Jake lay silently on a patch of grass, tired and hungry, his mind wandering all over the place.

His head lay stretched towards the sleeping form of Melissa. Her soft breathing was steady again, and according to Beatrice, she should be fine if she just stayed put. His stomach was clenching upon itself, and it took all his effort to ignore it. He would have to hunt later because he couldn't ask anyone else to do it. It wasn't safe.

His gaze wandered from Melissa over to the small curled up lizard that lay on a makeshift bed of leaves. A sad pang made him nuzzle Tir. She had woken up for a minute but had only cried when she saw him. She couldn't tell him what had happened to herself or Ter, or if their brother was still alive. Then she fell back into a restless sleep, twitching and crying out on occasion.

When I get my hands on those insects! Murderous thoughts played through his head when a loud, slapping noise reminded him of what he had been doing before he got distracted.

Tergin was holding a softly struggling Goblin down, slapping him in the face repeatedly.

"Don't try and run away again. Next time I will eat you!" Jake growled, keeping his voice down so he wouldn't wake Melissa. He probably should take this business elsewhere, but he wanted to see her awake first.

The Goblin looked at him and spat a thick wad of bloody slime on the ground. "I don't care what you do, I ain't talking. Peltmans and his new goon will get you!"

Jake frowned, feeling his icy calm heat up slightly. "What new goon?" His tone was cold, as he was. After exiting the water, he had quickly found his emotions stayed calm and collected.

"I ain't telling!"

The Goblin tried to spit again, but Tergin struck him below the jaw. With a woosh, spit sprayed through the Goblin's nose. Coughing, he glared at Tergin, seeming undaunted by the Kobold's size.

Tergin glared back before turning to Jake. "Let me take him somewhere quiet. I'll get him to talk. He doesn't need all his fingers and toes for that, right?"

Jake blinked. He had never imagined anyone would say something like that to him. The Goblin's eyes wandered around, looking for a way to escape, green snot covering his mouth and jaw. Jake shuddered when the thing that had been human, only months earlier, licked the snot and started chewing on it.

Trying to decide what to do, he gazed around the open area. Kobolds moved around, dragging wood towards a pile. Above, the long weeping branches of the enormous tree looked like a child who tried to cut its own hair.

Kobolds climbed across them, using sharp rocks, teeth, and claws to saw and chop more parts off. A heavy thud to the side of the open area signaled another success. Waist thick, the pieces of the branches looked more like logged trees.

Another group of Kobolds dragged them from the pile along two muddy paths through the dense vegetation. Straight up poles and cross beams were showing at the end of the path.

"Jake?"

Jake shook awake and saw Tergin staring at him. The Goblin he was suppressing had mostly cleaned his face and was still looking for a way out.

"Fine. But do it inside the old insect caves. No need to alarm the others."

Tergin nodded and dragged the struggling Goblin towards the massive building-sized tree trunk. A mound lay abandoned near it, the previously large opening partially closed.

Jake watched as Tergin dragged the Goblin into the looming darkness, and frowned. They should really flood or collapse that place. Who knew what disgusting things were still lurking in the lowest regions. In the week they were here, he had heard people complain about noises coming from inside. But, Every time he went in, he found nothing. That didn't mean there wasn't anything down there, though.

A scream came from the entrance, too soft for anybody without his enhanced dragon ears to pick up. He lowered his head to the ground beside Melissa and hoped the Goblin would talk soon.

Less than an hour later, Tergin sprinted from the cavern entrance, a look of fear on his face.

Jake got up with a start. He had almost fallen asleep, and his mind felt clogged by cotton wool. Even the perpetual screaming and painful stabs from his stomach didn't stop the fact that he was tired. Seeing the barely concealed panic on Tergin's face, he got a horrible premonition and surged up.

Tergin reached him and started talking before he even came to a full stop.

"The Insectoids and Goblins have the Antraci trapped between here and the sea. The Hydraci are attacking them from the deep! They will be wiped out if we don't go and help them!"

Jake blinked at the torrent of information. "Wait, calm down! What are you talking about? Didn't we wipe out most of the Goblins just now?"

Tergin shook his head, taking a few deep breaths. "No, it was a trick! They wanted to distract us, keep us here! That Goblin only knew a bit... but someone called Peltmans sent his group here to distract us! Please, Jake, there are only so few of the Antracii left. We have to save them!"

Shit, I should have gone hunting!

Jake took a deep breath, cursing his stupidity. "Alright! Did he say anything else? How many Goblins and Insectoids are there? How close to the sea they are?"

"He didn't know!" Tergin said, fidgeting and appearing ready to set out on his own if Jake didn't move quickly.

"Damnit, what a bloody day. Gather all the none-wounded who can breathe underwater. Tell the others to gather in the center!"

Tergin ran before the last word passed Jake's lips, sprinting towards the construction area. He yelled at everyone he passed to go to Jake.

Jake shook his head when he saw panicking Kobolds look at each other before running towards him. With a last look at the still form of Melissa, he moved to the center of the open area. The first Kobolds arrived together with him. To his utter relief, they didn't start screaming questions right away.

Within minutes Kobolds gathered around him, whispering as they stared at him. Jake waited for Tergin, who came running back with a group of mostly blue scaled Kobolds. The panic had fled the other's face, replaced now by a look of resolve.

"Before you all panic, there aren't more Goblins on the way," Jake said. His deep and guttural voice silenced everyone, and as he looked around for a moment, the rustling of leaves was the only sound. He knew there was no time for lengthy questions; he needed to explain it such that they would understand.

"You've probably all heard by now that Bolyr went to get the Antraci tribe to help us. Well, they are in trouble. The Goblins and insects have them pinned down in the river, near to the coast. I am going with Tergin to save them and bring them here."

A stunned silence followed his words, and then all hell broke loose.

"You can't leave us alone here! What do we do if the Goblins come back!"

"It could be a trap to lure you away!"

"Why should we help them, we don't even know them!"

"You can't leave!"

Between his hunger, fatigue, and the screaming, Jake felt a throbbing headache pop up. Jake was furious, the cold disconnected feeling he had felt since changing vaporized. How dare they! He had stayed here to help them while all he wanted was to find Mason. And now they wanted to tell him what he should do? The suppressed desires and instincts all rushed forward, and suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. Taking a deep breath, he roared in the air silencing the complaints.

"Who do you people think you are? I am not asking for your opinion. Do you think I am just here to keep all of you safe? Half of you were wandering around this bloody island for weeks or longer without doing anything but survive! My friends and I saved you, brought you together, and gave you a place to build something."

As he spoke, Jake calmed down. He knew it wasn't completely fair. They were scared, tired, and had the feeling their only lifeline was going to leave them. But so was he. With a sigh, he shook his head.

"If we save the Antraci, they can teach us about this world. They have nowhere else to go, just like us. Together we can change this island into a great place to live." He forced a sense of surety into his words. He had never been good at it, and as he looked at the uncertain stares direct at him, he realized that hadn't changed.

He wished that Mason or Sandra was here; they made this look so easy. He turned to look at the Kobolds standing behind Tergin and blinked. Many had glistening eyes and seemed all riled up as they stared at him. What was up with them? No time for that now, he told himself.

"We need your help to save the Antraci. It will be dangerous but-"

"I am coming!" One of the Kobolds interrupted him and stepped forward, two others only one beat behind. Within two seconds, all of the Kobolds, including Tergin, stood next to him. They seemed to chomp at the bit, ready to rush into the water and slaughter Goblins.

It's the scales. It has to be! Feeling a mixture of relief and sadness at the prospect of leading them to their potential doom, Jake shared a look with Tergin, and the native Kobold grinned.

Jake took a last look at Tir and Melissa, wishing the latter was awake to help him. Then he moved towards the path leading to the lakeside. Hellen was standing there, a bit apart from the rest.

"Continue building the wall around the island. We will be back with the Antraci as soon as we can," Jake muttered to her before leading the group of Kobolds towards the sparkling water.