The tree shook as Jak slammed his tail against it. Turning his head, he examined Tir, who seemed content to lie in a crack of his crest that now draped across his long supple neck.

"Little one. If you can still understand me, you need to let me know. Where is Ter?"

The lizard didn't respond, just purred a few times as if she was as content as she could be.

Jake felt a pain in his heart that blotted out the desire to rush into the deep sea, and he turned to Gria. "Is there a way to turn her back?"

The sharp shake of the Kobold's head felt like a blow to his gut.

"We don't know of one. That does not mean it is impossible." Bolyr's rough voice caused Gria to frown, but the yellow armed Kobold ignored her and stepped forward, staring at Jake.

"This world is vast, and even the Dragons of old didn't know all of it. No Kobold has ever gone beyond the western continent or the chaos continents. Who knows what is and is not possible?"

Gria hissed. "Bolyr, don't give him false hope. You have already failed your ancestors by asking him to stay and help instead of following his instincts!"

As the two Kobolds began bickering, Jake took a deep breath. Tir could breathe underwater, but should he risk taking her with him? A soft touch to his flank made him look down, and he saw Melissa stare at him.

"Take her with you… if there is any chance to help her regain herself, it won't work if you leave her here." Melissa's voice was soft, and Jake nodded.

Making up his mind, he saw Bolyr had finished arguing and was now sitting a bit away from the other Antraci. Jake almost choked when the other winked at him. Deciding to ask what that was about at a later time, he turned back to Gria.

"I promised to help with the Goblins. But we will have to hurry. Did you come up with a plan?"

"We have. Tergin and some of the others are out scouting where the Orcs are. If you can help us kill those, we can take care of the Goblins by whittling them down with planned strikes."

Jake was surprised by the ease with which she brought the idea. As if killing the Orcs would be as simple as slaying chickens. It did make sense, though, and it wouldn't take half as long as killing all of the Goblins would be. After thinking it over for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

"Then, we will go and begin planning!" Gria said. She climbed down, followed by the other Antraci. Bolyr was the only one who stayed behind, and none of the others seemed to care.

Hellen and the other earthlings moved a bit closer, looking at each other as if urging the others to speak. Finally, Bert sighed and stepped forward.

"We heard you are leaving. Is there anything we can do to make you stay?"

Jake snorted at the other's straightforward question. He shook his head, wondering what else they would try.

"I told you that wouldn't work!" Helen pushed Bert aside before seeming to realize that it made her the center of attention.

"Those Antraci seem to think they can take control and that Gria keeps bossing us all around. If you leave, that means we have almost no more say in what will happen." Falling silent, she stared at him with accusing eyes.

Jake felt a headache popping up, and he knew this would be an annoying conversation.

--

It was late in the afternoon when Tergin came back with the other scouts. Just in time for Jake, he had been getting antsier as time went by.

"And you're sure the rumors about a Diadr are false?" Gria asked for the second time as she stared at one of the scouts. The completely green Kobold nodded, and Gria sighed in relief.

She turned to Jake and a group of Antraci.

"I know how much effort it must cost you to stay here. We are ready to leave."

Relieved, Jake moved towards Bolyr, who was standing with Tergin off the side. Taking up a spot behind them, Hellen and Bert moved beside him.

A silence fell across the group, and Gria looked at them. She frowned before she looked at Jake with a weary look in her eyes.

"Before we leave, there is something we need to discuss," Jake said. He stared back at her, across the heads of the others.

"You were the leader of the Antraci, but where we are from, we don't have one person in charge of everything."

Jake waited to let the words sink in, but Gria just stared at him, her face darkening.

"We have discussed this at length last night and have come up with the following. Bolyr explained that you had a council of elders, but they were slaughtered. Correct?

Gria glared at Bolyr for a moment and then nodded.

"We don't have those, but what we do have is something similar called a government. It's a group of people elected by the tribe to lead the entire tribe to the best of their abilities."

Bolyr's daughter stepped forward with a look of scorn on her face.

"We won't let you be in control of everything. Your people have no idea how this world even works, and-"

Gria clamped her hand over Lyra 's mouth. "Silence. Let them finish before you jump to conclusions."

Jake grinned at Bolyr, who just shrugged. The other had warned him how his daughter would react, and it had been almost to the letter.

"We want to create a council. Not of elders, but of those currently most suited for the task. Three Antraci and three earthlings."

Jake pointed at Melissa, Helen, and Bert.

"They will be the first earthlings. Depending on how they do, they might be replaced by people more qualified."

The Antraci began discussing amongst themselves while Gria just stared into the distance for a while. Then she nodded.

"I agree. From our side, we will pick me and two others."

Jake let out a deep and relieved sigh. Bolyr had said Gria would probably agree, but hearing her say it made things a lot easier.

"Bolyr and Tergin will be assisting them. They will need someone to translate until they can all speak your language."

Seeing her nod, Jake smiled. "Okay, then let's get rid of these Orcs before I can't hold it anymore. "

He moved towards the lakeside before lying down. Tergin and three Antracii warriors climbed on his back. Feeling their weight, he was astounded at how much he had grown.

"Alright, we will find the others. If all goes well, they should be back with the good news tonight."

He looked at Melissa and saw she was frowning. They had said goodbye the night before, short and to the point. No matter what he said, she didn't seem to understand. He hoped that after she turned and went through the same process, she would realize. Until then, she had made it clear she was upset with him.

When he looked around, Helen and Bert waved at him, while Bolyr raised his yellow hand. Although he was a bit sad to leave them, the fact he could finally follow his desire and go into the sea to find what was drawing him made a grin spread across his dragon face.

With a surge of energy, he jumped into the air, flapping mightily to carry the heavy load upwards. When he was twenty meters high, he circled the lake before heading towards Gobtown.

Jake flew slowly across the jungle. When the edge of the jungle appeared, signaling the clearing in front of Gobtown, he landed on a broad white branch. Small blue leaves hid him from view, and he sighed in relief when the four kobolds finally climbed off.

Nobody spoke as they climbed down, but they kept an eye out for small insects. Any of those might signal the Insectoids spying on them, or so Bolyr said. It took twenty minutes to make their way to the edge of the jungle.

Goblins were cursing as they dragged wooden logs towards the thoroughly destroyed town. Twenty meters away from them stood a trio of orcs, spears in hand. Their eyes constantly raked across the surrounding jungle, and even from this distance, Jake could see the fear in their eyes.

"Alright, there are only ten orcs in total, but they stick in groups. If we kill these three, that might lure another group here," Tergin whispered.

They had already discussed this, but nobody complained.

"So, I am going to let them see me. With some luck, they will come after me and run right in our ambush."

The three Antracii just stared at him, but Tergin didn't even look back. He just looked at Jake until he got a slight nod.

He moved away into the jungle and made a strangled cry as if in pain. Then he rushed out of the tree line, looking back as if something had attacked him. The orcs gaped at him, a stunned look on their face. Then they moved, yelling and roaring as they rushed him. Tergin faked a fearful look and hobbled back in the jungle, holding his leg.

Damn, he is good at his!

If Jake hadn't known he was acting, he would have believed it to be real. Tergin head back to them, the Orcs following him like three bulldozers mowing the bushes. A big grin spread across Jake's face, and he crouched down. His muscles grew tout, and his talons dug deep into the ground. The Antracii had climbed the tree's flanking the Orcs entry path and were ready.

Tergin rushed through the bushes, grabbed a branch, and pulled himself up and out of the path of the Orcs that shot after him.

Jake didn't wait for them to ready themselves but leaped forward. The eyes of the Orcs widened in fear a second before he barreled into them. He felt a single wooden spear jam against his side, but it harmlessly snapped.

It was over in seconds. The three linebacker-sized Orcs had no chance against an angry dragon as big as a pickup truck.

Tergin and the other Kobolds stared at the mangled green bodies. They had no chance to help out.

"Alright, let's see if more show up to come to find these guys," Jake said as he ran back to the jungle edge.

The Goblins were almost back at the destroyed town, the logs left behind, forgotten.

As Jake and the Kobolds waited, shouting rang from the town's ruins behind the partially repaired wall. Surprisingly it had suffered the least damage. The monster had left through the same breach it had created when it barged inside.

"If all Orcs come, we need to flee and try again later," Tergin whispered.

Jake shook his head. The success just now had shown him that he shouldn't be afraid of a few Orcs. Unless there were dozens, he wouldn't be scared off!

A small group walked from the town, a dozen Goblins, and four of the larger Orcs. One of them dwarfed the others, a head taller and much wider than the others.

"Peltmans," Tergin hissed, gripping the wood of the branch next to him so hard it creaked. He turned to Jake, who was curiously observing the one the others had told him about.

"Jake, we have to be careful. He is stronger than regular Orcs, and if he is coming here while knowing you are here... I am getting a bad feeling about this."

Jake grinned and shook his head. The moment he could finally give in to his desires was quickly approaching, and he wasn't going to let one Orc stop him. No matter how much bigger he was. Besides, compared to him, it was the size of a toddler!

Tergin quickly realized he wasn't about to leave, and with a weary sigh, began ordering the other Kobolds into ambush positions.

Peltmans and his group slowly crossed the logged area, wearily scanning the dark jungle. Twenty meters from the edge, and close to the felled trees, they stopped.

"Stupid lizard, are you there?"

Jake almost choked. What kind of fool would start a conversation like this?

"Don't answer-" Tergin began, interrupted by Jake's roared, "I am here!" He was getting fired up, and the momentary idea to summon the cold to cool his mind was pushed aside.

"or they know where we are..." The green Kobold ended lamely. Then he began signaling the Kobolds, and they spread out, disappearing into the dense vegetation.

Jake frowned. Were they going to leave him?

"What do you want? You've already destroyed my base and taken my workers!"

Peltmans rough, furious voice made Jake equally angry.

"Workers? Those used to be human beings, not that long ago! How can you just enslave them like that?"

"Fuck them; they made their choice! If they had followed orders, we would all be Goblins and on the same side!" Peltmans moved closer to the jungle edge, stomping his feet.

"Now, answer me! Why are you here! We have no more Kobolds."

For the first time in a while, Jake felt a sliver of his human nature and upbringing exert itself. He couldn't just say he was here to kill them to remove a threat, could he? The moment lasted for just a few seconds, and then his anger and desire to follow his instincts took over again.

"I want you to leave this island! You have one hour to comply, or I'll kill you all!"

To his surprise, there wasn't any immediate response. He'd expected cursing or anger. Instead, Peltmans just stood there, still as a statue. It lasted so long Jake was starting to get uncomfortable.

With a shiver, the large Orc snapped his head up, staring straight at Jake. A nasty smirk crossed his ugly, angular features.

"Found you!"