Jake stared through the shimmering surface at the edge of the island, waiting for one of the Insectoids to make their move. He was on the bottom of the crystal clear river, making sure to keep still. Small movements came from all around him, and he looked at Garry. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the Kobold was digging into the soil absentmindedly, not paying attention to the mud that began floating up. Before Jake could stop him, a slender black scaled hand shot forward and grabbed Garry's hand.

"Stop it, you might warn them!" Melissa growled under her breath as she glared at the yellow-eyed Kobold. Garry made a, so what, gesture, and turned his attention to a small rock he had dug up.

Perhaps he shouldn't have brought that one, Jake thought. Then again, if he had left him behind, he would have stirred up more trouble. Perhaps he will get killed during the attack. Jake blinked at his own aggressive thought. Since when was he this vicious? Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the tree line. From his previous scouting, he knew the insectoids would go hunt soon, and they had to swim through the river to get off the island. They would be gone for at least the entire morning, hopefully leaving their captured Kobolds with only a token defense.

Jake growled as he recalled the sorry state of the Kobolds he had not been able to save over the last few days. His trick with the water only worked a single time. After his rescue action, the insectoids traveled further away from the river. But it was fine. Grinning, he stared at the movements along the forest edge. The insectoids had no idea what would hit them! Looking around at the over hundred Kobolds, he felt a surge of pride. He had managed to gather most of them over the last week, snatching them before the Insectoids could.

A green cover of leaves parted, and an Insectoid lept out and into the water. Jake concentrated and covered the bottom of the river bed with a murky layer, hiding him and the others. From the top, it would look almost the same, only a slight heat haze showing something was going on.

More insectoids began swimming away from the river island, heading towards the nearest riverbank. Twenty, thirty, a hundred, Jake lost count as he swallowed. Those things had multiplied again. Ten minutes later, the small army of insectoids disappeared into the jungle, and Jake released the murky water cover. He stared at Bolyr, who was at the front of the group, closest to the island, and nodded.

The yellow armed Kobold nodded back before slowly swimming towards the island. At the edge, he climbed up and disappeared inside the bushes. Seconds turned to minutes, and Jake was getting worried when Bolyr stuck his head back out, signaling. Releasing a pent up breath, Jake used his tail to propel himself through the water.

"Follow me and keep quiet. If we want to save the others, we can't let them know we are here." He glared at Garry, but the other only had eyes for the shore. Hoping the other wouldn't cause problems, Jake crawled out of the water. A minute later, the small Kobold strikeforce was crouching between the bushes behind Jake.

"I found some insect hive, a round mound of mud and sand in the middle of the island. There is barely any movement." Bolyr didn't show any fear or anxiety, as if he had done these things many times.

"Alright, you take the lead, and let's free the Kobolds."

The group snuck after Jake's horse-sized shape. Less than a hundred meters further, they arrived at a wide-open space next to the massive tree trunk. Pushed up against the trunk was a mass of mud with a single large opening at the front.

Jake stared at the entrance before looking at Bolyr. "Ok, begin."

Without a response, the native Kobold snuck towards the entrance, his arms full of twigs and branches. He deposited them to the side of the entrance and bent over them, doing something Jake couldn't see. Within a minute, a plume of smoke rose, and flames began licking the branches and twigs.

"Bring him the rest!" Jake ordered three Kobolds who had their arms filled with branches. They ran forward, dropping them next to Bolyr, who began feeding them to the fire. As soon as the fire was larger, they began piling the wood up in front of the entrance, and smoke started pouring in.

"Ok, bring more wood and then hide next to the entrance." More of the Kobolds began running forward, nobody trying to keep quiet anymore, and soon a roaring bonfire blocked the entrance, smoke following the air stream into the opening.

The Kobolds and Jake hid at the sides of the entrance and waited. They didn't have to wait that long. Within a minute, chittering screams came from the insect burrow, and dozens of Insectoids burst through the fire. They began kicking at the branches, trying to disperse it.

"NOW!" Jake didn't wait but rushed forward, ramming into the first of the Insectoids, a massive thing with shells covering its back. With a swipe of his tail, Jake cracked the ugly mandible head. Around him, the Kobolds swarmed the other Insectoids, and before he could help, the Insectoids were swarmed and dismembered.

Bolyr dragged an armless praying mantis-like Insectoid to him, dropping it on the ground.

Bending forward, Jake growled close to its head. "Tell me where the other Kobolds are, and I might let you live!"

A soft hissing came from the Insectoid, and it seemed to shiver. "They are in the center of the home-nest." Then it made a weird chittering sound that Jake associated with laughing.

Turning to Bolyr, Jake felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Something feels wrong. This seems too easy..."

"Stay here, I will check inside." Without a moment, the Kobold ran through the scattered and smoldering wood and into the entrance. Jake looked around and saw that none of the Kobolds had more than a superficial injury. Something is wrong... this feels like a-

"TRAP!" Bolyr's loud voice echoed from the entrance, and moments later, he burst out. "It's a trap! We need to get out of here!"

~Too late,~ from all around, many voices sang in a single voice. They echoed out from the forest around them and the burrow, and at the same time, Insectoids streamed from the bushes.

"Incoming!" Jake looked around, cursing himself for his overconfidence. "Stay close together! Don't get swarmed!" It was the last thing he managed to shout before the first insectoids rushed him. Grabbing the closest one with his front claws, Jake ripped its head off, tossing the still moving thing towards the incoming. Jumping around, he kept biting, slicing, and ripping apart everything that got to close. The Insectoids claws and mandibles barely scratched his claws.

Around him, the Kobolds weren't so lucky, even with him running around trying to keep them all alive. Soon there were many motionless shapes on the ground, and Jake felt an agonizing pain in his chest.

The battle lasted for perhaps ten minutes before a victor became apparent, and by that moment, the ground was littered with unmoving shapes and ripped off limbs and shells. Kobolds were crying and moaning, while the Insectoids barely chittered even if ripped apart.

Jake jumped forward, ripping two insectoids away from a downed Kobold. Seeing the Kobold's ripped out throat, her eyes dimming already he roared and bit off one of the insectoid's heads. He dismantled the other with his claws before looking around, breathing raggedly. Two insectoids were still standing, back towards the muddy nest, while a dozen Kobolds were closing in on them.

Before they could grab the Insectoids, Bolyr ran in from the side, knocking them to the ground. The others rushed to his aid, and a moment later, the last of the Insectoids stopped breathing.

Without the shouting and fighting, the rustling of the leaves and the soft lapping of the waves was the only sound.

Bolyr got up slowly, blood streaming from his arms. "We got tricked, these must have been most of the ones that left!"

Weary and sad, Jake sat down, staring around at the bleeding Kobold corpses littered around. He tried hard to push back the strong feeling of guilt he had and took a deep breath. This wasn't the time. "Help the wounded! We need to get out of here before more show up."

Limping slightly, Bolyr moved to sit next to him and shook his head. "I don't think there will be many more left. If there were, they would have been here by now. We need to go inside and find the captured Kobolds."

The memory of why they came here caused Jake to rise to his four taloned feet. How could he forget about that?

"Stay here and care for the wounded. Get a few people to stand on the lookout near the water, just in case!" Seeing Bolyr nod, Jake walked towards the opening, trying to ignore the bodies around him.

Next to the entrance, one of the Kobolds was checking an unmoving body, and when he got up, Jake realized it was Garry. Of course HE survived. Ignoring the accusing look in the other's eyes, Jake stepped through the muddy opening.

The dark tunnels were large enough for him to move through easily, and he made his way further down. All of the side branches exited in small chambers, all empty, while the main tunnel began spiraling down. Using his talons to keep from sliding down, Jake kept listening for movement.

Five minutes later, he realized he could still see, even though he was deep under the ground now. Looking around, he noticed that tiny mushrooms grew on the ceiling and walls. They glowed ever so softly, but just enough for him to see a few meters ahead. A bloody, fetid scent began spreading through the tunnel, getting thicker the further he went.

The tunnel ended after another fifty meters, and Jake stopped. There was more light ahead, and from the entrance, he could barely see a wall opposite the tunnel. Listening for movement, he carefully stuck his long neck into the room. As soon as he did, the scent of old blood and rot overwhelmed him, almost causing him to throw up. Blinking from the odor that was so thick now it burned his eyes, he closed his underwater eyelids. Seeing nothing move, he stepped into the room and looked around. Oh no... Dozens of mangled Kobold corpses littered the ground, their bellies ripped open, and their intestines gone. The faces were all warped in horrified looks of fear and agony. Turning around, Jake felt his dragon stomach heave, and before he could stop himself, he puked its contents on the muddy floor.