strong enough. The old woman seemed possessed by an otherworldly strength. With no effort, she ripped her hands free and started flailing them.

"Help me! We need to keep her quiet! It won't last long, and afterward, she will disappear." Trying to remember how it went with the others, she hoped she was right. When none of the Kobolds made a move, she felt tears begin to well in her eyes. "Help me, please!" She looked straight at the Kobold who was missing the fingers. If he wouldn't help, what could she do? Help me! She screamed in her head, as she stared at him unblinking.

The man frowned, looking slightly distracted. His gaze wandered to Rita, and he seemed about to decline when he shivered. Taking a look at his mutilated hand, he sighed. In two steps, he was beside Rita and sat down on her chest, his knees pinning her arms.

"You and you get over here and sit on her legs." He pointed at the nearest Kobolds, then looked back at Emma. "Girl, hold her head and make sure to keep her quiet if she makes any sound!" Seeing her nod, and move, he sighed. A tired grin surfaced on his face. "I'm Daniel, and you, remind me far too much of my niece!"

The others moved, and soon three Kobolds were holding Rita down, while Emma kept her head in her lap. The hours passed slowly, until finally, Rita stopped moving, her body growing slack. Daniel looked at Emma with a raised eyebrow.

"If the same thing happens as with the others she will begin-" a soft curse stopped her mid-sentence as the Kobolds surged back. A black, tar-like liquid began pouring from Rita's ears and eyes.

"She is dying," one of the others hissed. But Emma shook her head, trying to steel herself. Rita would be gone soon, and she would have no one to rely on. Alone again.

"She isn't dying," she said with a sigh. Sad and tired, she stared at Rita's slowly withering shape." This is the last part of the change. Jake said that the energy in her body is connecting to the dragon and her mind is transferring… or something like that…" she shook her head, not sure how to explain something she didn't completely understand herself.

In utter silence, the Kobolds watched as Rita melted away until only a dirty black smear remained on the mud-covered ground. When everything was gone, Emma sobbed once before wiping her face with her dirty sleeve.

Daniel patted her head before he began shoving mud and dirt across the tar. "Help me clean it. We don't want any questions."

"And what do we tell them if they ask where she went?" The Kobold who had complained before, and had wanted to call for Whipper asked. He was one of the few who hadn't helped, and he glared at Emma as he spoke.

"I.. I don't know!" Emma felt like crying, but Daniel just sniffed at the other.

"The truth! That she was gone when we woke up, disappeared overnight."

Shaking his head, the complaining Kobold rolled on his side, his back facing them. "Whatever. Just know that I will have nothing to do with this!"

"Let's try and get some sleep," Daniel said, before laying down almost on top of the spot Rita had been before.

Emma moved a bit away from where Rita had been, and not too close to Daniel. He seemed nice, and he had helped her, but she didn't know him. Jake, where are you?

--

Close to the edge of the village, two figures were moving away into the jungle, softly discussing something.

"You are sure you saw her?" Jake asked, a dangerous tone to his voice. He was having a harder time moving through the dense foliage since his recent growth spurt.

Melissa nodded, a gleam in her eyes as she stared up at his head. "Yes, Emma was with the slaves that dragged trees back to the Gobtown. There can be no mistake."

A deep, thrumming growl came from Jake, and Melissa put a hand on his flank. "Don't worry, Jake. She looked fine! We will get her back, one way or another. But please don't do anything foolish. Without you, we can't defend the island against the Insectoids!"

Jake knew she was right and tried to suppress his desire to hide in the forest and just swoop down the next morning to grab her when she was outside. The loss of Mason was still hurting him, even after all these weeks, and with Emma within reach, he found it hard to wait. But he couldn't leave during the day, and his friend wasn't outside during the night. Snaking his long neck around, he starred in the direction of Gobtown. Hold on Emma, I will come and get you, and we will make those monsters pay!