"That is the island that I found you!" Bolyr yelled, pointing at a distant smudge.

What had taken them days of traversing the dangerous seas had only taken an hour of strenuous flying. But even then, Jake was glad to see the end of the flight. His wings were sore from the added weight of the Kobold, and seeing the gently lapping waves below was starting to annoy him. He wanted to talk with Mason! Another ten minutes to get there, rest and then to find them... I wonder where they are hiding?

The closer they got to the island, the lower Jake flew. He had no interest in being spotted by monsters, Goblins, or Orcs. Feeling the spray of water on his belly and the bottom of the wings, Jake stared at the nearing pearl white sand. Finally! He landed in the water when he was twenty meters from the shore, slushing deep down and surging forward until he could stand. A loud sputtering and coughing came from his back before the weight fell from his back, and he heard a splash. He still felt Tir and Ter's paws stuck on his frill, and he sniggered. Bolyr had finally lost his balance.

Jake sighed when he felt the water cool his wings, and the ambient energy flows inside, reducing the aches and muscle cramps. As he relaxed, he saw small blue specs, far more than he saw in the rest of the sea, rushing towards him. That's weird...

"Someone is watching us from the woods." Whispering, Bolyr swam beside him, pointedly looking at Jake's tail, and causing Jake to forget all about the high concentration of blue energy.

It took all of Jake's willpower to keep from looking, and he swallowed. "Any idea who or what it is?"

Shaking his head, Bolyr slapped at a wave surging towards him, splashing the water around. "No, but whoever it is, he or she isn't good at hiding. Let's go on land and hide in the woods. I am confident I can sneak up on our spy."

Jake swam along with him, and they walked onto the white sandy beach. Bolyr walked ahead, and as Jake followed him, he snorted. Now I know how horses must feel. They crossed the small stretch of beach that ended in a somewhat higher area covered with withered yellow grass. Tall purple-leafed trees stood spread out, becoming denser and taller deeper in the jungle.

"We are being followed from the side. Head into the jungle and wait in a tree, I am going to lay an ambush." Bolyr took a step forward before stopping and looking back at Jake.

After a moment, Jake realized the Kobold was waiting for a response of some kind, and he blinked before nodding. "Go ahead, can you find us after?"

"Yes, but if we get separated, we can meet at the beach at sundown," Bolyr grinned before turning and walked deeper into the jungle.

Jake wondered what would happen, but he was glad Tir and Ter were quiet. With his powerful, agile body, moving through the jungle was a breeze, and he ran in until bushes, and high grass began to cover the ground. With the trees close together, it was dense enough to hide easily, and he stopped, looking for a good hideout. Examining the prickly purple leaves on some trees, he ignored those and climbed one of the tallest, blue-leafed trees he could find.

"Brother, we go find your friend soon?" Tir asked, sitting on his shoulder and staring around at the for her utterly foreign jungle. The island she was born on had different trees and different smells, and Jake got the feeling the small lizards were a bit overwhelmed.

"Yes, as soon as Bolyr comes back and I rest and hunt, we will fly up again and scout the island. If need be, I can shout Mason's name from high in the air. He felt Tir's head brush his neck a bit, but she said nothing.

Ten minutes later, just when Jake was starting to get worried, he heard something run through the jungle creating an incredible racket. One of the bushes not too far from Jake's vantage point was shaking. Holding his breath, he watched as Bolyr burst out, a large wound on his cheek and staring behind and around. From behind him came more rusting and shaking.

"Bolyr, here!" Jake hissed, loudly, and the Kobold looked around wildly. "Here!" Jake spoke louder this time, and Bolyr spotted him, a look of relief appearing on his face as he began running towards them.

Below the tree, he already started speaking. "Get ready to fly! We have trouble!" He had just finished speaking when two tall, insectoid human shapes burst from the bushes behind him. Staring at them, Jake saw they were moving oddly as if their legs and arms had extra joints. Spotting Bolyr, they began pursuing him, but the Kobold scaled the tree like a professional alpine climber.

Jake climbed onto a thick, wide leaf with enough space around it to take off, getting ready. As soon as Bolyr sat down on his back, he jumped into the air, the branch barely moving. A few flaps later, he burst out from the canopy, feeling some of the hard-edged leaves scrape across his wings.

"What were those things?" Jake shot across his shoulder, angrily. He felt the lack of energy, even with the small boost he got from the energy in the sea and having to fly again without eating first pissed him off endlessly.

"Those are Insectoids, usually solitary, horrifying creatures. When we used to find them on our tribe lands, we wiped them out. Two together is an unusual thing and a bad sign. They are dangerous by themselves. Some are poisonous even to us!"

Ow man, I am glad I didn't end up picking that race! Jake shivered in horror as he remembered the faces with mandible and large black fly-like eyes. A hundred meters above the tallest trees, Jake stopped ascending, leveling out and circling a few times. "I am going to scout a little for a good hunting ground, look around if you see any sign of the others."

Twenty minutes later, Ter yelped. "Brother, look! Something is running over there!"

Looking around, Jake didn't see what Ter saw, circling and scanning the almost impenetrable jungle.

"There! To the left!" Bolyr patted Jake's left flank.

Scrutinizing the area Jake finally saw something hop between the treetops. Squinting, he thought it was a Kobold, but an unfamiliar purple-black scaled one. Folding his wings in, he plummeted down, ignoring a high-pitched shout from Bolyr. Close to the treetops, he opened his wings, and with immense effort, barely avoided slamming into treetops.

He sheared over the trees and got an up and close look at a scared, distinctly feminine Kobold face that stared at him with a wide-open mouth and horror-filled eyes. Angling up, Jake began flapping like crazy, causing them to hang still for a moment before he landed on a branch ten meters from the other Kobold.

As soon as he stopped flying, he felt Bolyr's weight disappear, and a second later, the indigenous Kobold showed his climbing skills again as he leaped from branch to branch with the grace of a cat. The purple, and Jake now saw, wounded Kobold hadn't moved. She was keeping the dark branch in a death grip, a hopeless look on her face. Four thin, bleeding wounds were drawn on her jawline down along her throat and disappeared inside something that resembled a ripped up motorcycle jacket without sleeves. Her black and purple hair, still partially bound in a ponytail, was matted with leaves twigs and dirt.

Her triangular purple eyes stared unblinking at Jake, barely registering Bolyr, who was far closer. When the Kobold said something, she started and seemed ready to bolt, grabbing another branch closeby. Bolyr quickly tried again, but Jake could see from the look of confusion on her face that she had no idea what he was saying.

"He says you don't have to be afraid. We are all Kobolds here and won't harm each other!" As soon as Jake began talking, the purple-eyed Kobold gawked at him, her slit eyes almost turning round, which was an accomplishment onto itself. Wondering if she understood, or was just stunned something like him could talk, Jake quickly continued.

"I am from Earth and arrived here weeks ago. We got lost in the jungle that appeared in the middle of our city." When he got no response again, Jake wondered if he should ask if she understood when a soft, somewhat hazy voice stopped him, and it was his turn to stare in surprise.

"Are you Jake?"

Shivering, Jake began nodding fervently, his long frills dancing around. Tir and Ter let out a squawk of indignation when they were almost dislodged. Stopping, Jake stared at the other, who now had a slight half-smile on her reptilian mouth. "Yes, please tell me you know where Mason is!"

The female Kobold her smile withered, and one of horror came in its place. "We need to help them! They ambushed some Goblins to try and save more Kobold prisoners, but the Goblins were waiting for them! Please, we have to hurry! I barely got away to get Willson and the others, but getting them would take longer!"

Jake felt his heart skip a beat before his mind began running in overdrive. He shared a glance with Bolyr, who nodded, and he began moving to a branch from where he could fly away. "Climb over here, get on my back, and show me where they are!" To his surprise, the Kobold didn't hesitate for a second and began darting towards him. Her form whirled through the trees and across the branches with every bit the finesse that Bolyr had shown. She stopped only for a second when she reached Jake, staring at his claws, that were the length of her face, before shaking her head and awkwardly climbing on his back.

"Melissa!" She grunted while grabbing his frills so tight he groaned, causing her to release them in shock.

"You can hold on, but be a bit more careful," Jake grunted as he pushed off, noting that Melissa was far lighter than Bolyr. Remembering the direction she had come from, he began flying there. "A bit to the left, yes, like this!" Melissa began to correct him, and Jake shouted back. "Bolyr, follow us as fast as you can!" Getting a short affirmation, he rushed forward, feeling his stomach rumble in protest.

If I don't eat soon, the next time I might fall out of the sky, he thought as he followed Melissa's directions.