"Are you awake?"

Jake shot up, his head foggy from a quickly fading nightmare. Mason would never do that! He shivered as he forgot why he even thought that.

"Jake?"

The questioning, careful tone caused him to look around. Tergin sat on a branch, staring at him.

"I'm fine. How did it go? Did you get everyone out?"

Tergin nodded but frowned, and Jake almost wanted to tell him he didn't want to know. Instead, he took a deep breath, trying to relax.

"What happened?

"Melisa and her group aren't back yet." Tergin looked at him, and Jake could see pity in his eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything! They could just be-"

Tergin shook his head. "You've been sleeping for half a day. I searched for her, but I can't find anything, no traces."

Jake looked up and realized the dark sky was due to a thick grey cloud cover. As if on cue, his stomach cramped, demanding meat. Staring dumbly at the clouds, he heard the buzz of chatting people came from below.

"How many did we save?" he finally managed to ask.

"Two hundred and thirty-seven made it back. Two groups trampled through an invested heart tree."

Jake's eyes widened, and he forgot his worries for a moment. "That many?" Then he saw the pained look on Tergin's face. "What?"

"I've talked with some, and the stories they tell all match. The Goblin's figured out that they changed and killed any that showed the signs." Tergin cursed in a language Jake hadn't heard before.

"They tortured and killed hundreds of awoken! If Bolyr hears this." The Kobold struck the tree trunk, hissing through his teeth.

Jake gaped at Tergin. He had never seen the other react this strongly before. He understood the feeling, though, and he wished the yellow armed Kobold was here. He had a knack for finding people in the jungle that went beyond that of even Tergin. But he had left to the Antracii, and without wings, it would take days before he came back.

"I'm going down. Do the new ones know about me?"

"They do, and most are curious. Especially after learning, they could change too."

Relieved, Jake plunged his talons in the bark climbing down. After a second, he realized Tergin wasn't coming, and he looked back. Tergin was staring at leaves, a blank look on his face. Jake hesitated for a moment, then continued down. He sometimes forgot Tergin also had a rough few months. Losing his tribe and having his world put upside down couldn't be easy.

--

Half an hour later, Jake wished he had stayed with him.

There were Kobolds grouped around him, packed tight like on a market square. Some demanded things, others had questions, but they all had one thing in common— they kept shouting.

He had tried answering one question, but a dozen new ones came right after. The most annoying thing, however, was Gary.

"I am sure he will help us all! He must be planning something great!" Gary's gruff voice shouted in response to some of the questions.

"No, no. We aren't all going to change right away! It takes a while, something like a week or two?"

Jake shook his head as he stared at the Kobold. Ever since he had caused the storm, the annoying bastard had tried to get close to him. If he weren't so scared of Melissa, he would probably have tried sleeping next to Jake. The thought of Melissa caused a surge of anger. First Mason, then Emma and Tir and Ter, and now her?

"ENOUGH!"

His roar caused everyone to freeze and gawk at him. Some slowly backed away, panic in their eyes. Garry swallowed before stuttering. "Don't worry. He isn't going to hurt you."

Jake slammed his tail next to the smaller Kobold, pelting him with stones and dirt. "That's the only sensible thing you've said all day!"

Garry perked up, ready to speak, and Jake glared at him. He wondered if he should drop the pest from a hundred feet. Something must have shown in his eyes because Gary's toothy jaw fell shut.

Jake gazed around. The others had backed off, causing a small muddy area to open up around him. Only Gary was still standing beside him. Jake faltered for a moment when he saw Sam glare at him from amongst the mass. Melissa's friend, she seemed to have a problem with him. Ever since Mason changed, she had mostly been out hunting.

Not now, he thought, pushing the rising questions aside. He had more pressing matters.

"You've been screaming questions at me for ten minutes now, without giving me the chance to answer. " Seeing a few Kobolds step forward, appearing ready to ask one right away, he hissed.

"One question at a time! But first, I will answer some of the ones you've been asking. Got it?"

Some frowns and annoyed looks caused him to puff out his chest and stand up straight, glaring down his snout. He towered over them now, his most recent growth spurt making him bigger than the biggest plow horse. Some sputtered complaints quickly died down, and he nodded.

"I am not a Dragon. At least not what they call a Dragon in this world. I might become one if I continue growing, but those details are hazy at best. Not that it matters to me, but it does to the natives."

A few Kobolds snorted, and one whispered that if it looked like a duck, and quacked like a duck...

Jake waited for them to calm down again before continuing.

"We are not safe here! At least not yet. We are in the middle of a massive ocean, far from any known civilization, on an island with Goblins and Insectoids that want to enslave or kill us."

This time the racket took almost a minute to calm down, and he saw lots of worried faces. He waited for most of them to quiet down before raising his voice.

"We do have one thing going for us. There is a small group of native Kobolds on another island not far from here—some of you know two of them, Bolyr and Tergin."

"Will they help us? Why aren't we going to them?" The screamed questions silenced similar mutters.

"We don't know yet. Me and..." Jake fell silent for a second when he realized he was the only one left from the original group.

"I've been there. It didn't end well. Some of the natives have very old-fashioned ways of thinking. But recently, there has been a change in leadership, and Bolyr has gone there to see if they want to come here and join us."

"Why don't we go there, away from the Goblins?" The question was seconded and thirded as everyone loudly voiced their opinions again.

Jake sighed. He wasn't cut out for this. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed. "Because their island is too small, with too little food and too many sea monsters surrounding it!"

Small pockets of Kobolds began whispering amongst each other. Jake didn't care. He had said most of what he wanted to except for one thing.

"Listen up! Is there anyone here who has experience in construction? We need more shelters, a dock, and a barrier around the island.

It went silent as people looked around until a lanky green-scaled woman with long blue hair stepped forward. She was scale over bone, and her clothing ripped in so many places that Jake could count her ribs.

Her voice was soft and uncertain, and she kept looking at the ground. "I th... know. What you need isn't just someone in construction. You need someone who can work with primitive materials. Create rope, board and-"

Jake interrupted her. "What's your name?"

"Hellena Morison, but you can call me Hellen." Her voice was a whisper. Jake wasn't sure he would have understood half of it, if not for his improved hearing.

"Alright, Hellen? I need you to build me a wall of some sort around the island. Oh, and houses to live in, and a gate with a dock. " Jake looked at the gathered Kobolds. "From now on, you do as Hellen says. I need to go up the tree again and guard against Insectoids, or they will swarm us and eat us."

Jake turned around, hearing Hellen gasp and whisper something about not being ready. He ignored it and moved towards one of the down hanging branches thick enough for him to climb on.

"Wait! Who made you our leader? Just because you're a Dragon or whatever?"

Jake looked back at a short, skinny Kobold, his temper flaring. "What's that now?"

The short Kobold looked around in panic. He took a step back, stammering. "I... I didn't mean it in a bad way. But... Listen! I used to be a government official! I know how to run things! Have you ever even been in charge of anything?"

Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was something right about what the other said. Before, it had been Sandra and Willson taking charge of everything, and after that, Bolyr took care of most of the day to day things. Did he really want to be burdened with taking care of all these things? Stay here and guard these people he didn't know?

No. What he wanted was to leave and find Mason. Or give in to the strong desire to explore the vast ocean! The only reason he was ever here in the first place was because of Mason, Emma, Tir, and Ter. And all of them were gone! A weight dropped from his shoulders, and he opened his eyes. The small Kobold was staring at him, and he realized a whispered conversation was going through the group.

"You know what? You can all just go and do whatever you want. I'll wait for the last group. After that, I'll decide what I want to do."

"Wait! Will you still protect us?" The small Kobold's voice rose in pitch.

Jake didn't bother to respond and climbed up the tree.